RHS School Gardening Team of the Year 2023 (Secondary)

Overall winner

Sandhill View Academy
Sunderland, Tyne & Wear
RHS School Gardening Team of the Year 2023 (Secondary) Winner

About Sandhill View Academy

Our secondary school winner is Sandhill View Academy’s eco team – a group of 30 secondary school students from years 7-11. Teacher, Aidan Hodgson, who nominated the team and facilitates their efforts in the garden, praised the group.

Aidan says: “I am incredibly proud of the students for their sheer determination to make their garden a success. Their goal was to create a space that increases biodiversity within our school grounds and to grow food that has zero food miles. Winning this award demonstrates that they have accomplished their mission, with overwhelming success! The whole school has been hugely supportive of the school garden and projects run by the eco team, with older team members inspiring younger members to join the green revolution!"   

Year 9 team member Charlie Hutchinson added: “To be made winners of a national gardening competition is surreal. We have worked very hard to create a garden that we can enjoy and that the whole school can benefit from.” 
 

Judges' comments

The judges felt that: “There’s a really wide range of young people visiting this garden and we loved how the school uses it for alternative provision, helping children with their confidence and self-esteem. There’s such a high level of engagement and ownership from the children, it’s heart-warming to see. We were impressed with how gardening has empowered the students to take pride in their community in different ways by working with the local council. We also loved the idea of a ‘no pressure zone’ – students can be free and just appreciate the space.”

Our visit to Sandhill

Read all about our visit to this inspiring school.

Sandhill View Academy's entry video