Vale Primary students enjoy making gingerbread houses
FAIRYTALE gingerbread houses baked by Vale Junior School Year 6 students will be showcased for their families.
St Sampson’s High School hosted three Year 6 classes in its food technology room.
Groups of four collaborated to create one house and also made some shortbread snack samples to take home.
‘We’ve been doing a whole school project on fairy tales, where Year 6 have recently been learning about Hansel and Gretel,’ said Louise Watchman, Vale Year 6 teacher.
‘We wanted to link our project with some hands-on learning and help the transition to secondary school since many students will be coming here. So, I got in touch with Nick [Boldison-Smith] who was happy to give it a go. Here they have all the equipment and expertise needed.’
Vale Primary has three Year 6 classes.
‘Each class will be making gingerbread houses. In a few weeks we’ll decorate them at school, and invite parents and grandparents of reception up to Year 6 students to see them.’
Once made, houses are frozen and kept at SSHS until decoration.
Charlie Ray-Baker, 10 said: ‘We’ve made little shortbread gingerbreads to take home. I’m going to save mine for later.’
Harry Bourgaize, 10, said: ‘I’m definitely looking forward to the exhibit, it’s going to smell good.’
Triplets Millie, Emilie and Hollie Jeffreys, 10, said they had made gingerbread houses before from boxes but not from scratch.
Hollie said: ‘With school we did this sheet before and put what sweets we want on our houses. I’m getting candy canes and rainbow belts. Then we had to make a house from paper to work out how the gingerbread pieces fit together.’
Chelsea Rosamond, 10 said she liked ‘squishing’ the dough together.
Lily Regan, 11, said: ‘That’s the most satisfying part, messy stuff is the best. I like desk work but prefer this.’
SSHS head of food Nick Boldison-Smith said: ‘The whole idea is to try and get people into baking and cooking, with the hope they may follow it into a career they enjoy.’
Chefs from the Rockmount and La Reunion will help build the houses with Julie Hyde, College of Further Education chef lecturer.
Ms Hyde said: ‘Students love getting stuck in – it’s engaging, it’s hands-on and smells good. It’s great to work with primary age students and with Nick, who is so passionate about encouraging children to enjoy cooking and get involved in catering as a career.’
Mr Boldison-Smith promotes the use of local produce in lessons, explaining Guernsey’s growing history.
He is also organising an island-wide gingerbread house-making competition to create a Christmas feature in Town.
Shoppers can then mill around the mini-gingerbread town, which will be lit up with tea lights and judged by professional judges.
Demonstrations are planned to be put on at the College of Further Education for islanders to learn the secrets of making gingerbread houses. Further details to follow.
