A RECORD number of school children have taken part in conservation workshops at Chester Zoo.

New figures from the zoo's learning experts show that more than 30,000 students from nursery to university level have taken part in classroom sessions with the zoo's Discovery and Learning team during 2018/19.

This is more students than ever before and now the zoo hopes to inspire a generation of conservationists through education programmes as part of the plan to prevent extinction as a global conservation charity.

Almost 100,000 more learners passed through the zoo’s gates for self-guided educational group visits during the last academic year and what's better is that more than 35,000 of those places were given free by the zoo to schools as part of a major engagement programme.

Charlotte Smith, head of discovery and learning at the zoo, said: “Our planet is facing an extinction crisis.

"We’re fighting to protect threatened species here in the zoo and around the world… but we aren’t doing it alone!

“It’s inspiring to see how young people across the age ranges are engaging in our conservation mission to prevent extinction - the most critical issue of our time.

"Their passionate response to the challenges we face is wonderful to see; and can make a big difference.”

The zoo’s dedicated outreach team have also delivered 59,000 engagements across the country including a ground-breaking scheme to embed conservation issues into subjects across the entire school curriculum.

Workshops delivered by the zoo have included science lessons on animal behaviour and nutrition, as well as practical sessions teaching the skills and knowledge on how to prevent extinction.

Pollie Shorthouse, general discovery and learning manager at Chester Zoo, said: “In total, we’ve delivered more than 30,000 education sessions this year, more than ever before. This comes on top of our outreach work, as well as talks, signage and informal education programmes delivered on site every day to almost 2m visitors a year.

“In 2014, a scientific study co-authored by Chester Zoo revealed that visits to zoos increase public understanding of biodiversity.

"We’re really proud to know that the zoo’s learning team are helping to shift public attitudes at all levels towards a more wildlife friendly planet.”