Peterborough pupils on the right track thanks to pallet project

Primary school children in Peterborough are on the right track to cook up a storm after old wooden pallets were given a new lease of life and transformed into a train and a mud kitchen.

Children at Thorpe Primary School have been getting to grips with their new playground equipment thanks to Graham, the civil engineering contactor that completed the new £6.5 million Longthorpe footbridge over the A47 this year.

Paula Jeremaes, Deputy Headteacher at Thorpe Primary School, said: “Our children were incredibly excited to receive the wooden steam train. It looks stunning in our nursery play area and has been admired by the older children and parents as they walk by. Children have been playing on the steam train daily ever since it arrived. We are very grateful to the team at Graham for their generosity and hard work.”

The wooden train was built by retired lorry driver - and ever so appropriately named - Tony Wood, who volunteers at the local West Raven Community Garden. Tony used recycled material from the construction of Longthorpe Footbridge to create the train, which has been built in the style of an old fashioned steam engine. The train was then delivered to the school by Graham – using their plant machinery.

Tom Rigby, Project Manager for Graham, said: “The site team delivering A1M, J17 - Wothorpe scheme, as part of improvements by National Highways, have followed GRAHAM’s guiding principle and proudly delivered lasting impact to the local community. The creative idea to recycle materials which would have otherwise been part of waste collection and make them into practical tools that school children can use is a great achievement and the feedback from the local schools has been fantastic.”

Dean Birch, National Highways Supplier Relationship Team Manager, spoke about how important this type of community work is. He said: “Finding ways to give back to local communities is a fundamental part of our work, so it’s fantastic to see photos of children with big smiles as a result of the creative and engaging work GRAHAM have delivered to Thorpe Primary School.”