A CASH-STRAPPED church school has received a financial injection to aid it in its quest to make its play area safer.

All Saints Primary, on Norreys Avenue, Wokingham, has launched a scheme to raise funds for re-surfacing, which has been kick-started by the Co-Op.

Co-Op bank has been raising funds for the school thanks to its customers, and raised a total of £3,178.18, which was officially handed over to the school at an assembly on Monday December 4.

Tracey Stanton, headteacher at All Saints, spoke to the News about the challenges facing the school.

She said: “The playground at All Saints Primary School has seen better days; it is crumbling and uneven. 

“An area of the surface has been damaged by tree roots, which make it less accessible that we would like.

“As we have worked really hard to raise the profile of sport at school, we are in desperate need of a high-quality sports court. This would allow the children to play a wider variety of games and increase opportunities for competition.

“In a new initiative, our children can bring bikes and scooters to ride at lunchtime. We have ambitions for roadway markings to provide a route for the bikes and scooters and also to allow us to teach road safety more effectively.

“Unfortunately, the costs involved in resurfacing a playground are astronomical and in these times of austerity, well beyond the budget of our school.

"However, our very pro-active PTA set themselves the challenge of raising the funds required, and applied to the Co-op Local Community Fund. Co-op members have helped fund thousands of local projects that benefit communities across the UK. 

“We are very grateful to the Co-op for its generous contribution.  Our new playground is a giant step closer.”