Merrist Wood College and University Centre’s Horticulture and Landscaping students have again enjoyed outstanding success at the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair, earning a Gold Award and the Best in Show title in the 2026 College Gardens competition.

This marks the fourth consecutive year the college has taken part in the competition, and its award-winning show garden, Heritage Rewoven, impressed judges and visitors with a design inspired by Activate Learning’s award-winning Learning Philosophy.

The philosophy focuses on stimulating the brain, fostering motivation and responding to emotion - elements essential to effective learning and reflected in the garden’s design through three interlinked circles.

Students reused cable drums left from a recent campus redevelopment project, repurposed to form a pathway leading to a woven willow focal point, creating a space for rest and reflection.

This stunning structure, hand woven by the team on site, will now be installed at historic West Horsley Place, where the willow was originally harvested.

A pond, framed by trees and colourful climate-resilient plants, provided an essential water source for wildlife. All the plants used in the garden will return to the college nursery as teaching specimens.

The student team of Olly Britten, 19, Ciaran Wright, 19, Harvey Fox, 21, Milo Wheeler, 19, Emily Harwood, 19, Ellie Burchett, 18, and Matthew Jones, 17, designed and constructed the garden under the guidance of award-winning garden designer Cherry Carmen.

Jo Manser, group director at Merrist Wood College, said: “We’re incredibly proud of our learners’ achievements, not only in securing the gold award, but also in winning Best in Show as well as being runner-up in the People’s Choice Award in the Showcase Garden category.

“The team demonstrated dedication, creativity and professionalism throughout the garden’s development.”

Chair of assessors, Ian Hodgson, added: “We were incredibly impressed from the initial concept through to the final execution.”