CHILDREN at a Wirral school can now enjoy lessons in the open after Chester-based MBNA bank supplied them with £3,500 for an outdoor classroom.

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Moreton successfully applied for a grant through the MBNA Foundation – the credit card lender's charitable giving arm – and used the money to build a wooden gazebo in the school playground.

The new classroom was officially unveiled by Wirral's mayor, Cllr David Mitchell, and Sue Lovell from MBNA, who visited the school to learn more about the gazebo and the school’s plans for outdoor classes and activities.

Sue has worked for the company for almost ten years and applied for the donation on behalf of eight-year-old daughter, Grace, who is in year four at the school.

She said: "My daughter, nieces and nephews all go to Sacred Heart Primary, as did my five sisters and I when we were children, so I really wanted to give something back to the school and say thank you for helping give my family a solid education.

"There was an empty space in the school playground and I knew the school was keen to develop something that was environmentally friendly, so I applied for a grant through the MBNA Foundation to help them build an outdoor classroom right here on the school grounds.

"It's been fantastic to watch it develop from nothing into what it is today.

"I'm very proud to have been a part of it and thankful to MBNA for making it possible.

"I'm sure Grace and her classmates will really enjoy using the gazebo and it will be something that children at the school will be using for years to come."

The donation is one of several grants made by the MBNA Foundation to celebrate MBNA's twentieth anniversary in Chester.

A total of 120 schools across the North West and North Wales have received a share of around £500,000 to fund improvements that enhance children's learning environments and support projects that promote education.

Mr Paul Freeman, Headteacher at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, said: "As a school we are committed to developing an appreciation of the environment in the children.

"Consequently, I am enormously grateful to all those who have worked so hard to see this project come to fruition.

"A special vote of thanks needs to go to MBNA for providing a grant of £3,500 towards the cost of the outdoor classroom.

"This has enabled the project to be completed ahead of schedule and will ensure that the children will receive great benefit from it.

"The classroom will provide opportunities for them to study outside as well as spending time with their friends at playtimes and lunchtimes now and for many years to come."