They began by emptying a rucksack to explore all the kit a seal watcher has and the children came up with excellent reasons for why each item was needed. They already knew a lot about Grey Seals and had lots of interesting questions to ask...

• Do seals just eat meat?
• How do seals get net caught round their necks?
• Are all seals furry?
• Why do seals wear hats?
• How do seals know each other?
• How can you tell males & females?
• How do seals give birth?
• How do you get so close to the seals? (I don't - I lie down on the cliff top and have a very big zoom lens!)

Illustrated with giant digital still and video images on plasma screens and a projection wall, the talk covered key points about grey seals, such as...

• Identifying grey seals and individuals
• A year in the life of a Grey Seal
• The animals seals are related to
• Common seal behaviours - what they do & how!
• What they eat
• The hazards seals face

The children enthusiastically took part in a range of activities that included...

• Swimming & hauling like a seal
• Comparing
  • their diving skills with a seal's
  • parts of a seal's body with other mammals
• Working out
  • the odd one out seal
  • the direction of seal haul trails on the beach.

The plan is to follow the talk with a walk for the junior pupils around the headland to look out for the seals' favourite places and to do some survey work. Many thanks to Kehelland School staff and pupils, as well as to Sara Dowler.