Fawley (26 March 2007) -- Children at a New Forest school have taken to monkeying around with the full support of their head teacher.

The youngsters at Blackfield Primary School are celebrating the arrival of some brand new outdoor play equipment, complete with monkey bars and swinging apparatus, which will provide a new way of keeping fit at playtime. They have also received money towards two new interactive computer-linked whiteboards for their classrooms, thanks to a series of grants from Esso and ExxonMobil Chemical at Fawley.

The play equipment was bought following a donation of £750 under a special scheme designed to recognise the efforts of ExxonMobil employees and their families who contribute their time, talent and energy to schools, charities and non-profit making organisations. The grant applicant was ExxonMobil instrument technician, Dave Hughes, who is involved with the school through his daughter Christine, who is a pupil. He dedicates time to accompany the children on school outings to help supervise them, and one outing involved a trip away to the Isle of Wight for a few days.

A further £2,000 in grants has also been awarded to the school under the ExxonMobil Link Schools Programme which provides science equipment grants, assistance in improving the school environment and curriculum resources to almost 40 schools based around ExxonMobil's main areas of employment.

Head teacher John Perkins said: “We value the ongoing support we receive from ExxonMobil. The money we receive from the company year on year has made a significant difference to the resources available to children here in Blackfield.

“Interactive whiteboards are an essential part of modern learning. They increase the pace of the lesson, information is more readily available and they help teachers plan effectively. This latest grant means that we have a full compliment of whiteboards – one for each classroom and two extra for our dedicated maths and English rooms.”

ExxonMobil is committed to being a good neighbour and the grant programmes improve the links between the company and the community. The ExxonMobil Volunteer Involvement Programme at Fawley, together with its sister scheme for school governors, has so far contributed some £300,000 to local community projects since it was started four years ago.