GREEN-fingered pupils at Manor Park Primary School are celebrating a major accolade from the Royal Horticultural Society.
The efforts of the Garden Gang have been recognised with the Level 5 School Gardening Award, the highest award the RHS can bestow on a school.
The Garden Gang are a group of year 4 and 5 pupils who are mentors to their peers, helping Mrs Rogers every week with gardening tasks.
Headteacher Simon Cotterill said: “Manor Park School and Nursery have a garden and allotment area all the community can be proud of.
“The school have a team of helpers called the Garden Gang, who are supported by Mrs Rogers and have worked wonders in creating such a beautiful area.
“All their hard work and vision have been recognised with the Level 5 School Gardening Award, which is testament to the quality of the gardening provision and how it is linked with the wider curriculum in school.
“The garden is very much part of the school’s creative curriculum, and is brilliantly supported by Mrs Rogers and the Garden Gang.
“They teach children from reception to year 6 for one afternoon a week the skills and knowledge needed to successfully plant, grow and nurture a variety of fruits and vegetables.”
To gain the Level 5 award the children chose to develop a special sensory area, which involved researching plants, different materials and numerous ideas for each of the senses.
They also included a water feature to make the area more relaxing for visitors.
Herbs were planted along with many varieties of vibrant flowers. They were also keen to involve the wider community by throwing a garden party for parents and school governors.
Each year the Garden Gang raises money to support the garden by selling shares to the school community.
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Each share is valued at £10, and for anyone who purchases a share they become an official share holder in the garden and receive a share certificate, and if the harvest is successful all receive a dividend of fruit and vegetables.
Mr Cotterill added: “The children do not plan rest on their laurels. They have plans to extend the garden, with the school investigating rearing chickens in the future and involving the community when the larger garden is completed.”
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