Sunday 9 June, 11am – 4pm 
A very special farm, linked to education and promoting rural activity,
in a Designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Make a day of your visit with family and friends
• Meet the farm manager, Jon Hutcheon
• Tour the farm
• Feed the animals
• Learn about rearing livestock, grazing and farming practice, forestry work and conservation activity
• Discover more about what is done on the farm by listening to short talks
• Enjoy a meal of the produce at the Farm Barbecue – or buy produce to take home
• Watch demonstrations by a ‘green’ woodworker, a walking stick maker and a local blacksmith
• Relax in the peace and beauty of this downland setting
No advance booking is necessary, just turn up on the day.
Lancing College is one of the few schools with a working farm on its estate, and is possibly unique in teaching conservation. Jon Hutcheon, Farm Manager, is a successful farmer in his own right, with extensive experience of country pursuits. Lancing College Farm is set on 70 acres of the 500 acre Lancing estate in the South Downs National Park. Visitors on Open Farm Sunday can feed pigs and poultry, handle rabbits and guinea pigs, see chickens, chicks in incubators, sheep, lambs, ducks, geese, quail, rabbits, goats, alpacas and llamas.
Jon Hutcheon will give an extensive guided tour round the College Farm, taking in the stunning Ladywell Valley, and will explain how the farm is run, as well as his work in sustainability and conservation. There will be barbeques of the farm’s produce, including burgers, sausages and salads. Each section of the farm is well signed, with information boards, so visitors can wander freely. There will be a free factsheet for young children to take away, and animal feed at 20p per bag.
Lancing College Farm gives students at the College a unique opportunity to take subjects such as Biology, Geography and Business Studies out of the classroom, and offers real ‘hands-on’ experience of a working farm. Students can broaden their interests within agriculture, ecology and veterinary science and learn about food sourcing, animal care and sustainability.
They are also taught about wild life, their habitats and conservation as well as the importance of recycling. Paths, animal bedding and farm buildings have been created from disused materials from the College, including shredded paper, pallets and wood scraps. Students help with shearing, hatching, hand-felling and cutting, charcoal burning, hedge-laying and coppicing. They learn about crop rotation, as peas, wheat and oats are grown on the wider estate.
As well as supplementing students’ studies, the farm presents exciting opportunities beyond the school curriculum, as Jon Hutcheon uses curricula offered by agricultural colleges.
Open Farm Sunday at Lancing College is part of a national initiative, organised by LEAF (Linking Environment and
Farming).