A SCHOOL is sacrificing its playground to make room to plant 1,000 trees to help fight climate change.

Goddard Park Community Primary is digging up the whole of the early years playground as well as a large area of the Years 5 and 6 one.

Headteacher Mike Welsh said: “It’s got a two-fold aim – to help fight climate change on a daily basis and to improve play facilities for our children."

As part of the Woodland Trust’s Great Climate Fight-back, next week all pupils as well as parents, governors and the local cubs group will be planting saplings.

“Children love exploring, and exploring nature,” said Mr Welsh.

“Woodland is very good for children to develop their own play in as well as questions about what they have found there, including insects, birds, and of course the trees themselves.

"And they can then go and research these,” he added.

The idea for the project came from pupils in the school’s Eco Warrior club wanting to increase the number of trees on site.

“The whole point is that the children want to both study, and help preserve and encourage the natural world,” said Mr Welsh.

The two new woodland areas add to the existing patch of trees planted in the school 20 years ago.

“The children have really enjoyed that and we wanted to expand it throughout the playgrounds,” Mr Welsh added.

“This will provide the opportunity for a whole range of different types of play and the opportunity to make break-times far more interesting,” he said.

“We’ve still got flat areas and a piece of AstroTurf, so there will still be plenty of places to bounce a ball around.

"It’s just that the boring tarmac will disappear,” he added.

Every year group will have access to the woodland areas at break times and there are plans to use them as additional teaching resources to expand the forest school provision pupils receive.

Mr Welsh added: “Our pupils do well and have really good attainment levels, and we want to give well them rounded opportunities in many areas.

“We want our pupils to have the very best experience of their world and they are keen to do their bit to help fight global warming.”