Prince Charles impressed by Morecambe High chickens

Morecambe Community High School’s chickens won prizes at the Westmorland County Show and pupil Liam Birch, 12, also got a selfie with the Prince of Wales.

Another pupil, James Lamb, 13, shook hands with the royal visitor and told him all about the school’s ‘Farming Fridays’ project.

Prince Charles replied: “That sounds very interesting, young man!”

Twelve Morecambe High pupils attended the annual agricultural show in Crooklands on Friday.

They were joined by five chickens who were entered into show competitions and came away with two first places and a second. Three of them were hatched at Morecambe High as part of the ‘Farming Fridays’ initiative where children tend to their own mini-farm in the school courtyard.

Two of the chickens belong to Bella, the eight year-old daughter of MCHS attendance manager Susan Joy who runs the school farm.

“The farm was Bella’s idea in the first place,” said Mrs Joy.

“She asked me one day ‘mummy, why can’t we have a farm?’

“When I said we don’t have enough land, she said ‘well, you do have at school’.”

The school farm has 26 chickens, eight battery hens, cockerels, two guinea pigs, two Belgian hares and a lop-eared rabbit.