PLOUGHING MATCH EDUCATION SYSTEM
Laughton & District Agricultural Society
The Laughton & District Agricultural Society was formed in 1930’s and our main event – the annual Laughton & District ploughing match, attracts on average around 50 ploughmen each year, together with a vibrant Family and Education section, with foot fall through the gate of around 500 and trade stands from across the agricultural sector.The Education section has grown enormously over the last 12 years and has come to
represent a significant part of the whole ethos of the Society. We present a set of agricultural experiences for approximately 70-100 children each year and create a day of outdoor learning that can have an impact long into the lives of those primary aged pupils.
For some, it is their first and only experience into work and life from the land and for most, a first realisation of where much of their food that they buy at the supermarket, comes from. We offer a hands on learning activity day which shows children the story of wheat, milk, hedgerow harvest, sustaining wild flowers, growing fruit and vegetables, alongside traditional British crafts such as corn dolly making, working with wool and observing what is happening on the land at harvest time.
Each year the Ploughing Match is held at a different location where all the above activities are set up, to combine the unique experience for the children of being able to see horses and tractors plough the land at the start of the new agricultural year.
This full day of experiences unfailingly creates an impact unparalleled to that in the classroom. Furthermore, in recent years we have consciously invited pupils from an urban environment to attend the day where for almost every child, it is their first trip ever to a countryside event of this nature.
This educational day has become exceptionally successful and totally non- profit making – its value is in the learning and its immeasurable impact upon young lives in their immediate futures and we believe, in the long term. What makes learning memorable? - Quality teaching in the unique environment of outdoor experiences.
The Society feels it is very important to encourage young people to understand about the Countryside….
Each year we get organized to welcome pupils from a School in the Laughton and District area and a school that has not previously had the opportunity to attend.
This gives pupils the chance to experience first hand the ploughing and observing the machinery, as well as taking part in many other activities ranging from planting seeds and understanding where milk comes from to corn dolly making, grinding wheat into flour, and learning about fruits, vegetables, seeds, wool and Britain’s native wild flowers. We aim for these activities to be free to the children as so many school visits have now become prohibitively expensive for schools when combined with travel costs. Our feedback year on year has been wholly positive from the schools and so we have endeavored each year to make improvements to enhance their experience and special thanks go to all those who support and sponsor the Education Section. Liz Rea coordinates the event for pupils and along with the visiting experts who contribute, they all give their time and expertise for free. This year as a society we are hoping to welcome the children from a school in Brighton where most of the pupils will have never had the opportunity to visit a farm and so the Education experiences we offer on the day of the Ploughing Match will truly be a set of new outdoor, agricultural activities for them to enjoy. Each of the 8/10 groups which rotate through the activities during the day is organized to have the expert volunteers teaching them. This provides a unique opportunity and insight into the World of Agriculture. Such opportunities are what the Society has been credited with providing and gives pupils a wonderful awareness of where their food comes from by using an outdoor learning experience. Young people at such an event mid-week give the event a positive, youthful ‘buzz’ on what is usually a glorious autumn day. It is also where the future of our industry can be secured by offering opportunities to inform and educate the workforce, parents and consumers of the next generation.