Garden grows good buddies

Beechgrove team help launch Colinton Primary's Room to Grow project

Students and staff at Colinton Primary School have been given an insight into the world of television production.

The school played host to a TV crew when BBC Scotland’s Beechgrove Garden team set to work on the school’s Room to Grow project, winner of the Standard Life director’s award for outstanding achievement.

At the opening ceremony in September, Beechgrove Garden presenters Jim McColl, Lesley Watson and Carole Baxter were on hand to cut the ribbon.

Colinton Primary has a unique make-up, with 90 per cent of the pupils having a parent in the military, due to the school’s proximity to Dreghorn Barracks.

The aim of the garden was to create a space that could be used for play, learning and reflection, particularly for children dealing with the distress of their parents being deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Because of the unique situation of the school, “the children are friendly, kind and very nice to the new children who arrive,” said head teacher Christine Lumsden. 

The garden project was the brainchild of deputy head Leanne Sharpe, who wanted to create a green space for the children, who were used to playing only on the tarmac surroundings.

“I thought about how we could involve parents more, because of the transient nature of the school,” she said. 

Because of the school’s closeness to the barracks, a number of Fijian and Nepalese children go to the school.

But local children without a connection to the barracks also attend and this brings a rich variety of cultures to the school, which is incorporated into learning.

Staff are well equipped to deal with the unique situation of the school. Every new child is given another pupil to ‘buddy’ up with.

“The garden is an extension of this development,” said Leanne.

“They can sit in the garden with their buddy to find out more about the school and parents can also use the garden to get to know one another.”