PUPILS at a Romsey school were inspired to create a scarecrow after their trip to a Hampshire farm this summer.

Children from Romsey Abbey C of E Primary School, Church Lane, decided to construct the scarecrow after visiting the Bisterne Estate, near Ringwood.

The group of pupils were hosted by a trustee of the County Trust, Mr Mills, who educated the children about his dairy farm and how food is grown.

The scarecrow was entered into the annual Countryside Education Competition, sponsored by the Romsey Show Society.

One of the school’s learning support assistants, Marina Vitler, said: "The children decided that the scarecrow should be modelled on the Vicar of Romsey, Revd Thomas Wharton, who is a frequent visitor to the school.

"They really enjoyed working together to produce the scarecrow with it’s model pupil and surrounding animals and farm vehicles.

"Our entry did not win the competition, but the children had a lot of fun helping and this completed the whole project which started with the farm visit."

She added: "The judges said they were impressed at the likeness to our Vicar and loved the animals and tractors, made by the younger members of our school.”

The scarecrows were on display in the Countryside Area Marquee at the Romsey Show.

Headteacher, Julie-Anne Palfrey, said: “We were delighted to be invited to be part of this Country Trust/Romsey Show project which is dedicated to bringing alive the working countryside for those least able to access it.

"We are grateful to Stroud School for providing mini-bus transport for the farm visit. Learning from first-hand experience is so vital to understanding and I know the children were excited to be taking part and learned a great deal from the farm visit and working together to make the scarecrow.”

Romsey Abbey C of E Primary School's inclusion leader, Julie Symonds, said: "The farm visit was a great success with the children experiencing first-hand the sights, sounds and smells of a working farm.

"Highlights of the morning were a visit to the milking parlour, hand feeding cows and standing in a small field with some equally small calves – not sure who was most nervous.

"Trundling along in the trailer and simultaneously churning milk into butter was a revelation for the children. In the afternoon the children were back in school and, with the help of the Trust’s Food Discovery Team, cooked with a much greater understanding about the food they were using and made a meal, from locally sourced ingredients, which they took home to share with their families.”