theguardian.com

William Atkinson （Head Teacher）： Phoenix High School consists of some…a thousand 11- to 18-year-olds， and were situated on the White City Estate in West London.

Garry McMillan （Director of Development）： The farm started in 2007 and it was a piece of land that was left over from construction that wed have done on the site.

William： We decided we would create this farm to educate our young people， but also to the wider adult community could actually get a much better sense of the journey that their food takes from the ground to the table. We want to divert as many of our parents and our young people away from junk food towards food which is nutritious.

Cath Knight （Community Food Grower）： Weve got lots of potatoes， onions， carrots， peas， beans. We grow pumpkins and squashes， tomatoes， 1）aubergines， cucumbers， lots of lovely salads， chilis， grapevines. Weve got raspberries， blueberry bushes， medicinal herbs and 2）culinary herbs. We grow some edible flowers as well， which is interesting for the kids to learn about. Weve also got some chickens and some rabbits， and weve just got a bee hive.

Garry： It is about giving inner city young people an experience theyd probably never ever had. Because of the area that were in you do find that a lot of young people dont have pets， so they dont know anything about animals.

Student A： All rabbits are quite fast cause they dont like you holding them， but when you go quite slow and youre calm， then it wont be…it wont get scared.

Student B： Put your hand under its legs and lean it on your other arm， then it wont drop.

Cath： They love it！ They love getting their hands dirty. Their favorite things are watering， digging， …

Student B： Yesterday we came to the farm. We planted potatoes， and were gonna have a competition. Whoever gets the most weight in potatoes wins the prize.

Student A： We have a chicken place over there， and we take their eggs and try them and see how they taste.

Cath： Weve done little cooking projects where weve collected eggs from our hens， and then weve made scrambled eggs， and weve put some light herbs in and some chili.

Student A： You could just come and be calm and play with animals.

Student B： …and cuz they make you calm.

Garry： We have an external classroom thats Wi-Fi enabled that suits 32 young people. Any subject， if you think about it， can actually be incorporated to that sort of outdoor learning space. Students who might struggle in a sort of traditional learning environment， when they go out to the farm， is that they quite often thrive.

William： Food from the farm is actually brought into the school， and we invite the parents in to sample it.

Garry： They would come onto the farm and theyll collect some herbs， maybe collect some vegetables， then theyll take it to the food technology block upstairs.

Marcia Clark （Family & Community Engagement Manager）： After cooking class we will take it to the supermarket and show them food labels， what to buy， how to buy it.

William： You know， theyre 3）muckin out animals and milkin cows and stuff， theyre messing around with sheep. Theyre learning to drive a tractor. The opportunity to be in those wide expanse[sic] there and then to be doing those activities， yeah， for some， one or two of them， has been life-changing. Its about taking kids away from their known world， away from the parameters in which they normally operate， yeah， and give them challenges beyond their comfort zone， and many， many of the youngsters respond to that.

Garry： The 4）attainment， the attendance at the school has gone through the roof. Fourteen years ago this was， according to some newspapers， the worst school in England. 2011， this was the No. 1 5）contextual value-added school in the country. I do believe that the farm has really made a difference.

William： Oh， the entire school community is proud of it. The governors are proud of it， the teachers are proud of it， the kids， the parents， the entire community is proud of that. Its vibrant， its fantastic， and its on the White City Estate in the middle of London. I think its brilliant！ I love it！

威廉·阿特金森（校长）：凤凰中学有大约一千名11到18岁的学生，学校坐落在伦敦西部的白城住宅区。

加里·麦克米伦（发展部主任）：这个农场于2007年开办，利用了施工用过之后，原本打算用作其它用途的一块地。

威廉：我们决定创建这个农场，用于教育我们的年青人，同时也包括范围更广的成年人群体，使大家对食物从在地里生长到餐桌的这个过程有一个更好的认识。我们希望使更多的家长及年轻人远离垃圾食品，注重食物的营养。

卡丝·奈特（社区农场人员）：我们种了很多的马铃薯、洋葱、胡萝卜、豌豆、蚕豆，我们种植南瓜和西葫芦、西红柿、茄子、黄瓜，大量可口的用于制作沙拉的蔬菜，以及辣椒、葡萄。我们还有覆盆子、蓝莓树丛、药草和烹饪用的香草。我们还种有一些可食用的花卉，孩子们对学习这些很有兴趣。我们还养育了一些鸡和兔子，刚刚还得到一个蜂巢。

加里：生活在城市里的年轻人可以在这里得到一种他们可能从未有过的经历。因为在我们生活的这个区域，你会发现很多年轻人没有养过宠物，所以他们对动物没有任何了解。

学生甲：所有兔子都跑得很快，因为他们不想被你捉住，但当你慢慢接近它，并保持安静，那么它就不会……不会被吓到。

学生乙：将你的手放在它的腿下，让它靠在你的另一手臂上，这样它就不会掉下来。

卡丝：他们热爱这个地方！他们喜欢自己动手干农活，他们最喜欢做的事是浇水、挖坑……

学生乙：昨天我们来到农场，我们种了马铃薯。我们要进行一项比赛，产出马铃薯重量第一的那个人会得奖。学生甲：在那边有一个养鸡的地方，我们捡来鸡蛋，尝尝鲜蛋的味道。

卡丝：我们办了一些小型的烹饪活动。我们会收集鸡蛋，然后做炒鸡蛋，加入一些淡味的香草和一些辣椒。

学生甲：你可以来到这里，只是安静地与动物玩耍。

学生乙：……因为它们使你平静。

加里：我们有一个户外课室，可以使用Wi-Fi，能容纳32个年轻人。仔细想想，实际上任何一门课都能与这种室外学习场所相结合。有些学生可能对传统的学习环境有些抗拒，但当他们来到农场，通常会有好的表现。

威廉：我们将农场产的食物带回学校，邀请家长来品尝。

加里：他们来到农场，采集一些香草，或者摘一些蔬菜，然后带到楼上的食品工艺坊。

马西娅·克拉克（家庭与社区项目经理）：烹饪课之后，我们会将他们带去超市，教他们看食品标签，告诉他们要买什么，该如何选购。

威廉：你知道，他们在农场为动物搞清洁、给母牛挤奶、在羊群中玩耍，他们还学习驾驶拖拉机。能够有机会涉及如此广泛的领域，进行这些活动，对他们之中的一些人（或者其中的一个或两个学生）来说，人生之路因此发生了变化。这可以使孩子们远离他们熟悉的世界，远离那些他们平常的活动空间。确实，这可以使他们远离舒适的环境而接受挑战，而有很多、很多的青少年对此反响良好。

加里：学生的成绩、学校的出勤率都史无前例地高。十四年前，据一些媒体报道，我们是全英格兰最差的学校，2011年，我们已是CVA排名全国第一的学校。我相信，办农场的确起了很大作用。

威廉：哈，整个学区都以我们的学校农场为荣，学校管委会的成员为此感到自豪，教师们感到自豪，孩子们、家长们、整个社区都为此而骄傲。农场充满了活力，真是太棒了，而且它还是在伦敦城区的白城住宅区，我认为它是卓越的！我太爱它了！