Green fingered youngsters dig deep to grow their own lunch

Anne Gunning, from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), was at Eagley Infants School showing pupils how to 'grow their own'.

Reception children took part in a number of activities including learning how to dig with trowels and how to prepare the soil for planting.

They were also give 'spotter sheets' with pictures of features around the garden associated with gardening and growing.

Children had a chance to sow seeds to grow peas and carrots — and also learned about different sorts of sort of soil.

Mrs Gunning said:"This was a very messy activity which involves water and soil and making worm and circle shapes and deciding if the soil felt gritty or silky.

"They enjoyed all the activities and were just excited to be outside.

"They particularly liked trying out some different hand tools."

Tips on growing your own lunch can be found on the RHS campaign for school gardening website.

Mrs Gunning added: "They were fascinated by the fact that I was from the Royal Horticultural Society and I must admit I played on this a bit by telling them I would be reporting back to the Queen on their digging techniques.

"I can tell this school uses the outdoors repeatedly as the children were used to handling tools and exploring nature and using the outdoors as a learning experience rather than just a play time.

"The school has some amazing outdoor facilities."

The grounds at Eagley have been transformed into an outdoor classroom where children can socialise, learn and grow.

Lynn Clarkson, the school's gardening co-ordinator, said: "Each time Anne works with a different year group, the aim being to show the class teachers how easy it is to integrate gardening related activities into the curriculum.

"She is really inspirational and her enthusiasm for getting the children involved is infectious."

Eagley Infants is a partner school of the RHS meaning it gets regular visits from society officials.