Grounds for Optimism

Grounds for Optimism is an innovative new landscape design award scheme aimed at secondary schools, piloted last September across Yorkshire and Humberside and South East England.

Grounds for Optimism is about engaging students in ‘Blue Skies’ thinking about their school grounds; taking them through a carefully planned process of analysis, exploration and consultation enabling them to create design solutions for their grounds. Grounds for Optimism is not just about transforming space; taking part will also transform learning.  The project was in 3 stages: bronze, silver and gold.

Participating schools submitted designs for the bronze award and 7 were selected to go forward to the silver award phase.  The standard was very high and the ideas submitted were diverse and innovative.  The student teams each then worked with a professional landscape architect who guided them in developing and refining their ideas to produce a final design which was a result of many months of hard work talking with fellow students, teachers and governors, and a great deal of research, photography, drawing and brain storming.  The Gold Award event took place at the Lightbox Theatre, Woking on 29th June.  Each team had to produce 3 exhibition boards illustrating their design and the process they took to realise it, and then gave a presentation  to a panel of judges including TV gardner Sven Wombwell.  The silver award schools were: Bay House School, Gosport; Hounsdown School, Southampton; Testwood School, Southampton; King James’ School, Knaresborough; St Anne’s Convent School & College, Southampton; Wood Green School, Witney.

A new GfO Award Scheme will be launching in September for secondary and primary schools across southern England.  Check back in JUly for more information and launch dates.