Pupils at these 10 Leeds schools will be getting their hands dirty in the name of education
School gardens will become classrooms at these 10 schools in Leeds.
Starting this month, the schools will join The Growbag Family – a year-long initiative bringing hands-on food growing and outdoor learning into the heart of the primary curriculum.
The programme is fully funded (worth £2,500 per school), thanks to Grow to School CIC supported by the Edina Trust, and will run through to July 2026. The schools taking part are:
- Christ the King Catholic Primary School
- Penny Field School
- Iveson Primary School
- Meadowfield Primary School
- Victoria Primary Academy
- Cookridge Primary School
- St Bartholomew's C of E Primary School
- Southroyd Primary and Nursery School
- Wykebeck Primary School
- Allerton CE Primary School
The programme hopes to ensure a thriving, sustainable school garden with confident staff trained in outdoor education while empowering pupils with greater food awareness and nature connection. As well as supporting schools with ready-to-use toolkit to use year after year, it will increase children’s access to green spaces and support pupils to take small, meaningful actions on climate change.
Each school will receive expert-led food growing and outdoor learning lessons, growing packs, curriculum resources, staff training, and ongoing support to create vibrant growing spaces and embed outdoor learning into everyday teaching.
One school already familiar with the programme is Peel Park Primary in Bradford, where teacher feedback has been overwhelmingly positive: One said: “From my perspective, the project has made a real difference for our children, particularly in Year 5, where Vashti’s sessions have been incredibly well received. Her calm, knowledgeable and encouraging approach has helped the children build their confidence in applying scientific ideas.”
In addition to the support from the Edina Trust, Grow to School is partnering with Healthy Schools Leeds to help identify and support schools that would benefit most from the programme. T
Ama Chaney, Director of Operations at Grow to School CIC, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome these ten new schools toThe Growbag Family. With support from the Edina Trust and in collaboration with Healthy Schools Leeds, we’re helping schools bring learning to life outside the classroom, while empowering children to become healthier, more environmentally aware.”