The Newbury & District Agricultural Society

23/06/2026

15/06/2026

🥔 Harvest Day is HERE — and what a morning it's been at Newbury Showground! 🌱🏆

Today we welcomed 9 schools and 59 excited young growers to our Potato Challenge Harvest Day — and it did not disappoint!

Back in March, each school took home potato sacks planted with two varieties — Rocket and Casablanca — and they've been nurturing their crops ever since. This morning, the moment of truth arrived. 🌟

But first — before anyone got their hands dirty — the children showed off some seriously impressive cooking skills, creating the most beautiful, colourful potato salads you've ever seen! 🥗✨

Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for... the big upend. 🥔⬇️

Bags were tipped, soil was scattered, and potatoes were revealed — before every harvest was carefully weighed to find our champion growers!

🏆 Congratulations to ST JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC PRIMARY — our 2025 Potato Challenge winners, with an incredible haul of over 1.5kg for EACH variety! Absolutely outstanding! 👏👏👏

A massive well done to every single school that took part today — the effort, the teamwork and the pride on those children's faces made every moment worth it. From planting in March to harvesting in June, you've all done something really special. 🌿

Thank you to all the teachers and staff who supported their schools throughout the challenge — we know it takes dedication to keep those potato bags going!

Want to get your school involved in next year's Potato Challenge? It's completely FREE and open to primary schools across Berkshire. Drop us a message or email [email protected] to register your interest! 📩

11/06/2026

🌦️ Rain or shine, the learning never stops!

We're having a wonderful time at Englefield Estate's Schools Day today — and after yesterday's sunshine, we're making the most of a rather soggy Thursday! ☀️🌧️

We've brought along our favourite teaching companions, Buttercup (our dairy cow model) and Clover (our goat), to help children discover where their milk comes from. And we've been joined by local farmer Steve, who has brought along his gorgeous Hereford cattle — mum Joanna and her three-month-old calf, Joanna the Fourteenth 🐄🐄

From history and wellbeing to farming and food, today has been packed with incredible learning opportunities — and the kids have been absolutely brilliant. The sun is finally starting to peek through, and it's been a day to remember! 🌤️

AgricultureEducation HerefordCattle FarmAnimals FieldToFork Berkshire

09/06/2026

Today we were delighted to hold the Agricultural Challenge for Special Education at Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury.

Ten teams from eight schools came together to showcase their incredible creativity, imagination and teamwork through a wide range of classes, including seasonal flower arrangements, nature-inspired artwork, decorated eggs, giant insects made from recycled materials, story colleagues using natural materials, animal-themed biscuits, natural tie-dye, puppets, planting projects and jewellery made from waste packaging.

Congratulations to all our class winners and a huge well done to every participant for the outstanding quality of work on display.

🏆 Overall results:
🥇1st Place - Castle School (Windsor Class)
🥈Joint 2nd Place - BCA Ambitious Alfie Team & BCA Alfie Eco Team
🥉Joint 3rd Place - Brookfield's School & Reading College

Thank you to Arlington Arts Centre for hosting us and to all the schools, staff and supporters who helped make the day such a success. The creativity, enthusiasm and talent shown by every team was truly inspiring.

04/06/2026

19/05/2026

Buttercup and her 'handler' Jan are at Hatch Ride all day today meeting every single year group in their gorgeous outdoor classroom! What fun!

08/05/2026

🏆 We have a WINNER! 🎉

What a day at in Reading for our Design, Make & Market Challenge! Two schools. One brief: find an environmental, horticultural, agricultural or sustainability problem - and pitch a marketable solution.

📚 Little Heath - 'Bzzzzy Books' 🐝
A fabric educational book for preschool & EYFS children, taking them on the journey of food from seed to plate. Tactile, sustainable and brilliant!

📚 Kennet - 'Pink n Place Picnic' 🧺
An interactive activity table with a food colour wheel, giving young children agency over choosing their own meal ingredients. So clever!

Both teams blew the judges away - and in a twist, both independently chose the same theme: food & environmental education for little ones. 🌍

After a very tense vote... 🥁

🏆 CONGRATULATIONS to Little Heath School and Bzzzzy Books!

Huge well done to Kennet too - you were incredible! 👏

All teams received £100 towards the cost of creating their designs, with £100 prize money for the runners up and £200 for the winners. So well deserved! ⭐

Thank you to all students, judges and the wonderful Emma and her team at for hosting! 🙏

08/05/2026

🌾Did you know there's FREE agricultural education on your doorstep? 🐄🐑🐖🐓

We're the Newbury & District Agricultural Society and we're passionate about connecting children across Berkshire with the countryside = and we'd love to work with YOUR school! 🎉

Our Education Outreach programme brings farming to life for young people, completely FREE of charge - whether we come to you, or you come to us at our Showground just beside J13 of the M4!

Here's a taste of what we offer:

🐄 Farm Animal Workshops - We visit primary schools (or host you here!) to teach children all about dairy cows, dairy goats, sheep (wool!), chickens (eggs!) and pigs (yes, sausages! 🌭). Hands-on, fun and totally curriculum-linked!

🎃 Harvest Festival - A brilliant celebration of the farming year, bringing schools together to celebrate the season of bounty.

🥔 Potato Planting Challenge - A fan-favourite competition - which school or class can grow the best crop?!

🛠 Design, Make & Market Challenge - Student teams put their entrepreneurial skills to the test to solve some of the great countryside challenges of our time!

🎤 Debate Challenge - Students sharpen their voices on real countryside and farming issues.

👨‍🍳 Cookery School - We head into schools for FIVE sessions throughout the year, teaching seasonal British recipes using fresh, local ingredients (all provided for free!). It's food education at its finest!

🚜 Careers in Agriculture - We deliver assemblies, workshops and talks for secondary students on the incredible range of careers available in farming and the countryside. The land needs the next generation!

All of this is 100% FREE to schools across Berkshire. 💚

Whether you're a teacher, a parent, a governor or just someone who loves what we do - please give us a follow here and over on Instagram ( )so you never miss what we're up to! 📲

Know a school who would love to get involved? Tag them below or share this post - you could make a real difference to a child's connection with the world around them! 🌍

📩 To book a workshop or find out more, drop us a message right here or visit https://newburyshowground.co.uk/education-agriculture/

Let's grow something wonderful together! 🌱