Crane gives lift to Staffordshire school boat library plan
[gallery] It is not something you would expect to see during break time in a school playground – a 40ft boat being lowered by crane.
But pupils at Chancel Primary in Rugeley were captivated as they watched the vessel being delivered before it is fitted out as a library.
The school has been awarded a £10,000 Lottery grant, which has been used to create an outdoor learning space on a 40ft boat.
The school in Wolseley Road does not have a library of its own and uses a corridor to store its books in. Pupils and parents gathered to watch the boat levered on to the site, and now work will begin to fit it out ready for the books to be stored there.
The school is appealing for any local carpenters or building firms to help fit shelves and refurbish the interior.
Sarah Mollitt, chairman of the school's Parents, Teachers and Friends Association, applied to the Lloyds Community Fund in August and the school was awarded the grant in November. Miss Mollitt said: "It was a great experience for the children to watch the boat brought in. We've never seen anything like it at the school before.
"We had people from across the community soming to see it. The children have all been really excited and they can't wait to get in there."
Students are now being asked to come up with names for the boat.
Miss Mollitt added: "We have asked the children to think very carefully about choosing a name for the boat, because you can't change it once you've named it, that's bad luck."
