Bloomin’ great success for Gazette area’s schools

Schoolchildren from across Rustington, Littlehampton, Climping and Angmering have shown their are top of the class when it comes to growing the best blooms with several schools being honoured at this year’s Southern Water South and South-east in Bloom competition.

St Margaret’s Primary School, Angmering, and Georgian Gardens Primary School, Rustington, both won gold awards for their efforts.

Others not far behind the achievements of St Margaret’s and Georgian Gardens included Wick’s White Meadows Primary School, Rustington Primary School, Summerlea Primary School, Rustington and St Mary’s CE Primary School, in Climping – which were all judged to be worthy of silver-gilt awards.

Arundel CE Primary School, in Jarvis Road, also received an award for its pupils’ horticultural endeavours, earning a well-deserved silver.

Climping was one of the lucky schools to be visited by celebrity gardener Chris Collins as part of the competition.

Chris, who has tended to the Blue Peter garden, said: “This school is a great little school with a lovely setting and really enthusiastic pupils. It’s great that the teachers think it is important that they attach the outdoor learning to the general learning of the children which is exactly what I like to see!”

Pupils showed Chris round their school grounds and told him what kind of crops they have harvested this year.

The long list of produce included carrots, peas, potatoes and strawberries, which the children said they would try to use to make puddings or add them in as ingredients for the school’s hot lunches.

The youngsters added that their favourite thing about gardening was digging out holes to put the seeds into and watching how the seedlings transformed over time.