Pupils go out of their ‘hay’ in scarecrow challenge

School children really showed off their creative side during an unusual task set them by their head teacher.
Pupils at Evelyn Community Primary School, Prescot, were challenged to make their own scarecrow with the help of their families over the school holidays.

Prince William and Kate Middleton, The Chuckle Brothers and even a martial arts master were just some of the scarecrow creations made during the challenge, which was open to all pupils in the school.

“We were astounded by the number of entries we had,” says head teacher Carole Arnold.

“We wanted to enhance our outdoor environment by using the skills and creativity of our children, so we thought this would be an ideal challenge to enrich the children’s learning.”

Proud pupils brought their homemade scarecrow creations into school, and all entries were entered into a competition. The winner for most creative scarecrow was judged by Farmer Ted, owner of Farmer Ted’s Farm Park in Lancashire.

The overall winner was created by 9-year-old Amy Balfour, who created an anorak-wearing, life-size scarecrow holding an umbrella – to protect it from the typical British weather!

Carole adds, “We were delighted with the feedback from both children and their families on how much they enjoyed the challenge. The entries were all extremely creative and of a high standard.”

The task was the latest in a series of challenges set by head teacher Carole Arnold, which she sets the pupils every term. It forms part of the school’s ARCS – A Real-life Creative and Skills-based Curriculum, which encourages the children to bring out their creative side both in and outside of the classroom, and to link their learning to real-life situations. Previous challenges have included designing and creating a musical instrument and an invertebrate.

Cllr Graham Wright, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services, said, “This is an unusual and exciting challenge the pupils have been involved in. It’s great to see children being encouraged to be creative outside of the classroom and for the whole family to get involved.”

The scarecrows are currently standing ‘on duty’ in Prescot Parish Church as part of the Prescot Festival.