Sharks off the British coast? Absolutely — and now there's a free resource that helps kids aged 7 to 11 meet them. UK-based conservation charity the Shark Trust has released Sharks in Schools, a 30-minute pre-recorded video lesson aimed at Key Stage 2 pupils, covering shark and ray biology, the threats these animals face, and practical ways young people can help with conservation.
The lesson spotlights species actually found in UK waters and is mapped to the national curriculum, so it slots neatly into classroom teaching. It was built by Mark Stokes-Packer, who gives school talks in Plymouth for the Trust's Community Engagement team, and content creator Louis Hogan, who added imagery, animations and interactive quizzes.
The idea came from a simple problem: the Trust gets more requests for school visits than its small team can handle, and being based in Plymouth makes nationwide outreach tricky. A digital pack solves both — anyone working with young people can download it, wherever they are.
And the pack goes well beyond one video. It includes an anatomy poster, an A-Z of sharks and rays, a British Sharks poster, a skate life cycle guide and activity sheets. The standout for families who love the seaside: an eggcase ID guide, ID key and workbook, plus 'Eggcase Champion' training. Eggcases — the leathery casings sharks, skates and rays leave behind — regularly wash up on British beaches, and recording finds is a genuine form of citizen science the Trust actively promotes.
Why should a traveller care? If you're planning a UK coastal trip with children, this doubles as free holiday material. A rockpool ramble or beach walk can turn into a real scientific contribution once kids know what a mermaid's purse looks like. Plymouth itself makes a natural base: it sits on Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, where the Trust also contributes to the Sea in Our School programme run by the Ocean Conservation Trust, and the city's National Marine Aquarium is one of the country's best for shark-mad youngsters.
Teachers, home educators, scout leaders and parents can request the pack free via the Shark Trust website. The charity hopes it will, in its words, inform and inspire the next generation — and given how much children apparently already know about sharks, that seems a safe bet.
Story via Dive Magazine
