Growing Together: The Next Chapter

Our allotment has always been much more than a school garden.

It began with our children. They campaigned for a 'grow local' allotment, helped secure funding, designed the space and then rolled up their sleeves and built it. Over the years, generations of Captain Shaw's children have planted, weeded, harvested, explored and continued to develop the garden.

They created something very special.

Now it is time for the next generation to reimagine it.

From Allotment to Multi-generational Garden

During 2026–27, our children will lead the next chapter in the life of the allotment.

Working alongside Alexander House Community Care Hub and members of our local community, we are reimagining the space as a multi-generational garden – somewhere children and adults of different generations can grow, learn, create, talk and spend time together.

A new Garden Room will allow us to use the space throughout more of the year and will become a base for learning, community activities and shared experiences.

We want to create a garden that belongs not only to our school, but to our community.

A Garden for the Senses

We want children to fall in love with nature.

The new garden will be designed to invite children to touch, smell, listen, look, taste and explore. Planting, wildlife, textures, colours and natural materials will create a rich sensory environment where children can slow down, notice the natural world and experience the wellbeing that comes from spending time outdoors.

By learning to enjoy nature, we hope children will also learn to value it.

And by valuing it, they will want to look after it.

From Planting to Plate

Growing food will remain at the heart of the allotment.

Children will experience the whole journey, from planting to their dinner plate. They will learn where food comes from, what plants need to thrive, how seasons affect what we can grow and why sustainable choices matter.

Most importantly, they will experience the satisfaction of growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing something themselves.

An Outdoor Classroom

The allotment isn't separate from children's learning. It is an extension of our classrooms.

The space will provide authentic opportunities to apply learning across our curriculum – from science, geography and design technology to art, mathematics, English, RE and personal development.

Children won't simply learn about plants, sustainability, food, community and the environment.

They will experience them, investigate them and take responsibility for them.

It will also provide an inclusive outdoor environment where children can learn in different ways, develop independence and responsibility, experience success and find moments of calm, curiosity and wonder.

Learning Across Generations

Perhaps the most exciting part of the next chapter will be the people who share the space.

Our partnership with Alexander House Community Care Hub will create opportunities for children to learn alongside and from older members of our community.

Gardening skills, stories, knowledge and experiences can be passed from one generation to another – while our children bring their own ideas, enthusiasm and energy.

We hope the garden becomes somewhere friendships grow alongside the plants.

The Story So Far...

We are incredibly proud of what previous generations of Captain Shaw's children created.

The photographs below tell that story – from the children's first designs and the original build to planting, harvesting and enjoying the finished space.

We aren't starting again. We are building on their legacy.

And now a new generation of children will decide what comes next...

 

The children designed the space...

Built the space...

Organised and tidied!

Weeded!

Planted!

Harvested!