New sandpit and dragon bring joy for Telford pupils
Construction staff have designed and built a new sandpit for children at a primary school in Telford.
Members of Bovis Homes and Linden Homes site teams at The Quarters @ Redhill location in Telford took a digger and dumper truck to excavate a new 20-tonne sandpit in the outdoor play area at Holmer Lake Primary School in Brookside, just four miles away.
Bovis Homes and Linden Homes, which are both part of Vistry Group and are building 450 homes at The Quarters, also donated five tonnes of sand to allow the pit to be completed, as well as donating outdoor equipment for the new play area.
Anna Baylis, Assistant Headteacher at Holmer Lake Primary School, said: “The children had requested a sand pit to play in at lunchtimes after we had invested in the OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) school development programme. Installing a sandpit is not cheap so we reached out to Vistry to see if they would lend us a digger and some manpower.”
Helen Watson, Assistant Headteacher said: “We had already managed to secure some sand from Blists Hill museum and just needed somebody with expert digger driving skills. Before we knew it, Vistry had replied to our request, visited the school with their fantastic grounds team and designed a fabulous sandpit, even including a tyre dragon! – all for a great cause.
"Our children could not be more excited to start building sandcastles and digging for treasure in the coming weeks.”
Freya Halsall, marketing manager for Vistry North Central Midlands, said: “When the staff at Holmer Lake Primary School contacted us to see if we could help them deliver a new sandpit, we were more than happy to help."
“The site team were enthused by the project and enjoyed the experience of building the sandpit and interacting with the staff and pupils as they went about their work. It was wonderful to see how excited the children were to see the digger in action.
"We are keen to get directly involved in the local community so we can help out and make a positive impact in the areas where we build new homes. We have developed a lovely relationship with this local school and this huge sandpit, complete with a tyre dragon, which will provide a place where the children can enjoy hours and hours of outdoor fun and learning.”
