Cwmdar Primary School pupils have received nearly 600 brand new books after we donated £3,100 to the school. Pennant Walters answered a plea from teacher and Home School Association member, Carys Crimmings, as she was desperately looking for ways to improve the quality, and quantity, of books available across the school.

Carys explains:

“Our book stock has been low for a while, and with school budgets already stretched, our Home School Association has been doing all it can to raise money.

“Having successfully raised £400 through various initiatives, we knew this would only make a small difference so when we learnt that Pennant Walters was donating £3,100, we were over the moon! To have £3,500 to spend on books alone is just incredible.”

Carys and the team have been able to purchase vast ranges of books including specific level reading resources, fiction and non-fiction whilst the Additional Learning Need (ALN) resources have been bolstered specifically.

Carys continued:

“I cannot put into words the difference this money has made to our pupils' learning. Children are so excited to pick up books and are taking great pride because they are so new.

“Books have been chosen very carefully so that we have a broad spectrum that appeals across the school. We’ve paid particular attention to the books for our children with ALN as we’re committed to providing resources that are age, not stage, appropriate.”

The funding is linked to Pennant Walters’ 9 turbine 22 MW Mynydd Bwllfa windfarm near Aberdare in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which became operational in summer 2015.

Pennant Walters Managing Director, Dale Hart, said:

“It’s really important to the Pennant Walters team that we deliver a positive impact to the communities in which we work. We are proud of our ongoing support to the Cwmdare community and are thrilled that we’ve been able to give to the community of Cwmdar Primary so that they can refresh their reading material to benefit all age groups across the school.

“The opportunity for school children to read new books is invaluable, and this donation not only supports the current classes but also those in years to come."

Carys added: “From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank Pennant Walters for their support. This funding is invaluable, and I wish we could bottle the excitement the children are displaying when they’re reading the new books.

“We hope this money will go a long way to continuing to develop a love of reading for many years to come.”