A SCHOOL farm in the Island became one of the first in the British Isles to be awarded an industry quality benchmark in February.
 
The accolade means Ramsey Grammar School's rural science department is the proud holder of a Farm Assured registration.
 
It was awarded by the Red Tractor scheme - a body that verifies standards in the agricultural industry.
 
An independent assessor visited the school to ensure its levels of welfare, practice and documentation were up to the standard required to be registered as Farm Assured for keeping cattle, sheep and pigs.
 
Team leader of environment and health John Craine said: "The inspector was here all morning and began by touring our grazing land, sheep shed and piggery.
 
"He followed this up by inspecting our records and our policies for looking after our stock. We were very pleased when he announced that we met the standards and would therefore be registered as a Farm Assured farm.
 
"We have since learned that we are probably the only school farm unit in the UK to be accredited as Farm assured, although there are colleges accredited, and as a result have received an invitation to make a presentation to the UK Schools Farm Network on being a Farm Assured school unit.
 
"The day then was made complete when one of our sows, right on cue, farrowed to produce our first batch of 12 Farm Assured piglets."
 
Ramsey Grammar School has had a rural science department for generations. A livestock unit was added in 1987 when a piggery was built, a small number of sheep were kept on site and calves were bucket reared.
 
Mr Craine continued: "The old piggery was demolished and the opportunity arose to build a new facility. The result – a piggery housing two sows and their batches of piglets with a unique combination of indoor and outdoor pens and a gallery for students – is our pride and joy."
 
Rural science is taught to students in Years 7, 8 and 9.
 
A fifth go on to study Environment and Land Based Science at GSCE, with excellent results. This offers the opportunity for practical and theoretical study of the environment as well as plant and animal husbandry. A dozen students are currently working towards an A-level in Environmental Studies.
 
Mr Craine added: "The day-to-day work of looking after the livestock on the unit is undertaken by teams of student volunteers who inspect and feed stock before and after school.
 
"This provides all students with an opportunity to expand their life experiences in ways that few schools can offer and working among such students as they break new horizons is a privilege few teachers are able to encounter."

Update: Primary school pupils in the Island got to learn about the work at Ramsey Grammar School first hand in November. For more on this click here.

This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.