Schoolchildren have their trowels - and also knives and forks - at the ready as they prepare to make the most of their newly revamped garden.

With the help of Barnet Homes, Queenswell Infant School in Sweets Way, Whetstone, has created new plots where pupils will be able to grow their own fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Headteacher Karen Smith said: “It’s really important children are aware of ecology and that they understand how food is grown.

"Gardening also helps them physically and boosts their social skills.”

Barnet Homes also bought the school a variety of seeds, a wheelbarrow, tools, and a shed to store them in.

Each class will have its own bed to grow whatever pupils want, and later in the year they will be encouraged to create healthy meals with the food they have produced.