CUTCOMBE Church of England First School has won the Stewart Garden Schools Programme 2016.

The school will receive £1,000 to spend at its local garden centre.

Created and run by Stewart Garden, the programme challenges school pupils aged 6-11 to get creative with its products.

And the students at Cutcombe Church of England First School did just that,sowing and growing a colourful display of vegetables.

The students conducted science experiments and explored the process of photosynthesis to find out how to grow great plants.

The produce will be on display at this year’s Flower and Produce Show at Cutcombe Fete and auctioned off after the event to raise money for local charities.

The judges were impressed by the students’ enthusiasm for gardening and their community spirit.

Andy Burns, managing director at Stewart Garden said: “We congratulate Cutcombe Church of England First School on this project.

"It’s great to see how young people use our products and witness their passion for gardening and growing vegetables. The judges were impressed that Cutcombe Church of England First School integrated the programme into its curriculum and created a project that will help good causes locally.”

Emma Howe, office manager at Cutcombe Church of England First School, said: “Our students have so much passion for gardening and the whole school is ecstatic to have won this year’s Stewart Garden Schools Programme. The students are so excited and are already coming up with lots of ideas on how to spend the vouchers.”