As part of its Grand Gestures 2016 scheme, Grand Central Rail has awarded Thirsk Community Primary School £500 to help create a trim trail for its outdoor playground.
Thirsk Community Primary School had bid for a portion of Grand Central’s Grand Gestures 2016 £3,000 fund to create a new trim trail playground area which will encourage physical activity amongst children, and as a result improve their skills, fitness and wellbeing, along with giving them the chance to engage in positive play.
The timber trim trail will include a range of equipment to promote balance, grip, traversing skills and coordination along with a role play unit that can be used for performances and den building. This will allow children to challenge and improve their skills while being able to enjoy and explore the outdoors.
The school will also purchase seating designed for quiet play to help children develop their skills in communication with one another and make friends, which will be invaluable for children across the area with social, emotional and behavioural needs.
This outdoor play area will also be available for children attending the playgroup in the local Community Hub, that does not offer an outdoor space, as well as children attending the breakfast club.
Grand Gestures 2016 offered local organisations, including charities, community groups, schools and small businesses along Grand Central’s North East and West Riding routes the chance to win funding for an upcoming project by nominating themselves and explaining how the money would be spent.
A total of seven projects have been rewarded with funding, with one receiving £1,000, two receiving £500 each, and four receiving £250 each.
Thirsk Community Primary School is one of 108 organisations that bid for a portion of the fund.
Richard McClean, Managing Director at Grand Central, said, “Grand Gestures 2016 was designed to provide much-needed support to local organisations that believe in making their communities better through their work. Indeed, it was great to see that there are hundreds of organisations that like us, believe in better, and are ready to step up to the challenge if given the right support.
“It was not easy to select the winning entries, as we had received a high number of very strong applications. I would like to congratulate Overgate Hospice Choir on winning this year’s Grand Gesture and look forward to hearing about their progress.”
Richard Chandler, Head Teacher at Thirsk Community Primary School, said, “We are extremely pleased to have been chosen to receive this grant to introduce a new timber trail playground. We are working hard to provide the best start in life for all children and always look at different ways of enriching their lives. Many children are not as active as they should be and the new equipment will help our children become fitter and develop key skills for later life. Grand Gestures 2016 offered us a fantastic opportunity to gain a helping hand for this project and we would like to thank Grand Central Rail for enabling us to make learning as exciting and stimulating as possible.”