Pupils at a Whetstone infants school can get growing in style this spring thanks to a major garden overhaul by social landlord Barnet Homes and its contractors.

Barnet Homes was approached earlier this year about whether it would be able to help redevelop the overgrown garden at Queenswell Infants and Nursery School in Sweets Way, N20.

The social landlord, which manages 15,000 council homes in Barnet as well as housing allocations, agreed to revamp the garden through its grounds maintenance staff. They spent two days clearing the area and getting the garden in a good condition, so that it could be enjoyed by members of the school’s gardening club and other pupils.

Their efforts were supported by donations from Barnet Homes’ repairs contractor Mears and gas contractor MITIE, which supplied a shed, picnic bench and a range of other gardening equipment.

The school’s headteacher, Karen Smith, said: “We are extremely grateful to Barnet Homes for their amazing ‘Ground Force’ team! They have revamped our garden, putting some new top soil on the ground and bought us a new shed, bench, garden tools and seeds for growing. Our children and staff would like to say a big thank you to Barnet Homes.”

The school invited Barnet Homes, Mears and MITIE into their school assembly on Thursday 21 March so that pupils could say thank you and offer presents in return.

Barnet Homes Chief Executive, Tracey Lees, said: “We were delighted to help Queenswell Infants and Nursery with revamping their garden and I hope the overhaul is of lasting benefit to pupils there.

“We want to do all we can to make Barnet a great place to live, as that benefits all of our residents and their children. I’m pleased that our efforts were also so well supported by our contractors, and we look forward to seeing the garden in full bloom this summer.”