‘Enchanted garden’ is funded by lottery (From Swindon Advertiser)

‘Enchanted garden’ is funded by lottery

4:00pm Wednesday 18th January 2012 in News By Matthew Edwards

PUPILS of Shrivenham C of E Primary School will be enchanted by their new outdoor area.

The school will soon have an “exciting and innovative” outdoor area after it secured a £10,000 grant from The Big Lottery Fund.

Its application, entitled ‘The Enchanted Garden – Making Shrivenham Primary School Ground Special’ won over the selection committee by demonstrating how an overhaul of its outdoor space would benefit the pupils and the community as a whole.

School governor, parent and resident Rachael Hammond sent the bid for the Awards for All grant in the hope that winning the grant would allow the makeover to coincide with the school’s 150th anniversary in 2013.

The funds will enable the school to fulfil its aim of creating a stimulating outside space that allows children to thrive and have fun while they learn.

The plans include a ‘Toad University’ – an outdoor classroom with a willow wigwam, log seats, a nature pond, insect wall and a sensory area.

Plans are also in place to clear an unsightly bark area and replace it with child-friendly paths and play areas in addition to lots of new play equipment for the children.

Mrs Hammond said: “ I became a governor to make a difference, and one thing I really wanted was to create a great outdoor area for the children to learn.

“Bringing the classroom outside in a fun and stimulating environment can only result in an improvement in grades for children of all abilities.

“As a school we just don’t have the money to make our outside areas more inviting for the children. This grant means we can now all benefit in a really fun and positive way.”

Awards for All is part of The Big Lottery Fund, which distributes half of the National Lottery good cause funding across the UK.

The Fund aims to enable others to make real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need.

Awards for All offers grants of between £300 and £10,000 to small, local projects in the UK, which benefit communities, and the lives of people within them. It is for voluntary and community groups, schools and health organisations, parish and town councils.