CHILDREN are looking forward to growing - and eating - their own vegetables, with plans to set up allotments in the grounds of their school.

Seventeen pupils from Brookside Primary School in Bicester, went to the town's Leach Road allotments where they met Banbury MP Tony Baldry, whose constituency includes Bicester, and town council leader Debbie Pickford.

The children, aged between seven and nine, talked about how they would like to grow their own vegetables at the school in Bucknell Road, and then eat them for school dinner.

Nine-year-old Zak Wilce, of George Street, said: "I would like to grow cauliflowers and carrots. They are my favourite vegetables.

"If we had our own school allotment, we would look after it very carefully, put a fence around it and make sure it didn't get damaged."

The primary school, for children aged three to 11, is in the process of having a new £3m teaching block built. It replaces a building which had been declared unsafe.

The new block comprises six key stage two classrooms, an ICT suite, library, kitchen, main hall, community room, staff room, offices and a reception area.

It will be officially opened later this year. Teaching assistant Val Green said: "Once we are settled into our new building I think it would be nice for the school to have a small allotment area for the children to grow their own produce.

"We have been bringing the children to the allotment in Leach Road to show them how things grow."

Headteacher Nick Cornwell said: "The allotment plans for the school will be looked at in the near future following the opening of our new building. Once the new building is up and running, we will reveal these."

Mr Baldry said he would be introducing a Private Members' Bill to the House of Commons next week, flagging up the need for new large developments to provide allotment space.

He said: "I have a lot of support from Labour and Conservative MPs who think the introduction of allotment space with new developments is a good idea.

"Local authorities, when granting planning permission, should consider asking developers to provide this space. It concerns me that allotments are disappearing.

"I think they are very valuable in a community. They encourage people to get out of the house and grow their own food, which encourages healthy living, but they are also a great educational source."