Chicken Club was launched in the summer of 2023 and, with a generous donation and the support of the Bishop Luffa School Parents and Friends Association, built a secure run enabling us to rescue our first ex-commercial hens in November 2023.

With the help of staff, students and parents, Chicken Club has already turned an unused and overgrown part of the school site into a thriving wellbeing area, in which we have also planted fruit trees. We now need to make this area fully accessible to all staff and students, with paved level access and a covered seating area for those who prefer to be near the animals to experience their calming ability. Our £2000 appeal is to fund the materials required for these improvements.

We currently store overalls and wellies in a small plastic storage shed but as Chicken Club has become so popular, we need a warm, dry place to store them and for students to change into overalls. The school maintenance team have offered to reroof a brick outbuilding and install shelves, hooks and a heater which will provide a perfect space for us. We would also like to have an outside sink for handwashing as well as an accessible outside tap with a hose attachment. As well as being used as ‘Chicken HQ’ this will also provide a storage area for Eco Club, benefitting many more students as well as helping to improve the environment for the whole School community.

We hope that we will also be able to expand our flock ready for September 2024 so any additional funding we receive beyond the £2000 will be put towards the extension and fox-proofing of the run area, additional equipment and ongoing upkeep. The next stage of the project will be to expand the smallholding beyond chickens and, ultimately to provide in school animal-based therapy for students who need it, all of which will require further funding beyond this initial £2000 target.

As well as the support of the Bishop Luffa PFA, we have been sponsored by Scarterfields Animal Feed Distributors, who have provided us with feed and bedding this academic year. We have a very active and reliable group of volunteers (staff, students and parents) who take care of the hens at weekends and in the holidays and would be hugely grateful for donations to help us continue and expand what we can offer to students.

Thank you for your support!

Mrs Fowles and the Chicken Club students