Year 8 pupils from Taunton Preparatory School enjoyed a very informative trip to Sheppy’s Cider Farm recently, to give them an insight into the method of growing apples and the harvesting and juicing process.
Emily Halliday in Year 8 said “We got to see the wide variety of apple trees of many different ages and saw how they grow and harvest the apples. We then visited the pressing house and saw the immaculate equipment and we all found it very interesting listening to how the cider is made. Although we didn’t get to try the cider, we knew it would taste good due to the delicious smell as we entered!”
The trip was part of Taunton School’s ambition to be one of the greenest schools in the South West. The Preparatory School’s Eco Team is working on a similar project juicing apples at school, albeit on a slightly different scale. Pupils use locally sourced apples and will be juicing and bottling them this autumn, ready to sell to the school community. The group also recently established a mini orchard on the school grounds which is now coming into leaf, boding well for their longer term plans.
Emily added: “We went to the museum and saw all of the old equipment before trying some of the best apple juice we have ever tasted. We all had a really fun time so a big thank you to Sheppy’s Cider Farm.”
Sheppy’s is a 200 year old family owned cider maker. It is one of the oldest and most respected cider brands in the world and is based just outside Taunton.
