AROUND 3,500 primary school children today attended the Suffolk Agricultural Association's annual School Farm & Country Fair, held at Trinity Park, Ipswich.

AROUND 3,500 primary school children today attended the Suffolk Agricultural Association's annual School Farm & Country Fair, held at Trinity Park, Ipswich.

The pupils, from 89 schools from across the country, toured more than 60 exhibits, accompanied by their teachers and host stewards from the farming community, to learn about how food is grown and processed, and the role of agriculture in the rural environment.

The event was created by the SAA in 2001, in response to the cancellation of the Suffolk Show due to foot and mouth disease, and has become an important part of its educational remit.

The day is carefully structured to meet with key stages in the National Curriculum, and pupils with a variety of resource packs for use in follow-up in the classroom.

Travel costs for schools are also heavily subsidised through the support of event sponsors, led by the Chadacre Agricultural Trust, Felix Thornley Cobbold Agricultural Trust and Suffolk County Council's Creating the Greenest County initiative.

For picture coverage of this year's School Farm & Country Fair, see the County Life section of this Saturday's East Anglian Daily Times.