Whitchurch School Heritage Programme

Whitchurch Conservation Group (WCG) has been awarded funding of £31,838 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver the Whitchurch School Heritage Programme, a new initiative that will give around 700 Year 1 and 2 pupils from five local primary schools the chance to explore the natural and industrial heritage of the River Test SSSI and Whitchurch Silk Mill.

Running throughout the summer term of 2027, the programme will see pupils from Whitchurch Primary School, Overton Primary School, Oakley Primary School, St Mary Bourne Primary School and Longparish Primary School take part in 20 full-day visits combining riverside learning with Wessex Rivers Trust and hands-on heritage session at the Mill, delivered by heritage specialist Ruth Kerr of Museums and More.

By funding coach travel and lunches, the programme removes the two biggest barriers stopping rural primary schools from accessing heritage-based learning. This funding helps us to open up the river and the Mill to children who might otherwise never get the chance, at a time when school trip budgets simply don’t stretch to it.

The River Test SSSI is a globally rare Hampshire chalk stream and is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Whitchurch Silk Mill is Britain’s oldest working silk mill.

The project is supported by Whitchurch Silk Mill and Wessex Rivers Trust, and will be evaluated to help secure further funding to extend the programme over a three-year period.