Lessons for these children in South Shields have gone far beyond the classroom..

Award winning gardener John Soulsby welcomed three groups of children to Beamish Hall Garden Centre, as part of a “learning outside the classroom” exercise.

The horticulturist and winner of BBC’s Great British Village Show, gave his young audience a masterclass on the importance and values of gardening.

His lesson included life skills such as responsibility, creativity, nutrition, and health and fitness.

Children learned about different types of flowers, their roles within the garden, and whether they were safe to touch.

Managing director Amy Tocu said: “It’s great to see the children from Harton Primary School getting hands on and involved with our garden centre.

“Family values remain at the core of our business, so to see the children learning about gardening is fantastic.

“In addition to our family-friendly offering, a fairy garden was created with gigantic mushrooms and hand-crafted houses, to captivate and introduce children into the world of gardening.”

At the end of their educational session, Mr Soulsby led the children to the fairy gardens and houses, where they listened to stories about fairies and goblins.

At the end of their fun and educational day, pupils were given the option of taking home either a vegetable or a planted flower to nurture and grow themselves using tipsby John Soulsby.