First Federation Trust

Miss Lottie Bond, Head of School, says “We love providing children with hands-on learning experiences in and out of the classroom as this actively engages students in a particular educational process through direct physical interaction, experimentation, and real-world problem-solving. With the project to hatch chicks from eggs, we wanted to bring a real-life biological situation to life and teach children about life cycles while fostering empathy and responsibility. This type of project also supports social-emotional well-being and is known to improve memory retention and increase concentration. 

“Six mixed-breed hybrid eggs came through the post from Home Farm in Cornwall, and we liaised with a parent who was happy to take the chicks home to her brood once they hatched. I had the incubator at home from when I hatched some during lockdown!”  

Pupils, with assistance from teaching and support staff, were able to place eggs in an incubator, setting it to the desired temperature, monitoring the conditions and holding a candle to the eggs to see if they were likely to hatch. The incubator was kept out of direct sunlight, and the first took 22 days to hatch with the next two coming on days 23 and 24.  

Every child in the school had a chance to meet them before they were taken to The Smouts to live.  

Isla James, said, “We were so excited to help the eggs hatch their chicks. The first chick enjoyed our phonics lesson and we read to it.”