12 hours ago
Royal Norfolk Show gives farming inspiration for almost 15,000 school children
Almost 15,000 school children were given hands-on insights into one of Norfolk's most famous farm products at the Royal Norfolk Show.
The event's educational initiatives included the popular Discovery Zone, which explained how the county produces "probably the best malting barley in the world".
A constant procession of eager school groups were shown a combine harvester and were able to see, touch and taste barley crops, grains and malt.
Royal Norfolk Show 2025. Sid and Stella from Lyng Primary Academy in the Discovery Zone (Image: Sonya Duncan) Meanwhile experts explained how the grain is gathered and processed into ingredients for products such as beer, breakfast cereals and Maltesers.
Sam Allott, lead teacher at Lyng Primary Academy, brought his class of 31 children to the show.
He said: "It does not matter how hard you work, you can never get the same experience as you would by bringing them to the centre of Norfolk to celebrate our wonderful county and for the children to understand all the different industries and the importance of agriculture.
"It is such an immersive and hands-on experience."
Royal Norfolk Show 2025. School pupils in the Discovery Zone (Image: Sonya Duncan) Displays included a 3D-printed working model of the Crisp maltings at Great Ryburgh, near Fakenham - built specifically for the show.
Maddie Darrell, marketing manager at Crisp Malt, said: "Our engineers commissioned it so people can see how our maltings work.
"It is very tactile. The children are also hearing the story connecting what comes from the field with products that they recognise. They get that whole flow and it starts to make sense.
"I heard a couple of kids saying they want to be a farmer when they are older. Now they know what the product is and they can feel it, smell it and taste it, I would hope some of them are a little bit inspired."
Royal Norfolk Show 2025. Discovery Zone (Image: Sonya Duncan) The Discovery Zone - which also included rare-breed livestock and agri-science exhibits - was run by the Food and Farming Discovery Trust (FFDT), whose manager Frances Roberson said the show had welcomed more than 14,800 school students this year in its efforts to engage more young people with the county's food and farming industries.
"There is a huge disconnect with the general public, unfortunately, about where their food comes from, and the work that goes into getting food onto their tables, so it is about making those connections," she said.
"But it is also about encouraging careers as well, because we need to encourage more people from outside of farming backgrounds to come into agriculture.
"It is really important to start as early as we can to spark their interest and then build from there."
Royal Norfolk Show 2025. Discovery Zone (Image: Sonya Duncan)
