Royal Horticultural Society challenge for green-fingered Stansted pupils

Year 8 students at Forest Hall School are designing a model of a garden which they would like to see in their school or community, and will present their project to a panel of horticultural experts in November at RHS Hyde Hall.

The project is part of The Royal Horticultural Society's Campaign For School Gardening, called Green Plan It.

The six students, Darcy Ayliffe, Emma Erasmus, Courtney Joynson, Jack Clarke, Eden Armstrong and Ollie Law, spent a day at RHS Hyde Hall, near Chelmsford, taking part in activities and learning about the project.

Teacher Daniel Ricketts and gardening club leader, who is responsible for the project, said. "It was a brilliant day with the RHS team. It was really exciting to see hidden skills and knowledge being displayed by our students. All six have shown great commitment to working on the garden in the past year and this is the perfect way for them to show an even wider array of talent and really get the space used to its full potential."

Anthea Harrison, an award-winning garden designer from Stansted has been helping the pupils design their garden from scratch with practical plant knowledge.

The ten-week project involves the team using a wide range of skills such as maths, computing and English in order to prepare their report and presentation.

Head of school Hannah Jones said: "I am extremely proud of how hard our students have worked on our school garden and now in the wider community. Our students have shown a real passion in improving the environment for all which is great to see."

According to the campaign's website, Green Plan It is a student-led project which encourages the pupils to discover the world of plants, and rethink the role of green spaces.

Through Green Plan It, the website site says, the students will have the opportunity to discover how plants affect people and the planet as well as develop their confidence, leadership and decision making skills and creativity.