As we mark our 50th anniversary throughout 2026, our 50 voices series is celebrating the many ways time on the farm helps children grow, learn and thrive. In this latest piece, Theresa Moses of Paxton Academy reflects on her school’s recent visit to Wick Court and the powerful difference that immersive learning can make.
Where learning comes to life
Where learning comes to life and impossible becomes I’m possible.
As a Headteacher, I spend much of my time thinking about outcomes, opportunities, and the experiences that shape the children in our care. We talk often about broad and balanced curricula, about cultural capital, about preparing children for the world beyond the school gates. Yet, every so often, you encounter something that quietly but powerfully redefines what that truly means.
Farms for City Children is one of those experiences.
I remember standing at the edge of the field early in the morning, the air still and unhurried, watching children step into a world so different from their own. For many of them, this was unfamiliar territory, wide open spaces instead of busy streets, the sounds of animals instead of traffic, a rhythm of life that felt slower, calmer, more intentional.
There is a kind of magic in that contrast.
Noticing the small things
Children who are used to constant stimulation begin to notice the smallest things, the texture of hay, the warmth of an animal, the quiet satisfaction of completing a task that matters. There is no rush, no performance. Just presence. And in that space, something shifts.
I watched as hesitation turned into curiosity, and curiosity into confidence. A child who may struggle to sit still in a classroom stood patiently, focused, determined to feed an animal. Another, often reluctant to engage, became immersed in the simple but meaningful act of caring for something beyond themselves. These are not small moments. They are transformative.
What strikes me most is the innocence that re-emerges.
Letting go of expectation
In our daily school lives, children carry so much – expectations, pressures, sometimes anxieties that sit far too heavily for their age. But here, in this environment, there is a lightness. A freedom to just be. To laugh without self-consciousness, to try without fear of failure, to connect without barriers. It is a reminder of what childhood should feel like.
As a school leader, I cannot ignore the deeper significance of this.
Not all children have access to nature. Not all children have the opportunity to step outside their immediate environment and experience something fundamentally different. For many of our pupils, this is not just a trip, it is an opening. A widening of perspective. A chance to see themselves in a different light.
Experiences like this do not simply enrich education; they rebalance it.
They provide a context for learning that cannot be replicated in a classroom. They build resilience through real responsibility. They foster teamwork in its most authentic form. They develop confidence not through instruction, but through experience, and perhaps most importantly, they create a sense of belonging to a place, to a moment, to a shared experience that stays with them long after they leave.
Longevity of shared experiences
The impact does not end at the farm gate.
It returns with the children into their conversations, their writing, their attitudes, their sense of self. It reconnects them to their learning in a way that is deeper and more meaningful. Just like a powerful story, it lingers. It shapes how they see the world and their place within it.
Fifty years on, the legacy of Farms for City Children is not just found in the thousands of visits or the countless activities completed. It is found in these moments, quiet, powerful, transformative. In the confidence of a child who now believes they can. In the calmness that comes from simply being present. In the innocence that is rediscovered.
In a world that often moves too fast, this work reminds us to slow down.
To notice.
To connect.
And to ensure that every child, regardless of their starting point, has the opportunity to experience the kind of learning that doesn’t just inform, but transforms and impossible becomes I’m possible.
If Theresa’s reflection has inspired you to think about what a week on the farm could offer your pupils, we’d love to hear from you. Find out more about bringing your school to Farms for City Children by heading to the Visit us and Benefits of a visit page to discover more about how immersive farm stays can help your young people grow in confidence, curiosity and connection.
