COALEY Academy CoE Primary has officially opened its new playground, thanks to help from the Friends of Coaley School (FOCS).

The group contributed £9k to the project, which was completed during the holiday period, through their annual fundraising events.

Mr Lucas, executive headteacher, praised the fundraisers for their support.

He said: "The donations have allowed us to completely transform the playground with a dedicated football pitch, drama stage and soft-surface play area.

"We simply could not have done it without the support of FOCS and Coaley-fest.

"The children at Coaley Primary love it.’

FOCS organises several fundraising events during the year, November fireworks, Christmas fayre and Coaleyfest, the latter unfortunately being cancelled in 2020 like many other events.

But FOCS was still able to contribute £9,000 towards the playground from previous year’s events.

Coaleyfest is an annual community family music festival that takes place in the school grounds and is organised by FOCS. It was originally started by Lisa Miles and the committee members back in 2013 and the tradition has been kept up ever since by FOCS current members.

Next year’s Coaley fest is scheduled for June 13, 2021.