A FOREST school has opened to children for the first time.

Outdoor learning facility Water Howe Woodland, has been created close to Esh Winning Primary School, in Esh Winning, near Durham.

Forest schools aim to take the curriculum out of the classroom.

They were developed in Scandinavia in the Fifties and brought to the UK in the Nineties.

Joanne Appleby, a forest school leader, said: “In an age where children are often not allowed to play outside, childhood obesity is on the increase and our attachment to nature is disappearing, forest schools provide a welcome solution.”

Esh Winning Primary’s garden won a prize at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and has attracted praise from several Government ministers.

Yesterday’s visit went ahead despite vandalism over the Easter holidays.

Logs already arranged to make a seating area were stolen.

Anne Brass, who helped create the facility, said: “We created something really special for the children and it was heartbreaking to see everything ruined.”

The Forest School for Durham Schools was set up by the Outdoor Sustainability Education Service, involving Durham County Council, Groundwork and the One World Network North-East.