Marden Lodge pupils have hands-on encounter with local fire brigade

​​Pupils at Marden Lodge School in Caterham took dressing up play to a whole new level recently when they got a chance to play at being members of the fire service – with the real equipment.

As part of the school’s People Who Help Us learning project, members of Surrey Fire and Rescue from Godstone Fire Station paid a visit to the school and brought along the fire engine, safety equipment and all the tools of their trade for the children to have a hands-on experience learning how they do their jobs.

“It was huge fun for the children but also a wonderful learning experience,” said Ahlberg class teacher Rebekka Nicol, who oversaw the visit.

“Three Early Years classes were involved, over 60 children in total, and they got to have a look around the engine, try on the helmets and costumes and take a look at all the equipment they had with them. Naturally, they were full of questions, and the fire crew were more than happy to answer as many of them as they could.”

Marden Lodge is part of the GLF Schools group, a rapidly-expanding Surrey-based multi-academy trust which now runs more than a dozen schools across Surrey, Berkshire, Middlesex and Oxfordshire, based on a system of collaborative learning.

“The children had spent a lot of time in advance learning about aspects of the fire brigade’s job, as part of the People Who Help Us project, so they were well informed and have certainly learnt a lot from the visit,” added Mrs Nicol.

“But no amount of reading could prepare them for the highlight of the day – getting to squirt the fire hose across the school playground! They absolutely loved that, and it was the perfect end to a day that they won’t forget in a hurry.”