As a trainee teacher, you always aim to make a difference in your pupils’ lives. You hope to do things that will have a long-term impact. Even as a probationer, though, you realise that such opportunities are actually quite rare.

I’d always been a keen environmentalist and, as a probationer at Lornshill Academy in Alloa last year, thought I’d take in a talk from beehive adoption service Plan Bee. I knew that founder Warren Bader was a former film and music video producer-turned-beekeeper, and that there might be one or two interesting anecdotes in there. I wasn’t prepared, however, for the impact that his talk would have on my first year as a teacher.

“What happens if people get stung?” Not the first comment I expected after informing my first-year pupils about a new project that had taken months of planning. Two hives had been installed at the school and I thought they would be excited to learn about bees and get fully suited and booted for a beekeeping session.

I remembered something that Bader had said: “Bees won’t be interested in you unless you’re a threat or a flower.” That seemed to settle my pupils.

I hadn’t quite factored in that Plan Bee was a business, and that there would be costs for renting a couple of beehives that were beyond our initial budget. But when a big company (gas provider SGN) came along looking for an environmental project, Bader and his team married the two ideas together.

By studying bees through the lenses of science, art and philosophy, pupils gain the breadth and depth of knowledge that is so desirable

The culmination of my initial idea was a five-year “legacy project”. As well as students helping to design two working beehives for the school and establish a beekeeping club, lessons will cross over into art, science, economics, environmentalism, journalism and life skills. The aim is that the project will have a positive impact on all students throughout their secondary career. It has also been a welcome “real-world” experience for many staff.

There are a number of lessons that I’ve learned from this project. As a probationer, I found it to be an excellent tool for increasing my profile in the school and the area, and a great talking point with young people.

I’ve also seen the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to learning. By studying bees through the lenses of science, art, and religious, moral and philosophical studies (RMPS), young people gain the breadth and depth of knowledge that is so desirable.

They develop valuable skills for learning, life and the workplace, as well as an important feeling of ownership of their work. The pupils who are learning about bees this year will, in future, train other pupils on beekeeping and environmental issues.

So I’d say to new teachers, give things a try - this project went far beyond anything I could have expected at the start of my probation year.

Tom Ambrose teaches religious, moral and philosophical studies at Lornshill Academy in Alloa, Clackmannanshire