Schools & the RHS

Copthorne Primary School

Copthorne Primary School is an inner city school in Bradford. Last year our Nursery Garden was surrounded by a broken down fence and plagued by vandalism. This year we have had a new 1.8m (6ft) high fence put around our garden which means we can now garden without worrying about what will happen to our plants when we are not there.

We have had some landscaping which includes five raised beds. These are shared by the children in the Nursery and Reception classes (aged between three and five years). Two of these beds are for flowering plants and the other three are used as vegetable, herb and fruit patches.

We are pleased with our first harvest of spinach and have used it to make a spinach and potato curry. Other food plants we are growing are potatoes, garlic, onions, broad beans, cauliflowers, cabbages, swede, peas, strawberries, mint, coriander, thyme, oregano (for our pizzas) and pumpkins (for Halloween). We are also growing sunflowers, sweet peas and ornamental gourds.

The children really enjoy digging in the soil, feeding and watering the plants and watching the plants growing. They are learning how to look after plants and about where some of our food comes from.

As you can see the children are really enjoying the garden.

Mrs Freda Brogden and the Nursery Team