Greenfingered youngsters scoop top prize at annual gardening festival

GREENFINGERED schoolchildren are celebrating after their entry for a gardening competition was crowned the best.

Winnington Park Primary School & Nursery in Northwich runs a weekly gardening club as part of its extra-curricular offering.

And on Saturday (June 29), children in the Winnington Park Gardening Club, accompanied by teaching assistant Helen Page and volunteer Estelle Woods, attended the Arley Hall Garden Festival.

Their raised bed garden, created with plants grown at the Firdale Road school, was centred on a theme of 'Dig Detectives'.

Judges at the festival were 'blown away' by the variety of plants used, the composition of the garden, and the children's involvement and knowledge of their plants.

Head teacher Rob Cole said: "It's fantastic. They've been coming together in the gardening club since very early spring.

"It’s an inclusive club and the children have grown everything themselves.

(Image: Winnington Park Primary School)

"We’ve got a raised bed in the greenhouse and they grow everything from seed, when they’ve had to work inside they’ve created artwork and researched what they’re doing.

"Saturday was great, we're really proud of them. Having the competition ahead of us has been a real bonus point and gave the children a real target to work towards.

"They were over the moon when they received first prize, which was well-deserved."