Falconry offered to pupils at top boarding school

Oct 3 2009 by Richard Fletcher, The Journal

FORGET football, rugby or hockey as after-school activities – a North East school is offering its pupils the medieval sport of falconry.

Longridge Towers School near Berwick, Northumberland, believes it is the first school in the country to offer a course of lessons in the traditional activity of aristocrats.

It is part of a series of new extracurricular activities the £21,000-a-year boarding school launched this term for children to take part in at lunchtimes and after school clubs.

Pupils not only fly the birds but learn all aspects of the skilled sport, including animal husbandry, conservation, and even the knots to tie the birds to the glove.

The art of hunting with birds of prey has become increasingly popular since the launch of the Harry Potter films in which the boy wizard has a pet owl called Hedwig.

Headteacher Tim Manning said: “I think what we’re doing is unique. It’s really to give the pupils experience of different things. We’ll see where it goes. The building certainly lends itself to Harry Potter and Hogwarts!

“We started this September and we rearranged the whole day to include this. The feedback has been very positive – one pupil said the problem with the school is that the bell goes too soon.

“I think they’re getting an appreciation of the wildlife. It’s opening up something they might never have tried otherwise.”

The courses also help the children to experience things they might want to do in the future, and the school could one day even buy its own birds to look after.