The results of the Prior's Court Potting Throw Down 2025/26 are in, and the winners are a combined group of young people from Summerhill, Autumn and Beechcroft Houses with eight weekly wins across the year. A weekly win goes to whichever house has planted the most seedlings in the Potting Shed that week.

Now in its second year, the Throw Down runs through Land-based learning sessions in the Potting Shed. The idea is straightforward: young people are challenged to plant as many seedlings as possible over the course of the year. Along the way, gardening for autistic young people builds fine motor skills and gives young people a shared project to work on together.

This year, they planted 2,967 seedlings across 2025/26, with only fully completed plantings counted towards the total.

How the competition started

The Throw Down was led by Potting Shed Vocational Learning Instructor Sammi, who began recording successful plantings in each session so that young people could see the progress they were making. That simple bit of tracking turned a regular activity into a friendly contest between houses.

Read more about the idea behind the Throw Down

This year's results

The combined group of young people from Summerhill, Autumn and Beechcroft Houses took the top spot and received a certificate and a rosette to mark the win. Todhunter House finished second with seven weekly wins. Fleming House, winners in 2024/25, completed the top three with six.

Young people and staff from Summerhill, Autumn and Beechcroft Houses with their certificates and rosette for their first place finish

Young people and staff from Todhunter House with their certificates and rosette for their second place finish

Young people and staff from Todhunter House with their certificates and rosette for their third place finish

See last year's winners

Where the seedlings go

Those 2,967 seedlings don't stay in the Potting Shed. They go on to fill spaces right across the Prior's Court site, and visitors will find them thriving in the raised beds, planters, sensory garden, house gardens, the Young Adult Provision, the Countryside Learning Centre and the Orchard.

A new pub quiz activity

Alongside the planting, this year Sammi introduced a Pub Quiz activity. Multiple choice boards let young people pick their answer to questions such as:

• How heavy is a blue whale's tongue?
• How deep is the deepest hole ever dug?
• How many teeth does a slug have?

Young people and staff have thrown themselves into this new activity too. The idea of the quiz is not for anyone to win - the staff members go first, and then the young people have multiple choice, so they tend to beat the staff and love the celebration and the inclusion.

Well done to everyone for the effort put in across the whole year on the Throw Down and the pub quiz.

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