STAFF at Richmond Hill School are celebrating after receiving two awards recognising efforts both in and out of the classroom.
The Sunridge Avenue school, which caters for children with severe learning difficulties, has just been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag, recognising its commitment to becoming a more sustainable operation and teaching children about the importance of being environmentally friendly.
Key to gaining Green Flag status has been the work of teacher Emma Burnage and teaching assistant Vicky Hales, who designed and maintains the school’s impressive gardening area.
The garden is home to raised vegetable beds and rows of fruit bushes, a polytunnel means sowing and growing can continue all year round, and water butts and compost bins mean the garden sustains itself.
Businesses and organisations including the Prince’s Trust, Wates Construction, Volker Highways and Bonner & Cook helped the school transform the patch of green space into a working kitchen garden.
Emma said: “It’s been completely transformed and the children absolutely love it out there. It’s great for them to learn about the science of how things grow, and they love digging and finding the potatoes.”
Deputy head Debbie Foolkes said the school was also delighted to have been awarded the Becta ICT award, which recognises the part that ICT in schools plays in pupils’ learning.
She said: “We have an excellent technician, Josie Kingston, who writes software that is appropriate for the children.
“Our children might have learning difficulties but they can still achieve really successfully, you just have to be a bit more creative.”