Pupils at a Finsbury Park school have beaten off local competition to grow the largest beanstalk, measuring over four metres.
In an award ceremony on Friday morning Joe Swift, a Gardeners’ World host, presented pupils at Pooles Park Primary with their prize, after they beat eight other local schools to grow the tallest beanstalk.
The prize included seeds to grow more plants and vegetables, as well drama workshops and peek behind the scenes at nearby Park Theatre.
When this year’s pantomime begins at the theatre, the children will also have a chance to meet the cast.
In a ceremony at the school, Mr Swift presented children with a certificate to mark their success and also spoke about the joys of learning how to garden at a young age.
He was also joined by members of Park Theatre’s development team who provided a taster of what is to be expected over the pantomime season.
Mr Swift said: “I started gardening when I was in primary school. Growing seeds and watching a plant transform was amazing for me, the sense that I nurtured it and watched it grow.”
The beanstalk competition has allowed the pupils to learn more about growing their own food, as the children were able to wash and eat the beans that they collected from the 412cm plant.
Although the pupils were able to eat their produce, the pupils weren’t quite able to complete their own beanstalk story.
Scarlett Chafla-Wicks, a year two pupil involved in growing the beanstalk, said: “We couldn’t climb it as it’s too skinny to get to the top, but we could eat the beans.”
Greg Crawford, Pooles Park’s Headteacher, was pleased with the results of the competition, saying that Park Theatre was helping to change the local community and add more culture.
He said: “The area’s changing quite significantly, it’s getting a lot more culture on the doorstep, the kids are now able to see theatre close to where they live.”
