Children and staff at a Henlow school were delighted to be joined by the Deputy Lieutenant of Bedfordshire for the opening of their new sensory garden.

Staff at the Raynsford Church of England Academy, led by Mary Frankland, ran a competition for children to create design ideas to refurbish an area that used to house a swimming pool pump.

The two winners, Shola Curson and Ronnie Small, saw their ideas become reality when the garden opened on Friday last week.

The initiative was supported by parents, carers, school staff and a range of sponsors – most notably Tesco, which provided a grant for the garden.

Headteacher Julie Ashwell said: “This space provides a wonderful multi-sensory area which support all learners of all ages.

“It’s an amazing achievement and is the result of the hard work of Mrs Frankland at first, and then of a community coming together to make it happen.”

To find out more about the school see raynsfordacademy.co.uk.