Jewson has donated £1,000 to Mendip Green Primary School to support its new outdoor play and learning (OPAL) project, as the builders’ merchant celebrates the relaunch of its refurbished Weston-super-Mare branch.

The donation will support the next phase of the school’s OPAL journey, helping expand outdoor play opportunities for more than 600 pupils. The funding will enable the school to purchase materials including topsoil and turf to complete the banks around its giant sandpit, as well as timber to build durable welly storage for each of its 21 classes and two SEND hubs. The timber will also be used to create a large mud kitchen designed for more than 20 children to use at once, supporting imaginative and active play while ensuring pupils can make full use of the school grounds throughout the year.

Victoria Walton, Deputy Headteacher at Mendip Green Primary School, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Jewson for this generous donation and for supporting the next stage of our OPAL journey. Outdoor play is a hugely important part of school life at Mendip Green, helping children build confidence, creativity and resilience.

“Thanks to this support, we’ll be able to continue developing our outdoor environment and create even more opportunities for imaginative and active play. It will also help us make better use of our school grounds throughout the year, ensuring children can enjoy outdoor learning and play whatever the weather.”

Pupils from the school joined tradespeople and builders from the local area at Jewson’s Weston-super-Mare official relaunch event, which took place on Friday 20th March.

The branch, at Winterstoke Road, hosted live entertainment from local band Lipinski, and provided free food and drink including breakfast rolls, burgers and ice cream from regional providers. There was merchandise up for grabs and suppliers on hand giving demonstrations of their new and most successful product ranges.

Following the refurbishment, Jewson Weston-super-Mare now stocks thousands of extra products and materials, so builders and tradespeople can find everything they need for their projects under one roof.

Following customer feedback, the branch floor team has grown with more experts on hand to support projects, while the in-branch tool hire offering has also been expanded.

Customers will also be able to use the branch to benefit from Project Estimator, an estimating service from Jewson that helps builders and tradespeople save time in the planning stages of their projects, to win more work and save money on materials.

There’ll also be free hot drinks, and snacks available for purchase, every day.

Chris Eaton, Branch Manager at Jewson Weston-super-Mare, said: “Supporting Mendip Green Primary School with this donation was something we were really pleased to do. As a branch, we work closely with the local trade and community, so being able to contribute towards the

school’s outdoor play spaces and help create better experiences for pupils felt like a natural way to give something back.

“Our recent Branch of the Future relaunch event was a brilliant opportunity to bring the community together. It was great to see so many customers, suppliers and familiar faces join us on the day to look around the new branch and celebrate what’s next for Jewson in Weston-super-Mare.”

The branch traded throughout its refurbishment, and the team would like to thank the customers who continued to visit during the improvement works.

Jewson Weston-super-Mare is open Monday-Friday from 7am to 5pm, and on Saturday from 8am to 12pm, at Winterstoke Road, BS23 3YF.