A VOLUNTARY aided school has received funding to improve its grounds after being unearthed amongst thousands in a major campaign.

Lady Modiford's Church of England Primary School, Walkhampton, is celebrating after discovering it is one of Skipton Building Society's 'Big 160' — securing a slot as a winner in its Grassroots Giving initiative after winning the hearts and minds of the public and triumphing over nearly 1,000 other applicants across the country.

Lady Modiford's school is voluntary aided, with the children often getting involved in fundraisers to raise money for the school.

One of the school's current projects is to improve the school grounds, by making changes to the garden.

Every year, the school holds a grounds day, in which the children, staff and parents spend the day tidying the garden, and planting anything that has been donated.

However, with extra funding, even more fruit and vegetables could be purchased by the school itself, allowing the children to learn more about the environment and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

After being shortlisted in the campaign by the UK's fourth largest building society, the school's application was then in the hands of the public vote, to determine if they were to win £500 in funding.

Lady Modiford's school story was shared nationally, as well as via Skipton's social media activity — as a result it secured a big enough proportion of the 20,000 votes received to be crowned a winner.

The funding received from Skipton's Grassroots Giving Campaign will mean local children in the community can continue to receive their vital education close to home, with not many schools being in the area.

A volunteer said: 'This donation will really help us to provide new outdoor learning opportunities to our local children, varying their learning and providing a bit of fun outside of the classroom.'

David Cutter, Skipton's group chief executive, said: 'Everyone at Skipton Building Society has thoroughly enjoyed running this programme, which has brought out of the woodwork so many hard working local community groups, which we would never otherwise have known of.

'Skipton's Grassroots Giving programme was set up to support groups who show commitment to their community, who could illustrate how they plan to evolve in the future and how the funding would be used to help secure the longevity of their great work.

'We now look forward to hearing the stories of the impact our funding has.'

For help and advice on how groups can gain funding through to recruiting volunteers and governance essentials – visit the society's website skiptonbig160.co.uk/free-resources