Netherton Infant and Nursery School has a brand new reading area after raising over £11,000 to fund the project.

Pupils joined headteacher Emma Barker and Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney for a formal opening complete with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The new space provides children with a newly refurbished, comfortable area to enjoy reading either individually or in groups.

Money for the space was raised through a range of initiatives and activities including the annual Easter bunny hop, Easter bingo, Christmas Fayre and discos.

Housebuilder Persimmon, whose Castle View development is located nearby, contributed £6,000 towards the project via their Community Champions scheme.  

The initiative, open to all local charities, schools and community groups looking for funding, has awarded £1.35 million to over 1,400 local organisations across the country over the last two years. £180,000 is available every quarter with winners receiving either £6,000, £5,000 or £1,000.

Emma Barker, headteacher of Netherton Infant and Nursery School, said: “This library and wonderful collection of brand new books are an amazing addition to our lovely school and will make hundreds of children happy and inquisitive about the wonderful world of literature.” 

Mr McCartney met members of the Friends of Netherton team as well as school councillors and pupils. He said: “Thank you to Persimmon for supporting Netherton Infant and Nursery School’s fantastic new library space. It was lovely to meet the children on the school council to see how much they’ll appreciate it.”

Christopher Hull, managing director of Persimmon West Yorkshire, added: “We’re delighted to be able to support Netherton Infant and Nursery School in this way.

“With our new Castle View development only down the road, we were only too keen to lend our support when Emma approached us via our Community Champions scheme.

“It’s a fantastic addition to what is a brilliant school and I’m sure the children are no doubt going to love using the new space.”