BELHAM BEES
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Thanks to funding from Friends of Belham and private sponsor Veritas Investment, we have been able to commission The Good Bee Company London to set up two bee colonies on the roof of our school! *
The bees arrived in June which was just in time for them to get to work, and for us to harvest honey (ethically) this year. Pupils will be involved at all stages of production and have already taken part in workshops with our beekeepers, even helping to extract the honey from our hives! Different year groups will be involved with different parts of the honey production process which will form part of their DT, Science, Art or English units of work - see below for curriculum links. * The location of the hives has been fully risk assessed to ensure that students and staff are under no additional risk of being stung. |
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BELHAM HONEY FOR SALE!
This year we are thrilled to have 150 jars of honey available for sale.
To purchase...
To purchase...
SETTING UP THE HIVES
Our two bee colonies arrived on the school roof in June 2021. Click the links below to see one of the hives being set up, and try to spot the Queen bee!
Setting up the hives [link]
The Queen bee [link]
Setting up the hives [link]
The Queen bee [link]
HIVE INSPECTION
Our first hive inspection took place in July - we were pleased to discover our bees were healthy and multiplying:
EXTRACTING THE HONEY
By September, the honey was ready to extract! Year 3 and Year 5 pupils were very excited to assist our ethical beekeeper Jean.
First a comb is used to remove the wax caps from the frames. The frames are then put in an extractor which uses centrifugal force to separate the honey from the frame.
First a comb is used to remove the wax caps from the frames. The frames are then put in an extractor which uses centrifugal force to separate the honey from the frame.
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Spinning the extractor is hard work...
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Here comes the honey!
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CURRICULUM LINKS
Some examples of the projects pupils have been working on:
DT
DT
- Year 2 designed honey jar labels
- Year 3 and Year 5 learned how to remove honey from the combs
- Year 6 looked at making products from honey and other byproducts
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Science
- Reception and Year 1 created posters and displays about the habitats of bees
- Year 2 ordered the life cycle of a bee
- Year 3 described the process of pollination
- Year 4 created a film about the food chains that include honey bees
- Year 5 looked at the role of bees in the life cycle of plants
- Year 6 created classification keys of different species of bees
Art
- Year 5 created tessellation patterns based on honeycomb I MADE THIS UP
English
- Year 6 wrote a newspaper report about some escaped bees