Green Fingers at Rupert House Win RHS Award

Rupert House School gardening club were awarded a Level 5 in the Campaign for School Gardening 2013 from the Royal Horticultural Society yesterday. The morning assembly commenced with a slideshow of students gardening, all smiling with trowels in hand, and a welcome to Ted Casey of the RHS.

Mrs Brook, head of gardening at the school, presented a tapestry of her childhood home accompanied by its extensive working garden. She went on to describe her inspiration for a gardening club at Rupert House as being seeing the 2008 Chelsea Flower Show on T.V. where there was an edible garden. Her suggestion was taken up by the Headteacher and Bursar and in the summer of 2009, and eight raised flower beds were then set up in the playground.

The club went on to win a Dorset Cereal kit and they were able to plant an apple tree with it. Students Florence, Isabel, Holly and Phoebe then stood up and shared their gardening club experience, describing how fun it is and that they have planted lots of vegetable and bulbs, and also watched birds, as part of the RSPB bird watch, in the garden.

Ted Casey applauded the success of the garden and the students achievements in the venture, presenting Mrs Brook and a few Rupert House gardening club members with a plaque commemorating their achievement and two shrubs for the garden. He said that Rupert House was only the fifth school in the London and Thames Valley area to receive this award.

The students and Mrs Brook clearly take great pride in their garden, and so they should, it is beautiful!