CORBY SCHOOL ARE IN FOR A BIG SURPRISE THANKS TO DEVELOPER’S ‘BEAR-ILLIANT’ DONATION

A Corby school tucked into Teddy Bears’ Picnic Day (July 10th) after an ‘unbearlievable’ donation from local housebuilder Barratt Homes.

Oakley Vale Primary School, close to Barratt Homes’ Lyveden Fields development, received 60 teddy bears for the children to enjoy during the picnic.

Teddy Bears’ Picnic Day is an annual whimsical celebration of our childhood stuffed toys, based on the popular children’s song “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic”. The music to this song was first written in 1907 by American composer John W. Bratton, and British songwriter Jimmy Kennedy added the lyrics in 1930.

Claire Johnson, Assistant Principle at Oakley Vale Primary School, said: “The Year 1 children were delighted to receive their teddy bears from Barratt Homes they are the perfect end to our topic on living memory and they will be a fantastic memento of their time in Year 1.

Oakley Vale Primary School is just a short walk from the new development on Livingstone Road. The day’s event gave the children a time to enjoy the summer time sun, play games, and be creative with their new bears. The children were then able to take their new bear’s home with them.

During the picnic, the children ate the vegetables that they planted earlier in the year during National Children’s Gardening Week, the seeds of which the housebuilder also donated. This helped to add to the children’s experience at the picnic.

Alison Raine, Sales Director at Barratt Homes Northampton, said: “The pandemic has had an impact on the social events and parties young children have been able to take part in, so we hope the children at Oakley Vale Primary School had a great time during their Teddy Bears’ Picnic.

“As a leading homebuilder it is important to us to care for the local communities in the areas in which we build, and we hope that our donation made the children’s’ day all the more special.”