Bag packing and cake sale will help fund playground

The surface around the play equipment at Buckingham Park Primary School is currently a mixture of carpet, grass and exposed earth and stone, which is incredibly worn

Buckingham Events, the charity group for Buckingham Park Primary School in Shoreham, is working to raise up to £70,000 for the lower school playground, including resurfacing and new equipment.

Supporters will be at The Co-op, in Ham Road, on Saturday from 10am to midday with some year-two helpers, selling cakes and helping shoppers with their bags for donations.

Chairman Jodie Dyer said: “You see the photo why it’s so important. The current equipment is coming close to the end of its lifespan and the ground is so over used, everything is worn and tatty.

“We are conscious it will start to become unsafe, not just that but the children get filthy and dirty.”

The group is in the process of fundraising for this huge project for the key stage one playground and has so far raised more than £10,000.

Jodie added: “We are currently applying for local and national grants and have been accepted as one of the Co-op Local Community Fund charities. We need our community’s help by opting for us to be their chosen charity.”

Buckingham Park has approximately 530 pupils in 19 classes, up to year six. The outside space was designed with eight to 12-year-olds in mind but the playground is now mainly used by four to six-year-olds, so some of the equipment needs replacing.

Resurfacing is urgently needed, as the surface around the play equipment is a mixture of carpet, grass and exposed earth and stone, which is incredibly worn.

Year-one pupil Ivy May Rice said: “We need a new playground because ours is so muddy and our shoes get all dirty and wet so I don’t like to go on there if its raining. I’d like one like Buckingham Park, where there is more climbing things.”

The plan is to renovate in stages, with the initial priority to ensure the playground is safe and durable in all weathers.

Buckingham Events is on target to meet the £25,000 cost of the basic rubberised mulch but would like to resurface with wet pour, which is more like £45,000. It will then look to new equipment, costing £23,000.