'Beekeeping helps me clear my mind and get better headspace'

"When I'm down there, we're looking at the bees and that's all I'm thinking about."

Seventeen-year-old Jenson and his parents credit his beekeeping hobby for his return to mainstream education.

Following the coronavirus pandemic, Jenson had struggled with anxiety and depression, and eventually started being home schooled, when he was in Year 8 and approaching his teens.

His mum Donna said taking him out of school was "the best thing" she could have done, saying "the hardest thing for any parent to see is their child depressed [with] low self-esteem and not wanting to socialise".

"It was hard for me, for the family, for everybody," she added.

She said Jenson needed to "find his own way" without any "forcing or structure".

The experience eventually led him to go back to school, having been away for four years.

Jenson has since brought two hives, which are kept at his grandparents' home in Minsterley.

"[My family] have been really supportive towards me when it comes to my bees," he explained.

"Both my mum and my grandma, they've both got suits and they like to come and help me out on occasion, when I'm checking on the hives."

Jenson, from Four Crosses in Powys, said looking after his hives can help him "focus and not worry" about day-to-day life.

"It helps clear your mind and get in a better headspace when it comes to life in general," he explained.

"I spend a lot of time out here in the countryside and beekeeping has really helped me to grow as a person."

'Shropshire is beautiful'

Jenson is not the only young person in the area who has benefited from taking up the activity.

Run by chemistry teacher Justin Wade, the club regularly has eight pupils who look after it's apiary and learn about the life of bees.

Sixth form student Evelyn joined when it started three years ago and said she would not have thought about keeping bees as a hobby if it wasn't for the school.

"It takes up a lot of time but it's really important for people my age to get out and to be in the environment," she said.

"I mean we live in Shropshire, it's beautiful and we really need to make the most of it."

The 16-year-old, from Edgmond, finds bees have made a "nice, calming environment" for her and is looking to do more when she leaves school.

She added she would have "loved" to have had bees "when she was younger."

"When I'm looking at universities, I do always have a lurk in whether they have bees and that does come into account for me, strangely enough," she said.

"When I'm older I would love to have bees, which is strange because we always say it's when people are older, so I guess that's when you do have the time to care for them."

Another pupil to join the club is 13-year-old Elizabeth, who got involved when she arrived at the school in Year 7, having previously taken some beekeeping assessments.

Her family has bees at her home in Knightley, near Gnossal, and Elizabeth said she's interested in finding out more about them.

"When I first came, it was autumn so there was less chance to go in the bees because it was getting colder," she said.

"[Instead], we made candles, we did melissopalynology, which is the study of more pollinators in the honey, then we started making some frames.

"They're just honestly really fascinating creatures when you think about it, like the whole structure of the hive and the way they work, it's so cool."

Melissa enjoys having people her age in the club, saying it is "quite hard to find" young people who are into beekeeping.