PUPILS caught staring out of the window in lessons at a Caterham school now have the perfect excuse – they are thinking about school work.
Plans are afoot to transform the grounds at Hillcroft Primary School in Chaldon Road into an outdoor classroom.
Working in partnership with The Hawthorns School in Bletchingley, staff say plans are well under way to create the outdoor learning environment.
The building project is being turned into an educational experience, involving the school's gardening club, and with pupils getting their hands dirty helping with the preparation.
As part of the initiative, parents and children enjoyed a conservation morning at The Hawthorns on January 17 to get hands-on experience of the kind of work involved.
Over the coming months, Hawthorns pupils will make weekly visits to Hillcroft to help students in Years 3 and 4 with preparing weed beds and making log piles to help with the building work.
Hillcroft head teacher Stephanie Scutter said: "This is a really creative, clever project and one that I think will really capture the imagination of the children.
"Having an outdoor classroom will help us make better use of the grounds, as well as making the process of learning so much fun.
"Along the way, the children can acquire new skills and discover more about the world around them.
"It's an exciting new chapter for our school and I can't wait to watch it develop."
Meanwhile a Year 5 pupil at Hillcroft has been picked out as a science star of the future.
Maddison Craig was among hundreds of schoolchildren nationally who took part in the I'm A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here competition, organised by the Wellcome Trust.
The online contest, based on the familiar reality television show format, involved children joining a "zone" which also included professional scientists.
They tackled science-related activities, with regular eviction votes taking place.
Maddison won a book token and a certificate.
Afterwards Hillcroft science teacher Tom Holloway said: "It's no surprise the scientists chose Maddison as a winner.
"Her enthusiasm for science is truly infectious and, as a teacher, it's wonderful to see.
"Hillcroft is a science-mad school – the children love carrying out their own experiments and making discoveries."
