CHILDREN attending a Hurst pre-school are now the kings and queens of the castle thanks to a £20,000 revamp of its gardens.
And to celebrate, St Nicholas Pre-School held a special garden party to unveil the work, which had been paid for by several years of fundraising. Benefactors included the Hurst Show and Country Fayre which gave a £1,000 donation from its 2018 proceeds.
The improvements were officially unveiled by Wokingham borough councillor for Hurst, Wayne Smith. The unveiling was combined with the pre-school’s annual May fair.
The children now have an exciting new castle to climb around. A new area of artificial turf means they can run in and out of the garden all winter, without battling to take wellies on and off.
Pre-school manager Claire Guile said: “We still have natural areas like our allotment where we grow strawberries, beans, tomatoes and wild flowers. We also have a wildlife bug hotel.
“There’s a construction area and a new mud kitchen. We didn’t want the garden to become like a normal children’s playground.
“We keep the pre-school door into the garden open so the children can come and go. The artificial turf means we don’t have a mud bath inside.”
And the pre-school said that the changes will greatly benefit the children.
She added: “Lots of past pre-school families and other villagers helped fundraise for the work. We wanted to thank them and show them what we have done.”
Hurst Show chair Sue Payne said: “We’re really pleased to have supported the pre-school again. We look forward to more fundraising for good causes at this year’s show on June 29 and 30.”
The Pre-School is celebrating 21 years of picking strawberries for its popular stall at Hurst Show and Country Fayre, this year on June 29 and 30. Anyone with photos of previous years’ pickings has been asked to contact them at www.stnicholas-preschool.co.uk/contact-us
