Longsight Sunflower kids give it a grow

Green-fingered youngsters from St Richards and Stanley Grove Schools are being invited to grow the city’s largest sunflower as part of a scheme to help them understand the environmental benefits of using compost.

The keen junior gardeners will plant the sunflowers and tend to them over an eight-week period to see who can grow the tallest plant, and the winning youngster's school will receive prizes such as money to spend on new equipment.

The contest - to be run across 25 primary schools - has been organised by Manchester City Council's recycling team as part of a scheme to educate pupils about the environmental benefits of using compost.

Around 30 per cent of people use compost at home, and composting for just one year can save global warming gases equivalent to the amount a kettle produces in a year, or a washing machine produces in three months.

Longsight Councillor Suzanne Richards said: "We are already ahead of the game in Longsight as the city’s pilot for the new food recycling scheme. Composting is a fantastic way to look after the environment and we hope that through schemes like this, youngsters will appreciate its benefits, and in turn encourage their parents to give it a go."

Anyone with outside space at home can create free compost by reusing their food waste at home. Residents can visit www.greatermanchester.getcomposting.com for handy tips on how to get the most out of their compost and enrich their garden.

Manchester Promise - Education, Children & Young People

Manchester Labour passionately believes that education is the route to fulfilling the potential of all our young people. Year on year standards are improving and through the most ambitious school building programme certainly since the second world war we are ensuring our children are taught in the best environment possible. Pupil numbers are growing and we have taken urgent action to increase the number of places available. SureStart is one of Labour's biggest successes and have spread all over the city to give our youngest children and their families the best start in life. We want our young people to be confident about their future which is why we have been working with our sixth forms, the Manchester College, our Universities, employers and other agencies to ensure that every student leaving school can go into high quality training or education or into a job with training that gives recognised qualifications. we are rapidly increasing the number of apprenticeships available. We are also concerned with what young people do in their leisure time which is why we have reorganised our services to young people with the aim of providing every young person with the offer of at least five hours a week high quality sport, leisure or cultural activity.

* We promise to protect, extend and run more services from our SureStart Centres

* We promise to continue improving our schools until every child has an outstanding education available locally

* We promise to continue investing in our schools until every school is new or totally modernised

* We promise to ensure every young person leaving school has a place in training or education or a job with training

* We promise that every young person will have a minimum offer of sports,arts or other leisure activity

* We promise to work with parents/carers so that our children attend school everyday to make the most of their opportunities

Building Schools For the Future

St Peter’s RC High School is the first secondary school in Manchester to be ranked as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. This year the school will receive an additional £4million through the Labour Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme, providing 8 new classrooms, a new courtyard and a lift to help disabled pupils access the 1st and 2nd floors.