Jersey schoolchildren witness rare sighting of whale breaching on school trip back from Sark

  • Watch as a humpback whale is caught on camera between Jersey and Sark. Pictures from St Lawrence Primary School / Pat Wilson

Jersey primary school pupils have spotted a humpback whale breaching as they were on a day trip to Sark.

The Year 3 class from St Lawrence Primary School were researching the island's history and trying their hands at geocaching and compass work.

During their boat ride home, the students realised that a humpback whale was following them.

That was when the school captured a stunning video of the whale breaking from the water, which they say became "the absolute highlight" of their trip.

A breach is when a whale propels its body out of the water - if more than half of the body appears, it is considered a full breach.

The exact reason behind whales and other aquatic mammals doing this is unknown.

However, as most breaches occur when whales are in groups, scientists believe that it is a non-verbal signal to either show dominance, act as a warning of nearby predators or simply a form of play.

One theory is that whales, such as these two humpbacks off the coast of America, breach to establish social hierarchies in their pods. Credit: PA

Société Jersiaise's Dr Paul Chambers is an expert on marine life in the Channel Islands and says the footage "extraordinary".

He explains: "Our first humpback sighting locally was on 4 November 2017, just to the west of Jersey waters and it was considered amazing at the time.

"We now get sightings most years but they are rare, with around one sighting last year.

"My view is that they are following their food and seem to feeding along the thermal front between Jersey and Guernsey.

"Our sea temperature has changed markedly in the past 40 years and the front may be more exaggerated than before which would attract more fish."

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