A MAJOR transformation of a Basingstoke pre-school by a dedicated team of volunteers could be the key to getting top marks from inspectors.

From a brand new mud kitchen to a gazebo for reading outside and their very own vegetable patch, children at the Starlings Pre-school can look forward to a summer of fun learning outside the classroom.

The stunning transformation is thanks to the hard work of volunteers from The Prince’s Trust, who gave up their precious spare time to treat the pre-school to the makeover.

The pre-school, which is on the site of Manor Field Infant School, applied to the charity for help with the project last November and was amazed when it was picked as the chosen project for the charity last month.

Armed with shovels, pitchforks and paintbrushes, a team of 20 volunteers from the charity got to work, completing the new look in just a week.

The Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, Councillor Roger Gardiner, was at the launch of the new facilities last Friday and was one of the first to see inside the mud kitchen, where children can get their hands dirty making their very own “mud pies”.

Other features at the Haydn Road site, in Brighton Hill, include a raised flowerbed, which will also be used to grow vegetables.

In addition, writing boards have been attached to walls outside the nursery to allow children to write on them – something the nursery hopes will secure it an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating the next time the education watchdog visits.

Mandy Lawday, pre-school manager, said: “We are really happy with the end result. We have just got a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted after their visit in January and one of the things they said we needed to do to get an ‘outstanding’ rating was to do more outside literacy so they have built some whiteboards. Next time we are hoping to get an ‘outstanding’.

“The school has also been so lovely. They have allowed them (the volunteers) to come in and if they had said no, this wouldn’t have been able to happen.”

Ade Dupe, a self-employed audiovisual and security engineer, volunteered as part of the group and showed other volunteers how to use various tools to complete the refurbishment.

The 35-year-old said: “It has been a fantastic project to work on and the kids at the pre-school were watching and saying that they wanted to go out and play. It was really nice to give something back to the community.”