A STAGGERING 90 per cent of all apples from public spaces and private gardens go to waste in the UK, but St Mary’s School in Calne made sure their apples wouldn’t rot away by holding an apple day last Friday (October 12).

Apples picked from the school’s very own orchard were pressed to produce beautifully fresh apple juice which will be put into bottles labelled with different house names and sold to pupils, parents and teachers.

The day was a huge success, with pupils helping Richard

Paget, founder of community pressing service My Apple Juice while also learning about biodiversity.

About 250 litres of juice was pressed throughout the day, and the waste pomace left over from the pressing will be composted and used within the school.

Head of science, Alexandra Haydon, who organised the event, said: “It went really well, they really enjoyed it.

“The idea was to celebrate the orchard which is an unusual resource to have in the middle of the school.

“It has been about raising awareness of what is around them, celebrating diversity, enjoying the environment, and making the most out of what we’ve got.”

Mr Paget’s business, My Apple juice has been running for eight years, and this year is expected to make 75,000 bottles.

He allowed pupils from St Mary’s and St Margaret’s to get hands on and press some of the apples themselves.

“I do it to show them that all the apples that would go to waste could and should be used,” Mr Paget explained.

“The kids were loving it, tasting real apple juice freshly made.”

Pupils also sold toffee apples and cakes, and raised £211 for their chosen charity this year, Help4Refugees.

Mrs Haydon said: “It wasn’t a money making thing, that was secondary. The whole point was to get across the idea about waste and what it does to the environment.”