Pupils use their green fingers

Green fingered pupils at Firpark Secondary have been using their talents to maintain the garden at the new Springfield Properties' show home in Motherwell.
The garden of the show home is looking great thanks to the hard work put in by the Firpark Secondary pupils as the horticulture group has come  a long waysince being founded as a lunchtime clubThe garden of the show home is looking great thanks to the hard work put in by the Firpark Secondary pupils as the horticulture group has come  a long waysince being founded as a lunchtime club
The garden of the show home is looking great thanks to the hard work put in by the Firpark Secondary pupils as the horticulture group has come a long waysince being founded as a lunchtime club

The school teamed up with the housing developer to give pupils real-life working experience and since the four-bedroom show home opened the group have applied the horticulture skills they have learnt in class.

Firpark Secondary adopts the Developing the Young Workforce curriculum which helps to prepare children for the world of work.

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The programme has been designed to teach students about different vocations including beauty care, photography, business management and hospitality.

The Horticulture Group has gone from strength to strength since it launched in 2014, helping to maintain gardens across the area, including at Springfield’s Uddingston development.

It was originally founded as a lunchtime garden club by sixth year student Robbie Lynch, who had a keen interest in gardening with support from horticulture support worker, David Moonie.

On the school premises there are beds for planting vegetables and herbs, which are used in the All Star Bistro.

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Firpark Secondary head teacher, John Morley, said: “The bistro has proven massively successful and gives the students real life working experience. They learn how to speak to customers, cooking skills, business management and money handling.

“We wanted to give the Horticulture Group similar challenges and opportunities. They’ve worked at Springfield’s show home in Uddingston, carry out maintenance at Mount Ellen Golf Club and are now responsible for the upkeep of the new Springfield show home garden in Motherwell.

“In 2016, the group won gold for their kitchen garden at the Royal Edinburgh Horticulture Show and a number of students in the group have been offered work placements in garden related positions since leaving the school demonstrating the strengths of the curriculum.

“Opportunities like this are great for the kids and they really enjoy it.”

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Springfield Properties chief executive Innes Smith added: “The horticulture team did a remarkable job at our show home and view homes in Uddingston, and the new Motherwell show home is already looking brilliant.”