Going to school with sheep: This is what happens to these British teenagers Blue

The farm at Woodchurch Secondary School in the United Kingdom opened 13 years ago and has become a haven for the mental health of its students. Situated across the River Mersey in Bergenhead, opposite Liverpool, the farm is staffed by dairy farmers and vets-turned-alumni. Who thinks school farm is the reason they find their calling in life.

The neighborhood of Woodchurch is classified as being in the bottom 10% of places in England. Last month, local authorities announced that a nearby leisure center would be demolished.

With social mobility in the UK at its lowest level for over 50 years, preventing people from moving into higher income levels, the farm's ability to expose its students to people and professions far from their neighborhoods is more important than ever in urban schooling.

“It's very important [os jovens] have the opportunity to achieve, thrive and express their talents effectively,” said school principal Rebecca Phillips.

Each year, students compete at the Royal Cheshire and Westmorland County Shows to showcase their skills in keeping their sheep, goats, pigs and poultry. Many have received awards and accolades from agricultural experts. “The agricultural and farming communities have opened their arms to us,” said Linda Hackett, the farm's director.

Ella-Rose Mitchinson, 14, a 10th grader, was awarded the 2023 Student of the Year award by the School Farm network of 140 schools, many of them in rural communities. For her, the farm represents a safe haven away from the world of social media and the demands of teenage life. “It allows me to breathe,” she said, adding that she dreams of becoming a veterinarian.

Corey Gibson, 13, is in 8th grade. “A happy place where we can be ourselves. Animals don't judge us.”

Nurturing the future

Former student Sophie Tedesco, 27, who now works as a dairy farmer in Shropshire, first experienced farming life on a farm before leaving school in 2013. “It opened my eyes to the world of agriculture,” it says. “It was completely different from what we were used to, and I loved it,” he says.

The school is increasingly recognized as a conservation center thanks to the fortune of North Ronaldsay sheep when the farm opened in 2010. Originally from Orkney, this breed of sheep is one of four on the Trust's Rare Species Survival List. “Priorities” – the highest level of concern of the organization.

“Our little school has been raising over 60 sheep on our one and a half hectare for over 13 years and we've had lambs every year. Our sheep are counted in the Rare Species Survival Trust's national census,” said Linda Hackett, farm director.

Principal Phillips says other schools are showing interest in the farm, but laments that despite its widespread impact on the community, it has never been considered in the nation's education assessment system.

“In 13 years, we've never had a single act of vandalism,” says Phillips. “I think the worst thing that ever happened to us was when a baby gave birth to a sheep.”