A PRIMARY school's drive to inspire pupils outside the classroom has seen it recognised with a national award.

Finstock Church of England Primary School in West Oxfordshire has become the first school in the county to be accredited by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC).

It was given a bronze mark in recognition for providing strong awareness of the benefits of providing frequent, continuous and progressive LOtC experiences to all pupils.

Headteacher Sue Dawe said: "Being awarded the LOtC mark is a real coup for all the staff and governors here as it shows that we are really making strides in providing our pupils with potentially life-changing opportunities.

"We're thrilled to get official recognition for our efforts and we look forward to building on this award to integrate LOtC into the everyday life of the school."

LOtC is the use of places other than the classroom for teaching and learning.

It focuses on getting children and young people out and about, providing them with challenging, exciting and different experiences to help them learn.

Finstock Primary does this in a range of areas, including weekly forest school sessions.

This allows pupils to visit Cornbury Park near Charlbury and explore outside, learning about the natural world as they go.

Council for Learning Outside the Classroom chief executive Elaine Skates said: "Learning outside the classroom provides the most memorable experiences in a child’s school life.

"The LOtC mark demonstrates that the school is committed to developing and delivering genuinely valuable learning outside the classroom experiences for their children and young people."

Gaining an LOtC mark is intended to recognise the way a school offers learning provision outside the classroom but also to help it develop.

It is the only national accreditation for schools that recognises and supports the development of learning outside the classroom across all subject areas.

Ms Skates said: "Learning outside the classroom has many proven educational benefits.

"The LOtC mark award will support schools in integrating LOtC into the life of the school, thereby ensuring that many more young people have memorable, exciting and valuable learning outside the classroom experiences.

"I congratulate Finstock CE Primary School on being the first school in Oxfordshire to achieve the LOtC Mark (Bronze).”