STUDENTS and staff armed with spades have planted the first trees in Ripon Grammar School’s new orchard to promote healthy eating.

The orchard includes five traditional apple tree varieties – Ribston Pippin, Dog’s Snout, Egremont Russet, Blenheim Orange and Kidd’s Orange Red – and have been donated by parent fundraisers.

The orchard follows the planting of 300 native species of trees throughout the school site last year.

Student Yussef El Mountassi, 16, from Catterick was one of those who helped on the orchard in the area outside the humanities block. He said: “I just wanted to do something to help the environment."

School eco co-ordinator David Bruce said: “It’s a small local act, an optimistic thing to do at a time of climate emergency, when it would be very easy to be very pessimistic.

“I’m reminded of a quote by Martin Luther, who said: ‘Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree’.”