Alderman Bolton TA wins Green Award for helping pupils to bloom
Glenis Sharp is a green fingered teaching assistant helping children enjoy Alderman Bolton Primary Academy’s gardening club.
And she is the very fitting recipient of the Warrington Guardian’s Great and Green Award 2025.
Each year, Warrington Guardian presents Education Awards to pupils and students, teachers and teaching assistants, and school support staff in recognition of their hard work and dedication.
Glenis has been running a gardening club at the school for several years – and has worked at Alderman Bolton for 21 years - giving children the opportunity to learn about the environment, grow different plants and create beautiful spaces at school and in the local community for people to enjoy.
One nomination said: “Glenis is an amazing TA who thrives in the school’s gardening club, teaching children new skills.”
Another said: “Glenis is our green fingered teaching assistant who is always pottering around the school planting seeds and recycling. She runs the school gardening club every week, where she encourages children to plant and care for a variety of fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers.”
Glenis supported the school’s entry in last year’s Arley Hall school gardening competition and they placed second winning £60 of gardening vouchers for their creative flower bed design.
They then topped the table at this year's festival!
The judges felt the approach the gardening club took embodied the essence of the competition, which was to teach children how to grow plants from seed, understand their purposes, provide opportunities for creativity and foster a love of gardening.
For this year’s competition, Glenis and her team of gardeners have grown and nurtured all the plants in the school greenhouse with a focus on recycling. They created flowers, hedgehogs and scarecrows - all from recycled materials.
Glenis has made links with Christ Church on Wash Lane in Latchford, acquiring a small garden for the children to tend to, and she also heads up the school’s eco warriors programme where everyone is encouraged to recycle, pick up litter, turn off lights when they’re not needed and creating craft items from everyday materials.
Glenis is passionate about the outdoors and has created a willow area at school where children can go to read or relax.
Parents love the “safe, calming space where children can talk, feel heard and take pride in their work”.
Rachel Oakley, Head of School, said: “Glenis dedicates every minute of the day to care, nurture and provide the best education for all our children. Over many years, Glenis has inspired children with her love for the outdoors and encouraged children to take great care of our environment. She runs a weekly gardening club, where children can learn how to grow a variety of plants from seed. Glenis goes the extra mile to ensure children learn about the importance of protecting and caring for our environment. With the help of her gardening team and pupil leaders, our school environment is free of litter, recycles key materials using designated bins and is committed to making a positive difference.”
Rachel added: “Over the past 21 years, Mrs Sharp has inspired generations of children to take care for our environment. She does so in a unique, patient and caring way by teaching gardening skills to our children. Many pupils - past and present - have a gardening fact or memory to share from their gardening sessions with her. Mrs Sharp is an inspiration and very worthy of this award. Alderman Bolton Primary Academy is extremely thankful for all of her hard work and dedication over the years.”