Manor Park primary school has become the overall winning school in Douglas Borough Council’s primary schools’ daffodil-growing competition.
The school secured the trophy and ?100 of Waterstone’s vouchers, sponsored by Scottish Widows, after nine-year-old pupil Leona Fernando was judged to have grown the best daffodil out of the10 participating schools.
Earlier this year the Council’s parks section distributed more than 2,500 daffodil bulbs together with growing instructions, pots and planting compost produced at its Ballaughton nursery site to Anagh Coar, Ballacloan, Ballacottier, Cronk-y-Berry, Fairfield, Manor Park, Scoill yn Jubilee, Scoill Vallajeelt, St Mary’s and Willaston primary schools.
Judging took place in late March by regeneration and community advisory committee lead member Councillor Stephen Pitts and assistant head of parks (technical) Graham Newsome who thanked the parks section’s Michele Dadds, Noel Ash and Andrew Garrett for their valuable contribution to the competition’s success.
At a prize presentation at Douglas town hall Douglas Mayor Councillor David Ashford praised the horticultural efforts of all the pupils and thanked Scottish Widows for their sponsorship, one of a number of initiatives the company has chosen to support in partnership with the Council.
Leona Fernando received the shield on behalf of Manor Park school from Scottish Widows managing director Juan Clarke who said the company was delighted to support the competition, revived after a break of a number of years, and recalled his own, not entirely successful, childhood daffodil-growing efforts, brought to an unfortunate and sudden end after his mother accidentally dropped the iron on his pot of bulbs.
Councillor Pitts said: ‘The standard of entries was very encouraging and we were particularly impressed by how creative many of the pupils had been in decorating their pots. With this in mind we may introduce some additional categories in next year’s competition. I would like to thank Scottish Widows for their support not only of this competition but also of the Summer Reading Challenge which, once again, they have generously agreed to sponsor this year in partnership with the Henry Bloom Noble Library.’
Second place in the overall school winner category went to Alisa Griffiths, seven, of Ballacottier primary school and third place to four-year-old Kaitlyn Dunning-Fitzpatrick of Anagh Coar primary school.
The remaining best in each school first prizes were awarded to:
• Ballacloan – Emma Walmsley;
• Cronk-y-Berry – Alex Pannell;
• Fairfield – Sophia Iankova;
• St Mary’s – Thomas Fayle;
• Scoill yn Jubilee – Junior: Joseph Druggan;
• Scoill yn Jubilee – Infants: Isaac Quayle;
• Scoill Vallajeelt – Alexandra Nicholl;
• Willaston – Jamie Davenport.
Photo - Leona Fernando, nine, of Manor Park School, overall winner of Douglas Borough Council’s primary schools’ daffodil-growing competition with sponsor Scottish Widows’ managing director Juan Clarke and Douglas Mayor Councillor David Ashford. Picture Andrew Barton.
