Parents, grandparents and friends of a Calne school joined forces with the children to dig deep into their resources for a day of outdoor learning with a difference.

St Margaret’s Preparatory School held a community Ground Force Day, involving team work from both pupils and their families. Children aged from three to 11 years old took part in a variety of outdoor activities that included everything from setting up a mud kitchen and building an eco- greenhouse from plastic bottles, to making bird feeders and musical instruments.

Families were warned that the activities would go ahead whatever the weather, but luckily it only drizzled and was not too cold last Monday.

Experts from The Nature Of It, a not-for-profit social enterprise based in Chippenham, led the different sessions, designed to bring home the fun of outdoor learning.

In the afternoon the mums and dads took part in their own parent power session, where they had to build a raised flower bed, a potting table and compost bins. Reception teacher and Outdoor Learning Co-ordinator Kim Callaway said the idea of the day was to have fun and create collaborative working opportunities amongst both pupils and their families.

Chris Neville from The Nature Of It said: "Our aim was to help the school develop their grounds to create outdoor spaces for learning, vegetable gardens, fire circles and quiet spaces. From what I have seen today it has been a great success."

Headmistress Karen Cordon said: "This has been a big project to organise, but it has been so worthwhile. It has been wonderful to see children of all ages working together with adults to create some amazing outdoor learning areas that can be used every day and will benefit the entire school community. The hot chocolate and bacon butties were an added bonus."