PUPILS at a Somerset school can now step outside their normal classrooms into a new huge learning facility.

Shipham First School has recently had its grounds transformed to make the most of the outdoor space.

The grounds now boast a rough area to find out about the natural world, new play equipment and a new stage area.

Older children have used the outdoor classroom for a number of reasons from practicing measuring and weighing to learning French and cooking around a campfire.

The whole school also helped to design and build willow huts and a tunnel and year four children in the green club have made a vegetable garden.

The Woodland Trust has recently donated some small trees to the school which the children are planting in and around the rough area.

Headteacher Antonia Gwynn said: “We encourage the children’s creativity and independence in every way we can.

“We find that for many children learning is really effective in the outdoor environment – they experience more and they remember more.”

The school and pre-school still has spaces available for September.

For more details ring 01934 843485 or 844511 respectively.