The school using a creative method to teach children how to 'Bee kind'

"Be Kind, Be the Best You Can Be" is more than just a motto at our school, Llantilio Pertholey Church in Wales Primary School. It is a value that pupils live out every day, and one of the most inspiring examples can be found in the school's thriving apiary.

Recently, the school held a stall at the Greener Abergavenny Fair at the town’s Market Hall to tell the public about their work with bees. As well as selling the first batch of honey from their resident pollinators, those at the fair on October 18th were able to learn more about the school’s sustainable approach to learning the skills that will equip pupils with the skills they need as they grow older.

Just as bees work tirelessly together for the benefit of their hive, pupils at our school are learning the importance of kindness, teamwork and contributing positively to their community through an exciting environmental project that continues to grow from strength to strength, thanks to the help of our resident bee keeper, Mrs Kathy Hague. Kathy’s enthusiasm and passion for beekeeping has totally engulfed our school and our children have engaged wholeheartedly in activities that have enhanced their knowledge of the importance of bees to our living world.

Since the establishment of the school's beehives, the colonies have flourished in their new home. What began as an ambitious idea has developed into a thriving apiary, with our school now home to two active hives housing an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 bees. The bees have adapted exceptionally well to our school surroundings and are playing an important role in supporting local biodiversity and pollination.

As mentioned earlier, our project, supported by dedicated school beekeeper Kathy Hague, has provided pupils with valuable opportunities to learn about the natural world, sustainability and the crucial role bees play in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Children have gained first-hand experience of beekeeping, developed an understanding of environmental management and witnessed the remarkable organisation and cooperation that exists within a hive.

However, our school's vision extends far beyond beekeeping. The apiary forms part of our wider development plan to transform and enhance the school's outdoor environment. Over the coming years, the school will continue to develop its green spaces, including the expansion of allotment areas across our entire school, where pupils will grow a range of fruits and vegetables. Plans are also underway to establish miniature orchards for both Lower Phase and Upper Phase pupils, enabling children to grow, care for and harvest their own produce. The produce grown on site will then be used to benefit the wider school community through an innovative school-based community farm shop. The farm shop will also include a barista style coffee shop, with seated areas for our families to meet both before and after the school day.

Staff and pupils will work together to operate the coffee shop at the beginning and end of each school day, creating meaningful opportunities for children to develop valuable life skills including communication, teamwork, customer service, financial awareness and enterprise. Fresh produce grown by the children will be shared with families and community members for a small donation, helping to strengthen connections between school and community.

Any donations received through the coffee shop will be reinvested directly into enriching educational experiences for pupils, ensuring that future generations continue to benefit from exciting opportunities both inside and beyond the classroom. As the Headteacher of the school, I believe that first and foremost, learning should be valuable, exciting, engaging and fun. This project epitomizes all of those values in abundance.

Both myself and my staff believe the project perfectly captures the school's commitment to nurturing ambitious, capable learners while developing compassionate and ethical citizens.

By linking environmental sustainability, enterprise and community engagement, Llantilio Pertholey Church in Wales Primary School is creating a learning environment where children not only gain academic knowledge but also develop the skills, confidence and values needed for the wider world.

We have been incredibly fortunate to have support from a local community based charity, ‘Stump up for Trees’. Their Woodland Creation officer, Kate Beavan, came to visit our school site to look at helping the school enhance its outdoor learning areas with a view to improving the health and wellbeing of pupils, and to create an outdoor-centric curriculum across all areas.

The charity will now donate a variety of tree species to our school, to include fruit trees that will help to develop our orchards. This along with support from our school community, has helped significantly in the outdoor provision that we can offer our children.

As the school community looks towards our exciting future, the message is clear: from thousands of hardworking bees to children growing food for their community, everyone has a role to play in helping others and making a positive difference.

And at Llantilio Pertholey, that all starts with a simple message:

Be Kind, Be the Best You Can Be.