10:29am Monday 25th January 2010
By Ruth Meech
PLAYTIME has taken on a whole new dimension for the youngest children at Beechcroft St Paul’s School in Weymouth.
A group of youngsters from the Prince’s Trust took just two weeks to transform a grey area of concrete outside the school’s reception classroom into a colourful play area designed for fun.
A wooden covered area for wet days, a colourful castle with a bright wall mural and a hopscotch area are just some of the fantastic new facilities on offer.
Reception class pupils attended a special opening ceremony where members of the Prince’s Trust team explained why they decided to help the school and then described how they went about building the play area.
Headteacher Sarah Sprague said: “The Prince’s Trust came to the school and asked if we had anything that they could take on board as a project. We showed them the blank space where the play area now is and they went away, put their heads together and decided what to do.
“In an incredibly short time the team from the Prince’s Trust has turned this grey area into a great place for the children. Outside play is part of the curriculum so it is wonderful that the children have this – and that every year more children will be coming into the school and benefiting from it.”
She added: “I think it is fantastic that the team from the Prince’s Trust are showing our children just what can be achieved by working together.”
Two of the children planning to make full use of the new playground were Aiden Grace and Olivia Scholes. They both felt that Beechcroft Castle was the best new addition to their school.
“I would like to play Queens and Princesses when I play in it,” said Olivia.
“And Princes,” added Aiden. “We will have a lot of fun.”
The Prince’s Trust team was led by Liam Holder, who said: “We started off by trying to raise as much money as we could for the project and managed to get between £500 and £600. We did a sponsored abseil on Dartmoor, packed bags in Asda and did a sponsored swim across the harbour.
“We spent two weeks building the play area. It was a good project and we are so pleased the children are delighted with it.”
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