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Four young people stood in a line with their arms on one another's shoulders, surrounding by a heard of cows on a sunny day

Welcome

What to expect

Welcome to Jamie’s Farm. If you’re a young person who is going to visit or has already visited the farm, then you’re in the right place.

Welcome from Jamie

I set this charity up so that you’d get the chance to experience a wonderful week working on a farm, achieving at a vast range of different jobs and becoming positive, caring members of our family. Over 10,000 young people have now done this. I hope this page will allow you to keep remembering the experience, find ways to stay involved and help you to maximise your great potential back at school and home.

I hope this page will also help those of you who haven’t yet been to the Farm to get a real sense of what it is all about so you can come prepared to make the most of things straight away. All the staff at Jamie’s Farm can’t wait to welcome you.

Jamie

“unforgettable”
“joy”
“life-changing”

– as described by young people

A girl holding a rooster while wearing a green rain-coat
Two boys gently reaching their hands out to a black cow in a sunny field

A typical day:

  • farming
  • forestry
  • cooking
  • horse work
  • hiking
  • gardening
Front cover of the Jamie's Farm cookbook

Jamie’s Farm Cookbook

Download our cookbook for FREE here. We hope you enjoy cooking and sharing these recipes as much as we do at Jamie’s Farm. As a charity, our work supporting children and young people to thrive at school and beyond, is only possible thanks to the generosity of the public. If you’re able to support us, please donate. Thank you.

Stories from the farm

Don’t just take it from us. Below you’ll find stories from young people saying in their own words what their week on the farm meant to them.

  • Amani came to Jamie’s Farm with her school as she was struggling with her behaviour.“I had become chaotic and quite disruptive in class – I was talking, throwing things – I was very disengaged. My attitude to everything was ‘I don’t care, that doesn’t matter’. My school knew I was good at practical work andthought …

    Read my full story
    A girl sitting next to a dog in a feild

    Amani, aged 18

  • When did you first visit Jamie’s Farm?   I first came to the Monmouth farm when I about 13. I really enjoyed Monmouth, it felt like a good one to go to as your first farm.     What were your thoughts at the start of the week at Jamie’s Farm?  I really didn’t want to go, …

    Read my full story

    Chloe, aged 17

  • When did you first visit Jamie’s Farm?   I first came to the Bath farm five years ago when I was 15.   What were your thoughts at the start of the week at Jamie’s Farm?  I wasn’t really expecting much, I was kind of almost dreading it because I’m really not a farm kind of person. …

    Read my full story

    Jess, aged 20

  • “Coming to Jamie’s Farm, I was at a point when I didn’t know where I was going to go or what I’d do. Jamie’s Farm gave me a space to think about life, and a time to clear my mind. Almost, not to make it cheesy, I just found peace of mind. Doing natural things …

    Read my full story
    Dia

    Dia, aged 17

Answering the big questions for you

Questions and answers for:

  • I am visiting Jamie’s Farm soon
  • I have previously visited Jamie’s Farm
  • Parents or carers of a child visiting us

Below you will find links to each of our farms, with photos and an introduction to our team who will be hosting you:

Your staff have made a careful decision of who to bring to the Farm, from potentially lots and lots of young people. This means that they really believe in you and your potential and are sure that you will get a real boost from coming to the Farm, be that confidence, having a break, by being successful in a whole different setting, or examining your behaviour in a an environment away from school.

A visit to the Farm will give you time to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside, be really active, and reflect on how things are going with the support of the team who work here. Lots of young people like to see the visit as a fresh start or get a confidence boost from having a go at something completely new and succeeding at it. You will get a chance throughout the week to think about how you can take back some parts of the trip to school or home life, such as getting involved in different opportunities, pushing yourself out of your usual comfort zone, or talking to new people. You will find out new things about yourself and everyone will get a chance to show their best side.

You will also get a chance to try new skills and might find something you really like doing that you would like to do in the future, or learn some life skills to take back with you. Finally, just like a holiday, getting an exciting, challenging, active break away from normal life can give you a boost when you get back!

You will have a chance to do all sorts of activities including farming, cooking, gardening, log chopping, working with the horses, playing games and exploring the countryside. The jobs on farms change all year round and activities all contribute to life on the Farm.

No. It is a small farm and home to some of the staff, rather than a visit centre. You will be staying in the farmhouse or converted barn where we eat, and it will be just your group for the whole visit.

There is a big variety of things to do so we find that there is something that everyone will enjoy. It is unlikely that you won’t like anything. However, the most important thing about coming to the Farm is that you are willing to give things a go and try new experiences, to push yourself and see what it is like doing something totally different. Completing your visit might be, for you, a challenge, but it is one we are sure that you will be able to achieve. In our experience, we have not had anyone come to the Farm who hasn’t enjoyed their trip.

It is possible that you will miss home at some point but if you are feeling upset, there is always someone to talk to. Your days will be really busy and full of things to do, and you will have the team here with you right up until you go to bed so you won’t feel alone. Staying away from home is part of growing up; it is hard if you are doing it for the first time but a good thing to try.

Let your teachers know, or one of the Farm staff who come in to meet you before your trip. We can make sure that you are in a bedroom with someone in the group you trust. If you do wet the bed, you can tell any of us in the morning who will discreetly make sure your bed is clean and dry before you are next in your room. You should not be worried about letting us know, and definitely should still come!

There will be lots of opportunity to work through some of your fears, but also lots of opportunity to contribute to Farm life away from animals too, such as carpentry and wood work, gardening, cooking and walking. Your safety around the animals is very important to us. All the animals on the Farm are used to working with people. You will always be with an experienced farm staff member whenever you are with the animals and you will learn how to look after them properly and safely.

Yes. We have young people from all different religions coming to the Farm. We can organise a place to pray if you want it, have Halal meat, and always have vegetarian food if you do not want to eat meat for religious reasons. If you have any needs that you are worried about you should talk to us in our visit to see you before you come.

We ask that you commit to trying living in a different way for a week, like a life swap. What we eat is part of that. Too much sugar in your diet can mean that your energy will spike at times and be low at others. If you struggle to control your energy or attention, sugar can make it much worse. We need our Farmers to have a constant supply of good energy all day. Part of the experience is cooking and eating together. We are active all day and so always have plenty of food that you will have a chance to help grow and cook; almost all of it coming from the Farm. There is fruit available all day too and we bake a sweet tea time snack before walking. You won’t go hungry!

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Beyond the farm

Here we share the opportunities for you stay involved and deepen your Jamie’s Farm experience.  

Apprenticeships

Our apprenticeship scheme is for those who have previously been on a Jamie’s Farm residential and are interested in pursuing a career in farming, animal care, forestry or outdoor education in the future. Applications are open once a year and if successful you will be based at a Jamie’s Farm local to you, working as a member of our team whilst gaining a qualification to support your ambition. We promote these opportunities on social media, our newsletter and jobs page. Thank you to Allegra’s Ambition, Buttinghill Foundation, and The Martin Smith Foundation for funding the scheme.

Ambassadors

Our Ambassadors are a group of young people from across England and Wales, who have previously taken part in our standard programme and demonstrated exceptional potential. Over the course of 12 months the group meet quarterly at each of our Farms to provide us with constructive feedback on how to adapt and improve our programme, and we provide the opportunity to further develop their skills and deepen their engagement with Jamie’s Farm.

Work Experience

We are occasionally able to offer work experience placements if you have participated in a Jamie’s Farm Programme, are under 18, and would find the experience useful to your future career. This could be shadowing our Farm Manager; helping with groups of younger children or being based within our administrative team. Please be aware the weeks we can offer work experience are limited and we regret we are not always able to offer you the experience.

Fun 5K

If you have visited Jamie’s Farm and loved the daily walks in the countryside, then we have the perfect challenge for you! Why not take part in our Fun 5K challenge where we encourage you to get outside and walk, jog or run 5K with some friends or family.

Need to talk?

Childline is a free, private and confidential service where you can talk about anything. Whatever your worry, whenever you need help, Childline will listen whether you want to talk online or on the phone. Call 0800 1111 or visit their website below.

Recipes

The Jamie’s Farm Cookbook was created in response to the many recipe requests to continue cooking our most popular healthy and delicious meals back home. All young people receive a copy. A free download of our new 2023 edition is available here.