ALMOST 25 years after he landed in the playground at Walmore Hill Primary School, a legendary swan called ‘Minty’ has returned to inspire a new generation of children.

In 1992 an exhausted Bewick’s swan landed in the playground of the Westbury-on-Severn school, causing an equal measure of shock and excitement among teachers and pupils.

The exhausted bird was on its way from Russia to the adjacent Walmore Common, where thousands of birds migrate annually in the autumn and winter, many via Slimbridge Wetlands Centre. Once Minty regained his strength, thanks to food and water provided by pupils and teachers, he re-joined his flight.

The visit prompted a trip to Slimbridge where the school adopted a cygnet and named him Minty. Subsequently the school made the bird its logo, which has adorned uniforms for more than 20 years.

New headteacher, Brett Stevenson, has revived the legend and commissioned a new Minty-inspired logo as part of a raft of initiatives to refresh and modernise the school.

Brett Stevenson said: “Minty is a super cool legend. Our new look is colourful, playful and inspirational – the message to our children is: ‘the sky’s the limit’, if Minty can, you can. There is no other school in the country with a wildlife sanctuary on its doorstep or an educational history as rich as ours. We want to celebrate Minty’s epic annual adventure as part of our children’s personal journey.”

Sue Belej, learning manager at WWT Slimbridge, said: “Like all Bewick’s swans, Minty covered some serious miles in his lifetime on migration, as well as his winter visits to Walmore Common and WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. He was also recorded in Germany and Denmark, presumably on his way to arctic Russia for the summer.

“It is great that Minty’s visit to Walmore Hill and the school’s subsequent visit to WWT Slimbridge have still left their mark today.”

WWT Slimbridge confirmed that Minty visited Slimbridge between 1988 and 1994 when he sadly died.