By Andrew Martin, Head of Outdoor Work

Now the end of term is only four weeks away, Christmas is very nearly upon us. As ever, we have been busy creating a whole range of homemade products to help your celebrations go with a bang.

Last Friday, 6.2 students made 97 Christmas puddings in the Bakehouse, plus a hundred or so mince pies to keep us going on the night. Our traditional fire-pit and singalong enhance the festive mood, in fact we’re sure you’ll be able to taste all the extra goodwill in these very special puddings! They are available now in the shop, so please do call in as soon as you can, as they fly off the shelves.

We also have hedgerow jelly, damson jam, Bedales honey, chutneys, chocolates and many other products available… although we’re not just about eating! We work continuously to ensure the quality of everything we produce, and we’re delighted to have recently been placed fourth in the Southern region for a large Jacob Sheep flock. This isn’t just testament to the meat our sheep produce, but their wool, too. It is available as yarn, scarves and blankets, all woven for us at Melin Teifi in Wales, as well as sheepskins. All make brilliant Christmas gifts, allowing the recipient to take a bit of Bedales with them, wherever they go.

And if you’re feeling as if you might like to take an even more exciting piece of Bedales home… how about one of our piglets? We currently have two litters; one Berkshire, and one Oxford Sandy and Black X Berkshire. Over the last few years, more and more parents have become interested in the farm to fork process that we educate our students in. Many of our Bedales piglets have found excellent new homes as a result of this, and have gone on to provide a fantastic source of meat that is not only ethical and traceable, but pretty delicious too! The piglets will be ready from mid-December; if you’re interested then please get in touch. You will need to be registered with Defra and hold a County Parish Holding Number.

All the money we make in the Outdoor Work Farm Shop is ploughed back into the farm, helping us to offer a unique and meaningful education.