The 2025 Guildford Schools in Bloom
The Winners are announced!
14 schools entered our 2025 competition - and were rewarded for their efforts with certificates and awards from The Mayor of Guildford, Howard Smith on 1st July at Edwins Garden Centre in Clandon.
Huge Congratulations to Puttenham C of E Infant School - our 2025 Overall Winner
Here are the rest of the long awaited results:
Silver-Gilt Award
Walsh C of E Junior School
Gold Award
Boxgrove Primary School
Christopher Robin Day Nursery
Glenesk School
Gosden House School
Guildford Grove Primary School
Jigsaw CABAS School
Northmead Junior School
Peaslake Nursery
Pond Meadow School
Puttenham C of E Infant School
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
St Nicolas' C of E Infant School
Worplesdon Primary School
Special Awards:
Most Improved : Christopher Robin Day Nursery
Best Vegetable Grower: Jigsaw CABAS School
Best Wildlife Garden: Northmead Junior School
Best First Time Entry: St Nicolas' C of E Infant School
Overall Winner 2025 : Puttenham C of E Infant School
Read on to find out what they had to do to achieve their awards ...
2025 Schools in Bloom Competition
Are you passionate about encouraging children to understand the benefits of gardening, growing food, and protecting wildlife?
Guildford in Bloom have been holding an annual School Competition for many years, designed for children to learn about gardening in a fun and creative way. We are genuinely amazed by the ideas and application that children can bring to gardening, from nursery level up to teenagers, and the general enthusiasm for the competition from staff, parents, and pupils.
Our competition is free to enter and open to all schools in the Borough of Guildford. This year we have teamed up with Butterfly Conservation to promote the preservation of Butterflies and Moths. This in direct response to the reported 40% decline of the species across the UK in 2024 alone, with 80% of butterflies having declined since the 1970s and a third of moth numbers having fallen in that same period.
Our theme for 2025 is therefore Saving Butterflies & Moths. We’re encouraging Schools to add elements to your garden that create an attractive refuge for butterflies and moths to thrive, as well as attracting more wildlife generally using greener and eco-friendly resources.
We will still be looking for a plastic free environment unless the plastic item is being recycled (i.e. milk bottles used as planters, plastic cloches, poly tunnels, etc). Additional points are given for Peat Free Gardens.
We hope our theme can inspire the colours in your school garden, and encourage children to have fun designing, planting, looking after gardens, whilst saying hello to all the wildlife but especially Butterflies and Moths!
School Judging Criteria
• Children’s involvement in the design, planting, and looking after the garden
• Well-planned layout relative to available space
• Inclusion of plants that attract nature and wildlife
• Environmentally friendly habitats, including upcycling/recycling materials
• Overall impression of the garden in relation to our theme, and how well it demonstrates how butterflies and moths can thrive in school gardens.
Further information
If you require help and advice on including gardening in the curriculum, or more information on what entering our competition entails, please contact our School Team directly on schools@guildfordinbloom.com
They will be more than happy to help and have experience of running information sessions that have helped staff involved in previous competitions.