Thomas Becket Catholic School
|
 |
Judges’ comments:
“Very focused, looks to life skills and learning. We loved this person’s passion.”
Watch their 30-second video pitch
View their photos
Read their original 300-word entry
I teach horticulture and 3 years ago we had funding for greenhouses and sheds so that we can deliver a Level 1 course in Horticulture to some Key Stage 4 students.
My teaching area is a shed, I have bubble wrapped the inside and put pin boards on the walls and ceilings with posters on to brighten it up, but it is still a shed. It gets cold in the winter even with my blow heater on full and warm in the summer. The floor is straining in the middle and I can only get 10 students in at a time. We have to share the space with numerous spiders and the occasional mouse seeking cover! I love the creatures but they are not to everyone’s taste!
Horticulture is often a skill taught a lot in primaries and then forgotten in secondary so it is wonderful that we can carry on this life skill into secondary and perhaps even make a career path for some. With the aid of an amazing building I could offer Key Stage 3 classes in horticulture as part of the curriculum and give hands on practical lessons that link with many other subject areas such as geography, science & design and have comfy Key Stage 4 students.
We encourage primary schools to visit our school and take part in events such as horticulture thus making their transition into secondary easier. This building would mean that I could have whole classes up from primary schools to visit our garden area and take part in hands-on activities; at present we have to limit the groups to 10-12 per visit.
It could mean that I could offer 500 plus students a year a link to the wonderful world of gardening.
