Playground Equipment Transforms Playtime for Pontnewynydd Primary School

Playforce, the Premier provider of playground equipment for schools, has transformed
playtime for the pupils of Pontnewynydd Primary School in Pontypool.

Using a cash grant provided by the Welsh Assembly, staff from the Wiltshire-based firm have added a whole new dimension to school life with a selection of timber trail obstacles and outdoor play equipment to challenge and exercise the infant pupils at the school.

"It's fantastic," said the school's head teacher, Brian Jones. "This school lies at the heart of one of the most socially deprived areas of Wales. It is an old Victorian building built on a disused quarry and until now the outdoor playground has been fairly basic."

The children now have an exciting selection of playground equipment to stretch their minds and bodies including a gazebo with seating, chalk boards, a sand-pit that doubles as a stage, a play cabin, a climbing timber trail including a rope bridge and balancing beams, a covered area and an outdoor classroom with seating, lighting and Perspex shields to keep out the weather.

Mr Jones explained that the school also has a special needs unit for infant children with moderate learning difficulties and that the new childrens play equipment is proving invaluable for them too.

The whole philosophy behind Playforce playground equipment is that it provides the perfect platform to exercise children's bodies and imagination. Playforce provides the setting which inspires the children to create the rest of the story. Mr Jones believes that Playforce has definitely achieved that aim at Pontnewyndd.

"The children are really enjoying the new equipment and using it to its full potential," he said. "It's making a big difference to them because there is now so much more to keep them entertained. My wish now is that we can do the same for the pupils in the junior section of the school as well."