Englefield Estate’s annual Schools Days see the grounds of Englefield House, the deer park and the village transformed into an impressive outdoor classroom, offering lessons in farming, horticulture and forestry.
The two-day event welcomes thousands of children from more than 50 primary schools and features over 25 stands plus activities and demonstrations.
The stands offer topical based learning, informative displays and interactive demonstrations which are led by Estate staff and cover farming, sustainability, community, environment and history.
Englefield Countryside Days for Schools is a unique event that aims to engage young minds and inform children of current working practices in:
Primary schools in Berkshire receive an invitation to attend, free of charge. All that is required is for schools to arrange their own transport to the event.
The Schools Days concept was inspired by Sir William – the father of current Estate owner, Richard Benyon - who wanted to invite local school children to discover more about the Estate, its history and activities. He also wanted to help them to enjoy learning about the countryside and what is involved in helping to make it a great place to live, work and enjoy.
The first event in 1997 hosted 315 children from five schools in Berkshire. In 2019 over 3,000 children from 50 primary schools across the county attended.
Plans for Countryside Days for Schools on 9th-10th June 2021 are now well underway. In the meantime, if you want to know more, please contact Community and Education Officer Liz Mattison on education@englefield.co.uk or 0118 930 2504. You can also watch our videos about farming, forestry and the countryside below.
Feedback from the 2018 Countryside Days for Schools:
"Everyone we met was helpful, cheerful, welcoming and informative. The children had the most amazing learning experience and encountered things that were completely new to them. Please pass on our thanks to the family for opening up their stunning grounds, we had 58 very happy children yesterday."
"We would like to say a huge thank you for today, it was truly wonderful. The event was so well organised and well managed. All of the onsite helpers and stall holders were lovely and fantastic with the children. Our children had a great day."
"Thank you so much for such an amazing day on the Englefield Estate yesterday. I can't really say what the highlights were as everything was superbly done and organised! The children really enjoyed the food chains work and loved the fire fighting equipment. The children also really enjoyed the house tour and listened well to an engaging and interesting talk by the guide. Thank you so much for the immense effort you and your team have put in. They will have excellent memories of their day!"
Englefield Village sits at the heart of the wider Englefield Estate. It is a vibrant community incorporating a range of housing, businesses and community organisations.
Learn more about education and community outreach activities across the Estate.