'Big Brother'-style bird box

Specially equipped bird boxes record a family of blue tits

A Big Brother style reality television show with a difference has been set up in six south Wales primary schools.

Children are able to tune into the live action of a family of blue tits living in specially adapted bird boxes in the school grounds.

Carmeras and sound equipment installed in the boxes provides a live feed to the school televisions 24-hours a day.

Teachers say tuning into the real-life action of the birds has been a major boost to learning in the classroom.

Mark Langley who works with the schools as part of his role with the Monmouthshire Countryside Service said he was pleased with the popularity of the scheme.

"We have installed six of the specially adapted bird boxes into schools in the county and have been so pleased with the reaction," he said.

"It all started because we work closely with the schools planting trees or managing ponds and we heard about these special bird boxes which provided live images straight to the school.

The bird boxes are installed by Mark Langley and colleague Denis Manning

"So we asked if the schools were interested in having their own reality TV show broadcast from the playground and six schools took us up on the offer," he said.

The bird boxes, which are designed especially for blue tits, great tits and house sparrows, cost £270 and are equipped with a mini camera and microphones to record the activity in the nest at all times.

The recording gets beamed straight onto a dedicated television within the school and pupils can see the day to day life of the birds.

Sian McGrath, the headteacher at Clydach Primary School near Abergavenny said that the activity of the parent birds raising a clutch of 10 chicks had become a valid learning tool.

"The children and staff have really enjoyed seeing the development of the birds," she said.

"And we have been able to use it for nearly all the lessons.

"For example in maths, we have been able to count how many times the parents have to fly in and out of the nest with food at different stages of the chicks development.

"It has really stimulated the children's learning.

"It has been a brilliant success and feels like we have got our very own Big Brother going on here although I have to say it is a lot more theraputic than the real one!" she added.