It’s lambing season, the chickens are laying dozens of eggs, and growing interest in the innovative year four farm program will see an extra class added next year.

Year four students spend four days a week at the Mount Rowan farm where, in addition to the regular curriculum, they learn to take care of the sheep, pigs, chickens and other animals, manage garden and permaculture beds and connect with the natural environment.

“Year four we felt was a really good age to give them some sense of maturity and something special in the middle of their primary years of education, and it’s a good age to capture a love of the environment” said BGS head of junior school Mark Warwick.

There is no playground, but trees to climb, grounds to explore, animals to play with and sticks to make cubbies.

Ballarat Grammar Junior School will hold an open morning on October 19.