A new forest school will be a breath of fresh air for children from Hilmarton Pre-school, who will have the opportunity to learn and play outdoors every Tuesday.

Youngsters aged two to five enjoyed a walk in the woods, built a den and made birds’ nests, during the launch of the forest school last Tuesday.

Lindsey Tiner is deputy manager at the pre-school and is forest school trained.

She said: “The children really flourish when they are outside.

“Most of the children come from Calne so it’s really nice for them to be in a safe rural environment where they can explore to their hearts’ content. They learn so much more when they’re out there.

“We’ve got a big shelter just in case it rains and it protects them from the wind.”

The new forest school will allow the pre-school, based at Poynder Place, to open full-time for five days a week.

Renee Pardoe, pre-school chairman, said: “We have had great demand over the years for opening on a Tuesday, but we have a toddler group that runs on Tuesdays.

“We’ve introduced the forest school as a way of being able to open an additional day, so now we’re open full time. With the forest school we don’t need to be in the same building.”