Ground Force star helps students grow

Ground Force star, Tommy Walsh, will be getting his hands dirty with Peterborough Regional College students on Tuesday 23 March when he takes part in a new project, which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund ‘Awards for All’ programme and in partnership with Opportunity Peterborough for the College Nursery.

The celebrity builder starred alongside Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock for a number of years on the hit BBC gardening transformation show, Ground Force. He now has his own show, Challenge Tommy Walsh, where he lends a hand to homeowners refurbishing their properties.

‘Mr Fixit’ will be working with students who are currently studying a dry stone wall building course, the art of building structures from stones without any mortar to bind them together. The stone walls are a traditional heritage feature which adds to the character of the areas to the west of the city, but skills to fix them are declining.

Before arriving at PRC the students were neither in education, employment or training and this 12 week course has been a great motivation for them to get back into learning.

The College Nursery, based on the Park Crescent campus, will be the host of a new raised flower bed encouraging the children to grow plants.

14-19 Director at the College, Jane Hodges, says

“We are really looking forward to having Tommy come and work with our students. It will provide a great opportunity for them to learn skills from a professional who has been in the spotlight and hopefully motivate them to continue their learning experience”.