Vegetables on the Menu for Great Yorkshire Show

Vegetables on the Menu for Great Yorkshire Show
2010-04-30

Vegetables are well and truly on the menu for hundreds of green-fingered youngsters across the region. Pupils at some 32 primary schools – from Halifax to Harrogate - are hoping their gardening skills will help them take the top prize in a new competition - and win a trip to this year’s Great Yorkshire Show.

Tom Taylor Scaife and Abi Wilkinson of St John’s C of E Primary School in Knaresborough beginning work on their veggie box.

St John’s C of E Primary School in Knaresborough is one of 32 schools across Yorkshire which is taking part in the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s School’s Veggie Box competition.

The contest aims to encourage young people to grow their own healthy vegetables – with the growers of the best 10 boxes invited to bring them to the Great Yorkshire Show where the overall winner will be decided. The Show runs from Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 July and will feature a new look Garden Show as one of the many attractions, which is where the veggie boxes will feature.

Over the next week or so, the first metre-square-boxes and compost are being delivered to the schools– then it’s up to the youngsters, from as far afield as Goole, York, Doncaster, and Keighley, to get growing! (see full list of schools which follows)

Mike Prest, competition co-ordinator and adviser to the Garden Show, is hopeful that there will be a wide array of excellent home-grown vegetables produced by green-fingered schoolchildren.

“The aim of the competition is to encourage healthy eating and to encourage children to enjoy healthy, home-grown produce,” he said.

The boxes will be judged at the agricultural extravaganza by gardening expert Christine Walkden from BBC TV’s The One Show. The competition is organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society in co-operation with the National Farmers Union and Stockbridge Technology Centre near Selby.

Teacher Miss Louise Ward, who runs the Gardening Club at St John’s Primary School, said her pupils were very excited about taking part, had been planning what to grow in their box.

“We have our own allotment where we have grown fruit and vegetables for the past four years, but everyone’s very excited about the competition. The children have been deciding what to plant, how to make it look good and where to plant everything.

“We have already grown some seeds and are hoping our box will be one of the 10 chosen to go to the Great Yorkshire Show.

“It’s so important for children to understand where their fruit and vegetables come from, not just to see them on supermarket shelves,” said Miss Ward.

The Great Yorkshire Show is England’s premier show and every year attracts around 130,000 visitors keen to see everything from top class show jumping, to stylish fashion to the thousands of animals competing for the championship awards. For further information see www.greatyorkshireshow.co.uk

PLANT A VEGETABLE BOX FOR THE 2010 GREAT YORKSHIRE SHOW – Participating Schools

NO	CONTACT NAME	SCHOOL	Town
1	MRS JOANNE WHITEHEAD	SUTTON IN CRAVEN CP SCHOOL BRIDGE ROAD, SUTTON IN CRAVEN KEIGHLEY BD20 7ES	Keighley
2	KAREN WEST	OSSETT HOLY TRINITY PRIMARY SCHOOL CHURCH STREET, OSSETT WF5 9DG	Ossett
3	ANDREW CRAMPTON	WIBSEY PRIMARY SCHOOL, NORTH ROAD, WIBSEY BRADFORD BD6 1RL	Bradford
4	SEAN WALSH	HOLY TRINITY CE JUNIOR SCHOOL, CHURCH LANE, RIPON HG4 2ES	Ripon
5	PAUL BILTON	DEIGHTON GATES PRIMARY SCHOOL, DEIGHTON ROAD, WETHERBY LS22 7XL	Wetherby
6	LOUISE WARD	KNARESBOROUGH ST JOHN’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, STOCKWELL ROAD, KNARESBOROUGH HG5 OJN	Knaresborough
7	SUE PRITCHARD	TICKHILL ESTFELD PRIMARY SCHOOL, COMMON LANE,DONCASTER DN11 9JA	Doncaster
8	MS Z WHEATLEY	CLAYTON VILLAGE PRIMARY SCHOOL, JOHN STREET, CLAYTON, BD14 6AD	Bradford
9	MRS RACHEL GREENHALGH	NESSFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL, NESSFIELD DRIVE, KEIGHLEY, BD22 6NP	Keighley
10	JANE HESKETH	NORTH RIGTON SCHOOL, HALL GREEN LANE, NORTH RIGTON LEEDS LS17	Leeds
11	MRS GILLIAN WARD/ MRS R LANZILLOTTI	KIRK HAMMERTON CE PRIMARY SCHOOL, ST JOHN’S GROVE, KIRK HAMMERTON, YORK YO26 8DE	York
12	SHIRLEY JONES/KERRY MORRISON	WOODLANDS JUNIOR SCHOOL, WETHERBY ROAD, HARROGATE	Harrogate
13	MICHELLE MOORE	SCOTTON LINGERFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL, MARKET FLAT LANE, LINGERFIELD KNARESBOROUGH HG5 9JA	Knaresborough
14	RICHARD BERRY	ALLERTON PRIMARY SCHOOL, GARFORTH STREET, ALLERTON, BRADFORD BD15 7HB	Bradford
15	PETER DOHERTY	BARWICK-IN-ELMET CE PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHAPEL LANE, BARWICK-IN-ELMET, LEEDS LS15 4HL	Leeds
16	CHRIS KNOWLES	PANNAL PRIMARY SCHOOL, PANNAL GREEN, PANNAL, HARROGATE HG3 1LH	Harrogate
17	ANGELA JACKSON	STEETON PRIMARY SCHOOL, MARKET STREET, STEETON, KEIGHLEY BD20 6NN	Keighley
18	MRS PATRICE LYTH	ST WILFRID’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHURCH LANE, RIPON HG4 2ES	Ripon
19	KATH COCKCROFT	RICHARD TAYLOR CE PRIMARY SCHOOL, BILTON LANE, HARROGATE HG1 3DT	Harrogate
20	RACHAEL ASHFORTH/ROSIE CRAWFORD	BARNBURH PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHURCH LANE, DONCASTER DN5 7EZ	Doncaster
21	ANNE NORMAN/DEBRA PULLEYN	REDHILL JUNIOR SCHOOL, STANSFIELD DRIVE, AIREDALE, CASTLEFORD WF10 3DB	Castleford
22	CAROL PARRY	NEW PARK CP SCHOOL, SKIPTON ROAD, HARROGATE HG1 3HF	Harrogate
23	SUSAN WALKER	ALLERTON CE PRIMARY SCHOOL LINGFIELD APPROACH LEEDS LS17 7HL	Leeds
24	MRS ANITA BROXUP	BADGERHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL, CROSSWAYS, BADGER HILL, YORK YO10 5JF	York
25	LINDSAY GAMBLE	OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL SCHOOL, SANDRINGHAM ROAD, INTAKE, DONCASTER, DN2 5JG	Doncaster
26	NICOLA HUMPHREYS	WOODTHORPE PRIMARY SCHOOL, SUMMERFIELD ROAD, YORK YO24 2RU	York
27	PENNY PERCIVAL/NORMA BRAY	KELLINGTON CP SCHOOL, ROALL LANE, GOOLE, DN14 ONY	Goole
28	APRIL GREEN	RUFFORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL, WETHERBY ROAD, RUFFORTH, YORK YO2 3QF	York
29	MARGARET FIRTH	WARMSWORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL, MILL LANE, WARMSWORTH, DONCASTER DN4 9RG	Doncaster
30	HELEN LEHAN	ST JOSEPH’S RC PRIMARY SCHOOL, COPPICE RISE, HARROGATE HG1 2DP	Harrogate

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