It sounds like our Arc School Ansley had a fantastic and bee-utiful celebration of their own Honey Day on November 8th, 2023! National Honey Day is normally celebrated on 21st October, but due to the schools’ busy schedule this term they decided to host their own at the school.
Steve, the school chef, certainly played a crucial role in making the celebration sweet and savoury with his incorporation of honey into the school menu. The Honey Day menu, featuring honey-topped pancakes, honey-glazed gammon, and honey-roasted root vegetables, delighted everyone's taste buds.
During Food Tech lessons, Ady (our Food Tech teacher) made honey roasted parsnips and carrots to accompany a great British classic, Cottage Pie which added an educational and delicious aspect to the celebration. It was wonderful to see the Food Tech sessions integrate honey into their learning experience.
The parents were invited to join the celebrations and meet the students who have been involved in all things bee related at Ansley.
There was then a presentation about the school's journey in beekeeping, from the growth of the Apiary to the honey harvesting process, which must have been both informative and exciting for everyone present. It's great to hear about the support from various sources, including the grant from 'The British Bee Charity,' and the efforts to give back by raising funds for the charity.
After this presentation, members of the Ansley Bee Club manned a ‘shop’ where parents, students and staff could purchase bee related items. These included: pens, pencils, rubbers, key rings, and bees wax candles. The proceeds of which will be donated to ‘The British Bee Charity’. They won a grant for £1000 ‘s worth of Bee equipment, clothing, and a Nuc of Bees earlier in the year from The British Bee Charity. The Ansley Bee Club wanted to raise some money to say, ‘thank you’ and give the same opportunity to another school in the future.
From the sale of these goods, they raised approximately £61. Well done and thank you to everyone who supported them with this quest.
In their first year of Beekeeping, they achieved a substantial honey harvest of 19 jars, an impressive yield considering this was only harvested from one Hive.
They also held a raffle where the prizes were jars of the school honey. Tickets were sold to a range of supporters, staff throughout Kedleston Group, Arc Ansley staff, parents, and students. The tally of all the honey sales and raffle ticket sales will be announced shortly, so stay tuned. All these proceeds will be invested back into the Anley bees.
The Honey Day also presented an opportunity to try cooking and tasting different honey based recipes, and these were met with a lot of praise.
It’s clear that the Honey Day at Arc School Ansley was not only a celebration but also a meaningful and educational experience for all involved. Well done to everyone who contributed to the success of this event!
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