A rural Macclesfield school have opened a garden in memory of a local teenager.

Sutton St James Pre-School, of Bell Avenue Sutton, opened their new Sensory Garden at the start of the month.

The garden is in memory of Thomas Egerton who sadly passed away in 2021.

Sutton St James Secretary Kirsty Windsor said: "Thomas was a well loved member of out Sutton St James Pre-School & Hollinhey Primary School family."

The community turned out in their droves to officially open the new garden. (Image - Sutton St. James)

"When Thomas passed away two years ago at the age of 18 his family and friends kindly donated the money raised from the funeral to out charity run Pre-School, based in Sutton, Macclesfield."

"We wanted to create something special in Thomas's memory, something that would bring laughter, smiles & friendship just like Thomas did.

"So we set to work to create 'Toms Garden' - somewhere that friends can be made, special times are shared and the world feels a brighter place.

"We cannot thank the local community enough for all coming together to support the creating of our special sensory garden. Fairways Garden Centre in Sutton Macclesfield have supported with the garden design and along with their 'Here to Help' scheme have donated over £2,000 to the project.

The garden will be beneficial to everyone, but particularly to SEND pupils. (Image - Sutton St James)

"A big thank you to Nick Riley (Manager at Fairways Garden Centre, Macclesfield), Nicola Owens (chair of our committee) kindly organised a volunteering day with a group of her colleagues from AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca have joined forces with Employee Volunteering to support local charities & initiatives.

"We had a wonderful team of eight employees from AstraZeneca volunteer their time on September 27. The team built the pergola, planted, cleaned and tied and the garden area.

"A wonderful parent, Jay Waller volunteered and afternoon of his time and kindly sectioned off the garden area ready for opening.

"We had a fantastic turn out on Sunday November 4 for the garden opening, it was so lovely for the community to come together and share stories of Tom.

Thomas attended both Pre-School & Hollinhey Primary School.

"We are really proud of our wonderful new garden, and want to thank all of the team working at Sutton St James."

The new garden will be enjoyed by pupils and staff alike. Find more about the Macclesfield place of education on this link.

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