NFU Education’s Science Farm Live lessons are back for another year to bring farming into the classroom during British Science Week, following its success teaching a record number of children through virtual live lessons in 2021.

So far, 1,438 schools and 89,636 pupils have signed up to the programme. Find out more about the programme, what the live lessons include and how to sign up here.

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Nearly 90,000 pupils from primary schools across the country will learn first-hand from farmers about British food production, and how the core science topics they learn in school are integral to farming. The programme includes:

• The life cycles of lambs and cows, including live lambing with former NFU Student & Young Farmer Ambassador and Oxfordshire sheep farmer Karl Franklin.
• Visiting newly-born Belted Galloway calves with Surrey livestock farmer Paula Matthews.
• Insect expert Sally-Ann Spence, fellow at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, introducing minibeasts such as dung beetles and explaining their important role in farming.
• Meeting climate change superhero Jess Langton, a Derbyshire dairy farmer researching new ways of reducing methane.

The free lessons will take place between 14-17 March and bring the exciting world of British farming into the classroom, giving students a taste of what life is like as a farmer. Resources are available to teachers alongside the live lessons to enable them to extend the lessons to learn more about how science and farming work hand-in-hand.

NFU President Minette Batters said: “It’s fantastic to see how many students have signed up for our Science Farm Live lessons after such a successful debut last year.

“Science is such an integral part of farming; we are not just food producers, we are scientists, environmentalists, animal experts and technological innovators. These lessons transport the world of real-life farming into classrooms across the country, helping to bring core science topics and the exciting career opportunities within agriculture to life.

“With two of the lessons being delivered by farmers involved in our Student & Young Farmer Ambassador programme, it’s great to see the future of farming already helping to educate the next generation.

“British Science Week is fast approaching and we want to get even more pupils signed up. I would encourage all farmers to reach out to their local primary schools and encourage them to get involved.”

British Science Week takes place between 11-20 March 2022. The NFU’s Science Farm Live programme starts on 14 March.