Like beekeeping, religious education is best when it's controversial
RE teacher Daniel Hugill is as passionate about beekeeping as he is religious studies. After setting up a hive at school, there's a buzz about both subjects
RE teacher Daniel Hugill says beekeeping and religious education are both misunderstood. Photograph: Daniel Hugill
Matthew Jenkin
Thursday 16 January 2014 08.48 EST
Beekeeper Daniel Hugill teaches religious education (RE) at Coopers' Company and Coborn School in Havering. He set up a honeybee hive in school to inject a practical element into teaching the curriculum across all subjects.
My RE at school was abysmal, shockingly bad, but I was always interested in religion. I always enjoyed the challenges of the subject. I originally went to university to study geology but in my first year of university, given the choice of doing some outside courses, I did one in theology. The ability to question and challenge was a huge breath of fresh air after studying all science A-levels. It gave the opportunity to argue and think for myself.
My great uncle used to keep bees when I was a child. I always viewed beekeeping as a dangerous hobby, but when I moved to London I went on a beekeeping course a couple of years later and started to keep them myself. Beekeeping is extremely de-stressing. You can't worry about your work when you have your head in a beehive. You can't think about your day or what's happening tomorrow. It's a hobby that takes over your life eventually and we now have one hive in the school. The English honey bees we have originally came from a very old lady in Essex who had got too frail to look after the hive but hadn't told anyone out of pride. Eventually, someone realised how ill she was, so the bees were rescued and brought to the school.
We hope the bees will pay their way with honey. We make our own honey. Last year has been really tough for beekeepers though, so the kids were keen not to take it. In 2014, hopefully the bees will be really healthy and we'll get a lot of honey. We want to eventually sell it as well. At the moment we are looking to the school and parents association to pay for the facilities that we need but it would be great if the students could pay for it themselves out of the money that the hive makes.
There is a huge misunderstanding about beekeeping. The same is true of RE. People are always very inquisitive about what beekeeping involves and don't have very much idea about it. When I go and collect a swarm of bees I normally attract a great crowd, although they tend to stand at a distance. The same is true of RE. People are quite happy to know what's going on but are apprehensive and dubious about it initially until they find out what we do. Some think you are religious and crazy, and remember their RE teacher at school who wanted to convert them. Then they quickly realise how brilliant the subject is.
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jan/16/teaching-religious-education-beekeeping
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