Lime Tree children's imagination fired up by fire brigade visit

​​Reception class pupils at Lime Tree Primary School in Merstham had to leave their classrooms recently when the local fire brigade were called to the school premises – but there was no reason to be alarmed as it was all part of a scheduled visit as part of the school curriculum.

Firemen from Reigate Fire Station brought along all their safety equipment to explain to 60 youngsters from the school’s reception class about their work, as well as giving them a lesson in fire safety, and the best way to act in a potentially dangerous situation.

“The children prepared for the visit by having a fire drill at school, and thinking about how they needed to behave and react, and then making fire safety posters,” said Reception class teacher Marianne Bone. “When the fire crew arrived, we showed them the work the children had done in advance, and they were very impressed by the way they had thought about what to do, and the understanding that they showed.”

The visit certainly seemed to capture the imagination of the pupils at Lime Tree, which is a member of the GLF Schools group.

After their visit, Miss Bone said, many of the children chose to write about firefighters when discussing helping jobs, and firefighter outfits were a popular choice in role play for the following week.

“Doing things like getting to try on the uniform and handle hoses makes sure that they learn – and remember – the message of the day extremely well,” she added.

“In fact, several parents told us that when they got home, their children couldn’t wait to tell them about the visit, and once they’d done that, the first thing they did was check their house smoke detectors were working properly!”