Praise from Robert Rinder as Catholic school wins BBC Gardeners’ World gold for Auschwitz memorial garden

June 27, 2025 tcnadmin

A Catholic secondary school has won glowing prasise from TV presenter Robert Rinder after it won a top award at BBC Gardeners’ World Live for a memorial garden inspired by the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation.

Trinity Catholic School in Leamington Spa received a Gold award and the People’s Choice Award for Best Beautiful Border for its “Bud and Blossom Reflection Garden” – a compact show garden designed by students in the school’s History Research Group.

The Trinity Catholic School History Research Group was formed in 2021 as an after-school initiative, shortly after the school joined the Holocaust: Their Family, Me and Us project—an effort inspired by the BBC documentary The Holocaust: My Family and Me, presented by Robert Rinder.

Over the past three years, students have had the unique opportunity to meet Robert and his mother, Angela Cohen. They have participated in a variety of meaningful projects, including the creation of a memorial garden and commemorative mosaic at school. Their short film entry in an international competition even earned them an invitation to Westminster.

These experiences have profoundly shaped and inspired their most recent project.

Robert Rinder MBE said: “Trinity completely understood what the landscape, nature, flowers and trees meant to my grandfather and ‘the Boys’… It’s more than a garden – it’s a space for reflection, remembrance, and renewal… Their learning has inspired such a special, special place.”

Symbolism runs throughout the design: triangular planting beds represent both the Holy Trinity and unity, while a silver birch memorial tree invites visitors to hang the names of loved ones lost in the Second World War. Visitors were also offered seed packets to take home as a gesture of remembrance and renewal.

In a group statement, the students said: “It’s a chance for us to remember important moments in history and show respect to those affected. It brings us together as a school to reflect our faith and values. Taking part makes us feel proud – it’s a way we can help spread kindness and remembrance in our community and beyond.”

Teacher Deborah Hayden said the pupils were “overwhelmed” by public response at the Birmingham NEC. “This was about honouring memory, sharing faith, and bringing people together through history,” she said.

“The garden was designed by 4 Year 11 boys. One of benches contained a quote from the catechism 2158.

“All of our students wrote their name on a pebble which formed the triangular planting beds. This was to ensure that we remembered those whose names were lost and may have shared the same name as our students. While the triangular planting beds formed a star ‘The Star of David’, the triangles also represent unity and the Holy Trinity which is connects our school to the garden.”

Lucy Tremlett, event director at organisers Immediate Live, added: “These 9 sqm borders are often deeply personal. The Cultivating Connections theme really inspired designers this year – and this garden was a beautiful example of creativity rooted in meaning.”

The school is currently working with the Holocaust Project in the Lake District, where their design will be recreated on the site of the Calgarth estate, the home of the Windermere Boys, the child orphans of the Holocaust who inspired our garden design. The aim is for a version of the garden to be opened on the site on the 14th August, the 80th anniversary of ‘the Boys’ arrival in Windermere.

The pupils are also in the process of raising additional funds to enable them to recreate the award winning garden on the school site, so that the school and local community can enjoy it.

“One of our parents has very generously donated sleepers for us the build the 4×4 m raised bed.,” said Deborah.

“We are currently raising funds to replenish our plants some of which have not survived in ‘holding pots’ during the recent hot weather!”

If you wanted to help the pupils of Trinity Catholic School reconstruct the Holocaust Memorial Garden at the school, there’s a Just Giving Page where you can donate:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/friendsoftrinitycatholicschool

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