Situated in the small village of Wareside, Hertfordshire, the school is attended by 46 children from the local area. Until recently, weather damage and repeated use had left both the school’s carpark and playground in a poor condition.

Potholes and uneven ground created large waterlogged areas during heavy rainfall and navigating the spaces became hazardous. Insufficient drainage systems further exacerbated the problem during the winter months.

The school reached out to VolkerHighways, whose head office is located in the nearby town of Hoddesdon. As part of their social value commitment to the communities in which they work, the business offered to resurface the school’s car park and patch the playground.

In addition to VolkerHighways’ contribution, Tarmac generously supplied the materials at a reduced cost. The works were completed over two days at the start of January, whilst staff and pupils were enjoying their Christmas holidays.

When the children returned in the New Year, they created a photo album of the works, which was presented to Alistair at the opening ceremony, along with hand-written thank you letters:

“Thank you very much for resurfacing our playground and car park. We really appreciate you coming in and giving us your time, to make our school a better environment.” 
- Reenie, Year 5

“We really appreciate you coming to Wareside in the holidays. We are very grateful that there are no puddles now. When we used to throw a ball it sometimes landed in a puddle and we couldn’t always get it out.”
- Libby, Year 6

Mrs. Gamage, headteacher of Wareside C of E Primary School, said: “We are incredibly thankful to VolkerHighways who helped us transform our school car park and parts of our playground. The entrance to our school is now safe and a welcoming and attractive space. It’s made such a difference to our school. All schools are constrained with budgets but as a small school we are even more so. It’s due to the generosity of businesses such as VolkerHighways that we are able to undertake such works. As a school community we are privileged to have been able to benefit.”