Birth announcement - piglets born to school in Cornwall
Dorothy and her piglets
The Teaching Awards has celebrated lots of babies being born over the years but never piglets!
Down in Cornwall, Isobel Bryce, winner of the 2007 Royal Air Force Award for Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School in the South West, proudly announced the birth last month of eight piglets at her school: Saltash.net Community School.
The school, which combines specialisms in ICT and rural studies, keeps pigs and Dorothy the sow gave birth to eight piglets in full view of a webcam - which promptly crashed because of the weight of traffic!
Richard Garner, education editor of The Independent newspaper, had reported that rearing pigs was so fascinating it was helping to improve attendance and cure truancy.
Three of the piglets were named after boys Matt, Ben and Benny who help keep the piggery snug and clean. 'The boys enjoy working with the animals and really show an interest in them', said Mrs Bryce
