Dorset pupils flying high with after school club in falconry
Ty the Harris Hawk is owned by the school's Geography teacher
Children at a school in Wimborne have a new club which has really taken off – falconry.
A group of Year 7 pupils at Allenbourne Middle School are learning about birds of prey under the tutelage of teacher Rodger Trim.
He has his own Harris hawk – Ty - which he brings in so the children are able to handle him and watch him fly.
During the club the children are learning how to bring up a bird from a juvenile and how to train it.
It is not unlike the film Kes in which a poor boy in Yorkshire teaches himself falconry after pinching a young kestrel.
Geography teacher Rodger said: “I brought the bird in last year as a one-off but there was such a positive reaction I decided to start a club.
“It is currently for Year 7 pupils and they all had to learn how to tie a falconer’s knot to gain a place.
“We have to keep the group quite small but it in future we hope to be able to grow it, enabling more children to get the benefits.
“Because there is bird flu around at the moment we can’t fly the hawk outside but we will in future.
“The children really enjoy it because it is something completely different and hawks are magnificent creatures.”
Cindy Pritchard, headteacher, said: “We have wonderful staff who are always finding new ways of imparting skills and knowledge to the children.
“It must be extremely rare for a school to have a falconry club and we’re all very excited by it.”
Allenbourn Middle School is part of Wimborne Academy Trust (WAT) whose chief executive Liz West said: “This is a wonderful experience for the students who will learn a great deal.”