The playground at Marlborough St Mary’s is buzzing with excitement as pupils try out the new equipment that has just been installed. In fact, it’s so popular that the school has had to draw up a rota allocating each year group one day a week to play on it.
Top favourites, according to the pupils, are the bouldering wall, the pole, the spider’s web – which involves walking over a complicated structure of logs whilst holding onto a rope and the special grass which is on foam pads to provide a soft landing.
Headteacher, Anne Schwodler, told marlborough.news: “I am absolutely delighted with the playground equipment. It’s something we’ve wanted ever since the school opened. It’s all due to the hard work of the Friends of the School and Kate Hughes, one of our governors, who did a lot of research about which equipment to buy and applied for grants as well.”
The Friends raised over £16,000 towards the total cost of £25,000 for Phase 1 of the equipment. Alice Macdonald is Chair of the Friends: “All the fundraising for the past two years has contributed towards the cost. We held a sponsored swim, a sponsored bounce on a bouncy castle, school fairs and a curry and quiz night.”
The pupils were asked for their ideas for the playground equipment and it was essential that it would provide something for all children across the age range. The chosen design encourages imaginative play and adventures as well as activity challenge and development of gross motor skills. There are pirate flags, a castle and a ship’s steering wheel. Underneath there are several hidden dens.
The Friends are continuing to fund raise in order to provide Phase 2 of the equipment.
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