Children at a Greenwich nursery school will get a special community garden and playground designed by students at the college just over the road.

Students at Ravensbourne, a school specialising in design and digital media, competed with each other to come up with the best design for the play area for Robert Owen Nursery School.

The winning design included pretend shop fronts and a mini amphitheatre, with the idea that the playground should resemble a town centre.

Jed Maiden, one of the students who came up with the design, said: “We really wanted the garden to suit children of a variety of ages and personalities which is why it is designed to encompass different aspects of play which suits both introverted and extroverted children.

“It is important that life lessons are learned from an early age and we liked the idea of incorporating that into the play which is why, for example, we introduced the road which will require learning aspects of safety.”

Now the nursery plans to build the garden and are asking the public to help chip in with any materials they need.

Ruth Mercer, headteacher of Robert Owen Nursery School, said: “Myself and the judging panel were really delighted with the outcome. The students really understood the ethos behind the project. We are now hoping our dream can become a reality.

“If anyone from the local community could donate, materials, funds or their time we’d be really grateful.

“We think this will be a real asset to the local community and the surrounding areas and would love to see this built within the next few years.”