Elements Forest & Garden School

We have the most amazing party space. Two forests, a roundhouse, two open sided party spaces (one with a woodburning stove), toilet and loads of parking. We do the games and the activities, you provide the cake and the food. After it is over you just go home. It is really that simple.

Party games have included a cool scavenger hunt, beating the giant web, making bows and arrows from sticks which are lying around and some string. But we adapt to parties and children. We make a fire, go for a walk and visit frogs. Stories are told – from Greek myths to fairytales.

While we do this you have time to get the room ready and chill.

Party games/ activities last for an hour and a half and food etc is another half hour.

It could not be easier.

Go to this page to make a booking. Charges are £16 per child for the first ten children thereafter £12.50 for each child up to 15 children. Includes use of all facilities.

Hope to see you there!

Email hello@elementsschool.net for more details.

To book a session/ sessions with us go here.

Is there a better and more beautiful place to be than in a forest at this time of the year? The past day it has been rainy, but even in the forest, when it rains, you are sheltered. Also, we have our little hobbit hut and we are looking forward to finally lighting the fire in there as the nights draw in.

This week we left the oak galls behind – although we have discovered the ink is colour fast and does not bleed when it comes into contact with water – and instead started looking at other woodland crafts.

The making of charcoal is a doubled edged one. One the one hand, it is an extremely efficient way of using fire – on the other, forests all over the world are being decimated for this purpose. We do not make charcoal for burning though since we have so much wood for this, but rather, we make it for drawing.

Fire lighting is also a skill which all students have a chance to do – no matter how young they are. (Our students are between 6 and 12 years.) For many of them, it will be the first time someone has trusted them to do something very grown up – build their own fire.

From fire we have charcoal, but we also get lovely tea!

This tea is perfect for all kinds of conditions. Nettle is full of iron and Vit K. Meadowsweet is a mild analgesic and a general good all rounder. Apples lend a season flavour and are a magical treat. We boil the water in a kelly kettle which is always special.

Cordage can be made from all kinds of things – including nettles. We tell the story of the Wild Swans as we make the string.

We trial a book and it is successful. From now on each student will have their own Forest School book in which they will record each week’s experiences…

We are clearing out the dead wood on the lower branches of the oak forest to let light in and to enable entry to it. Forest management is an essential part of what we do.

Soil testing was also one of the activities we undertook. The soil is a precious fragile layer upon which all life depends and as Elements, we must also pay attention to the Earth.

We were delighted that Issac and Ruiri chose us to celebrate their birthdays!

To book a birthday party fill in this form or email hello@elementsschool.net.

We try to have activities which have them learning things but in a fun way. So one of the activities which we did was making your own bow. You then had to shoot an arrow from your bow. Hidden in this activity was the tensile strength needed to create a bow from a suitably bendy stick, tying a knot, and then learning to shoot an arrow – another found stick. It was the best fun we had.

Scavenger hunts had us all around the site, identifying flowers, plants and other found objects – and learning the names of the various autumnal berries, as well as looking at different kinds of leaves.

After that there was the party.

Before the party though was learning about the long drop toilet – Shrek’s Toilet as it will now forever be known as.

Feedback from the parent:

Hi guys – thank you so much for Saturday. I’ve been chatting to the boys – they both really enjoyed themselves and feedback from the other families was really positive! R- said he loved the story round the fire and Shrek’s hut and I- loved seeing the frogs.

From our perspective, the place and space is amazing, having the barn set up was great. You guys were great at answering questions, letting us know rough plan for the day and I thought the games and prizes were spot on.

A little more than a week ago, we asked three of our Elementals to write a story for the Muddy Faces Dragon Sneeze competition. Two of them submitted their efforts today. I think you will agree they are VERY cute. We stand to win a Dragon Sneeze kit which includes a fire pit and dragon sneezes worth £200. May the elementals be with us!

Book here for a session with us.

This one is by Fiona Press-Worth, aged 10

This one is by Elaria Foley-Leech

Book here for a session with us.

Thank you!

To book a session go here or email us on hello@elementsschool.net