Be part of one of the festival highlights by creating a School Garden at RHS Malvern Spring Festival.

RHS Malvern Spring Festival School Garden Challenge is an opportunity to bring together different aspects of the school curriculum into a single project, culminating in the creation of a school garden at the largest RHS Show outside of London.

Ideal for single class or whole school; primary, middle or secondary school-aged pupils, the School Garden Challenge is the highlight of the year for many of the entrants. The Challenge is open to schools or home educator groups, from any of the three counties or further afield, provided that the participating children are still of compulsory school age.

We support you throughout the whole process with advice available from construction and horticultural specialists.  At the beginning of the Challenge there are a range of workshops for you and your pupils to attend so you can talk through your design, plant choices, timescales and anything else you need assistance on.

The School Garden Challenge also represents an excellent opportunity for you to promote your school and to engage with your local community.

To help support you on the School Garden Challenge grants of £300 are provided to help with the expenses associated with participation.

What is the theme for 2025?

The theme for 2025 is  ‘Around the World in the School Garden Challenge way!’ Bring your garden to life using your favourite country or city as inspiration. By participating, children and young people are gaining invaluable hands-on experience with plants and horticulture, while developing an understanding of different growing practices and environmentally friendly gardening whilst being fully supported every step of the way.

You can be as creative as you like when designing your garden. You may decide to incorporate a tree, plant a living hedge, build a bug hotel…the possibilities are endless!

The 2025 School Garden Challenge will once again be kindly supported by Syngenta Flowers and Bransford Webbs Plant Company.

Apply for the School Garden Challenge here. Closing Date is 1^st November 2024.

Click here for the School Garden Challenge Information and Application pack

Click here for the RHS Shows Biosecurity Policy and Regulations Guidelines

Click here for the RHS Shows Biosecurity Policy and Regulations Covering Letter

If you’re still not sure about taking part take a look at what some of the schools have to say who have built gardens in the past:

Bredon School, Tewkesbury – Jenny Parkes, Farm Manager

“We value the project for the ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ benefits. Amongst other things they learn team-work, practical English and maths, problem solving, how to safely use a variety of tools and also build their self-confidence by taking part and then having to present the garden to the judges and public”

Greenfields School, Kettering – Claire Tyrrell-Smith, Deputy Head Teacher

“For Greenfields Primary School, the RHS Malvern Project has been a springboard into the world of horticulture.  Many of our children do not have gardens, and if they do, they are not used for growing flowers or vegetables, so even the idea of a show for gardens was completely new!”

Three Counties Home Educators – Amanda Lambourne, Project Coordinator 

“No matter how tired we were, we were excited to get up every day of the week in the build-up and show to be as involved as possible. The sense of teamwork and doing a project together meant a lot to us. The outcome was tremendous in many ways.”