BSCS students show commitment to improving Baileys Court play area

Two Year 10 students at Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) are helping to plan improvements to the play park at Baileys Court, after attending a Town Council meeting to give a presentation on the results of their GCSE citizenship project.

Lloyd Brown and Luke Garraway started a campaign to get a broader range of play equipment installed at the park after interviewing Year 5 pupils from the nearby Baileys Court Primary School.

Ideas for new equipment identified by Lloyd and Luke’s research include a bowl swing, climbing frames/nets, a roundabout and a zip wire with tyres at each end.

The students also found a demand for goal nets on the adjacent Baileys Court cricket field, where local children like to take part in informal football games.

Working with Bradley Stoke Youth Participation Worker Graham Baker and the town council’s health and safety officer Vicky Davies, Lloyd and Luke researched ideas for new equipment on manufacturers’ websites.

A site meeting was then arranged last month, at which Charles Mant of Mant Leisure gave his professional opinion on which of the students’ suggestions could viably be implemented.

While there is insufficient room to install a zip wire, Mr Mant thought there was potential for a basket swing and/or an ‘overhead spinner’, which have proven to be be very popular at other locations and work well for all ages.

Further work will now be done before a more detailed proposal is taken back to the town council and funding sources explored.

Councillors praised the two students for campaigning for something that won’t necessarily benefit their own age range and commended them for continuing with their campaign beyond the end of their citizenship project.

Photo: Charles Mant, Lloyd Brown, Graham Baker and Vicky Davies at the park.