More than 120 home-educated children aged 4–16 came to the South of England Showground in West Sussex this week for a groundbreaking new education initiative responding to the rapid rise in families choosing to educate their children outside the classroom.
The South of England Agricultural Society hosted its first-ever Countryside Learning for Home Education Day on 26th February 2026, welcoming children from 69 family groups to a fully booked, free event designed specifically for the home education community.
The event comes as Department for Education figures reveal that 175,900 children in England were electively home educated during the 2024/25 academic year – a 15% year-on-year increase. The data also highlights the complexity behind the trend, with 16% of children withdrawn from school due to mental health or learning difficulties.
In response to this growing national trend, the Society’s event featured a programme of 14 interactive learning stations, providing children with hands-on insight into food, farming, and future careers in land-based industries. Stations were delivered by specialist colleges, vets, farmers and industry partners and included livestock encounters with cattle, sheep, poultry, pigs and pygmy goats; arable farming and wheat production; horticulture and plant propagation; wildflowers and biodiversity; beekeeping and honey; veterinary careers; and agricultural machinery, including a McCormick tractor and loader. Children also explored viticulture through a sensory “guess the aroma” activity, examined plants and seeds under microscopes, learned about regenerative farming, and tried their hand at traditional skills such as milking ‘Clover’, the life-size model cow.
Supporting organisations included Yeowarts Agricultural, Wakehurst (Kew’s wild botanic garden), Plumpton College, Brinsbury College, Merrist Wood College, Arun Valley Poultry Fanciers Society, and Portland Vets, bringing together education providers, industry and charities, alongside local farmers, around a shared goal of widening access to agricultural learning.
Alan Smith, Chair of the South of England Agricultural Society, said:
“We are thrilled at the success of our first Countryside Learning for Home Education Day and would like to thank all those involved for their incredible input and support.
“Home education is no longer a niche; it is one of the fastest-growing areas in UK education, yet families often struggle to access structured, real-world learning opportunities. We created this day to bridge that gap, providing an informative and interactive insight into how the farming community works, and how food gets from farm to supermarket.
“The response has been overwhelming. The event was fully booked, families travelled significant distances to attend, and the engagement we saw from children of all ages was extraordinary. Many of the children who attended showed a real interest in the wide range of agricultural careers on offer. This demonstrates a clear need for more inclusive, flexible educational opportunities like this.”
The Society says it is now exploring how the programme could be expanded in future years to meet growing demand.
For more information on the South of England Agricultural Society’s charitable and educational work, please visit www.seas.org.uk.