Remembrance Day

Children, staff and parents from Scalford Primary School gathered at the village war memorial outside the church today. The children had made poppies which they placed around the memorial and we observed two minutes silence at 11 o'clock.

For more information about the history of men whose names are on the memorial, contact local historian Robert Ingles <roberte.ingles@btinternet.com> who has produced a fascinating booklet on the subject which he sells privately.

Ironstone

On Tuesday 28 October Base 3 walked around Scalford learning all about ironstone. It is a rock that is special to the area as there is a lot in Scalford and in the Vale of Belvoir. We took pictures of buildings made from ironstone.

Ironstone is a golden-brown colour and people like to use it to build houses and churches. It is found mainly around this part of Leicestershire in places like Scalford, Waltham, Holwell and Eaton. However, the quarries around here are no longer used so if someone needs ironstone it is usually brought from Oxfordshire which is the closest place where it is still quarried.

Ironstone was also popular for the iron inside it and this was an important local industry. Iron is a very strong and sturdy metal. It is used for piping, construction, machinery and so much more. It is also good for selling because a lot was found near here and it could be sold at a decent price. The Holwell Ironworks near Asfordby was built for this reason and a lot of railways were built in this area, especially to take the ironstone to the ironworks. There are still ironworks there today, but they no longer use ironstone and none of the small railways are used any more.

For more information about the history of Holwell Ironworks see:

http://histru.bournemouth.ac.uk/Oral_History/Talking_About_Technology/holwell/holwell_homepage.htm

by Tommy Adams, Verity Musson & Jamie Goodwin

Paul R Towns Ltd – Agricultural Traders

On 30 September 2014 we went to Paul R Towns Ltd. to learn about what happens to crops after they have been harvested. His company is just outside of Scalford on the site of the old station, so we walked there.

When we got there we met Mr and Mrs Towns who showed us to the weighbridge. This is where the trucks drive on to be weighed. A full truck weighs about 44 tonnes and an empty truck weighs 15 tonnes. We then weighed ourselves on it! The Year 5s weighed 180kg, the Year 6s weighed 380kg and Mr Leonard and Mr Riley weighed 160kg.

Crops such as wheat, barley, beans, oats and oilseed rape are stored in huge sheds which are split up into sections for different grain types and grades. Lower quality grain is used for animal feed and high quality grain is made into food for humans.

There were hundreds of tonnes of grain in the sheds from lots of farms around the country who sell it to companies like this one. Trucks come and empty the grain into the large sheds. They use hydraulics to push the trailer up and the grain comes out the other end.

The grain is tested for moisture and sometimes it needs drying. Some of the grain also needs cleaning before it can be sold and be made into other things. A percentage of the grain was also milled.

Then we went inside to see what happened in the office and we also learnt about another company based here called ‘Harby Agriculture’ - a recycling service for farmers.

At the end of the visit we had a drink, biscuit and we all got a goodie bag! For more information you can visit:

http://www.paulrtowns.co.uk/
http://harby.co.uk/home/

By Verity, Eleanor, Jamie, Tommy, Ethan & Isabel

How is Stilton made?

Last week, Katie and Lauren from Long Clawson Dairy came to our school to show us how our famous local cheese is made.

Every day, 80,000 litres of milk are brought to the dairy in tankers. After it has been delivered it needs to be pasteurised to kill the germs and then it is kept in a vat.

Then, rennet and starter culture are added to make the milk coagulate (turn lumpy). The curds (lumps) and whey (liquid) are separated and salt and the special mould penicillium roqueforti (to make the greeny-blue bits) are added to the curd. Then it is put into a cylinder for 5 days.

The cheese is then turned five times a day to empty out all the left over whey. Then it is taken out of the cylinder, but still turned regularly. Next the stilton is placed into a machine which makes tiny holes in the stilton with metal needles. This helps to let oxygen into the cheese, encouraging mould growth. After that the stilton is left for several weeks to let the mould spread thoughout the cheese.

It is then graded with grading iron to check the quality and mould growth of the cheese. After this whole process the cheese is then sold to companies like Tesco, Sainsbury’s and many more.

Only five companies are able to call their cheese stilton because you need a PDO (protected designation of origin). To make stilton you must have milke from Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire or Derbyshire; the cheese must be made in a cylinder and have a golden brown crust.

More information can be found at:

http://www.stiltoncheese.co.uk/

http://www.britishcheese.com/stilton

By Louise, Olivia, Esther & Evie

How does a combine harvester work?

We went to look at a combine harvester belonging to local farmer Chris Shouler. He explained how it worked and gave us a demonstration.

A combine harvester is a massive machine that cuts wheat and other crops (like barley) in the fields at harvest time.

At the front of the combine is the ‘header’. It collects the crop with the reel which rotates and pulls it into the cutter bar which slices the stems off near their base. An augur brings the crop onto a conveyer belt which takes it up into the machine.

The threshing drum separates the stalks from the grain and the chaff is blown away by fans. Then the grain gets sieved and goes into a tank.

The straw walkers then go up and down and the stems are pushed out the back of the combine. These are collected later by a baler and made into bales for animal bedding.

Then the grain is emptied out through the unloading pipe into a trailer on the back of a tractor.

by Grace, Keira, Lewis & Elias

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog about the village we live in. We are Base 3 - a class of fifteen Y5 and Y6 children. We hope you enjoy reading what we write and looking at the pictures we post.