The children of Branscombe Primary have been busy learning about communities both near and far, after a fortnight of special events in and around the village.

Over the past two weeks the pupils looked at their own community of Branscombe, their partner school in Broadhembury, as well as Poland and Ghana.

Headteacher Katie Gray said: “We wanted to hold a community fortnight to encourage the children to have a greater understanding of the communities they belong to or have links with.”

The children engaged in art, gardening, cooking, music and even video-conferencing in an attempt to learn about their own and other communities.

The fortnight began with a walk through the village, sketching some of the landmarks, the pupils then had a gardening day, working with parents on the school allotment, and the National Trust staff in Branscombe to create an ‘eco greenhouse’, from used plastic drink bottles.

The children spent the rest of the week doing gravestone rubbings, cooking with members of Branscombe WI for a village tea party, and holding a Smartie Day to raise money for a community fund account.

The following week Reverend Hilary Dawson led a shared Collective Worship between Branscombe and Broadhembury schools via video conference, and on Tuesday they had a Polish day, in honour one of their pupils.

They heard a traditional Polish story, learnt about Polish customs and made some ‘Polish Palms’.

Katie explained: “Because the climate in Poland means that palm trees won’t grow, at Easter people decorate willow branches with dried flowers to celebrate Palm Sunday instead.”

The following day was Ghana day, where the children learnt about Grace, the child the school sponsors in Africa, and to finish the fortnight, parents and governors come into school to work with the children on creating a collage of all the activities they had done.

Mrs Gray said it had been great fun, adding the children had excelled themselves with their ‘enthusiasm and creativity’.

She thanked all the staff, parents and volunteers who had worked to get the fortnight together, and said: “I am sure that the whole school has considered how lucky we are to be involved in such diverse communities.”