The organisers of England's largest agricultural show, The Great Yorkshire Show, has expressed alarm that rules designed to discourage parents from taking their children on term-time holidays could mean that families are less likely to attend.

Show organisers south of the border have become increasingly concerned about the issue following last month's High Court ruling where a judge stated that unless a child is sick, absent because of religious observance reasons, or unable to attend because their school transport did not arrive, they must attend school - unless the head teacher has stated otherwise.

Many now fear that with the current High Court ruling, fewer children of school age will visit agricultural shows - unless it's part of an organised school trip.

Fortunately the ruling doesn't apply to Scotland, and those parents taking children out of school are at worst, likely only to receive a stern letter of reprimand. That's just as well because our Royal Highland Show has put a lot of effort into catering for school children through the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET).

The Trust was established in 1999 as the educational charity of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).

RHET aims to provide the opportunity for every child in Scotland to learn about food, farming and the countryside and to create a wider understanding of the environmental, economic and social realities of rural Scotland.

Outdoor learning is an integral part of the work that RHET does. By taking young people to the working countryside and introducing them to the people behind the gate, it creates a connection between the pupils, the farmers and their families.

This connection in turn creates a deep level of engagement that extends beyond knowing where milk, eggs or any other produce comes from. The outcome of these events is the creation of a personal and social connection that will create not just great memories, but a lasting legacy.

Outdoor learning sows the seed for an integrated Scottish food community - a connected producer and consumer with a mutual understanding and appreciation.

RHET operates in 12 areas throughout Scotland, each with their own volunteer committee. They undertake to train farmers and teachers in the delivery of information relating to food and farming. In addition to providing trained volunteers to give classroom talks, they provide schools with free educational resource materials, competitions and projects as well as organising farm visits and outdoor education events across Scotland.

Last year 32,500 young people were engaged with inside the classroom and 18,000 engaged with out on the farm.

As safety is paramount, risk assessments are carried out on every RHET farm. All children walk through a disinfectant foot bath when visiting and leaving the farm, as well as wash their hands with soap and water at the end of every visit.

RHET has revealed its programme of activities for this year's Royal Highland Show that will run from 22 to 25 June at Ingliston on the outskirts of Edinburgh. More than 30,000 children, including 300 school groups are expected to take part over the four days of the show. That involves 145 RHET volunteers collectively giving over 300 volunteer hours.

School groups of up to 33 pupils attending the show cost only £34 when booked through RHET, and 35 free tours are given to schools.

Building on previous years, RHET's programme for this year's show offers a wide-ranging mixture of bookable and drop-in events, from forestry to fish, designed to engage and inspire young learners.

Pupils of all ages will have the opportunity to explore healthy eating habits, and can get hands-on cooking up delicious dishes using Scottish produce, including meat in the Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) cookery theatre. They will also learn about food preparation and minimising food waste with Love Food Hate Waste.

Hands-on activities continue with grain grinding, oilseed pressing and scone baking as part of an exploration of the life cycles and many uses of cereals.

Three mini-activities themed around potatoes will introduce primary-aged pupils to how potatoes grow and what happens to them in a packing factory.

Agricultural machinery is literally a huge part of the farming industry and older pupils will have the chance to get up close and personal with some serious kit. Before they know it, they will cover all aspects of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and discover how farmers use STEM every day - from computers and consoles to costs and calibration.