More than 12,000 school children got cheaper trips to connect with nature thanks to a national park grant scheme.

Pupils at schools in Brighton and across West and East Sussex got the chance to enjoy nature trips after their schools were awarded an outdoor learning grant, funded by the South Downs National Park Authority.

Children at Coombe Road Primary School in Moulsecoomb, Brighton, and St Marks School in Whitehawk, Brighton, were among those who got a share of a £109,000 grant which was shared between 214 schools in the past two years. 

This is one of the highest amounts ever given out since the South Downs National Park was created and is a five-fold increase from a decade ago.

The Argus: A pupil from Bury School with a moth on the South DownsA pupil from Bury School with a moth on the South Downs (Image: SDNPA)

Children have enjoyed all kinds of activities including hiking, a visit to a working South Downs farm, hands-on conservation tasks, a visit to Drusilla’s Park, near Alfriston and searching for “mini-beasts” at Woods Mill, near Henfield.

The grant subsidises the cost of a trip and is open to state-funded schools and colleges with 10 per cent or more pupils eligible for free school meals.

Tara Fay, Year 5 and 6 teacher and geography lead at Coombe Road Primary School, said: “Due to the area our children live in, they rarely get the opportunity to be immersed in, and connect with, nature. It is thanks to this funding that our children will always remember the school trip where they used state-of-the-art microscopes to dissect plants.”

The Argus: A young girl with a toad on the South DownsA young girl with a toad on the South Downs (Image: Anne Purkiss)

Hollie Brown, Year 2 teacher at St Marks School in Brighton, said: “Many of the children described this trip as ‘the best day of their life’. Thank you for allowing them to experience such joy.”

Almost 25,000 children and young people have so far benefitted from the school trips over the past decade.

Amanda Elmes, learning, outreach and volunteer lead for the National Park, said: “We’re so pleased to have been able to help thousands of children connect with the great outdoors and explore the National Park. As families are hit by the cost of living crisis, many would not be able to afford these school trips, so this scheme is more important than ever.