THE Queen has given two pigeons to pupils at a school in Worcestershire.

Two youngsters from King's Hawford School, near Worcester, travelled to one of the Queen's official homes, the Sandringham Estate, Norfolk, to collect the pigeons from the royal pigeon loft.

The gift was part of a scheme which aims to introduce young fanciers to the sport.

Through the project, the Royal Pigeon Racing Association’s development officer (RPRA), Richard Chambers ordered, delivered and erected a pigeon loft for the school in Claines earlier this year.

Local pigeon fanciers also donated equipment, food and some old birds to help get the school started.

Headmaster Jim Turner, said: “Keeping pigeons seemed the logical next step, especially with the prospect of racing the birds - which has added a new dimension for us.

“Our students not only care for the birds and feed them, but they also train them and help to prepare them for the challenge of racing.

“We have also introduced links into the curriculum with timing of races and geographical elements too."

To help their collection along, members of staff, Amanda Marshall-Walker and Laura Crowe, and two Year Six pupils Max Copeman, and Sam Ward, went to Sandringham Estate on May 23 to collect the extra pigeons.

Peter Farrow, the Royal loft manager gave the group a tour of the immaculate loft explaining the intricacies of how it is cleaned as well as the process used to allow the pigeons in after a race.

Sam Ward, 11, said: “It’s the best memory I shall ever have. I learnt so much and couldn’t wait to get our special youngsters back into our own loft.”

Max Copeman, 11, was completely overwhelmed and could not stop asking questions.

Ms Laura Crowe, assistant to the head teacher, 30, said: “I went with the pupils to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk and they were just so good.

“Their faces just beamed with pleasure and being given a personal tour of the Queen’s pigeon loft was surreal.

“The boys were wide awake for the long journey there - around three hours or so - and slept the whole way back.”

The school's current pigeons are called Spectrum, Boomerang, Spirit and Midnight but the new royal recruits are yet to be named.

Richard Chambers, development officer at the RPRA said: “We are delighted at the success of the new pigeon loft at Kings Hawford Junior School. As an organisation, we are always trying to find new ways to engage with junior flyers and encourage them to try out the sport.

"RPRA is dedicated to introducing young fanciers into the sport. Over the past year, the organisation has established relationships with a number of schools across the country.”

READ MORE:

New life-saving training to water users