Watlington Community Primary School officially opens new library thanks to PTA fundraising and CIL grant from West Norfolk Council

Pupils, teachers, governors and the PTA all gathered to mark the opening of a village primary school’s library.

Celebrations were in order at Watlington Community Primary School on World Book Day, as their newly refurbished library was officially opened by West Norfolk Mayor Paul Bland.

The library, which is situated in the heart of the school, has been fitted out with new shelves, seating and books to give the 171 pupils a dedicated space to read and study.

The refurbishment came to fruition thanks to CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) funding from West Norfolk Council and tireless fundraising from the school’s PTA.

The PTA organised a number of fundraising events, including balloon races, bake sales, Christmas and spring fayres, ice cream sales and more.

While opening the library, Cllr Bland read the book Hairy Maclary to the children, which they had picked out for him to read.

During the opening, head teacher Claire Chapman thanked West Norfolk Council for providing the £18,000 worth of CIL funding and the school’s PTA.

She said: “The PTA have spent hours and hours fundraising and it contributed so much towards the project and continues to.

“We are so pleased to welcome the Mayor to see our wonderful newly refurbished library. We are very grateful for the funding received from the CIL levy without it we couldn't have achieved all this.

“It is so important to our school to have this space; we value reading and wish to encourage our children to develop a lifelong love of reading. We feel that having a new library where children can read and enjoy books is vital in working towards this goal and a fundamental part of children’s education.”

While opening the library, Cllr Bland said: “We allocate CIL funding for projects just like this. This is a cause close to my heart.

“I hope you make good use out of this in the future. Reading is a good secret to education, please read and make good use of it.”

Extra funding for the library also came from the Tesco blue token scheme and the school’s budget.

The idea for a new library first came to light in October 2023, when staff at the school wanted to update the current bookcases and furniture that have been at the school since around 2011.

The library was fitted out over the school Christmas holidays, which gave pupils a huge surprise to return to when they returned to school in January.

Mrs Chapman added: “We didn’t tell the children it was being done over Christmas.

“Their faces were absolutely amazing to see. They are really looking after it, the school council come in on a Friday and tidy it up. They are really taking pride in it.”

Cllr Jim Moriarty, cabinet member for planning and licensing which includes CIL funding allocation, added: “CIL funding helps towards delivering two of the council’s key priorities for the area, supporting communities and promoting growth and prosperity in West Norfolk.

“Its current focus is on helping communities to pay for local infrastructure – in practice this usually means something like a community amenity that can be widely enjoyed like this school library that I’m sure will be enjoyed by students and the wider community in Watlington.”