Ashford Hill Primary School plea for donations to replace leaking PE shed

A NORTH Hampshire school is appealing for donations to help replace a leaking PE equipment shed.

Ashford Hill Primary School is fundraising to replace its shed, as well as much of the equipment inside of it, which has been ruined over the last year.

PE coordinator and deputy headteacher Sue Yockney said the school had discovered last September after the summer holidays that much of the equipment in the shed was “sodden”, or had gone mouldy after sitting in boxes filled with water.

Mrs Yockney said: “It leaks like a sieve, and the equipment inside is wrecked or ruined from the bottom upwards.

“I rescued what bits I could so the children had access to playtime equipment and teachers had access to some sports equipment for PE lessons.

“We realised just how bad things were back in September.

“We knew the floor was damp, but it wasn’t until we started getting equipment out that we realised that the boxes that equipment went in were full of water too.

“Throughout last summer the school wasn’t open for all the children, and we had such restrictions on the equipment we were allowed to use that we stuck to equipment that was already in the classroom.”

Mrs Yockney said she’d written a four-page-long list of items the school now needed to replace, including mats, skipping ropes, archery equipment, javelins, tag rugby gear, bean bags, foam balls and the school’s parachutes.

She said the school had looked into repairs on the shed, but decided it was best to cut their losses and start again.

They have been quoted around £10,000 to replace the shed, while replacing all of the equipment – Mrs Yockney estimates – will cost around £8,000.

She continued: “It’s horrifying – the whole project itself won’t be far short of £20k, which is a lot of money.

“Our parents are brilliant, they support us in lots of ways but we’re a small school.

“Lockdown has been our biggest problem – normally we’d have had summer and Christmas fairs, various activities, and our Parent Teachers Association (PTA) is usually on the game raising a lot of funds.

“Unfortunately Covid has put the blockers on that one.”

The PTA has set up an appeal on the Good Exchange for donations.

To donate, visit https://app.thegoodexchange.com/project/18807/ashford-hill-primary-school-pta/replacement-school-pe-shed-sports-equipment.