A primary school in a Hampshire village have received a grant to help fund outdoor learning.

St. John the Baptist Primary School, near Waltham Chase, received a £500 grant from The Ernest Cook Trust help engage children with the environment through learning.

The outdoor essentials grant, launched in 2019 by the charity, will have helped 1,000 schools across the country by the end of the year.

The Ernest Cook Trust is a UK wide educational charity, creating outdoor experiences for children, young people and their families.

A landowner in six counties, it runs education programmes on its own estates, as well as with partners’ estates, and offers grants for land-based learning activities.

Recently, the school used the grant to get their year six class to Tile Barn in The New Forest for a residential trip which included archery and a climbing wall.

Suzie Paton, Head of Grants with The Ernest Cook Trust, said: “Our outdoor essentials grant gives schools a great opportunity to get pupils outside and to connect with nature.

“Each round of grants has a theme. Our first was wellies and waterproofs, where we were able to provide 486 schools with £500 each to equip the children with the right clothes to get outside.

“The theme of the second round was transport and travel, where we helped schools with travel costs for trips out.

“Any state-funded school can apply, but we have a particular focus on giving grants to those with a genuine interest in learning outdoors, especially if they are in deprived areas or with high numbers of disadvantaged students.”

Applications for the outdoor essentials grant can be made via The Ernest Cook Trust website at https://ernestcooktrust.org.uk/.