Monkton Primary kids get into gardening

Jun 4 2008 Ayrshire Post

GARDENING wouldn’t be top of the agenda for most children.

But one primary school is blazing the trail in new-age learning — by installing a plot of land at the back of each classroom.

Pupils at Monkton are reaping the benefits from their new £4.7m school after moving in earlier this year.

The stunning facility has transformed teaching, with gardening for each class just one of the unique features.

Lucky kids are also enjoying a multi-purpose dining hall, which quickly folds up after lunch and becomes an all-singing, all-dancing learning facility.

State-of-the art open plan classrooms back on to individual gardens where vegetables are being grown for use in the school’s kitchen.

And it’s all the fruit of hard labour which came from South Ayrshire Council’s Public Private Partnership to rebuild schools.

Monkton headteacher, Maria McIntosh, is in no doubt her school is now one of the best around.

She said: “Staff have the chance to do so much more in this facility. The potential is there to achieve whatever we want, whereas before we were restricted.

“The children can only benefit from learning in this environment and when people come to look around they are consistently impressed by what they see.

“The feedback from staff and parents has been extremely positive and it’s just great to come to work here each day.”