After a huge fundraising effort the new Pre-school building is here!  On 1 April 2010, Woodcraft Homes handed over the keys to our beautiful new building. It is bigger than our previous accommodation, boasting fantastic modern facilities for children.  There is a large vaulted classroom with wet-play area, a soft playroom and a quiet room/reading room.  There is a separate home corner, a kitchen and a staff office.  Outside we have a covered play area and garden for the children to enjoy a variety of activities.  Click here for some photos of the building.

On a lovely sunny Saturday, 22 May, Mr Robin Fleming officially opened the new building with a traditional cutting of the ribbon (see pictures here).  It was a wonderful village event with a huge turnout of people of all ages.  We celebrated with some bucks fizz and enjoyed some cake (modelled on the new building) specially made for the day.  The comments on the new building have been very favourable.

We are hugely grateful for the tremendous support we have had from people in the community, and further afield, in our efforts to raise the funds.  Our particular thanks go to the Fleming family for their generous support.  Thanks also to those on the Building Working Group who spent many hours in meetings to ensure we got it right, to Nicholson’s Nurseries (North Aston) for donating materials for remodelling the garden and hard standing areas.  Many people have given gifts for prizes and silent auction lots; these include Paul Kay Hairdressing, The Carpenter’s Arms, The Fox, Hook Norton Brewery, Blenheim Palace, Chipping Norton Theatre, Smart Photography and Middle Barton Stores.  To these, and to everyone else who helped by giving their time and talents, we say a huge “thank you”.

Thanks to Anna Field and Mark Pidgeon for their fundraising for Pre-school through the popular village music events, and through Mark’s recent run in the London Marathon.  Thanks also to Rob Harries-Harris for preparing and chairing our excellent quiz evenings.

We are grateful to all those committee members who served in the past and more recently, who have  helped to make Pre-school such a success.  To our fantastic staff we say a huge “thank you” for managing so well while temporarily at the Alice Marshall Hall. And finally to you, the village community for supporting us at our events both in the past and more recently.  We are very fortunate indeed.

Pre-school receives some government funding, but it could not function without the money we raise at our events.  Every year, we need to raise approximately £7000 to meet our running costs and to be able to provide a good range of craft and play activities. Our fundraising events will always be a vital source of income and without them we simply could not offer the service we do.  We are extremely grateful to all those who support our regular fundraising events, and we look forward to the continued support of the community in the future.

 

New building project

Some background to the building project, including why we did it!  Read more..

Photo gallery

Follow the new building project in pictures, from demolition of the old Portakabin to the Grand Opening of the new building.  Read more..