Creating Mrs Hudson’s Secret Garden - A Special Fundraising Appeal

A Tribute to Our Retiring Head Teacher

As many of you know, our long serving Head Teacher, Mrs Hudson, will be retiring in July 2025 after an incredible 25 years of dedicated service to The Ridge Primary School. Mrs Hudson joined us initially as Deputy Head Teacher before taking the helm officially as Head Teacher in 2004, and her impact on our school community has been truly remarkable.

The staff and Ridge Friends Association want to create a lasting tribute to Mrs Hudson’s amazing legacy - and we need your help to make it happen!

Project Secret Garden

For a number of years, Mrs Hudson has expressed her wish for The Ridge to have a beautiful garden in the grounds of the bungalow. This space would provide our pupils with opportunities for outdoor learning and relaxation to support their health and wellbeing.

Although Mrs Hudson has already got a few plans underway, we are secretly fundraising to make Mrs Hudson’s dream bigger and better by creating a beautiful garden classroom complete with:

- A professionally designed learning space

- Pathways and seating areas

- Plants, flowers, and growing areas

- A full class set of gardening tools

- Greenhouse

The Educational Benefits

This outdoor learning space will bring tremendous benefits to our pupils, perfectly aligning with our school values of Respect, Independence, Determination, Gratitude and Empathy:

Understanding the Natural World

- Pupils will explore different types of plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables

- They will develop an appreciation for the wonders of nature

Teamwork and Communication

- Caring for a garden requires collaboration as pupils work together towards shared goals

- Children will develop communication skills through sharing plans and delegating responsibilities

Social and Emotional Development

- Planting and tending requires patience, providing a calming environment

- Pupils will develop positive behaviours such as sharing, turn-taking and respect

Independence and Decision Making

- The garden will give children opportunities to become decision makers

- It will help develop independent learning skills

We would like all our pupils to receive these benefits for many years to come.

How You Can Help

We would be incredibly grateful for any donation you are able to make towards this special project. Every contribution, no matter the size, will help us create this wonderful surprise for Mrs Hudson and lasting benefit for our pupils.

This is a secret project - we plan to surprise Mrs Hudson with our ‘Secret Garden’ collection at the end of term, so please keep it under wraps until the big reveal!

Thank you in advance for your generous support. Together, we can create a beautiful, lasting tribute to Mrs Hudson’s dedication to The Ridge whilst providing the children with an inspiring garden environment for years to come.