London school playgrounds become learning zones, thanks to John Laing Charitable Trust

Monday, December 10, 2007

Nine schools from across London will benefit from enhanced playground facilities after their success in the 2007 John Laing School Grounds Awards, sponsored by the John Laing Charitable Trust.

The annual award scheme gives grants to schools to ensure that their playgrounds can be used as valuable resources for education, learning and fun. The awards are run in conjunction with national school grounds charity Learning through Landscapes.

First prize was awarded to Lathom Junior School, Newham. The school will receive Ł3000 for pupils, staff and parents to use in their quest to transform a concrete playground into a ‘green zone’. The new facility will be used to teach pupils more about the environment and get their hands dirty; growing, harvesting and eating their own produce.

A further four schools were each given grants of Ł1000: Henry Maynard Infant School, Waltham Forest to develop an outside classroom; Bond Primary School, Merton to create a wildlife friendly fruit and vegetable garden; St Bernadette School, Lambeth to create a garden and Oakington Manor Primary School, Brent to open up and use their woodland area.

Four schools shared third place in the competition, each winning Ł500: Norwood Secondary School, Lambeth to create an organic sculpture garden; Baring Primary School, Lewisham for their pupils to work with an artist to create murals; Bishop Winnington-Ingram CE Primary School, Hillingdon to develop their Foundation Stage area and Tiverton Primary, Haringey to create a garden in their Key Stage 2 playground.

A further 50 schools won a year’s support from Learning through Landscapes to assist them with the creative development and use of their outside spaces.

“We were delighted by the standard of the entries in this year’s competition”, commented Mick Hamilton of John Laing. “We wish all the schools the best of luck with bringing their playground plans to fruition. The winners of last year’s competition, Belvue Special School in Northolt enterprisingly went on to sell the produce they grew in their own café – we hope that this year’s winners gain as much from the project as they did.”

Notes to editors

The John Laing Charitable Trust enables John Laing plc to make charitable donations and provide welfare support for its existing and former employees. John Laing plc is a leading provider of public sector infrastructure through public private partnerships. It invests in, develops and operates over 50 projects spanning schools, colleges, hospitals, roads and railways.

Learning through Landscapes (LTL) helps schools and early years settings make the most of their outdoor spaces for play and learning. We believe all children have the right to enjoy and benefit from well designed, managed and used school grounds. We give young people a say in the way their grounds are used and improved, and support school communities throughout the country to make the most of these valuable spaces. We also advise government, other charities and the business sector on how best to help.

Further details and images of Lathom Junior and Belvue School are available from bchillman@ltl.org.uk , as are LTL and John Laing logos.

For more information on the John Laing Charitable Trust and John Laing plc please contact Charles Reynolds, the Madano partnership on 020 7593 4000 charles.reynolds@madano.com