Pupils from Stepaside CP School have won first prize in the annual Christmas Tree Decorating Competition at the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
The 15 children from Class 3 were the winners in the primary sector, and were awarded £100 for their school.
They were among 24 schools and 500 pupils taking part from across South and West Wales.
The pupils made all the decorations themselves in their school craft sessions, from recycled, reused or natural objects. This year’s theme was ‘Christmas Around the World’ and the class based their designs on local woodland from their Nature Detectives Project.
Some of the decorations included butterflies made out of cellophane, an owl made from CDs, and stars made from lightbulbs. The class teachers were Jo Pullen and Teresa Williams, who accompanied the pupils to the Garden.
Head of Learning at the Garden, Jane Richmond, was one of the judges. She said: “Apart from being a really pleasing tree to look at, we thought that the children had some lovely ideas.
“We were very impressed with the way they used different things, and the links with the curriculum were very strong.”
Headteacher Peter Griffiths also praised the pupils for their ‘innovative and creative work’.
He said: “Stepaside is already a leading example of a school that supports sustainable education having attained the Gold Award Standard for Pembrokeshire’s Sustainable Schools Project.”
Other schools from Pembrokeshire which took part in the competition were St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Pembroke Dock, Prendergast Community Primary School in Haverfordwest, and Ysgol Bro Gwaun in Fishguard,
The competition was sponsored by Carmarthenshire County Council, Forestry Commission Wales, HSBC, Career Wales West, Dwr Cymru, EcoSchools and Trysordy.
Pictured are children from Stepaside CP School with their teachers Jo Pullen and Teresa Williams. The school won first prize in the Christmas Tree Decorating Competition at the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
