UK's first 'sea school' launched

Children in Anglesey and Gwynedd will become the first in Britain to be taught some of their lessons on boats as a new School of the Sea opens.

It is hoped the idea - based on similar projects in Brittany in France - will give pupils more experience of the sea.

Ysgol y Môr (sea school) hopes to combine traditional classroom subjects such as maths and history with the excitement of water sports training.

The pilot project was officially launched near Caernarfon on Thursday.

It is modelled on a scheme in Brittany which is said to have helped increase economic development and safeguard Breton culture.

Teachers get a great way to enhance the delivery of their subjects, pupils have their subjects brought to life through real experiences Stuart Gibson, co-ordinator

Stuart Gibson, co-ordinator for North Wales Water Sports, said: "The scheme works by taking kids out of their normal school environment and putting them on the water into an environment where they can learn things they would learn in school actually putting them on the water...

"The area we're talking about is the Menai Straits and that has an incredibly rich flora and fauna.

"It also has history in castles, it has bridges. For maths, children can look at tides going up and down, navigation between buoys.

"Children will get in a power boat and visit a venue that they have already researched.

"There's a Napoleonic fort so we can teach children about Napoleon. There's an Edward I castle in Caernarfon so we can teach history and there's the area where the Romans crossed to do battle with the druids at Ynys Mon (Anglesey)."

In all, 1,440 pupils from 16 schools will learn watersports skills as part of the scheme, while 1,170 pupils will be taught a range of existing curriculum subjects in "classrooms of the sea" across both counties.

'Tremendous enthusiasm'

As part of the first phase of Ysgol y Môr, 18 north Wales teachers are being trained to become 'champions of watersports', with an end-of-year inter-schools competition planned for the two counties involved.

Mr Gibson added: "Ysgol y Môr has already sparked tremendous enthusiasm from the teachers and children of north Wales.

"Teachers get a great way to enhance the delivery of their subjects, pupils have their subjects brought to life through real experiences, while in the long term the full potential of the region's marine industry stands to be recognised.

"It's a win-win situation."

John Griffiths, the deputy minister in charge of skills, said: "Our aim is to add to the distinctiveness of the curriculum in Wales, developing a 'Curriculum Cymraeg' which focuses on skills and employability, while embracing our culture, language and history.

"Our seas and coastline are some of our greatest assets and I believe this type of outdoor learning could make a significant contribution to education in Wales."

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