Photo Gallery: Banbury primary school pupils transform People’s Park into a sea of colour

As part of this year’s Banbury Town Council planting day, more than 300 boys and girls from 13 local schools transformed the park with plants that reflected the event’s King Charles’ Coronation theme.

This year, pupils armed with trowels, forks, and dibbers planted nearly 3,000 plants on Wednesday June 14 and Thursday June 15, as they turned their flower beds into colourful scenes that showed imagination and flair and brought back memories of the coronation celebrations.

Mayor Fiaz Ahmed, one of the competition judges, said: "This is an extremely worthwhile event, and the number of pupils taking part demonstrates how popular it is. Their enthusiasm was amazing. Everyone had a great day and learned a lot about nature.

"They can visit the park throughout the summer to see how their flower beds progress."

Fellow judge Paul Almond, the council’s director of environment, said: "I must congratulate the schools on their imagination and their energy. Choosing a winner was very difficult. The flower beds and centre pieces were all of an extremely high standard."

Prizes were awarded in two categories. The best centrepiece cup went to St. Mary’s, and the best garden trophy was awarded to St. Joseph’s.

The event is part of Banbury in Bloom and encourages young people to develop an interest in nature and horticulture.

For more information on Banbury in Bloom, visit https://www.banbury.gov.uk/Banbury_in_Bloom_17090.aspx