BARTON Stacey children celebrated the launch of a project bringing a wave of change for the town’s future on Wednesday.

“Building on Barton Stacey’s Future” project (BoBS Future) saw the opening of the brand new Barton Stacey Pre-School, while the town’s existing pre-school, Cygnets Playgroup, is changing its structure and moving onto Barton Stacey’s primary school site in the new year.

The 9.30am opening also hosted the “big reveal” of a Raymond Brown lorry covered in the children’s artwork, and was attended by the Bishop of Basingstoke, representatives from Raymond Brown, the school, council and pre-school children and staff.

The project has been in the making for the last year, and will run for the next 12 months, using funds from Tesco Bags of Help grant and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund which awarded BoBS Future £14,806.

Cygnets Playgroup Chair Lizzie Frost said: “We are all absolutely delighted to launch our project and our new name. A phenomenal amount of work has gone on in the background to secure this project.

“We have been incredibly well supported by our four members of staff and my fellow committee members as well as the whole community especially the primary school and parish council.

“The children are at the centre of our aims and to be able to celebrate with their artwork displayed on the cab of a Raymond Brown skip lorry has been a perfect way of involving them in all of the exciting developments.

“To have the Bishop of Basingstoke present to award the children their certificates and gifts (book token and fluorescent jacket) from Raymond Brown was wonderful.”

The new pre-school is now taking children (aged two and a half to five years old) with immediate effect and is accepting the 30 hours of government-funded childcare.

For more information contact manager@bartonstaceypreschool.co.uk