The Moorland Classroom has now engaged with over 6,000 pupils and this spring sees the launch of two new Moorland Classroom sites in Exmoor National Park. 

The new sites are Grabbist, overlooking the medieval village of Dunster, and Winsford Hill, above Tarr Steps.  Dulverton Middle School has recently returned from Winsford Hill as teacher Sophie Hanson from the school highlights: “Winsford Hill is a great resource. It covers many curriculum areas and is very hands-on with The Punchbowl, burial mounds and Tarr Steps all with easy walking distance of each other.”

Grabbist and Dunster also provide a great package and with plenty of wet-weather options. Curriculum Advisor for the Moorland Classroom, David Weatherly, stresses how the “Moorland Classroom is an ideal mechanism for delivering the new curriculum for 2014 – cross-curricular, engaging and challenging. It provides a real context for meaningful outdoor learning linked to places and issues that will inspire children and young people. Throughout there is an emphasis on enquiry based investigative learning and teaching which encourages children and young people to take responsibility for their own learning.”

David Rolls, Moorland Education Officer for the Heart of Exmoor Scheme, says: “To get your local school involved just google ‘Moorland Classroom’ and remember thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund, Exmoor Trust and the Exmoor National Park Partnership Fund, our travel bursary can help schools with travel costs.

“A big thank you to all the schools that have helped us develop these resources for use in both the classroom and out in the National Park.”