“As a countryside charity, CPRE believes that village schools are important for thriving rural communities,” says CPRE Sussex Director, Kia Trainor . “Many small schools in Sussex find it hard to stay viable if the number of children attending drops due to demographic changes.  

“CPRE Sussex has been working with the Firle Estate to support the development of new affordable housing which also helps to keep small schools viable.”  

The money was raised by the local CPRE Lewes group at a tour of the Firle Estate given by Estate manager Alistair is Deighton last Summer.   

“We raised this money from CPRE members and are delighted to give it to the children of Firle school,” says Chair of the CPRE Lewes Group, Phillip Pople “The children have a great list of things they are fundraising for, from glue sticks to interactive whiteboards!”

Also this week, the research carried out by CPRE nationally shows that 96% of parents think it is important for children to experience green spaces first-hand and spend time in the natural world and that 85% of parents in England think that every schoolchild should be able to experience the countryside first-hand as part of the national curriculum : https://www.cpre.org.uk/media-centre/latest-news-releases/item/5219-countryside-school-visits-and-nature-studies-could-secure-parent-vote-says-cpre