INTRODUCTION
Scholes Coppice and Bray Plantation both have considerable potential for educational use, especially as they are easily accessible and situated close to a populated area.

More detailed information to support education work in the two woodlands can be found in the Fuelling a Revolution education pack covering Scholes Coppice & Bray Plantation. Details on how to obtain this can be found in the Schools section of this website.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FROM THE SCHOOLS SECTION OF THIS WEBSITE
The Schools section of this website provides units of work covering a wide range of subject areas and Key Stages. Although, many of these units would be suitable for use in Scholes Coppice & Bray Plantation, some are particularly appropriate, and for this reason, direct links to these downloadable materials are provided below.

Foundation Stage - 'Use your Senses'
Scholes Coppice is some way from the nearest main road and as a result is a good location for using the sense of hearing in a woodland context. There are also plenty of interesting things to see, feel and smell.

Key Stage 1 Science - 'Plants & Animals'
This unit could be used to compare the wildlife of the two woodlands with either your own school grounds or adjacent open areas such as Keppels Field or the area of grassland between the southern edge of Scholes Coppice and the Kimberworth estate.

Key Stage 1 Geography- 'Our Local Wood'
Being situated close to residential areas such as Kimberworth Park estate, the two woodlands could form part of a route around the local area looking at different land uses.

Take care on logs such as these. They can be slippery in wet weather.

Key Stage 2 Numeracy - 'Girth & Gaps'
This unit could be used to compare the spacing and measurements of trees in different areas of the woodlands. A comparison between areas of high forest with widely spaced large trees and areas cleared in the recent past and where there are now dense growths of young trees would be particularly worthwhile.

Key Stage 2 Science - 'What Lives Where?'
The range of vegetation types in and adjacent to the woodlands provides an excellent resource for studying where the specified animals find shelter, water and food.



Key Stage 2 Science -'Life Cycles'
The range of ages of trees on the site makes it ideal for the study of changes during a tree's life cycle, from seed through sapling and mature tree to old age, death and decay.

Key Stage 2 Geography - 'Do you come here often?'
The two woodlands are popular places for formal and informal recreation, being used for a wide range of recreational activities, some of which are acceptable and others of which are less so. Walking is probably the most common informal activity taking place but other activities include mountain biking, horse riding, vandalism, natural history study, environmental education and motor cycling. This unit could be used to study recreational activities taking place and to consider potential conflicts between these and possible effects on the site.

Key Stage 3 Science - 'Woodland Survival'
Examples of all of the different adaptations to woodland life listed on the pupil sheet can be found in the two woodlands.

Key Stage 3 Science - 'Are All Woods the Same?'
This unit of work could be used to compare the fauna and flora of the semi-natural and plantation areas of the site.

Key Stage 3 Science - 'Tree of Life'
The dominance of parts of both woodlands by single tree species makes the site particularly suitable for this unit which looks at the flora and fauna associated with one tree species.

Key Stage 3 Geography - 'Woodland Climates'
Use this unit to compare the climates of the Beech plantation areas and semi-natural woodland area to adjacent open areas such as Keppel's Field.

Other activities

Keppel's Column at the top corner of Keppel's Field.

Key Stage 2 History
What was it like to live here in the past?
The changes in use of the area occupied by Scholes Coppice make it an ideal subject for an enquiry- based local study incorporating old documents and a field visit. Several periods of time can be compared, for example:

• The period after the Ice Age ended when the landscape changed from tundra to woodland and it may have been used for hunting wild animals and collecting berries and fruit.
• The Iron Age when it was in a frontier zone and the woodland was cleared and Caesar's Camp occupied.
  Norman times when the parish of Kimberworth in which Scholes Coppice lay, was dominated by wood pasture in which animals (such as pigs) grazed the woodland floor whilst the upper layers of the woodland were exploited for timber.
• The medieval period when it was a wood (probably a coppice wood) in a deer park laid out by the lord of the manor of Kimberworth.
• The 18th and 19th centuries when it became part of the landscaped park of the aristocratic owners of Wentworth Woodhouse and during which time the woodland was replanted with a mixture of broadleaved and coniferous trees.
• The 1940s, when the western half and eastern edge of Scholes Coppice was opencast mined for coal and ironstone, an area which has since regrown.
• Public ownership of the woodland since 1981 and its subsequent use as a recreational resource and wildlife habitat.

More details of the history of the Scholes area can be found on the page of this site which deals with the history and archaeology of the site. In addition, the animated interactive provides a general overview of the history of woodlands such as Scholes Coppice including many of the points listed above.

Key Stage 3 Science
Study the effect of recent woodland management in Scholes Coppice on the diversity of the ground flora.

Place metre square quadrats randomly in two contrasting areas:

• An area thinned or group felled recently.
• An area of 'high forest' where thinning or group felling has not taken place in the recent past. (the control)

Record light and temperature levels, soil type and pH and measure the percentage cover of selected species and of all plant species taken together. Correlate this data with light levels using scattergraphs or other methods of comparison. If Dog's Mercury is present in the area, it may be possible to relate the number of shoots to light intensity.

The 'Tree File' CD ROM that accompanies the 'get, set... Grow' pack contains identification details and background information for all of the major tree and shrub species found in the wood including Beech, Birch, Hazel, Holly, Oak, Sweet Chestnut and Sycamore. For further information, go to the section on printed education materials in the Schools section of this website.