Isaac Newton-style tree to become first in City Academy orchard

Community encouraged to get digging

A TREE descended from the one Isaac Newton reportedly sat under when he discovered gravity will soon sprout from the gardens of a Hackney school.

A sapling descent from the rare Flower of Kent tree which provided Newton’s eureka moment is due to be planted at The City Academy in Homerton Row, Homerton, on Saturday (November 20) with the help of William Sibley, gardener to Prince Charles and the White House, and Lewis McNeill whose ancestors grew Bramley apples for the first time.

According to legend, Newton formulated his theory of gravity after watching an apple fall from a tree at Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire in 1665. Now it is hoped the tree will be the first to inspire future scholars as part of a community orchard and also provide healthy food for the school kitchens.

A spokeswoman from the school said: “Ideally we would like to find another Isaac Newton but we’re hoping to expand the orchard over the years and get the community involved.”

Visitors are welcome at the event, between 10.30am and 12.30pm, for a variety of apple-related activities, including apple bobbing, peeling and tasting with apples donated by Spitalfields Market and art, poetry and research displays by students.