PUPILS at Bentley Primary School celebrated British Food Fortnight by inviting Hampshire Fare to take locally produced food into the classroom.

Children of all ages took part in a full day of activities put focusing to highlight the wide range of food and drink grown, reared and made in the county.

Year R pupils got to grips with vegetables in a veg-head making activity before taking to the outdoors to hunt down cardboard cut-outs of a Hampshire hog.

Meanwhile, Year 1 children made vegetable kebabs before tucking into samples from Holybourne Village Shop.

Delicious smells came from the Year 2 rooms as Honesty Group led a baking session. In the afternoon local farm Meadow Cottage gave the pupils an insight into dairy farming and ice cream making.

Year 3 pupils had their eyes opened to the world of growing rapeseed and making cold pressed oil and then moved on to bees and honey with BeeGood.

Parsonage Farm led Year 4 pupils’ anatomy lesson before offering tastings of their award-winning charcuterie. The pupils then got creative with recycled materials as they worked together to build a scarecrow for Winchester Cathedral’s Harvest Weekend.

Year 5 pupils visited nearby Mill Farm for an organic farm trail walk. The pupils also used the farm’s organic meat to make burgers.

Jenkyn Place vineyard welcomed Year 6 pupils for a tour of the vines. In the afternoon Lyburn Cheese came to talk to the year group about dairy farming and cheese making.

“The children were very excited about this fantastic day of learning put together by Hampshire Fare to showcase some amazing farmers and producers,” said headteacher Katy Pinchess. “This area was mainly agricultural just two generations ago but now so many of our families work in London so there is the danger that pupils do not see the links between what is grown and reared and what they eat and buy. At Bentley we are passionate about giving children hands-on experiences to making learning fun and informative.

“A huge thank-you goes to our visitors and hosts for showcasing the very best of Hampshire for our pupils. What a fantastic experience, and I suspect that they are inspiring the next generation to follow in their footsteps.”

The school came together for a traditional British school lunch of shepherd’s pie and apple-and-blackberry crumble, made from fruit picked in the school grounds. Pupils were also encouraged to bring in puddings made at home on the British Food Fortnight theme of ‘rediscovered long forgotten traditional recipes that were once unique to particular areas of Britain’.

The puddings were judged in the Great Bentley Bake Off and first prizes went to Lola Pinchess of the infants class for her apple dapple cake and Olivia Stanley in juniors for her apple-and-blackberry upside down pudding.

Harry, seven, a pupil at the school said: “It’s tricky to choose a favourite thing because it was all really good. I liked the oil man and the bee man and I loved tasting the honey."

Tracy Nash, commercial manager of Hampshire Fare, said: “Hampshire Fare is thrilled that today’s event was such a success.

“We are also delighted that the school we worked with last year on a similar event has been able to repeat the day this year and plan to continue this positive work and collaborate with another school for British Food Fortnight 2017 so that we can continue to inspire the next generation with local food and farming.”