A week at Jamie's Farm

12 students from Year 8 headed to Jamie's farm last week. 

Jamie's Farm provides a unique combination of ‘farming, family and therapy’ through an intensive week on beautiful working farms and a robust follow-up programme back in school.

Jamie's Farm charity was established in 2009 after Jamie, teaching in a challenging school in South London, brought back two sheep from his family home in Bath for the pupils to look after. Jamie noted the instant impact on the students who thrived from the responsibility of feeding and caring for the animals. Teachers also noticed a remarkable change in the attitude of these individuals towards their school life, and the idea for Jamie’s Farm was born.

During the week students took part in lots of different activities and got involved with taking care of the animals on the farm. 

During the week, staff and young people live together and learn to respect each other and the home in which they live. Everyone contributes to the functions of the family household. Without the distractions of mobile phones and electronic devices, there is time and space to reflect, stories were shared in the evenings, we played games together in the yard and on the final night we had a bonfire. 

Food forms a major part of the week at Jamie’s Farm. It enabled the students to share culture, develop creativity and work as a team. The students were involved in every aspect of it, including the growing of fruit and vegetables, caring for livestock, butchery, food preparation and serving. We ate together around the table, and everyone helped to clean up afterward.

Each day the students went for a walk to explore the countryside. This is rewarding, as they frequently exceeded their expectations of themselves, but it also allowed them to enjoy a sense of freedom as they expand their horizons.