Grey Court School Allotment Club

The community allotment provides a fantastic opportunity for students to grow and harvest fresh fruit and vegetables. The allotment  aids wellbeing and helps students to grow in independence. It also strengthens their social and communication skills.

HUG volunteers are facilitating sessions for students with special educational needs to participate in the growing of a wide range of vegetables and fruit, from sowing and planting to harvesting and tasting.

 

Volunteer in this project

If you have the time and some gardening/allotment expertise to help with the planning and delivery of activities for the weekly allotment club at the School then please do get in touch. The Gardening Club runs every Tuesday, term time, from 12 noon to 1 pm. Likewise, if you would instead (or also) be able to volunteer to help with watering and allotment maintenance activities at other times during the week, that would be wonderful as well.

Contact Helen Erhardt at info@hamunitedgroup.org.uk

 

Read more about the allotment's history. 

 

 

Student feedback

Year 7 students at Grey Court School have been reflecting on their experiences in the school’s Allotment Club:

 

“I enjoy allotment club because I was stressed in lunchtime and I wanted to get some peace and I get peace there because it is outside and I have friends with me like Lucas, Ezra and Herbie. I like planting all the different plants and learning about how they grow.”

 

“The allotment activities keep you more active compared to the rest of the day and teaches you life skills like patience. When you’re growing a plant, sometimes it may fail. Digging also teaches hard work which is important in life. Before I started allotment club I knew nothing about growing but now I know how important good soil is, water and sunlight. I am currently growing a strawberry plant at home.”

 

“I love picking raspberries because I never really understood how they are harvested. So it was really nice to finally have them in my hands after waiting for them to ripen after so many months. I also love planting potatoes because we had to dig all the way down and watch them sprout and get taller over the weeks. It surprised me how quickly they grew and the size of them was very large in the end. The plant sale was so much fun! I didn’t think we would sell out of everything we grew!”

 

 

 

 

Thank you for supporting our plant sale

Many thanks to all that came to support our plant sale at Ham Library Gardens.

For the first time, students from Grey Court Allotment Club ran their own stall, selling a colourful variety of plants they had grown and nurtured themselves — from fragrant mint and raspberry canes to primroses and sun-loving strawberries. Their stall drew so much attention that everything sold out in under two hours! Their stall raised an impressive £330, all of which will go straight back into the allotment, funding seeds, tools, and future projects. The students spoke with The Mayor of Richmond, Penny Frost, about how the allotment has become a space for teamwork, calm, and pride amid the busy school week. 

HUG's own stalls offered a variety of house plants, perennials, vegetables, flowering annuals, shrubs, fruit and herb plants, gardening tools and pots. With your donations and purchases we raised £538, which will help support projects that improve the environment and quality of life of the local community.

#welovewherewelive

Thank you,

x HUG 💚

Grey Court Allotment Club runs every Tuesday at lunchtime during term time and is supported by HUG volunteers and Grey Court staff. The club helps students grow not just plants for the school grounds, but also their curiosity, resilience, and sense of community. For more information, email Helen at info@hugunitedgroup.org.uk