Derbyshire primary school near Chesterfield unveils beautiful garden – as headteacher praises community for coming together to create a “lovely learning resource” in just three months

Pupils, parents and teachers at Ashover Primary School have celebrated the arrival of the warm weather in the best way possible as the primary officially unveiled their brand new school garden on Friday, May 1.

The entire school community has spent the last three months working hard to ensure the garden was ready in time for spring.

Sue Myhill, the headteacher at Ashover Primary School, said: “The children were really excited, and they kept asking when it's their turn to work in the garden.

"The garden is right next to the school entrance so the parents have been able to look over the fence and see the progress.

"They can't believe how much work we got done in just three months and what a lovely learning resource is it is for the children to learn in.”

Pupils were at the heart of the project from day one – with children coming up with designs for the outdoor space before a small committee of governors and staff members proposed the final layout.

The garden invites the young learners to pass through a fruit tree pathway, which takes them to a willow archway, leading to a shaded sitting area, where children can observe nature, listen to birds and enjoy time outdoors.

Other features include a special sensory area, a polytunnel, and eight raised flowers beds – one for each class at the school.

Mrs Myhill said: “The children came up with ideas of what would be good to have in the garden and drew their ideas.

"A small committee of governors and staff worked together over several weeks to try and come up with a final design.

"We came up with a list of materials that we needed for the garden and we reached out to local companies and groups, who have been great.

"We are really pleased with how it turned out.

"We have got a sensory area with different plants where the children can use their five senses to learn including touch, smell, feel, see, taste.

"We built a willow archway and a seating area in the shade where we can take the children in.

"We have built eight raised flower beds, one for each of our eight classes.

"There were already several fruit trees on the land so built a pathway that goes through the fruit trees to the shaded area.

"The children can gather the fruit from the trees, and we can use that for cooking in our school kitchen or they can can use it at snack time.

"We have started a cookery club and a gardening club for children to be able to make the most of the new garden.

"Because our year sixes are going to be leaving us in the summer, we have decided that they would be the ones starting off doing the gardening club to give them a chance to use the garden before they move on to secondary school.”

The garden was created with a help of parents, staff and pupils, who attended two community days, organised by the school on the weekends to carry out works necessary to have the garden ready for spring.

Mrs Myhill said: “The community days were really well attended, on average we had about 30 parents and pupils that came along and worked across those two days.

"We had a polytunnel built, we built a base for a shed to be installed as well as the pathways around the garden and the flower beds.

"These were really lovely days and everyone said how much they enjoyed them.”

A number of local community groups and businesses stepped in to donate the funds and equipment necessary for the new outdoor space – with even the local GP surgery offering some funding for the project.

Ashover Produce Club donated funds for the garden shed and attended to help children grow some of the first plants in the polytunnel.

Local companies, which donated materials for the garden included Markovitz at Clay Cross, Derwent Valley Lions Club and Frank Key among others.

Mrs Myhill added: “I would like to say a massive, massive thank you to everyone in the local community who had any part in helping to have our garden ready for spring.

"Whether it was digging a bit of the pathway, donating or even coming along and making teas and coffees, any bit of help was really greatly appreciated.

"We wouldn't have been able to get it up and running in time for the children to start using it now if it hadn't been for everybody's support.”