PUPILS and teachers across the UK have been celebrating after winning brilliant prizes with our Seeds For Schools initiative.

Together with the Forestry Commission, we sent over 30,000 schools enough seeds in total to turn into more than a MILLION trees.

Since then, many of those seeds have been grown in pots until they could be planted out from the autumn, ready to turn Britain green - and that time is about now (though some of the Scots Pine seedligs may take a little longer).

And from all the schools who’ve e-mailed us to say they’re taking part, we’ve chosen five to share £10,000 worth of educational equipment fron the brilliant Tesco for Schools & Clubs initiative.

And, courtesy of pop heroes McFly, ANOTHER three schools each receive 35 tickets for one of three special woodland gigs the band are playing for the Forestry Commission.

That’s enough for a teacher to take an entire class. We’ve also thrown in £500 per gig to help with transport.

The Tesco equipment winners are: Cheynes Infant School, in Luton, Beds; East Worlington Primary School, in Devon; Kesgrove High School, in Ipswich, Suffolk; Lumen Christi College, in Londonderry, Northern Ireland; and Llangors Church in Wales School, in Powys.

Cheynes Infant School in Luton, Beds, couldn’t believe it when we called with the good news.

Administrative co-ordinator Karen Pearce who looks after the school’s Eco Club said: “We’re only a small school and we work really hard to raise money for equipment.

“But that can only go so far and to just be awarded £2,000 worth of equipment is unbelievable. It will make a massive difference to our school - thank you so much.

“Seeds for Schools launched just at the same time as our Gardening Club and it was the perfect initiative for us to get involved in. The children have loved taking part.”

The McFly ticket winners are Neale Wade Community College, in March, Cambs; The Oaks Secondary School, in Spennymoor, Co. Durham; and Penygarn Community Primary, in Pontypool, South Wales.

Teacher Joanne Bailey from Penygarn, told us: “I don’t know who’s more excited, the children or the staff! We have lots of eco-initiatives at the school, such as our Eco Club who make sure the school is being energy efficient, and our Gardening Club that plants trees, flowers, and vegetables which are then used by the cook for school dinners.

“When we saw the Seeds For Schools campaign it was an obvious scheme for us to get involved in. It's our star performers from the Eco and Gardening Clubs who’ll be going to the concert...and maybe a few teachers too!"

Pupil Kory Snell, 10, chipped in: “I love taking part in all the green work we do, and now I can’t wait to see McFly. Thank you.”

The children of Penygarn will see McFly perform at Westonbirt Arboretum, near Tetbury, Glos on Friday, June 19.

Fellow winners Neale Wade Community College - who also run a Green Club - will be going to a gig at Sherwood Pines Forest Park, Nottingham, on Saturday, June 20.

Layla Tomsett, who manages the college allotment, said: “It’s a marvellous opportunity for the children who give so much for their school and the environment to get something back.

“It’s really generous and the McFly tickets are amazing. Lots of these children will never get an opportunity to see a live concert, but now we can. Thank you.”

The Oaks Secondary School will be heading to Dalby Forest in North Yorks on June 26.

Teacher Lee Davies said: “You never think people actually win these sorts of competitions. This is absolutely amazing.”

McFly bassist Dougie Poynter, 21, said: “Seeds For Schools is a great idea and we’re really happy to play a part.”

A Forestry Commission spokesman said: “We’re committed to making woodlands relevant to people in new ways. The forest tour provides valuable revenue to plough back into a variety of environmental and social projects.”

Other concerts include Paul Weller, James Morrison, David Gray, The Sugababes, Katherine Jenkins, The Human League and Doves. It's all part of the Forestry Commission’s Live Music Programme.

In all, gigs take place across seven woodland locations. For more info, call 01842 814612 or visit www.forestry.gov.uk

And for more information on Tesco’s great schools and clubs initiatives, and to view the whole range of equipment available, visit www.tesco.com/schools

Tesco for Schools & Clubs unites Computers for Schools and Sport for Schools & Clubs into one massive range of resources for primary and secondary school students.

The initiative, new for 2009, follows discussions between Tesco and representatives of schools and clubs about the best way to approach voucher collection and redemption. The clear view was that one catalogue covering a broad range of curriculum resources would work best.

Welcome

WELCOME to the website for Seeds For Schools - a campaign run by the News of the World and the Forestry Commission to plant a million trees, and embracing more than 30,000 primary and secondary schools across the UK.

Since late April, each school has received a pack of seeds and a special DVD contasined inside a special edition of the Teacher's Post newsletter.

Royal Mail generously agreed to print and send out this special edition specifically to get the seeds to schools at the best time for their sowing and future growth.

In brief, the plan has been to sow the seeds in pots or trays soon after schools received them and nurture them indoors, initially.

Then, when they become seedlings - or shoots as many of us call them - take them out into the community so they can hopefully flourish into trees.

Groups that could take on a school's seedlings might include councils, parks, sports grounds, big businesses such as banks, supermarkets etc, and large landowners...

In fact, any individual or organisation that has the space in which trees might flourish and the resources to care for their growth.

For many seedlings grown by schools across the UK, THAT TIME IS NOW.

But don't worry if it's after the school holidays, there's plenty of time. The seedlings that are most likely to be ready are the Alder and Silver Birch. It's possible that the Scots Pine seedlings may need a a few more months in their pots - though some may be ready now.

In each pack of seeds we sent out there were around 400 seeds - a mixture of Scots Pine, Common Alder and Silver Birch.

There are more than 30,000 primary and secondary schools in the UK on the Teacher's Post mailing list, making a total of well over 12 million seeds.

These particular seeds have been chosen because they are native to the UK, they have all been sourced from UK forests, they should be easy to grow - and they are suitable for the UK’s range of soil-types and temperatures.

Clearly, the take-up and survival rate will be less than 100 per cent, but if only 10 per cent of the seeds make it to maturity we will have passed the million mark and will have massively helped in the greening of Britain.

John Terry shoots and scores

CHELSEA captain John Terry is fully behind the Seeds For Schools campaign.

The football ace, dad to 21-month-old twins Georgie John and Summer Rose, said: "I want the best possible world for my children. I'll sow some seeds, and when they turn into seedlings I'll plant one each for my children so they can grow together."

TV's Dragons' Den entrepreneur Peter Jones has also pledged his backing.

"This not only engages children but draws in businesses,'' he said.

''I'm offering a corner of my land to local kids when their seeds turn into shoots, and I hope other business people around the country will join me in supporting the project."

Forestry Commission director general Tim Rollinson added: "I hope children around the UK will join us, and see the seeds of their efforts grow to benefit their community."

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