Finedon vicar Rev Richard Coles cuts ribbon on transformed school library

Rev Richard Coles cuts the ribbon on the newly refurbished and re-stocked Finedon Infant School library

Pupils at Finedon Infants school have welcomed a famous author who just happens to be a governor to cut the ribbon to officially open their new library .

Finedon vicar Rev Richard Coles was invited to officially open the newly refurbished and restocked library in his role as one of the trustees of Finedon Educational Charity.

Since 2014, the charity has gifted hundreds of thousands of pounds to the two schools in Finedon and other educational causes to young people in the area.

Finedon Education Charity also paid for the new play equipment in the playground for the children

Using donations from Finedon Educational Charity, Friends of Finedon Schools (FOFS) and the family of former teacher Sandra Pentelow, the library has been totally refurbished and new books bought.

Head teacher Joanne Lloyd-Williams said: "The new library will benefit the children of Finedon for years to come. I'm really grateful for everyone that made this happen.

"I'd like to thank the Finedon Educational Charity, FOFS and the Pentelow family.

"Our old library was starting to look a bit tired. It needed to be a more attractive learning space and some of the books were very dated."

bottom row on the left former Finedon Infant School teacher Sandra Pentelow - £1,000 was donated to the school in her memory to buy books for the pupils

Mr Coles cut the ribbon on the project that included £11,000 from Finedon Educational Charity, and £1,000 in memory of Mrs Pentelow.

He said: "It is by coming together that we can invest in the children and the library. We are delighted to be able to use the proceeds of the charity for the children and for generations to come.

"There's nothing like spending money to invest in children's futures. We make sure we do everything to give them opportunities."

Sandra Pentelow's husband Brian travelled to Finedon for the ceremony. His wife who taught at Finedon Infant School from 1974 for six years.

Winner of the book mark competition Charlotte Fox, 6, with Rev Richard Coles in the newly refurbished and re-stocked Finedon Infant School library

After she died at the age of 67 in 2021, her family collected donations to give to the three schools where she had been a teacher.

He said: "We decided to ask for donations instead of flowers. She loved books and she would have been very proud."

Each child in both Finedon Infant School and Finedon Mulso CE Junior School was also given a £10 budget to chose a book as part of World Book Day.

A competition was held to design a book mark that was gifted to all the pupils - Charlotte Fox for the infants and Abby Miller at the junior school.

As well as the library Finedon Educational Charity has invested in an outdoor adventure play area that cost £21,000.

Now both schools that the charity supports have new libraries and new play areas. Ms Lloyd-Williams who is headteacher of both schools added: "The relationship we have with Finedon Educational Charity and that financial support means we can provide these extras for the children."

Applications from individuals living in Finedon, youth organisations based in Finedon, Finedon Infant School, Finedon Mulso CEVA Junior School and Huxlow Science College in Irthlingborough are considered by the trustees.

Click here to visit the charity's page for an application form and for terms and conditions. The two deadlines each year for applications are January 15 and June 15.