AN ANDOVER junior school has opened up a new allotment for families to use.

The allotment has been opened by Knights Enham Junior School and is located between it and Knights Enham Infants School.

Knights Enham Junior School principal Daniel Whitehouse explained: “We’ve had a plot of land between the two schools, the infants and the junior schools, which has really just sat there as a waste of space not being used.

Andover Advertiser: Families and teachers at the opening of the allotmentFamilies and teachers at the opening of the allotment (Image: Knights Enham Junior School)READ MORE: Two heads are better than one - Celebrating 50 years of Knights Enham Juniors

“So, I thought of a rough idea of whether there was anyway we could have some kind of link between the two schools by using that land, and I thought that a garden allotment could be really good for a number of reasons.

“One, it has that link between the two schools; the school vision is about our school community, so it will help our local community, the whole healthy living, and with the current situation with bills and so on it could support them in that way.”

Between original planning and completion, the allotment took two months to complete and currently has eight plots.

These plots have been allocated to families who are interested in being involved.

Andover Advertiser: The completed allotmentsThe completed allotments (Image: Knights Enham Junior School)Mr Whitehouse continued: “They can access it whenever they want.

“It’s all locked with fencing, and they’ve got a code and they can access it in school hours, out of school hours and at the weekends.”

Mr Whitehouse said that the schools are hoping to add more to the allotment over time, including more benches, some paving and even more allotment beds.

He also wanted to thank everyone who helped to set up and build the allotments: “Firstly, my site manager Fabian Pude. Ultimately, he has done the majority of the work, I just asked him nicely really.

Andover Advertiser: Construction work underway on the allotmentConstruction work underway on the allotment (Image: Knights Enham Junior School)SEE ALSO: Town band to bring Royal Albert Hall to Andover with remembrance concert

“Helen Coleman, and the staff of the Co-op who volunteered for the day to do it."

Mr Whitehouse concluded: “Basically it’s to support families, not just in our school but the infants too, and if anyone is ever interested, they can access it on our school website or contact the school office.

“There’s only eight beds at the moment, but the more interest we get, we’ll develop more beds in that space so it can be used by more families.”