DALREOCH Primary School will be sporting some new playground equipment thanks to almost £10,000 of funding from the National Lottery Fund.

The school will use the £9,949 to increase opportunities for pupils to engage in physical activity by developing their playground space and after school sports programme.

Some of the money has been ring-fenced to enable the school to continue to provide the after school clubs for the pupils.

Head teacher Yvonne Adams told the Reporter: “We applied for Lottery funding to help us to develop the playground in the school. Dalreoch has fabulous grounds and yet there has been very little for the children to do.

“The Grant was for up to £10,000 and we asked for just under this amount and received that. We knew exactly what we were going to use the money for as plans had been put in place during this process.

“There will be an running track marked out on the playground and in the middle of this there will be marking for some Olympic sports like shot putt. There will also be a five-a-side pitch marked out and a three way basketball hoop with markings erected.

“At the side of the playground we have a small hill and here there will be two wooden scramble structures put in place.

“This will all hopefully mean that the children will feel that they have more to do and will help us as a school support the Health and well Being of our children.”

The work on the playground commences on the March 7 2017 and is to be completed the next day.

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie welcomed the cash injection saying: “I was delighted to hear that Dalreoch Primary has secured one of the highest possible grants from Awards for All.

“It is great to see that the school is planning an exciting new playground and programme of extra-curricular sports to encourage local children to be more active.

“I would encourage any other schools or community groups in Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven interested in lottery funding to visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/scotland or contact my office and I will be glad to assist where I can.”

The National Lottery’s small grants programme, Awards for All, was set up to make a difference in communities across the country by providing funding to various projects.

An Awards for All spokesman, said: “All of these grants are a great way to show the variety of projects that can be funded through Awards for All.

"We are always surprised at the difference a relatively small amount of money can make and these awards clearly show how National Lottery money is helping to change lives across Scotland's communities."