A SCHOOL has come up with its own bucket list for pupils.
Each class has been issued with a ‘passport’ so they can tick off the ’18 things to experience’ before they leave Holy Cross Catholic Primary School for good.
Floating in the Dead Sea and scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef may not be among them.
But Clare Higgins, headteacher of the school in Birkenhead, believes the children’s list will leave a lasting impression.
“Many of our children have not experienced opportunities that other children in different settings and locations have,” she said.
The list, which includes a picnic in a park, was compiled by staff to also help children better understand what was being taught in the classroom.
“When we were learning about the seaside, it became apparent that a significant number of the children had never been, so they couldn’t identify with experiences that were being discussed,” she said.
The school also asked children what they would like to experience.
“Some of them were curious about how you would get a job at the Apple store, so we arranged to go there and spoke to a program designer about his role,” she said.
Many of the activities also involve the children’s families, be it a trip to the theatre or a cookery workshop.
“Our role in supporting the community is very important to us,” said Clare. “We want the children and their families to experience these opportunities together.”
Children especially enjoyed visiting Chester Zoo where they became zookeepers for the day and learned about its conservation work to save species from becoming extinct.
A visit to the Boat Museum in Ellesmere Port opened the children’s eyes to the importance of engineering and how it has shaped people’s lives over hundreds of years.
Visits like these may actually help to shape their choices in life,
Other experiences include building and flying a kite, a farm visit, building a den, a proms in the playground picnic concert and a taste of Forest School.
Giving the children the chance to learn outdoors, through Forest School, is Clare’s personal favourite.
“When I was training to become a teacher, my lecturer said that the best classroom has the sky as its ceiling, and that has always stayed with me,” she said.
Holy Cross has, in the past, heavily subsidised school trips due to parents’ financial difficulties.
“Unfortunately, that limits what we can do and where we can go because there is only so much money in the school budget,” she said.
“INEOS’ donation, however, has enabled us to provide the most amazing opportunities and experiences for our children and their families.”