Applemore College’s Quiet Quad Project in Tesco Bags of Help vote.

Applemore College is delighted to announce that our Quiet Quad Development Project has been chosen as one of three local environmental projects that will receive funding from Tesco Bags of Help.Most importantly, the amount of funding we receive will be decided by customers who voted in their local Tesco Stores between 27th February and 6th March.The central Quad at Applemore College is going to be transformed into a Quiet Quad which will give us a beautiful Sensory Garden and learning area for our students and staff as well as for our local community and visitors to relax in and enjoy. This outdoor learning environment will also be shared with our local Primary Schools offering them literacy and reading visits aimed at improving Literacy levels across the Waterside.Tesco Bags of Help uses the money raised from the 5p charge now made for carrier bags in stores to fund local projects which help to regenerate and improve green spaces in communities. Every Tesco customer was given a token when they shopped which wasused to vote for their favourite community project, from Saturday 27th February until Sunday 6th March. The one with the most votes will receive £12,000, the second £10,000 and the third £8,000. Applemore’s  ‘Quiet Quad’ vote took place in the Tesco Dibden Superstore and Tesco Express stores in Hythe, Blackfield, Brockenhurst, Totton and Poulner.The Quiet Quad design includes seating for reading, an outdoor classroom area to focus on Literacy skills and a ‘Little Free Library’ where students can swap books for free. A unique feature will be the literary quotes placed throughout the planting to ‘bring Shakespeare to life’, encouraging students to improve their writing skills. Our Student Eco Committee have been incorporating design ideas put forward by students and staff which include raised bedding and planting, a water feature, bee-friendly planting, calming walkways and areas where students can display their artwork and sculptures. This has been an ambitious and exciting project for everyone involved and has only been made possible through the Tesco Bags of Help funding.Mrs Williams, Lead Teacher for the Eco Committee, stated “We have lots of exciting ideas for the Quiet Quad and can’t wait to get started now that we have the funding.”Mr Marsh, Headteacher at Applemore commented “This is fantastic news! Now we have the opportunity to create a relaxing and inspiring space, not only for our students and staff, but also for our local community. We look forward to sharing our Quiet Quad with children from our local Primary Schools so we can all work together to raise standards in Literacy skills which are so important for us all. I hope that Tesco customers can see the benefits our project will bring to the community and used their tokens to vote for our Quiet Quad Project. The more funding we obtain, the more we can do to make the Quiet Quad a unique and highly valued outdoor learning resource for children across the Waterside area.Thank you very much Tesco for making it possible and thank you to all the customers who voted for us!”