Local school children have brought a taste of the Royal Family to Hastings, by building a chicken hut named Cluckingham Palace and it has already received a famous visitor.

The energetic school children from Sandown Primary hosted local MP Amber Rudd who helped the school win £2,000 to spend on outdoor projects just like Cluckingham Palace.

Ms Rudd, MP for Hastings said: “It was fantastic to see the variety of impressive outdoor facilities at Sandown School including their very own chicken hut named ‘Cluckingham Palace’!

“It was particularly encouraging to see the enthusiasm of the pupils nature. The Big Outdoors Team have done so much to motivate the pupils’ interest in the outdoors.”

Big Outdoors at Sandown Primary School is managed by three people who teach children about the environment, how to preserve their natural surroundings and how to use the natural resources available to them to build things while having fun.

They hold sessions in the school day, run extracurricular clubs and are developing the school grounds to improve the space for the children. Big Outdoors have recently received donations of trees for environmental schemes from various sources and have planted over 500 to date.