A PRIMARY School near Mansfield is celebrating after winning thousands of pounds to invest in play provision and a new sports hall for its students.
Church Vale Primary School and Foundation Unit, based in Church Warsop, has been handed £5,000 by Lloyds Banking Group to build a trim trail in the playground, designed to give pupils the chance to play outside the classroom regardless of the weather.
The school beat off stiff competition from other community groups to land the prize, after polling 27.12 per cent throughout the public vote organised by Lloyds through its Community Fund.
The school will also invest in a buddy bench for the playground, designed to help find all the pupils a playmate so they are not left on their own during lunch breaks.
With limited resources available for sport activities the planned sports hall will give students more opportunities to participate, and head teacher Olwen Hawkes believes the fund money will go a long way to making a big difference to the 200 students at the school.
"It's fantastic to secure the funding and I'm very grateful so many people voted for us," she said.
"We wanted to make sure we pursued every opportunity to provide a child with adequate outdoor play and the grant will go a long way to achieving that.
"Busy and active children develop high self-esteem, confidence and an ambition to succeed in life.
"We think building these new facilities will give our children the best chances to do that, and will hopefully improve the quality of sport they are learning and the enjoyment of their lunchtime play periods."
More than 200,000 people across the UK took part in a public vote between May and September to select the charities they wanted to receive the cash, part of £660,000 Lloyds Banking Group is investing through the Community Fund.
In total, 132 charities are set to receive £5,000 as part of the Lloyds Banking Group campaign.
"Lloyds Banking Group's Community and Sustainable Business Director Paul Turner added: "Becoming the best bank for customers means being the best bank for our communities. The Community Fund highlights the Group's ongoing commitment to the communities we serve and doing more to help Britain prosper.
"We are proud to be able to help Church Vale continue the great work they are doing through the opportunities they give their students and we look forward to seeing the difference the award will make."
Lloyds Banking Group, the largest financial services investor in UK communities, has provided funding to 132 organisations around the UK through its Community Fund in 2012. To find out more about the Group's community investment, visit www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/community
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