A PARENT and teacher group at Marlwood School in Alveston is celebrating raising and incredible £4,000 to buy a new 3D printer.

The “Friends of Marlwood School”, which formed around the beginning of the academic year, have been working to help promote the successes of the school, organising fundraising events and volunteering their time to improve the school surroundings.

The group has around 20 members actively contributing, with further support from parents and staff as they worked towards their target.

Work has begun on tidying up the school grounds, with a number of gardening mornings having helped to clear neglected areas of the school.

Having set up a Facebook group to keep in contact with the wider school community, the group has been able to secure a wide range of donations of equipment and resources for pupils’ use, including a wealth of library books, a table tennis table, and a grand piano for the music faculty.

A number of businesses have also pledged their support to the cause, including Renishaw, Kings Heavy Haulage and Rolls-Royce having contributed to fundraising.

“The support has been brilliant,” said committee member, parent and former pupil Sarah Smith.

“Everyone has been so responsive. Our target for the 3D printer was £5,000 originally, but then one of the members of staff said he found it cheaper so we didn’t need to wait, we can get it now.

The group’s chairman Nick Quinlivan said that the group aimed to take advantage of the “throwaway society” to help improve the school.

“We all know that we do it, but we don’t recognise there are things the school really needs that we would normally throw away,” he said.

“If we don’t know what they need then they will never get what we have.

“We have a brilliant team who are pushing out what we need and creating a wishlist, which the teachers are also adding to.”

Marlwood head teacher James Pope thanked the group, adding that the school was “absolutely delighted” the money had been raised for the 3D printer, which will “enrich and enhance the design curriculum” for current and future students.

“I would like to thank the Friends of Marlwood,” he said. “These students, parents and community members work really hard, together, to raise this money,” he said.

“They contribute so much to our community - we are very grateful.”