A CARLISLE school has adopted a new approach to teaching that combines gardening with learning.

Children at Stoneraise School have embarked on a gardening project, that involves maths, cookery, science, as well as skills like teamwork and responsibility.

Part of the project involved planting their very own pumpkins last summer, with the vegetables just recently springing into life.

As well as helping with learning, it has helped students to better connect with a children’s story. The Enormous Turnip story has been changed by the school to The Enormous Pumpkin, in a move aimed at enabling students to better understand the story.

In charge of the reception class at the school is teacher, Carla Clark. She explained the idea: “It has been really good because using the pumpkins brings the story to life.

“It covers all the areas of the curriculum, science and reading for example.”

The four and five-year-old children were dressed up as different characters from the Enormous Turnip story, including the a cat and the farmer.

Four-year-old Oliver Wood was slightly less chatty. When asked what he liked most about the large vegetables, he replied with just four words: “They can grow big”, he said.

Mrs Clarke continued: “They learn skills that they might need in their everyday life.

“Watering the pumpkins, planting the pumpkins and the science to do with all that.”

The project was the brainchild of headteacher, Clem Coady.

He said: “We started the school garden project in December 2017, the idea and aim of the project was that every child in the school would plant something and grow it.

“We had lots of businesses involved, to help pay for materials and stuff. The aim is to bring the curriculum to life. The government want us to spend all our money on textbooks, but pupils learn much more when they do things like this.”

Mr Coady confirmed that the school will run a similar project next year, but this time they will ask students to grow the weirdest pumpkin, rather than the largest.

The largest pumpkin this year weighs a staggering 93 kilos, or 14 and a half stone.

“It bent the side of the wheelbarrow”, said Mr Cody.

“There was me, a Carlisle youth sports coach, and the deputy head, and we are all strong, healthy men. But it was back-breaking getting it into the wheelbarrow.”

The school has been invited to share their story at a Royal Horticultural Society garden show in Essex this weekend, however they will be unable to attend as the invite was given at too short notice.

Have the children enjoyed the project?

“They really have”, said Mr Coady.

“When we go into the playground they say, ‘have you seen the size of the pumpkin?’

“But they don’t realise they are learning, everything is about learning.”