TRIUMPHANT Chelford CE Primary School has ploughed through an array of green fingered challenges to be named a RHS Five Star Gardening School.

Earlier this summer, the Oak Road school learned it had successfully achieved the top level five of the RHS School Gardening Award for its much-loved and well-attended garden.

Alongside the prestigious accreditation, the school was awarded £200 of National Garden gift vouchers, a framed certificate, two ‘Five Star Gardening School’ display panels and the RHS official ‘Five Star Gardening Schools’ logo to display on letters and documents.

“We are extremely proud of our garden and very proud of what we have achieved at our school,” said headteacher Alison Scott.

“We are a small school, active in the community, and like to take a creative approach to learning outside. It is healthy, stimulating and good fun.”

The garden, which started out as a rose bed in 2009, has grown to play a pivotal role in the education of the pupils and the wider community.

It is incorporated into the school’s curriculum at every opportunity and boasts sensory, recycle and vegetable sections.

“It benefits the children because it caters for all abilities,” said project co-ordinator Julie Adams.

“It allows every child the facility to appreciate how things are produced and get in touch with the environment.

“The garden is ever-changing, we don’t stand still. The children are full of ideas.”

As well as impressing the RHS team, the garden grabbed the attention of Cheshire Life. Last year, the school was named winner of the Cheshire Life School Garden of the Year competition, securing £1000 to spend on the outdoor facility.

The garden has also bolstered the school’s relationship with the wider Chelford community. In July, the school held a ‘Chelford Chums’ afternoon tea event in the garden, with the children leading the residents around the plot, teaching them about the different areas.

Alison added: “It builds the children’s confidence, esteem and impacts on all areas of the curriculum. Hopefully, maybe in the future, we could have somebody at Chelsea.

“It would be lovely to inspire gardeners of the future.”

Commemorating The Great War

TO commemorate the start of World War 1, pupils have created a special garden that has been seeded with wild flowers, including poppies and corn flowers.

The school has also commissioned Holmes Chapel glass and mosaic artist Patricia Lee to design and make a commemorative plaque.

The plaque will show the links between the old and new Chelford schools – ‘Chelford 1914-2014’ – and will be sited as a panel in the school’s new wooden gazebo.