'Magical' scenes at Manor Infant and Nursery School as fully refurbished library officially opens
‘Magical’ scenes have unravelled at an infant school as it officially opens its brand new library.
Manor Infant and Nursery School, in Fratton, has spent the last two years fundraising in a desperate bid to transform its library which had become out dated.
The library, which previously had no appropriate seating for children, closed just before Christmas at the end of last year to undergo a much needed facelift.
Following weeks of hard work and dedication, on top of the fundraising endeavours, the school officially revealed its brand new library on Friday, January 31 - and it has gone down a treat.
Helen Castle, headteacher at Manor Infant and Nursery School, said: “We’ve been working to fundraise this for the past two years.
“It’s wonderful, before it was quite a sad space, it was very dark and it had old carpets and nothing really for the children to sit on so the PTFA (Parents, teachers and friends association) have fundraised along with our local councillors to try and get some funding so that we can make it a much more inviting area for the children to come and sit and read books with their friends and other adults.
“It’s been fantastic seeing the faces of the children when the curtains dropped and they finally got to see the library because it’s been closed since Christmas - it was just magical and it just shows the power of reading and the power of books, and the joy it can bring to children.”
The library is now kitted out with brand new soft furnishings for the children to sit on whilst enjoying a range of books. There is also brand new carpet and the space has now been freshened up, giving it a new lease of life.
The official opening of the library welcomed local councillors, governors of the school and some of the children part of the young MP’s, all of whom where delighted to see the transformation.