STUDENTS from Sparsholt College have scooped gold at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The team won a gold medal and Best Discovery Exhibit with its sustainable cup-themed garden The Paper Chase at this year’s show.

The winning garden, designed and built by horticulture students at the college, demonstrates the full circle of the re-cycling process – from sapling to tree to cup to compost to garden to sapling.

Lecturer Chris Bird, who led the student team, said: “This is a world-class event and for Sparsholt College to be exhibiting amongst the gardening greats is always thrilling.

“The team have worked very hard over the last nine months, and for their huge efforts to result in a gold medal and to be the Best Discovery Exhibit is absolutely tremendous – how better for these students to start their horticulture careers than as proud RHS Chelsea medal winners?

“We have enjoyed working with Huhtamki and Woodhorn and hope that the message of recycling and sustainability reaches people and inspires them to be more environmentally aware.”

The Paper Chase is located in the new Discovery area of the Great Pavilion. The garden’s five main sections portray a strong environmental message, intended to enthuse and educate everyone with the merits of sustainability, composting and waste recycling, and show a facet of paper production, subsequent use and re-use.

Sparsholt College Hampshire has a long history of Chelsea medal success, achieving to date six gold medals, three silver-gilt medals, four silver medals and three bronze medals since 1998.