Our Reception pupils recently visited the Westonbirt Arboretum, known to have one of the most beautiful and important plant collections in the world. Home to 2,500 different species from the far corners of the globe and four national tree collections, it is the perfect place for outdoor learning, play and exploration.

Mrs Fernandez, Head of Early Years at Royal High Bath Prep School, described the trip:

"We set off on the minibus in the pouring rain, thinking the weather would improve on our journey to Westonbirt, however the rain had other plans. Despite this the girls were brilliant, fully engaged, enthusiastic and carried on despite getting very wet and muddy!

"We searched for signs of spring and collected some lovely petals and leaves along the way, creating a wonderful large-scale picture at the end of our walk. The girls saw deer and tried to wake the badgers up, but they were snoring too loudly."

"We had a fun game of collecting worms (not real) for the birds to eat and were super quiet in the bird hide and spotted some great tits. We stopped for some lunch and the rain finally decided to stop, we then did a little more exploring and puddle splashing before we headed back to school, a little bit wet and very muddy but very happy girls!"

Outdoor learning at the Prep School is well and truly integrated into everything we do and outdoor adventures like this are an essential part of how we continually inspire and encourage our Early Years girls to make discoveries, develop their imagination and gain in confidence.