Faldingworth Primary School digs deep and rockets to success

The school, which has just 70 pupils, beat off competition from almost half a million primary school pupils from across Great Britain to secure top spot in the national Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) competition.

They managed to grow 3,800 grams of tasty spuds in less than three months, almost 225g more potatoes than any other school in Britain.

The variety that fired the school team to success was ‘Rocket’ and it seems the growth was fuelled by a special ingredient.

Rita Griggs, Teaching Assistant at Faldingworth Community Primary School, explained all.

She said : “Reducing food waste is really important, so we decided to mix used coffee from the filter machine into the soil to help them grow.

“That could be the secret to our success.”

Mrs Griggs went on to say the potato project had been a great success all round for the school.

She continued: “The children particularly enjoyed harvesting and finding the potatoes hidden in the soil.

“All kids should know where their food comes from and how it grows.

“Grow Your Own Potatoes is a great fun way to teach this.”

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) organises the free activity for schools on behalf of farmers and growers.

AHDB Education Manager Sue Lawton, said: “While the competition is great fun, we’re also educating children on how potatoes fit into a healthy, balanced diet, where they come from, and how they grow.

“We had a fantastic uptake with almost 16,000 kits sent out to primary schools all hoping to win the top spot, or one of the 10 regional prizes up for grabs.

“Growing kits are limited so don’t miss out and sign up now for 2020.”

To find out more about Grow Your Own Potatoes visit www.growyourownpotatoes.org.uk.

For more information on AHDB log on to their website at www.ahdb.org.uk