The Shanly Foundation have donated £2,000 to Holtspur School and Pre-School’s Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) to enable work to begin on the new garden area behind their ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ building which was constructed two years ago thanks to earlier fundraising.  
The new classroom inspired the PTA to transform the overgrown and unused space behind it into an area for creative outlet. The development will provide an area to showcase the hard work of the gardening and art club members and will also be a space for learning new skills and exploring pupil creativity.
A committee has been set up to plan exactly what the space requires, how it should be managed and the best way to blend gardening with the arts to create an eye-catching new facility.
Initial ideas have been to build a nature garden to attract local wildlife, along with fruit and vegetable patches where children can grow their own ingredients for food technology lessons. The aim is to have 4 or 5 planters, that will be painted by the art club, alongside a herb garden to improve the pupil’s cooking skills. The art club will also contribute by painting murals on the surrounding walls and making mosaics out of recycled materials.
The PTA is made up of parents who aim to provide the school with the extras that the county is unable to provide using donations from within the community. Maxine Ashman, PTA Member says: “We still need a further £5,000 to buy and create the vegetable garden as we need to build planters, benches, work areas, decomposition areas as well as buying plants and tools.”
“As a school we are extremely community focused and arrange many fundraising events. We really hope this project will not only benefit the children but also the elderly community, allowing them to visit us, help in the garden and then enjoy the fruits of our labour at an annual tea party and even harvest baskets!”
The project will bring the arts, sciences, gardening and community building together and will enhance the pre-existing outdoor lessons. The pupils will learn how to create the right environment for the plants and wildlife throughout the different seasons.
For more information on Holtspur School and Pre-School PTA or to donate, please visit: holtspursch.co.uk/pta