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Children are being challenged to complete 50 activities before they leave their primary school.

From riding a bike, playing a game of cards, sleeping in a tent, flying a kite, to hunting for bugs, visiting a museum and playing a game of cricket, pupils at Roydon Primary Academy are broadening their life experiences.

The 50 Things to do Before You Leave Roydon booklet has been given to all families, with the school committing to doing its bit to help children tick off as many activities as possible.

Split into place to go, places to visit, things to do and things to learn, the optional list is a way of encouraging families to expose children to as many learning experiences as possible.

Headteacher Michael Clark said: “The list is all of the things we want 11-year-olds to have done before they move on to secondary school. They are life experiences and involve a lot of outdoor learning. We have such nice outdoor spaces here; our old buildings are coming down, we have our adventure trail, pond with wildlife and allotments and we push for our curriculum to be taught outside as often as possible. We are committing to helping children to achieve half of the list while with us at school. We look after the academic side of their learning, but we also want to make them well-rounded citizens for a modern society.

“The list is a great prompt for parents. I don’t think I’ve ever flown a kite with my own children, for example. The list has made me think I must do that and create those memories with them.

“We want our pupils to have even more to come into school and share with us. We also want them to turn up at secondary school having done these things. It’s just a really nice list of things for children to do with their parents and to talk about. They love coming in and sharing what they have done outside of school.”

Every pupil has been given a folder to keep tickets and photos in as a memory book of their activities.