A CELEBRATION of the past 13 years was held at Swindon Town Football Club’s study centre last night.

The centre revealed earlier this week that it is shutting up shop due to the withdrawal of the Playing For Success grant, which is part of the government standards fund.

The centre was told in August that it would no longer be receiving the £105,000 grant which allowed 2,000 primary school pupils to use the centre each year for numeracy and literacy skills.

Martin Turnbull, who has been managing director at the centre since it opened, said: “I’m obviously disappointed that the government have withdrawn the funding not just from this centre, but from all 162 centres up and down the country.

“The children love it here, it doesn’t feel like school, or look like school. I’m disappointed the local community are losing this, it benefits everybody, the club, the schools, the local community, everybody.”

Eleven-year-old Jay Smith, head boy at Mountford Manor School in Walcot, said he will miss the top of the range facilities available at the centre.

He said: “I love that I get to use different types of technology with my friends, and learn different things.

“School is good, but the centre is better.

“I am going to miss learning here, I’m upset I won’t be able to come here again.”

Nick Capstick, headteacher at Drove Primary School and chairman of the trustees at the study centre, said: “The children are really upset, but the bottom line is that this project was set up to support children who have a degree of social deprivation or a degree of hardship in their lives. This is about creating aspirations and giving them the opportunity to use equipment that they might not normally get to use.

“There will be a big vacuum for the kids and us as a school.”

During the celebration, children from Mountford Manor School gave presentations of the skills they have learnt during their sessions at the centre.