Calderdale College students recently created five blossoming planters for Ilkley Station as part of a community interest project in collaboration with Northern, the Friends of Ilkley Station Group and the Halifax Station Partnership.

As part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in the town, five local primary schools took part in a competition to create stunning floral displays in each of the planters which were judged by Love Your Garden host, Alan Titchmarch, on Wednesday 15^th June.

This latest brief came as a result of the successful project Calderdale College recently undertook with the Halifax Station Partnership and Northern to transform the Halifax Station as part of the Anne Lister Birthday Festival.

Joinery students were tasked with creating large planters which were then decorated with eye-catching murals designed by Art & Design students. After seeing how this project gave a fresh lease of life to the station, the Friends of Ilkley Station Group were delighted to seek out the College’s support for their own project.

On the day of the judging, the event welcomed over 350 local people to Ilkley Station to admire the eye-catching planters and support the schools.

Simon Dunn, Curriculum Area Leader for Creative & Digital at Calderdale College, comments on the recent work: “Giving our students real projects to work on helps them to gain skills that they wouldn’t normally achieve in the classroom. It provides them with experience of working towards a brief and understanding what life will be like after College.

“Not only that, it’s a proud moment for them to be able to go and see their work out in the community.”