St Swithun’s joins BSA Boarding Orchard as part of 140th birthday celebrations

St Swithun’s School in Winchester is proud to have joined the Boarding School Association’s (BSA) Boarding Orchard by planting a pear and an apple tree in the school grounds.

Headmistress Jane Gandee and Head of Boarding Alice Ludlow were joined by David Walker, Director of BSA, for the tree planting ceremony on the back field.

Commenting on the planting Jane Gandee said: “Despite challenging weather conditions, we were delighted to welcome David and to plant two beautiful trees as part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and protecting our environment. We hope our students can enjoy watching the trees grow and see similarities in the positive impact they can have on the world over future generations.”

David Walker said: “It was wonderful to visit St. Swithun’s today as they joined ‘the world’s largest orchard’. I enjoyed looking around the excellent boarding houses and meeting talented and committed boarding practitioners. Boarding is certainly in rude health at St Swithun’s!”

The Boarding Orchard was launched by the BSA in 2014. It aims to be the ‘largest’ orchard by geography in the world and encourages schools to involve their pupils in planting trees to support the environment. Since the launch, schools across the UK – including Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – have joined the Boarding Orchard, and trees have also been planted at boarding schools in Switzerland, Russia and the USA. The initiative has also gained approval from HRH King Charles III.