THE whole community is pulling together to help Carswell Community Primary School in Abingdon finish its project to create a dream outdoor area to fire the imaginations of its Key Stage One pupils.

Plans to develop the school grounds started in 2009, with teachers wanting to create both an activity area and a sensory garden at the school.

Last month, soldiers from the Light Aid Detachment and 32 Squadron at 3 Logistic Support Regiment, based at nearby Dalton Barracks, came in to lend a hand, digging up and removing concrete and tarmac to make room for the new garden.

Abingdon residents, teachers, governors and parents joined in at a “community dig-in” to help the garden take shape.

Now, with Oxford Mail readers’ help, phase two could get under way. If the school wins the School Build SOS competition, the £7,500 worth of building work provided by Leadbitter would be used to create a new school play area, including a metal framed canopy for outdoor lessons, two large wigwam structures, decking, a sandpit and a new store shed.

Key Stage One teacher Katie David said: “The design will provide children with some quite basic props that they can then use imaginatively, which encourages their creative and social play.

“They can use the area any way their imagination takes them.

“What we are aiming to do is equip the outside area in a way so children can use it all year.

“One element of the design is for posts in the ground with a rope between them. The area behind that will be a den, which the children will be able to use.”

  • To support the school’s bid for the prize, send your vouchers to Carswell Community Primary School, Bostock Road, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 1DP.