Blooming Alnwick’s Best In Class

Pupils at Swansfield Park Primary School were delighted to hear they had been declared the ‘Best In Class’ at today’s Northumbria in Bloom awards.

Bursting with pride headteacher Anne-Marie Grimes told the youngsters of their success during this afternoon’s assembly saying “I am so proud, this is a fantastic achievement” and the youngsters responded with cheers and applause.

Judges commented “Swansfield Park Primary is a school which encourages its pupils to understand nature through its child-centred learning processes, with lots of opportunities for the pupils, from its forest school, allotments, class planters, pond and other horticultural areas surrounding the school. One of the stand-out elements was the naming of each class after the mature trees on site, with the children finding the tree on moving up, giving the permanent planting a meaning and the children a life skill.”

Swansfield Park Primary was joint winner with Durham Gilesgate Primary in the schools special category.

Another special category winner from Alnwick was Robert Adam Court in the Best Residential Community section. Judges commented: “The garden at Robert Adam Court combines contractor maintenance with impressive resident effort to create a welcoming environment which encourages socialising. Together, these dedicated joint efforts create a thriving, peaceful green sanctuary that significantly enhances daily life for the entire community.”

In the main awards Alnwick town was awarded Silver Gilt. Elizabeth Adams, Chair of Alnwick in Bloom said: “ Thanks are due to all of our Bloom volunteers, Alnwick Town Council and Northumberland County Council for all their hard work making the town look so good this year.  I’m delighted that our seven special entries won gold and two  were declared being Best in Class.”

The competition, now in its 62nd year, is all about encouraging local communities to improve their area through community gardening and sound environmental practises. It is part of the UK wide Britain in Bloom campaign run by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Robert Germany, Chairman of Northumbria in Bloom said: “When people think of Northumbria in Bloom they often assume that it’s all about hanging baskets and the municipal flower displays on roundabouts. However, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. This means that ‘in bloom’ communities tackle everything from litter, graffiti and mitigating anti-social behaviour through to conservation, biodiversity and improving horticultural standards, and that’s not to mention the positive impact on health and wellbeing, sense of place, community spirit and civic pride. Many of our groups are also using Bloom to help to mitigate some of the effects of climate change through planet friendly gardening. It is wonderful to see all the excellent work that communities are doing to protect and enhance their local environments.

These Awards are all about recognising and celebrating this work and all that our communities have collectively achieved in enhancing the overall environment of the North East in 2026”.

Pictured: Swansfield Park Primary School head girl Bea, headteacher Anne-Marie Grimes and head boy Oliver with the school’s award.

Robert Adam Court.

The colourful floral displays in Alnwick Town Centre.