Pupils at a village school are looking forward to putting on puppet shows as part of their lessons, thanks to the generosity of Tamworth shoppers.
Customers at the Tamworth Co-op’s department store have raised £250 for Thomas Barnes Primary School at Hopwas by donating the dividends earned on their purchases.
Ron Constable, general manager of the Tamworth Co-op department store, presents the cheque from the Community Dividend Fund, to Emma Tibbitts, head of Thomas Barnes Primary School, cheered on by pupils.
The money, from the Community Dividend Fund, will be spent on wooden puppets for the school’s four and five-year-olds to develop their social and physical skills through re-enacting traditional stories. It will also help them with language and communication as they perform well-known tales such as Punch and Judy and Little Red Riding Hood.
Head Emma Tibbitts said: “Schools are facing cuts at the moment, so we’re very grateful to the shoppers of the Tamworth Co-op for this additional money to assist with our early years education. The children will not only get to enjoy putting on puppet shows, but it will prove invaluable in their development.”
Ron Constable, general manager of the Tamworth Co-op department store, said: “I’m delighted to see the money from the Community Dividend Fund going into the education of young children in the area through the medium of play.
“The scheme has been tremendously successful in supporting a range of organisations on our doorstep. We invite our customers to donate their dividends to a local good cause.”
Around £10,000 is being distributed from the Community Dividend Fund to help more than a dozen schools, churches and charities in the Tamworth Co-op’s trading area which includes Staffordshire and North Warwickshire.