A SCHOOL and three businesses are celebrating after scoring successes at Worcester-

shire's top garden show at the weekend.

Lickhill Lodge First School from Stourport beat off the challenge of primary schools throughout Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Glouc-estershire to come away with a cheque for £3,000 from the Spring Gardening Show at Malvern.

It won the competition to design a school garden and the cash bonanza means it can put the children's ideas into practice.

Headteacher Calne Edginton-White said she was delighted her 130 pupils aged four to nine had impressed the judges.

"The Year Fours drew up plans based on ideas from all the children," she said. "We took a group to the show and they had a really good time."

Lickhill was the only Worcestershire school to win a prize in the contest sponsored by npower. Judges from the Royal Horticultural Society, a county landscaper and the show organisers thought the Lickhill scheme was imaginative and achievable.

The design involved extending an existing garden by putting in a wildlife area, bog garden, bridge and water feature with silver birch trees and a recycling area.

"It would have taken us three years to raise this kind of money," said Mrs Edginton-White.

"The prize means we can get the work done during the summer term and the holidays."