'We are absolutely delighted to have had the help of more than 40 volunteers from Pitney Bowes, who came to our school for a day in October. In just one day their energy, enthusiasm and hard graft totally transformed some of our outdoor spaces.

At the front of the school tall prickly bushes were cut down and their enormous roots steadily hacked away at, flower beds were rebuilt and the bin compound had a new lick of paint. We are now enjoying being able to walk out to the buses with much more space and are looking forward to seeing our new Clematises flower next year.

In the middle of the school the Courtyard Garden has been almost completely cleared ready for a redesign. The weeds and old woodchips that had decomposed into soil were barrowed away, the dead plum tree cut down and dug out and the Cherry tree moved into the old Chicken Run area, where several other fruit trees were also planted. The volunteers even offered to break up some old concrete that was above the level of the rest of the floor.

Some students from Discoverer's enjoyed watching bricklaying as their new raised vegetable bed was completed and old overgrown bushes were dug out. Inspired by the volunteers they are now continuing to transform their outdoor space into a carefully tended garden - sieving the soil, trimming the bushes, mowing and painting an old bench.

An incredible amount was achieved and all the volunteers were absolutely amazing. Many people in the school commented on how wonderful they were - not just the amount of work that got done but the spirit with which they entered into it all and their friendliness and sensitivity towards the students and the everyday life of the school.

We would absolutely love to have them back - there are still plenty of jobs that need doing and it would be great to be able to share our progress with the school grounds and for the volunteers to see the impact their help has had.