CHILDREN took to the forests for an adventurous lesson on Anglo-Saxon life.

St Nicholas CE Primary School, at West Tanfield, near Masham, has its own area of forest within the school grounds which it uses as an outdoor classroom.

For the pupils’ latest project on Anglo-Saxon and village life they created a castle from foliage in the wood, learnt how to make fencing and created shields from willow. The Key Stage Two children were led by Jennie Dennis, a qualified forest schools leader.

Youngsters also learned how to build a camp fire and used the fire to cook drop scones. Headteacher Karen Smith said: “This kind of learning really develops their independence and problemsolving skills and they got to find out exactly how people survived.”