PUPILS from Clearwell School visited Perrygrove miniature railway near Coleford recently, for an ‘orchard to bottle’ juicing experience.

The pupils spent the morning collecting, cutting up and pressing pears, before filtering and bottling their own pear juice.

David Nelson-Brown, owner of Perrygrove, said; “Orchards here were used for making perry probably over 100 years ago and it’s how the place got its name.

“We still have 14 trees here and they are all local varieties, including Blakeney Reds and we’ve always thought we should do more with them. We invited Clearwell Primary School along as it’s where our son goes and it’s our local school.

“It was a brilliant day and it was surprisingly easy to make the very sweet pear juice as no additives were needed.

“Now that we have the equipment, we’re planning to do far more so we’re keen for other local schools to get in touch if they’d like to visit next autumn.”

Head teacher, Cilla James, who joined the school in September, said: “At a time when OFSTED are criticising schools for only focusing on the core subjects, this week has been a perfect example of the benefits of being in a small village primary school. 

“There aren’t many schools that, at short notice, organise a trip for the entire school to visit a local tourist attraction, but that’s what we did to take part in ‘from the orchard to the bottle’ experience. 

“A huge thank you to Perrygrove for inviting us and donating their time, bottles and labels. The children had a marvellous time. The pupils in Willow class even created their own videos using photos taken by all the children.”

To find out more about Perrygrove, visit perrygrove.co.uk