Boost for John O'Gaunt library appeal

Staff and supporters rally to the cause

THE LIBRARY Appeal at John O’Gaunt School in Hungerford has received a welcome boost.
The £10,000 target is a little closer following a £2,000 grant from the Greenham Common Trust plus more than £700 donated by 21 individual supporters.
Headteacher Sarah Brinkley said: “This has been a tremendous boost. Thanks to the support of the community, Greenham Common Trust and the hard work of all our staff and students, we have now reached £7,511, which means we’re well on our way to reaching our target.”
Structural work to create the new library space funded by West Berkshire Council began at the beginning of February and is said to be progressing well and on time.
The courtyard area now has a floor and a roof and the internal walls have been removed, giving a good indication of the size of the new library.
New heating pipework and new windows to the front office and library have been installed, and refurbishment work has begun in the main hall.
The Library Appeal will fund everything within the new space.
The school has been working with a library designer on the layout for the new library and furniture will be ordered soon to ensure everything is ready for September.
The whole school has been involved with the fundraising for the Library Appeal, which was kick-started by the Parent School Association’s successful Audience with Jon Snow evening in March.
Since then students and staff have committed themselves to various spectacular, sponsored challenges.
Assistant headteacher Ellie Bunston is rowing 373km – the distance from Land’s End to John O’Gaunt School; school business manager Penny Setter is running the Ridgeway Revenge Half Marathon on June 20; and the personal assistant to the headteacher, Sarah Thorne, will be cycling 85 miles in the Wiggle MagnifiCat Sportive event on July 12.
Mrs Brinkley has already run the Brighton Marathon and another assistant headteacher, Matt Davies, braved his first live singing performance.
In the summer holidays, deputy headteacher Corinne Walker will skydive from a plane and librarian Deborah Lamb will be abseiling down the Spinnaker building in Portsmouth, Hampshire.
To sponsor any of these endeavours visit https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/johnogauntpsa
To make a donation to the Library Appeal that will be matched by the Greenham Common Trust, visit www.findmeagrant.org, then select West Berks and Donate and type WB11102 in the Keyword field.