A WORTH Valley school has been given a helping hand to give a new lease of life to its gardening area.

Staff from the Yorkshire Building Society volunteered their time and green fingers to improve the plot used by Oxenhope Primary School.

The staff joined pupils, teachers and school governors to create a gated area and constructed eight raised flower beds, one for each year group.

The team of eight from the building society’s office at Yorkshire Drive, Bradford, also helped clean the greenhouses and the land surrounding the raised beds to create a pleasant and educational environment for pupils.

The project was part of the building society's volunteering program which gives each staff member up to 31 hours’ paid leave every year to help out at a charity or good cause of their choice.

The team was led by senior software developer Grahame Ellis.

He said: “My wife is a governor at Oxenhope Primary School and my daughter is a pupil, so it was great to get involved with colleagues.

"As a team we spent the day tidying the area and installed a raised bed for each year group. It was a pleasure to play a part in creating this rewarding space for pupils.”

Kathrine Nutting, head teacher at the school, said: “I’d like to pass on my thanks to the building society’s volunteers who came and did such a wonderful job with our outdoor growing area.

"This will really benefit our pupils with their education in a lovely outside space.”