CHILDREN at Kinglassie Primary School were over the moon when their new playground opened last Thursday, after a ‘wonderful journey’ of designing it and raising money for its construction.

Fife Provost Jim Leishman attended the opening ceremony as the excited kids were finally able to show off the completed project, which includes a trim trail, boat, bouldering wall and outdoor seating area.

Headteacher, Jackie Carswell, praised everybody who went along to see the playground officially opened. “The opening was a great success,” she said. “We had a brilliant turnout and the Provost and councillors were very impressed with the children’s presentation.” The parent council had been working on plans for improved play facilities for some time, with the children being heavily involved in the process in terms of what they wanted from the revamped playground. “During our centenary year we wrote to all of the local businesses and asked if they could donate £100 to the Centenary Playground Fund,” Mrs Carswell added. “We were lucky enough to raise £1300 from this. Our parent council continued with their fundraising and we applied for Lottery Funding and Communities 2014 funding - successful in both, the school received just under £12,000.” The children were asked to prioritise which elements of the playground they wanted, and were delighted to find that they could afford all the pieces. The kids were involved in making decisions right the way through, with P7 playground helpers choosing where the boat should go and house captains helping to decide the layout of the trim trail. Now, the children can finally enjoy the reward for all their hard efforts and Mrs Carswell knows how excited they are for it. “They look forward to getting out at playtime and lunchtime,” she said.

“It has made a huge difference. It has been a wonderful journey involving the children, parent council and local community and we are very appreciative of everyone’s support.”