New Classroom Opened at Bladon Primary School
Pupils from Bladon C of E Primary School helped unveil a brand-new school classroom which has been partly funded by a community bursary set up by Blenheim...
(Caption: CEO at Blenheim, Dominic Hare with pupils and staff at Bladon Church of England Primary School)
The bursary contributed £16,500 towards the project, roughly half the total costs, and the Friends of Bladon School (FOBS) raised the rest of the money; by fundraising or applying for grants.
The Marlborough Room will be used for teaching and learning. In the summer it will be used as an outdoor learning space, with bifold doors and a deck for the children’s desks. The new classroom will also allow the school to split its mixed year classes and teach aspects of the curriculum separately for the first time.
“At Bladon C of E Primary School, we have a beautiful building but with very limited space, this new classroom allows us to offer the children a special place to learn,” said Head Teacher Tracey Fletcher.
“As a head teacher with a very limited budget, the building of a new classroom would have been unobtainable without the generous funding from Blenheim and the hard work of the families in their fundraising. We are very grateful for everyone’s support,” she added.
The Blenheim Bursary, which was launched at the end of 2018, is available to all charities and organisations based within a 20-mile radius of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“I was so pleased to have had the pleasure of attending the grand unveil of the wonderful new Marlborough Room at Bladon School which was partly funded by the bursary,” said Blenheim CEO Dominic Hare.
“The young pupils were an absolute credit to the entire teaching staff, and it was inspiring to see how enthusiastic they were to explore their new learning space,” he added.
The bursary scheme is part of Blenheim’s ongoing commitment to more than double its charitable contributions to the community within 10 years. As the initial target of £2.2m has already been achieved, with £3.5m having been raised in year three, there are plans to announce a revised figure in the coming months.
Bursary applications are welcome across charity and community projects, including education, infrastructure, transport, health and wellbeing.
Applications for next year’s bursary will open in November and close at the end of January 2020 with successful applicants being notified in March and receiving funds in April.