SCHOOLS and community groups across the town have benefited from the Droitwich Lions Club’s 2017 Community Fund Project.
The Lions joined forces with The Standard which ran a piece inviting representatives to apply for the cash.
And this week outgoing Lions president Grahame Howard, Lions Brian Eland, Bill Phillips and Andy Best and Mayor of Droitwich Spa Shaun Best visited Westacre Middle School to hand over £300 of the funding.
Deputy headteacher Paul Barber and some of the pupils spoke to the Lions about how the funds would be used.
The school has established an enviable reputation in Droitwich and the West Midlands as a lead school in computing, internet safety and more recently coding and elementary robotics.
Following discussions with Westacre’s digital leaders, the Community Fund money was used to purchase 15 robotic kits which form the basic building block to assist children to directly code and build small robots and train them to follow paths.
This product is a key item for schools with the level of involvement in computing and robotics Westacre has. It also forms the starting point for more advanced design and build of robots and associated coding.
A Lions spokesperson said: “Their expertise has been recognised by not only Ofsted and the national technology group Naace but also by constituency MP, Nigel Huddleston.”
Recently, the school’s digital leaders and younger children from Chawson First School joined West Mercia Police and Citizens Advice to hold an online safety event at Droitwich Library. The children’s contribution, confidence and interaction with the public was, to say the least, impressive, which resulted in local CAB officer Tim Bawler recommending the school for this year’s project.
Mr Barber added: “This is an investment for not only our children and those in other local schools, but also our future pupils.
“We look forward to giving Westacre pupils the opportunity to use this amazing equipment as well as sharing it with the many first school pupils who join us on a regular basis.
“A massive thank you all involved in securing this funding for us.”
Other beneficiaries included Droitwich Spa FC, Droitwich Scouts and Droitwich Community Transport.
For more information on the club, visit http://www.droitwichlions.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/droitwichlions?ref=hl
