New way of learning for Gorleston pupils

YOUNGSTERS will be able to learn the three Rs in the great outdoors thanks to a whole raft of new equipment at a Gorleston school aiming to combine education and fun.

After a �10,000 grant awarded by the National Lottery earlier this year, Cliff Park officially opened a new play area on Friday.

The event, attended by Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis, celebrated a new space in which pupils can enjoy tall tales from a story teller’s chair or count on an abacus.

And as well as learning with the magnetic board or digging around the sandpit, they will also have the pleasures of a pond to enjoy.

The head of early years, Victoria Morton, said: “It’s about bringing learning outdoors, and enabling children to discover things independently through a new environment.

“It just allows them to be freer, and it especially helps encourage boys get interested in reading and writing.”

As well as the new space, the money helped the school install new equipment in its current ‘train area’, including a bongo panel and strange see-saws.

And alongside Mr Lewis unveiling a plaque, youngsters from the school council also planted a tree on the site to commemorate the moment,

Philip Gunn, a governor at the school, added: “The aim is to make coming to school an enjoyable experience and to nurture a lasting, positive attitude towards learning that will stay with them for all their formal learning lives and set a foundation for life long learning.”