St Mary's and St Peter's Catholic Primary School takes part in Superbloom project for jubilee

The Superbloom project will see the Tower of London's iconic moat be transformed into a spectacular, flower-filled garden to mark the special occasion. 

And schools across the country - including St Mary's and St Peter's Catholic Primary School on Leeds Road - are taking part on a local level by creating their own Jubilee flower gardens.

Green-fingered pupils have enjoyed getting involved and the school feels it's particularly important for mental health and wellbeing after the pandemic. 

Mathew Waddington, Year 6 teacher at the school, said it was a proud moment to be selected as a partner school for the project.

As part of the initiative, the school is using the same seeds as those sown in the moat, which are being planted in a large '70' outline. 

"The Superbloom project is all about creating an immersive floral interactive installation in the moat of the Tower of London," he said.

"As a school we have been developing our outdoor space. We have converted an unused area into an outdoor classroom. 

"Our amazing caretaker has built us an excellent green house and the children are loving sowing the seeds sent by the Tower of London in preparation for the Superbloom project. 

"We are also planting a variety of vegetables and herbs which we will then use in our health and nutrition lessons when cooking and planning healthy meals."

Mr Waddington added: "We decided this was a really important event to take part in as we feel that gardening is so valuable for the development of both fine and gross motor skills in children, and also of immense benefit to their mental health and wellbeing which has never been more important than now after their return to the routine of school life - after the Covid interruptions of the recent past."

A competition was also held for children to design the mural for the outdoor classroom wall, with the designs brought to life by pupils from the whole school.

"Many studies have shown time in nature is vital to our sense of wellbeing," said project organiser Historic Royal Palaces.

"That's why wellbeing is at the centre of the Superbloom Schools project. Our resources aim to equip and empower teachers to use plants and gardening to enhance teaching and support the wellbeing of their students for years to come."