William and Kate whittle wood at Hereford forest school | UK News

The Prince and Princess of Wales went back to nature as they whittled wood and toasted apples with forest school pupils.

William and Kate met youngsters from Madley Primary School near Hereford which runs weekly forest school sessions for its students.

The school views open-air learning as an important part of the day-to-day curriculum and a way of boosting the physical and mental well-being of pupils.

William, wearing gloves and protective glasses, sawed a branch in half for a group of children making a den.

Kate helped by holding it down, but turned down an offer of workmen gloves, saying her fingers were ‘stuck together’.

It’s believed she hurt her fingers recently while trampolining with her children.

The couple also sat around a campfire as the pupils toasted what William described as the ‘healthy version of marshmallows’ – pieces of apple dipped in cinnamon and sugar.

The prince told the children ‘whenever you cook something on a fire, I think it always tastes so much better’.

Later during the visit 10-year-old pupil Jake showed William how to whittle a stick and the heir to the throne said it was ‘hard to whittle when your fingers are quite cold’.

Each child attends the forest at least once a week where they learn national curriculum subjects in the woodland environment, and environmental awareness, conservation and woodland management.

William’s Duchy of Cornwall and the primary school have been partners in the forest school initiative for 12 years, with the duchy providing the site for the outdoor learning at Brampton Hill Wood near Hereford.

The duchy is a portfolio of land, property and investments valued at around £1 billion, which provides an income for the royal, and over the years it has increased the woodland available to the schools as its activities have expanded.

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