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Pupils helped 39 Engineer Regiment work on garden at Pilmuir Primary School


By Garry McCartney

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P4 pupil Warren Whitelaw got stuck in to the task with the help of the soldiers.
P4 pupil Warren Whitelaw got stuck in to the task with the help of the soldiers.

SOLDIERS based in Kinloss taught pupils at a Forres school a lesson in giving back to the community.

Pilmuir Primary hosted Sappers from 39 Engineer Regiment on Thursday, March 19 during the last week before schools were closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Corporal Benjamin Short was joined by two other members of 34 Field Squadron, James White and Ross Davis.

Support for Learning teacher Cath Casburn explained: "We were facing shutdown so everything was very uncertain for the staff and pupils alike.

"We have an internal open-air quadrangle that has been a gardening area in the past, but it was in need of a tidy-up. The Engineers removed barrows full of soil and dismantled old raised beds with the help of four boundlessly energetic pupils!

"Morrison Construction will instal some new wooden decking to the quadrangle floor to make a clean, safe space to sit and work."

Clearing the soil and dismantling the raised beds.
Clearing the soil and dismantling the raised beds.

The Sappers worked tirelessly, interacting with the pupils with patience and understanding. At lunchtime they ate in the school hall with the pupils then went out to the field to play football and chase with them.

They then fielded a variety of questions and talked about being Royal Engineer, before finally joining P6 and P7 in their outdoor PE lessons.

Ms Casburn added: "The initiative has had a knock-on effect with other community support that will benefit our children for years to come.

"Sadly the new nursery building was due to be handed over just as the lockdown took hold, so it hasn't happened yet.

"It will be a much-needed expansion that will allow the main school to make use of the old nursery building so that the temporary hut classrooms can be demolished. The nursery pupils have been very excited seeing the new building take shape."



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