Animal News

At St. Mary’s School we believe that animals are an important addition to our school community. They are among the many aspects of our school that make it unique.

Our Current Animals

The Gerbils

Albus and Lucius. As a baby, Albus was the first of the group to learn how to use the wheel. He is a talkative gerbil and loves to be cuddled. Lucius is also a firm favourite of the girls and enjoys a tickle.

Severus and Dobby. These cheeky boys have their fans. Severus is happy to fall asleep in your hand and Dobby is the fuzziest, chunkiest ginger gerbil you’ll ever meet.

The Degus

Nutmeg and Barley. The degus originate from South America and are rodents that look like a cross between a chinchilla and a squirrel. This pair of girls provide endless entertainment speeding round on their special flat exercise wheels. They take a while to tame but there are a few ‘degu whisperer’ girls who have the patience and skill needed.

The Chickens

Sage (grey), Thyme (black and green), Parsley (black, frizzled) and Fluffy. Fluffy is a black silkie bantam and the others are all Pekin bantams. Fluffy was donated by a pupil while Sage, Parsley and Thyme were bought as youngsters. They live in a beautiful purpose built enclosure and have a pink designer Eglu as their house.

Sage is the tamest and has been inadvertently trained to leap for her favourite food of sweetcorn. She and Thyme are easy to handle and love to come into the lab for a while on cold days. Parsley is a cute frizzle hen, with feathers that are unzipped and spiky and Fluffy is a confident free spirit who is mad for mashed potato.

The Hamsters

Noodle. He is a Chinese dwarf hamster and was bought from the rehoming section of a pet shop to be given a second chance here at school. He is tiny and probably the cutest animal you’ll ever see. Noodle is handled by the more confident girls as he is fast and needs a bit of training.

Pudsey. He is a very fluffy Syrian hamster who is extremely easy to handle. This cute little boy loves to chomp on carrots as an extra treat.

Twinkle is an super-fluffy peach and white Syrian hamster. She is very unusual as she has one light red eye and one dark red eye (it almost looks black). She is a firm favourite of the Animal Club as she is so tame and cuddly.

The Guinea Pig

Spice. She is an adorable orange girl who loves all the attention and cuddles she gets. She has an indoor house and an outside run to stretch her little legs in while enjoying the sunshine. For extra lunchtime adventures, the girls have trained her to walk on a lead with a harness. Spice has a good appetite and particularly likes fruit.

The Snails

Boris and Speedy These two giant African land snails are fascinating yet low maintenance pets. Boris was given to us by a pupil a few years ago when he was as big as a 10 pence coin. He is now 15 cm long! His favourite food is cucumber and is partial to a little beer as a treat. Speedy was given to us as recently and is settling in well. The two snails do not live together as we don’t want hundreds of baby snails.

The Dogs

Willow and Buffy. These are Miss Tew’s whippets. They are not permanent residents but love to visit the school. They enjoy lots of attention at break and lunchtime when the girls walk them and throw the ball for them to chase. During lesson they are happy to snooze on their bed in the classroom.

Animal Club

Our busy Animal Clubs are twice a week in addition to the girls’ daily visits to feed and interact with the animals. Regular animal carers are issued with a special Animal Club badge.

The girls are able to sign up to take the animals home in the holidays if they wish.

Why we keep pets

Research has shown that school pets can:

• motivate pupils to think and to learn, as children have a high level of natural interest, enthusiasm and enjoyment of animals
• encourage a respect and reverence for life in pupils and thereby improve their relationships with other pupils, parents and teachers
• foster a sense of responsibility in children
• teach children to nurture and respect life
• lead to the development of hobbies / careers in animal care
• improve academic achievement

Pets in schools also have social benefits at school:

• enhance the learning environment, creating a sense of security and family warmth for the pupils
• encourage the involvement of parents and the wider community in school activity
• help to promote the school as an important nurturing influence in the community
• reduce the incidence of conflict through fostering a greater sense of community