YOUNGSTERS have been getting out of the classroom and into the great outdoors with a school project.

Children from Askrigg and West Burton schools took part in the Forest Schools Project, which aims to help them learn more about their environment.

Funded by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Sustainable Development Fund, the children have spent the past few months visiting woodland sites, where they created and looked after a camp area, used natural materials to make useful items and art, and learnt about the flora and fauna around them.

They were supported by Yorkshire Dales National Park rangers Nigel Metcalfe and Paul Sheehan.

Forest School project leader Hazel Canning, also a teacher at St Peter and St Paul RC School, Leyburn, said the children had thrived outdoor.

She said: "To see their enthusiasm has been wonderful. This approach to learning can be applied across the curriculum, and through this project, more and more schools are recognising this.

"I would like to thank Eleanor and James Scarr, and Sally Stone, who allowed the use of their land, as well as the teaching staff at both schools."