WALLACE & GROMIT CALL ON PRIMARY SCHOOLS TO TAKE THE 'GREAT VEGETABLE CHALLENGE'

WALLACE & GROMIT CALL ON PRIMARY SCHOOLS TO TAKE THE 'GREAT VEGETABLE CHALLENGE'

London, 13 September/GNN/ --

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS News Release (2005/0103) issued by the
Government News Network on 13 September 2005
As excitement builds for the 14 October cinema release of The Curse of the
Were-rabbit, the first big screen adventure for triple Oscar winner Nick
Park's Wallace & Gromit characters, the Department for Education and Skills'
'Growing Schools' programme has teamed up with Aardman Animations to encourage
more primary schools to create an 'outdoor classroom' to help their pupils
learn about diet, nutrition and the natural environment.

The 'Great Vegetable Challenge' competition will invite every primary school in
the country to design its own growing area. The winning school will receive
£2,500 to have their garden built, with four runners-up prizes of £500 to
help them develop their playgrounds into a growing area.

In their latest outing, Wallace & Gromit have formed their own humane pest
control company, 'Anti-pesto,' and are defending village allotments from
the clutches of the Were-rabbit on the eve of the annual Giant Vegetable
Competition.

'Growing Schools' aims to inspire and support schools to teach all subjects
within the context of the 'outdoor classroom' to enhance curriculum lessons
and teach pupils about growing, farming and the environment, and developing
an enthusiasm for healthy eating.

Over 12,000 schools have already received support and resources from the
'Growing Schools' programme, helping them to develop growing areas ranging
from mini-allotments in rural schools to raised beds in urban playgrounds.

Schools Minister Jacqui Smith said:

"The competition aims to be fun with a serious message. As well as ensuring
that what children eat in schools is healthy, it is important that they
are equipped with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead
healthy lives outside school and in later life.

'Growing Schools' can encourage and support every school, from rural primary
schools to inner city secondary schools, to provide its pupils with an area
where they can learn about where their food comes from, diet, nutrition and
the natural environment."

Peter Lord, Chairman and Co-founder of Aardman Animations said:

"Wallace and Gromit approach everything they do with maximum enthusiasm. Their
latest adventure, The Curse of the Were-rabbit, is packed full of some of
the funniest vegetable antics in the history of cinema. We hope Wallace and
Gromit's enthusiasm and sense of fun will be an inspiration to kids of all
ages to create their own vegetable plots and think about where their food
comes from!"

NOTES TO EDITORS

This Press Notice applies to England.

1. Images of the characters and scenes from the film are available to print
media at www.image.net Trailers of the film are available to broadcast
media from Neil Bhatt at Premier PR, telephone 020 7292 8330 or email
neil@premierpr.com

2. Aardman Animations in association with DreamWorks will be releasing
the first full length Wallace and Gromit feature film The Curse of the
Were-Rabbit on 14 October 2005. For further information on the film, please
contact Neil Bhatt or Lawrence Atkinson at Premier PR, 020 7292 8330 or
email neil@premierpr.com and lawrence@premierpr.com

3. Aardman produces films, television series and television commercials
for both the domestic and international market, their debut feature film,
Chicken Run, grossed over $225M worldwide ($104M in the US) and the series
of Wallace and Gromit short films have won countless awards including 2
Oscars(r). In the UK Aardman's output can be seen on television 365 days
a year, whether it is a tv commercial, a station ident, a tv series or one
of their many short films, the studio's work is constantly in demand. The
studio has been nominated for an Academy Award seven times, and has won three.

4. The 'Growing Schools' programme began in 2001. It aims to encourage and
inspire all schools to use the 'outdoor classroom' as a context for learning
for pupils of all ages & abilities across the curriculum. A key strand is to
encourage learning about the outdoor environment through first hand experience
of growing, farming and the countryside - within and beyond the school.
For further information, visit www.teachernet.gov.uk/growingschools

5. The 'Great Vegetable Challenge' competition is open to all Foundation
Settings and Primary schools in England. Schools are invited to submit and A3
sized design showing their ideas for an ideal new growing space or expansion
of an existing one within their schools grounds. All schools must register
on the Growing Schools website www.teachernet.gov.uk/growingschools where
they can download entry forms and terms and conditions.

6. All entries will receive a teachers' resource pack containing fact sheets
demonstrating how each subject in the National Curriculum can be taught in
the 'outdoor classroom.'

PRESS ENQUIRIES:
Tim Watkinson
020 7925 5975

PUBLIC ENQUIRIES:
0870 000 2288
info@dfes.gsi.gov.uk

NEWSDESK:
020 7925 6789
newsdesk@dfes.gsi.gov.uk

OUT OF HOURS MEDIA CALLS:
07659 105 993

INTERNET ADDRESS :
www.dfes.gov.uk

If you would like to receive email notification of new press notices
in the subjects of your choice, please click on 'register' on our site:
www.dfes.gov.uk, 'Latest News'.

Source: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS

-------
Profile: education