LIFTON Primary School has bagged a grand total of £4,000 from Tesco’s Bags of Help community grant scheme, which will bring its pond project to life.

Bags of Help is run in partnership with environmental charity Groundwork, and sees grants raised from the sale of carrier bags awarded to thousands of local community projects every year. Since launching in 2015, it has provided more than £43-million to over 10,000 local community projects.

Millions of shoppers have voted in Tesco stores up and down the country and it can now be revealed Lifton School has been awarded £4000.

Work will now begin on bringing Lifton School Forest School Pond Project to life.

Sarah Hallett, chairperson of Friends of Lifton School PTFA, said: ‘We are simply over the moon that we came first in the Bags of Help token vote! The full award of £4,000 means we can commence work really soon and hopefully have the pond completed by the summer term so the children can start observing wild habitats and lifecycles of the creatures who make this their home.

‘Outdoor learning is so important for children and is something I am really passionate about. I would like to thank South West Lakes Trust for all the support and guidance they gave us whilst helping us design the pond — their expertise on conservation means we can be sure the pond will fully benefit our children, school and the local flora and fauna. We are really excited to move forward with this project.

‘We would also like to thank Groundwork UK, Tesco Launceston and every single person who helped us by putting their token into our box.’

Alec Brown, Tesco’s head of community, said: ‘Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers. It’s such a special scheme because it’s local people who decide how the money will be spent in their community.’

Voting ran throughout November and December with customers choosing which local project they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the checkout.

Tesco customers then had the chance to vote for three different groups each time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions are awarded funding.

Groundwork’s national chief executive, Graham Duxbury, said: ‘Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down the UK to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them.

‘The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.’