Green-fingered pupils are celebrating their gardening prowess after they scooped a national award - and bagged £1,500.

Damers First School in Poundbury has been awarded second place in the School Garden category at this year’s Cultivation Street Competition - receiving £1,500 and 100 geraniums as their prize.

Headteacher, Catherine Smith said: “This is a fantastic celebration of a huge community achievement. It has been wonderful to watch our gardens evolve from a simple construction a couple of years ago to thriving spaces that are now bursting with both plant and community life.”

The school's garden was created in one year and pupils, teachers and volunteers from the local community all pitched in and seeds, plants and compost were donated from Poundbury Gardens.

Lisa Bond, cultivation street ambassador at Poundbury Gardens said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to share my gardening knowledge with Damers First School to help create this wonderful outdoor learning space and I would like to congratulate everyone who has been involved."

The green space now provides vital habitats for wildlife, as well as producing fresh fruit and vegetables for the school’s food technology classes.

Edd Moore, teacher at Damers First School, said the award was a "fantastic achievement for the whole school and wider community"

He added: "Each class looks after their own raised bed. They select two vegetables within their year group that they will grow and then use these to make a soup or a dish in the children’s kitchen.

"The school also has a bank of volunteers who come in during the afternoons sharing their expertise and love of gardening with the children which allows every child across the school to learn where their food comes from."

The garden also features a wildflower meadow, wildlife hideouts and a greenhouse made out of recycled plastic bottles.

Judges for this year's awards included celebrity gardener, David Domoney, Women's Institute chairman, Jeryl Stone and Simon Sadinsky from The Prince’s Foundation.

The judges commended the school's garden for its eco-friendly initiatives and made particular note that pupils were encouraged to garden whatever the weather.