Give and Gain day found ‘awesome’ by children from Hovingham Primary

In the heart of Harehills, Hovingham Primary School faces many challenges associated with an area of such high social deprivation. To support overcoming potential barriers to successful learning the school has its own ‘family team’ specifically tasked with removing challenges within families’ life which would prevent children from reaching their full potential. At Hovingham we are privileged to be able to provide education and development to children who may have experienced significant turmoil and upheaval, with many asylum seekers, refugees and marginalised ethnic groups on roll. We have a growing population of gypsy, Roma and traveler children many of whom are experiencing education for the first time. The brilliance of the school is its ability to adapt to the ever changing needs of a transient community. As a result, Hovingham took part in a project on Friday 20th May 2016 called Give and Gain Day. On this day businesses from across Leeds visited Hovingham to help enhance their school environment.

“Give and Gain day was awesome. I like the reading area the best because there was lots of interesting books. The burgundy coloured fence is the same colour as our uniform. The volunteers have definitely done an amazing job”- Zuhayba

“I like everything that they did I especially liked the woods because I could see my house. I also liked the reading area with loads of new books. I loved the pond area because of the frogs”- Deedan

During the day, several different projects took place, which the children felt were needed including painting the external railings and benches all around school. Some volunteers transformed disused spaces so that our children can access them such as outdoor reading areas and adding playground furniture.

“I really like the reading area in the forest because I think it is really imaginative and it had inspired me to read. I also like the gates because it represents our school uniform”- Umaiyah

One of the key things that took place was the new pond area which was extremely popular with the children. Here’s what the some of the children from the student council had to say:

“I like how they improved the wildlife area” “I like that they painted out playground furniture because it is more entertaining”- Faizan, Rayyan and Mustafa

“I like the new pond area because the frogs are so cute. I also like the fence because it is the colour of our jumper”- Mohammad

“I like the forest because it is cool and quiet. I also like the pond area because it has a bug hotel and frogs. I like the bug hotel because it has our school logo on it”- Sedona

For more information about Hovingham Primary, please visit: http://www.hovingham.leeds.sch.uk/