Year 4 Flatford

Each spring, our Year 4 students travel by coach to Suffolk, where they spend two nights at Flatford Mill. Made famous by John Constable’s paintings, the mill is now home to the Field Studies Council (FSC).

This environmental education charity provides opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to discover, explore, and understand the environment. Their warm, friendly staff help organise the highly enjoyable environmental activities that make the trip truly memorable, such as pond-dipping, navigation, mammal-trapping, a night walk, campfire songs, and creative arts.

The children also follow up preparatory work within the school and Highgate by carrying out a contrasting locality trip around Constable’s childhood home in East Bergholt. This includes land use, wildlife, food chains, population and contrasting environmental issues.

Our highly successful Flatford trip embraces a broad range of national curriculum requirements. All of our children benefit from this wonderful experience, which demonstrates how outdoor learning can have such a positive impact on every child’s development. They have fun within a safe and uniquely special environment. It also provides an excellent stepping stone for the four-night PGL activity residential week in Year 6.