Primary school garden dedicated to memory of popular teacher

A SENSORY garden built by staff, parents and children in memory of a popular teacher has been officially opened at a Waterside school.

The unused piece of land at Hythe Primary School has been transformed and now houses a wooden cabin, colourful and fragrant plants, windchimes and a water feature.

It has been named Lorraine’s Garden in memory of former teacher Lorraine Bowman, who died last year from cancer.

Television presenter Kenzie Benali, who is the daughter of former Southampton Football Club player Francis, was invited to cut a ceremonial ribbon on Wednesday.

She called the new outdoor area “amazing” and said: “I think this says a lot about how much of a special a teacher Mrs Bowman was.”

Head teacher Charlotte Peppard thanked everyone for their hard work, particularly teaching assistant Shirley Lee, her husband George, and in-laws Chris and Tosh Lee, who spent most of the summer working on the project.

She also praised learning support assistant Helen Curtis and pupils from the sensory garden club for their efforts.

She added: “Mrs Bowman was a big fan of making good use of spaces and this will always be a place we look after in her memory.”

The project cost £5,000 and was paid for through various fundraising events held at the school.

Pupil Hannah Gibbons also raised £175 by completing a triathlon and Purewell Timber Buildings based in Lymington kindly donated the wooden cabin.