Have you seen our wonderful new hedge? During the week before half term, over 100 individual plants were dug in along the 40 metre length of the KS1 playground fencing on the Richmond Road. Even the children lent a hand with a representative for each class, from Reception through to Year 6, helping to plant alongside Mr Pantling on the Tuesday morning. A huge thank you to Shrub & Stone, a local landscaping company, who helped us choose the hedge and did all the groundwork needed to prepare for planting. The younger children thoroughly enjoyed watching the digger at work from their playground!

The school theme this week has, of course, been the environment and the children have reflected, both in class and during assembly, on what it means to look after the environment they live in.

From start to finish this has been a whole community project involving children, parents, staff and local businesses and it is a wonderful reflection of what we can do when we work together to achieve something that inspires us. As it grows and fills out over the next couple of years, the hedge will provide much needed privacy for our children and a means of cutting pollution from cars and buses on the busy Richmond Road. It will also look fantastic, both for the children in the playground and our local community as they walk past or wait at the bus stop.

The focus on improving the children’s environment will continue over the next few months using the funds we have raised. During the half term break, the raised beds in the Secret Garden will be repaired, as will the pergola in the junior playground. Plans are also underway for plenty more planting throughout the school site, including the entrance and courtyard.