THE WEST Dorset landscape is outstanding stuff.

Children at Burton Bradstock school arrived for lessons on Monday to discover the Laboratory of Outstanding Stuff had been set up for them to learn a thing or two about history, geology and wildlife.

The ‘professors’ from Gobbledegook Theatre, in charge of the lab, needed the youngsters to help find out more about the outstanding landscape around them.

Rather than relying on the teachers at school to tell them all about it, pupils were challenged to find out about the South Dorset Ridgeway for themselves, armed with artefacts from the laboratory and special fact finding satchels.

Headteacher Claire Staple said: “The laboratory marks the beginning of a ‘Creative Week’ in school, and we’re encouraging children to look at things in a different way. The laboratory is all about catching the children’s imaginations and giving them the freedom to find out about the things that interest them.”

The Laboratory of Outstanding Stuff is part of a new schools programme provided by the South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership, a five-year project led by the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.