Orchard Junior and South Baddesley school pupils dance and sing about nature in Art Council funded University of Winchester project Wild Hampshire

NEW Forest primary pupils have been going wild about nature as part of a music and dance project.

More than 350 children from 10 schools throughout the county joined in Wild Hampshire, run by University of Winchester at The Grange Festival Learning.

During the project finale at the Grange, the youngsters sang and danced about threats facing the county’s countryside, focusing on woodland, grassland, chalk streams and the coast.

The coast was represented by pupils from Orchard Junior School in Dibden Pirlieu and South Baddesley Primary in Lymington.

The music, lyrics and choreography in the performances were all the work of the children, under the guidance of project leader and psychology professor Paul Sowden.

Professor Sowden said Wild Hampshire had been a “perfect example of creativity and knowledge working hand in hand”.

“This really is in-depth learning. The children are developing knowledge about a subject, in this case local wildlife habitats, which they can then turn into a creative project,” he said.

Paul, alongside other university academics from the university, are engaged in a three-year project funded by Arts Council England and the Freelands Foundation, to collect evidence on the impact and value of teaching for creativity.