THERE have been a few ruffled feathers at Chipping Campden School lately and it's all been down to rural science lessons on the 'cheep'.

The school is part of a national organisation School Farms Network teaching environmental land-based science to GCSE level.

The department at Chipping Campden school runs two classes of 16 pupils per year with students from other schools often attending for the day. It also has visits from local primary schools and a Year 7 growing project where all students plant and take home some crops.

One of the most popular sessions is Animal Club that meets on Thursday lunchtimes.

The main elements of the school farm allows the students to grow produce for the school canteen, has three pigs in the orchard and seven ewes and five recently born lambs.

The students also look after rare breed chickens which are hatched in the classroom and include Lavender Araucana bantams and Legbar and Burford Brown chickens.

Apples from the three-acre orchard are managed to maximise biodiversity and the apples are used to make juice and crisps while crops are grown in poly tunnels.

The animal management programme will see the ewe lambs kept for breeding flock replacements while the males will be overwintered and in summer sent off to become lamb burgers and Merguez sausages.

The chickens will be kept for showing and their eggs eaten or sold.