AFTER three years of work and fundraising children at hatch Warren Junior School will be able to enjoy taking part in outdoor sports no matter the weather.

The Gershwin Road school had raised more than £63,000 to develop a new Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) at the school to allow students to feel the benefits of exercise all year round.

Construction of the facility was finished in July, but today (September 23) the school welcomed Paralympic swimmer Kate Grey to the site to officially open the new facility.

Before the ribbon cutting headteacher Ed Dawson told students the amount of work that had gone into making this MUGA facility a reality, including the school’s PTA raising £15,000 to go towards the final total needed.

Mr Dawson said: “This idea started three years ago when we sat down with the governing body to think of ideas of how we could improve facilities for the students.

“We came to the conclusion that a MUGA would be ideal, but we then had to raise the funds, and thanks to the governors and PTA we were able to achieve that.

“Now we have this great facility which can be used all year round.”

MUG’s are outdoor fenced area with built in goal post units for various types of sports games, such as football, basketball or tennis.

During the opening Kate gave the students and inspiring speech about her journey to the Paralympics and what the benefit of exercising has at a young age.

Mr Dawson added: “We are delighted to be able to have the MUGA at are school, but this was a real team effort to bring this project to life.

“It means that our children can enjoy it all year round and it encourages them to keep active even in the winter months.”