Michael Morpurgo marks 50 years of Farms for City Children as Princess Anne visits
Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare mark 50 years of Farms for City Children, with Princess Anne visiting the charity that has welcomed more than 100,000 children.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Sir Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare are celebrating 50 years of Farms for City Children, the charity they founded to give children from cities a taste of life on a farm.
The couple were both teachers when they started the scheme in 1976. Since then more than 100,000 students have visited their farms, learning about nature, animals and food at first hand. Clare Morpurgo said the children become part of the farm during their stay, and that this matters now more than ever because it changes how they value their food.
Princess Anne, who has been patron of the charity since 1991, visited the farms today. She met children who were meeting horses for the first time in their lives. Asked what job they liked best, the answer from one child was brushing the horses. Another said the project helped them connect with animals, adding that horses were a favourite.
The author, best known for War Horse, has written often about the bond between children and animals. Clare Morpurgo said education was finally about creating positive memories rather than passing exams. "What we really need when we're growing up are wonderful memories," she said.
Clare Morpurgo first fell in love with North Devon at the age of seven. She recalled hedges full of wildlife, including lizards, slow worms and snakes, and admitted she kept a box of them under her bed. She said sharing that experience with children was important because seeing and touching something real is different from watching it on a screen. She compared children's appetite for phones to eating too many sweets, saying they want everything now, now, now. At the farm, there are no phones.
Clare Morpurgo called the farm her paradise, a place she wanted to share with every child. The charity aims to let children learn about nature by being in it, and it has helped some start a new chapter in their lives.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| Michael and Claire Morpurgo founded Farms for City Children in 1976 while both were teachers. | |
| More than 100,000 students have visited the farms. | |
| Morpurgo expressed the view that an escape to the countryside is more valuable than ever in an age of smartphones and social media. | |
| Princess Anne has been patron since 1991 and visited children meeting horses for the first time. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This bulletin ran the story as its closing human interest item, with a warm feature treatment built around Clare Morpurgo's backstory, the children's reactions and the royal visit. It gave more space to Clare's memories of North Devon wildlife and to her views on education than the later bulletin. The tone was positive and gentle, with no scrutiny of the charity or its finances.
- “Bringing his books to life, an author so inspired by the bond between children and animals, he and his wife have dedicated half a century to connecting kids to the countryside.”
- “Education, finally, is for creating positive memories. That's what it's for. It's not for passing exams.”
- “A patron since 1991, Princess Anne visited children at the charity today who were meeting horses for the first time in their lives.”
The late bulletin carried a shortened version of the same report, also as a closing item after unrelated news. Its distinct framing was to present Morpurgo as ahead of his time and to stress that an escape to the country is more valuable than ever in an age of smartphones and social media. The rest of the package followed the same warm, celebratory line as the earlier bulletin.
- “He thinks an escape to the country is more valuable than ever”
- “So when they come here, there are no phones”
- “I love meeting the animals, especially like I love horses horses are like one of my favorite animals”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 19:24 BST
Michael Morpurgo, author
“It is a farm, and they've been part of it,”
ITV Evening News · Wed 23 Sept - 19:25 BST
Claire Morpurgo, the lady who started Farms for City Children
“The hedges, which are massive round here, were full of wildlife.”
ITV Evening News · Wed 23 Sept - 22:27 BST
Michael Morpurgo, children's author
“So Michael Morpurgo was ahead of his time when he and his wife set up a scheme for city kids”
ITV News at Ten · Wed 23 Sept - 22:28 BST
Clare Morpurgo, wife
“Farms for city children more than a hundred thousand students have come to Michael and Clare Morpurgo goes farms a chance to learn about nature”
ITV News at Ten · Wed 23 Sept
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.