February half-term is just around the corner, meaning many parents will be racking their brains for ideas to keep their children entertained for a week. Luckily, there are many options around the Harrogate district to help – keeping both your children and your bank balance happy.

Whether you fancy some fresh air, culture or just harmless fun, we’ve pulled together seven ideas for all the family.

Birchfield Farm: Spring on The Farm

A rural and inexpensive option, Birchfield Farm in Summerbridge will be open 7 days a week for the duration of the school holidays.

Spring on The Farm invites visitors to see pregnant sheep settling in the barns before birth. Some people may even be lucky enough to witness a baby lamb being born. Visitors are also able to bottle feed the lambs from 11am-2pm on a first come, first served basis.

Children can also enjoy seeing piglets, goats, ponies, donkeys and even pet the guinea pigs.

If that isn’t enough, children can also burn off steam on the bouncy castle, play in the mini construction play area and in the outdoor play area. Go-Karts, pedal tractors, swings and a giant outdoor sandpit can also be enjoyed.

The farm also has a café serving hot and cold food & drinks.

All activities are included in the entrance prices – with adults & children’s prices set at £5.95 and under 2s going free.

No booking is required. No dogs are permitted, except for guide dogs or service dogs.

For more information, click here.

Harrogate Indoor Funfair

If your child requires a little (or a lot) more tiring out over half-term, Harrogate Indoor Funfair could be a great option for you. The Funfair will run from 11-19 February, with a quieter session being held on 12 February from 10am-1pm.

With rides, traditional funfair snacks and inflatables, Harrogate Indoor Funfair offers all the joy of a regular funfair in an indoor, climate-controlled space. A nice way to shelter from the inevitable half-term rain.

Harrogate Indoor Funfair will take place at Yorkshire Event Centre, at the Yorkshire Showground. There is free parking at Yorkshire Events Centre and priority parking for Blue Badge holders.

The number 7 and X70 buses stop at Sainsbury’s on Wetherby Road, just one mile from the Funfair entrance.

Prices range from: £12.99 online and £14.99 on the door. Babies in arms go free.

Keep an eye on their website for the upcoming ride list.

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Half-Term Kids Yoga Workshop

If your child has ever asked what you get up to whilst they’re at school, this half-term activity may give them an idea.

Harrogate Yoga and Pilates studio, Ebru Evrim, is hosting a one and a half hour kids yoga workshop this half-term.

The workshop will be brought to life with specially designed music linked to the theme and stories behind the session and lead the children to ultimate relaxation.

The workshop is set to improve concentration and focus, as well as aiding the children to deal with their emotions and self-regulation of moods.

Who knows, your child may even go to bed without any protest that night.

The workshop host, Jenny White, holds a DBS, is fully insured and is also paediatric first aid trained.

Children can expect a day of yoga, arts, dance, mindfulness and, most importantly, lots of fun.

The session is suitable for ages 6-11 years and will cost £12.

Find more information here.

 Ebru Evrim is hosting a kids yoga session.

The Little Gym Holiday Camps: School’s Out, Fun’s In

For those children that may require a little more bounce in their half-term break, The Little Gym Holiday Camps may be a good solution.

Running from Monday 13-Sunday 19 February, The Little Gym in Harrogate is offering gymnastics camps that run from 8.30am-5pm – including a Breakfast Club to help those parents working over the holiday. The camps vary from as little as 3 hours to 7.5 hours a day and children will learn new skills that they can practise and perfect throughout the session.

The sessions vary each week to stimulate children both physically and mentally, all under the care of qualified and dedicated instructors.

The camps, classes and session suitability ranges from 3-8 & 5-12 years.

Half-day prices begin at £35.

Click here for more information.

Ripon Ghost Walk: Children’s Half-Term Special

The Ripon Ghost Walk half-term special is a spookily inexpensive option to feed your child’s fear-factor!

The half-term special Ghost Walk promises the discovery of ancient burial sites, bone finds and maybe even the presence of deceased Ripon residents.

The half-term Ghost Walk begins much earlier than usual at 16.15pm in the Market Square, meaning it will be dark enough for the ghosts to come out, but early enough to ensure your children are still in bed on time.

Prices start from £4 for under 16s and £6 for adults.

Find more information on their website.

Beyond Imagination Emporium Princess Academy: Valentine’s Special

Calling all Prince and Princesses! Beyond Imagination Emporium in Harrogate is re-opening their Princess Academy this February half-term with a Valentine’s special.

The one-hour Princess Academy sessions take place on select dates during school holidays.

There are two Princess Academy sessions taking place on Saturday 11 February. At 11am, children will be joined by Frozen’s Anna and Kristoff, while the 2pm session will be hosted by Beauty and The Beast’s Prince Adam & Belle.

Children spend time learning royal dances, princess etiquette, arts and crafts and fairy-tale play. The session includes sweet treats for the children, as well as refreshments for the parents.

Children can also make a Valentine’s Day card to give to someone special to them.

The sessions cost £13.95 and are ideal for ages 3 – 9 years.

Find more information here.

Children can meet their favourite Prince and Princesses.

Fountains Abbey: Mindful Family Crafts

If you’re looking to join your children in their half-term fun, Fountains Abbey in Ripon is hosting a Mindful Family Crafts event.

The crafting will take place in Swanley Grange, located in the grounds of the Abbey. The event will be running from 11 – 19 February (excluding 12 February), starting at 11am.

Children and parents can get their creative juices flowing using sustainable and natural materials.

The event is suitable for all ages and abilities. Those that may prefer to craft quietly can attend the “crafting quiet hour” from 2pm – 3pm.

The event itself is free, but regular admissions prices apply. Admission for one adult and three children starts from £27.

Click here for more information.

In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2022, we look at the controversial closure of Woodfield Community Primary School in Harrogate.

On the last day of this year, Woodfield Community Primary School will officially cease to exist. But in truth, the life has been slowly sucked from the school over the last 18 months.

The school’s prospects had been bleak since an Ofsted report rated it inadequate in 2020.

Under government rules, schools rated inadequate need to join an academy or face closure.

The future of the site remains uncertain.

Hopes were raised when a monitoring report by Ofsted said the school was taking “effective action” to improve. But North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority, said it was unable to give the school more time because the decision was “out of our hands, because of the system”.

The council eventually revealed plans to amalgamate Woodfield with nearby Grove Road Community Primary School. But the Grove Road governors torpedoed this in April, citing concerns about risk. From this moment on Woodfield’s days were effectively numbered.

The county council opened a consultation on closure and although the idea was met with fury by the trade union Unison, which said closure would be “an absolute disgrace” driven by ideology rather than common sense, and politicians on all sides lined up to say how much the school was needed, the outcome was never in doubt.

June’s poorly attended public meeting.

On a blisteringly hot day in June, council officials held a meeting as part of the consultation. Speaker by speaker methodically spelled out the case for closure — falling pupil numbers, a cumulative deficit of £229,000 in 2023/34 and the Ofsted rating.

Nobody in the room seemed to agree but only about 20 people were there. Parents said it was a done deal and had moved their children elsewhere.

In July the council said it had “no option” but to press ahead with closure.

There were more legal hoops to jump through as formal closure notices were published from September onwards.

The school officially remained open during the autumn term but the only remaining decisions were what to do with the few remaining pupils and staff — as well as the spacious school site.

In October, the council said it would consider “alternative educational uses” for the extensive school site, which many locals suspect will end up as housing. It said:

“The county council will be exploring whether there are alternative educational uses for the school buildings. There are controls around the reuse or redevelopment of school sites, and any alternative uses that are proposed will be the subject of consultation.”

This month, the Stray Ferret asked the council what progress had been made in discussions about the use of the site. A council spokeswoman replied:

“There is no update from our last statements. We are still in discussions about the future use of the site.”

The school does not formally close until the clock strikes midnight on January 1. But the school, synonymous with children’s laughter for 56 years, is empty and its future use uncertain.

Read more:

• ‘Badly let down’ Woodfield school closure confirmed
• Woodfield school site ‘should remain for education’ says MP
• ‘No option’ but to close Woodfield school, says council

A proposed amalgamation of two Harrogate primary schools is set to be shelved.

The plan would have seen Woodfield Community Primary School close and become part of Grove Road Community Primary School, which would be based across the two sites from September.

However, governors at Grove Road have withdrawn their support for the plans.

It leaves the future of Woodfield hanging in the balance, with its governors saying they need time to consider what will happen next.

They said:

‘’We are saddened to hear about Grove Road’s decision to withdraw support for the amalgamation.

“It has been a difficult time for Woodfield School, and we were very hopeful​​​ that a satisfactory conclusion could found for the future of the school. The school, staff, parents, and governors need a time of reflection before we make any decisions regarding the school’s future.

“We will continue to consult with North Yorkshire County Council regarding any future decisions.’’

Some Woodfield school parents spoke out against the merger.

The proposal had been met with shock and disappointment from some residents, who said they valued the school and did not want to see it closed. A consultation was held for parents and the wider community to enable the schools and North Yorkshire County Council to gather people’s views.

However, the county council is now proposing that the amalgamation should not proceed, with a decision to be made by its executive on April 19.

The merger was put forward after Woodfield was rated inadequate by Ofsted, forcing it to look to be taken on by a multi-academy trust. Ofsted inspectors found the school was making progress, but no academy could be found to take Woodfield on.

Read more:

• Moves to close Woodfield School in Bilton to begin next week
• County council ‘would give Woodfield school more time to improve if it could’
• Parents vow to fight closure of ‘fantastic’ Woodfield primary school

Today, Grove Road’s governors said in a statement:

“When first approached about the amalgamation the leadership and governors could see the potential benefits of the proposal for the communities of both schools and were supportive of the consultation. However, a change of such significance also carries risk.

“During the consultation period we have monitored factors such as the level of support for the proposal and the likely demand for school places.

“Ultimately, the governing board have concluded that we must prioritise the future of Grove Road School and so, sadly, we can no longer support the proposed amalgamation.”

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for education and skills, Cllr Patrick Mulligan, told the Stray Ferret in November that the council would have liked to give Woodfield school more time, but its hands were tied by national policy.

He also said the process could be a “downward spiral”, with a poor rating resulting in fewer applications and admissions, then a struggle to make the school viable.

Today, North Yorkshire County Council’s director of children and young people services, Stuart Carlton, said:

“Any proposal to expand a school onto an additional site is a significant change with challenges that should not be underestimated. So, while we are disappointed the proposal is no longer supported, we fully understand why Grove Road governors now have that view.

“I would like to thank the leadership and governors of both schools for their efforts in working with us on this amalgamation proposal.

“We will now need to work alongside the Department for Education and governors at Woodfield primary to re-consider the position for the school over the coming weeks before we are able to comment further.” 

In The headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic High School has said becoming an academy could help the school invest in more modern facilities.

The school, which has about 1,450 pupils aged 11 to 18, joined the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust this week.

Steve Mort said pupils and parents would notice little immediate change but there were long-term benefits of being part of a multi-academy trust with 11 other schools that are directly funded by government rather than through North Yorkshire County Council.

He said it would make it easier to get capital investment for new buildings or refurbishments and the school would also benefit from economies of scale by sharing some back office functions with other schools in the academy.

Mr Mort said:

“The normal everyday running of the school school and children’s experiences of it should not feel that different. However, over time there are plans to develop our infrastructure.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s St John Fisher school acquires academy status
• Harrogate primary school joins catholic academy trust

The school, on Hookstone Drive, was built to accommodate 800 pupils on the site of a former convent and now has almost double that number.

Besides St John Fisher, The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust has 11 other schools, including St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and St Robert’s Catholic Primary School in Harrogate and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Knaresborough. It plans to increase this number to 18.

‘The time is right’

Mr Mort, who joined the school last year, said St John Fisher was always destined to become an academy to fulfil the vision of Marcus Stock, the Catholic bishop of Leeds, who wants all 85 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Leeds divided into five multi-academy trusts.

The school therefore wasn’t being “forced” into the move, said Mr Mort, unlike some that become academies. He added:

“The governors feel that the school is financially stable and a new leadership team has established itself so the time is right.”

He added the associated sixth form with St Aidan’s Church of England High School would not be affected by the move.

Although St John Fisher is no longer financed or managed by the county council, it still has to report to it in certain areas, such as safeguarding and provision of funding for special needs pupils.

The trust, which is based in Menston, West Yorkshire, is named after Bishop William Gordon Wheeler, who was Bishop of Leeds from 1966 to 1985.

St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate has today become an academy.

The school, which has about 1,420 pupils aged 11 to 18, has joined the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust, which is based in Menston, West Yorkshire.

The trust has 11 other schools, including St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and St Robert’s Catholic Primary School in Harrogate and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Knaresborough

Academy schools are directly funded by government and have more control than other state schools. They do not have to follow the national curriculum.

The trust issued a statement announcing the news.

Headteacher Steve Mort said in the statement:

“The support we have enjoyed over the last year shows how the trust will enable St John Fisher to continue providing an outstanding Catholic education to our children, and I am very pleased that we have already been able to begin reciprocating through our growing partnerships with the trust’s other schools.”

Jane O’Gara, chair of the governing body at St John Fisher, said in the statement:

“We are delighted to be joining our fellow Catholic schools in the Bishop Wheeler Trust and we are looking forward to working closely together with them to continue providing the education our young people deserve”.

The Stray Ferret contacted the school to ask why it had pursued academy status and what it would mean to pupils but nobody at the school was available to respond.

Read more:

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St John Fisher was graded ‘outstanding’ at its last Ofsted inspection. Many pupils are Catholics but the school educates children of all faiths and none.

It shares an associated sixth form with St Aidan’s Church of England High School, which is itself an academy within the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust.

The trust, which is named after Bishop William Gordon Wheeler, Bishop of Leeds from 1966 to 1985, has 10 primary schools and two secondary schools serving 4,800 pupils in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. It hopes to increase this number to 18 over the next few years.

Diane Gaskin, chair of the trust board, said in the statement:

“The outstanding education that the school provides makes it a great addition to our trust family.”

A new primary school catering for a rapid increase in housing in Knaresborough has been delayed, it was announced this morning.

North Yorkshire County Council is building the £5 million school to cater for families moving into the 600-home Manse Farm development on York Road and the 400-home development at nearby Highfield Farm.

It will provide 210 places for pupils, with the capacity to be expanded to 420.

The council said delays building the homes had impacted on the schedule for the school, which is now not due to open until September 2024.

It is the second time the opening has been delayed. It was initially planned for September 2022 but covid delayed it for 12 months.

The council said the housing-building delays meant pupil numbers were not rising as rapidly as expected .

Stuart Carlton, director for children and young people’s services at the council, said:

“While this is disappointing, it does not change our commitment to delivery of the school as soon as we are able. The current delay to housing delivery means that pupil numbers are not rising at the predicted rate.

“We will continue to monitor closely the availability of school places but our assessment of the current birth rate data is that a delay by one year will be manageable.”

Read more:

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The Department for Education has appointed Elevate Multi Academy Trust to run the school.

Nigel Ashley, chief executive of the trust, said:

“We remain committed to the project and look forward to developing future educational excellence for new families who will be moving into the Manse Farm estate area.

“Our utmost priority is quality provision where we all can achieve together and we look forward to opening the doors to our new free school as soon as this is possible.”

The Thirsk-based trust, which was created in 2017, has 12 members schools in north and west Yorkshire, including three in Knaresborough.

They are Meadowside Academy, Aspin Park Academy and Knaresborough St John’s C of E Primary School.

Harrogate Town have been given permission by the English Football League to open an academy for budding professionals aged 16 to 18.

The club revealed today it had received a licence to operate a category four academy.

The academy will be led by former Knaresborough Town manager Paul Stansfield, supported by professional development phase coach Ross McKay.

Phil Priestley will act as goalkeeper coach and Josh Walsh as academy secretary. Lee Barraclough has been appointed head of recruitment.

Based at West Riding FA along with the current first team, the academy will compete in the EFL Youth Alliance North East, allowing regular competitive fixtures and a pathway through the ranks.

First team manager Simon Weaver said:

“This is a massive step in the right direction for the club in terms of fulfilling the vision of where we started and what we foresee being our future.

“Our under-19s, under-17s and under-19 Alliance teams will continue to run and compete in their respective leagues, alongside the newly established academy.”

Read more:

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Harrogate Town plans to launch an academy that enables 16 to 18-year-olds to train full-time with the club and progress into the first team.

Subject to approval from the English Football League, the academy will enable young players to develop under UEFA-licensed coaches.

Knaresborough Town manager Paul Stansfield, who used to play for Harrogate Town, will head the academy.

He will be supported by professional development phase coach Ross McKay. Phil Priestley will act as goalkeeper coach and Josh Walsh will be academy secretary.

Lee Barraclough has been appointed head of recruitment and a full-time physio and part-time doctor will be recruited.

The academy team will compete in the EFL Youth Alliance North East.

Read more:

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First team manager Simon Weaver said:

“It’s vital that we launch our own academy, it’s a massive step in the right direction for the club in terms of fulfilling the vision of where we started and what we foresee being our future.

“The goal at this club has always been to produce youngsters from the first stage in our player development centre to the youth teams and see them move into the first team and beyond so this is hugely important for us.

“There’s a lot of local talent, but by having an academy we are able to spread the net farther and wider in the hope that we produce some really good talented youngsters.”

Harrogate Town’s under-19s, under-17s and under-19 alliance teams will continue to compete in their respective leagues, alongside the newly established academy.

St Robert’s Primary School has today become the third school in the Harrogate district to join a catholic academy trust based in Leeds.

The primary school, on Ainsty Road in Harrogate, is now part of the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust. 

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Harrogate and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Knaresborough already belong to the trust, which now has 11 schools in north and west Yorkshire.

St Robert’s has 276 pupils, aged 5-11. Although many are catholic, it admits children of all faiths.

Headteacher Jill Collins said:

“The support and care we have been given over the last year shows how the trust will enable St Robert’s to continue providing an outstanding Catholic education to our children.”

The school was rated ‘outstanding’ in its latest Ofsted inspection. Chair of governors, Dr Matt Blackamore said:

“We are so pleased to be joining our fellow Catholic schools in the Bishop Wheeler Trust and we are looking forward to working closely with them to continue providing great education together.”

Read more:

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Darren Beardsley, interim chief executive of the trust, said bringing another school into the trust helped to fulfil the vision of the Bishop of Leeds, the Right Reverend Marcus Stock, of a family of schools working together to share resources and raise education standards.

The trust is named after Bishop William Gordon Wheeler, who was Bishop of Leeds from 1966 to 1985.

It is one of five multi-academy trusts in the Diocese of Leeds. It plans to expand in the next few years to include 18 Catholic schools in the area.