Sustainable Schools

Portway Junior School - Eco School Silver Award Holder

 Grounds and Gardens - Proud Achievements

Connecting children with the outdoors is a cornerstone of our work to be a sustainable school. Here are some of our proud achievements.

 Test Valley in Bloom

We first entered 5 years ago, in 2005, when we had little to show and gained a highly commended. In subsequent years, as our work and involvement with the local community and other organisations developed, we gained 3^rd, then 1^st, then 2^nd, and again 1^st. We have consistently achieved silver gilt in the regional awards of Britain in Bloom, into which as prize winners we are automatically entered.

     Test Valley in Bloom 2006              Class garden 2008

Wallace & Gromit Vegetable Garden

In 2005-6, we took up the then-named DfES challenge to design a school food growing garden. Sponsored by Aardman animations and timed to tie in with release of 'The Curse of the Were Rabbit', we were delighted to hear that out of 650 schools we had been judged 2^nd nationally! The presentation at Kew Gardens in April 2006 gave children from across the school the opportunity to meet then Secretary of State for Education Jacqui Smith but more excitingly for the children at least... Wallace and Gromit themselves!

    2^nd place!                               Wallace and Gromit meet Portway pupils

Golden Snail Award

Science investigations in year 4 about snails and what they prefer to eat gained a British Malacological Society award for best school's science project involving snails. An award presentation at the National History Museum gave pupils involved in the project the chance to meet our top scientists and experts in the study of molluscs and a chance to explore the museum.

Receiving the Golden Snail Award                  Snail talk!

School Landscape Programme

The whole school community worked together to produce a strategic plan for our school grounds. Since completing the plan in 2007, we have built our school food growing garden based on our winning Wallace and Gromit Design, planted a woodland walk and relocated the staff car park. This now allows safe passage to the field and nature study area and will give us the chance to develop our school travel plan to encourage walking and, eventually, more cycling to school.

Rotary International of Britain and Ireland Schools and Overall National Environment Award

Going Green - Our Local Agenda 21* was our first sustainability project report, written for Rotary International four years ago, in 2007, and earned us RIBI's coveted Rodney Huggins award for best school and best overall environment project. We were honoured to be invited to attend the annual Rotary Conference at Bournemouth BIC for our project 'Local Agenda 21' where pupils spoke about our work and received our trophy; this led to support from the Andover Rotary Club, in whose ward we fall, for which we are extremely grateful.

*Local Agenda 21 - At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the United Nations agreed that the best starting point for the achievement of sustainable development is at the local level. LA21 follows the principles of sustainable development and the goal of ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, both now and in the future.

 Media Appearances

We have featured twice on BBC Radio Solent, pupils being interviewed about our involvement in the 2008 Hampton Court Flower Show and our Breathing Places Tree Planting, together with a live appearance on Pippa Greenwood's radio gardening show.

Hampton Court Flower Show Growing Schools Garden

Designed by Chris Beardshaw, this garden won best in show and the Tudor Rose for overall best garden at the Royal Horticultural Society's Hampton Court Flower Show in 2008. We were invited as one of 30 schools across the UK to take part. Every year group contributed artefacts created as part of regular curricular work ranging from English and maths to art and R.E. Gardening club, with the help of parents and friends of the school, raised salad plants which were a mainstay of the garden. Pupils also took part in the show itself, running demonstrations in the garden on the final day.

 Lettuces we grew in the garden at Hampton Court;  Clay primroses and mosaics, which were made by Portway pupils  for the garden, can now be seen at Birmingham Botanical Garden. The Show Garden was relocated to Birmingham to create a permanent inspiration for schools, teachers and pupils.

Our work also contributed to the acclaimed 'Virtual Growing Schools Garden':

http://www.thegrowingschoolsgarden.org.uk/

In addition, we were chosen as one of the schools that were case studied and then featured in the National Press.

Breathing Places Award

In 2008-9 pupils, their families, teachers and governors worked together from both the Junior and Infant Schools to plant over 1200 trees to create a woodland walk. Wild flowers were also planted in an adjoining meadow. This was made possible by a Big Lottery Breathing Places Award of £10,000.

Our woodland always need work as the young trees establish themselves and if you would like to join a working group to care for them, we would be very grateful for your help. Please get in touch if you can help.

Children, their families, teachers from both schools

plant trees at the bottom of the playing field,

Support from Barclays Bank to finance and build the Wallace and Gromit garden & outdoor stage

2007 Barclays volunteers building the  garden              Y3 pupils tending potatoes in the garden

Year of Food and Farming 2007-8 National Runner Up  

Our Grow it - Cook it - Eat it project was awarded 2^nd place by the National College of School Leadership at a presentation at the Sainsbury Building, London, where we had the opportunity to share our work with other guests and fellow award winners.

We grew it and cooked it.                   We ate it.                                        

Sir Mike Tomlinson congratulated us.

Hampshire CPRE Best Garden Award 2008

Hampshire CPRE chose our school garden as the first recipient of this new award.

Best Recipe Andover Food Fair

Using local produce based on what was growing in our garden at school, we created menus as part of the Andover Food Fair - 'Feast'. Our winning menu was cooked as part of a cookery demonstration at the Fair.

 The Mayor looks on a local chef turns

our recipes in a delicious meal.

Case Studies - where else to find us on the worldwide web:

BBC Breathing Places website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/schools_projects/

Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots Gold Medal Winner 2010

http://www.rootsnshoots.org.uk/blog/2010/11/12/portway-junior-school-5-years-on-mission-update/

Earth Restoration Service

http://earthrestorationservice.org/

As well as having a school tree nursery that we use to care for young tree whips before planting them in the local community, we are also working on a combined Andover schools project to create school nurseries in, hopefully, all our Andover schools. Our aim is to work together to then create a new piece of woodland as a community space for the town, as well as a local school field study site.

As this is an Andover community project, if you would like to find out how to get involved, please let us know.

Importantly, Andover schools are currently seeking a 15-25 acre site on which to plant our trees. If you can help, or know someone who can, we need to hear from you! Thank you.