Shrewsbury’s Grange Primary School is part of The Marches Academy Trust and welcomes children from the ages of three to eleven to their nursery and primary school. Grange’s mission statement involves empowering everyone in their communities to live their values of excellence, integrity, empathy, creativity and equality to reach their full potential.

As part of their ongoing initiatives within the community, Aico was approached by Headteacher of the Grange Primary School, Charlotte Summers, to help out in their new project. With the goal to create a new space for development and education, this project saw the transformation of an unused classroom into a new library where the children can walk in at their own leisure and spend time reading as a group or individually. Charlotte’s aim was to have the project done before Christmas so that the school can surprise the kids before the holidays.

Aico colleagues spent three days at the school from the 13th-15th of November, to give the Grange a kickstart on the project. Across the three days, Aico colleagues sorted, labelled and transferred existing books, moved and set up bookshelves in the new area, to help create the new library.

Through the days, volunteers and two members from the library service tidied up the space and gathered the books from other classrooms to store in the library.

Michael Wright, Product Development Manager at Aico was one of the volunteers in the project and said, "Participating in Grange Primary School's library project was a great experience. Our company's commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gives all colleagues the opportunity to engage in local community initiatives. Witnessing the direct impact of our efforts in the community is immensely rewarding. Books open worlds of joy and learning for children, and it's heartening to know the pupils now have a library to utilise. We're grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such a meaningful cause."

With the help of Aico colleagues, the Grange Primary School now have an organised and fully functional library with furnished spaces for reading and encouraging creativity. The Grange took to Facebook to express their gratitude: “Thank you so much to the team at Aico for all their help and support – really appreciated!”

To find more about Aico’s work in the community, visit https://www.aico.co.uk/in-the-community/