Principal Sharon Booth said the playground had been the Friends of the School (FOTS) project for 2008, following the completion of the school hall about this time last year.
‘‘It was our next priority in terms of development of the school,'' Mrs Booth said.
By the end of 2008, the FOTS had raised $17,000 towards the project.
A furth
er boost came in the form of a New World longest docket competition, which earned the school $10,000, and the Community Trust of Otagogave $8000 towards the project. The balance came from school board funds.
The playground, which was supplied and installed by Playco Equipment, is an extension of the school's existing play area and was designed with help from the pupils.
‘‘The children had a lot of input into what they wanted and it's predominantly a playground suited to our senior children,'' Mrs Booth said.
The smaller children would still be able to make use of some of the more simple features of the large structure.
The playground had been designed to provide a fitness circuit and there was an obvious ‘‘flow'' to its many activities, which included a climbing wall, miniature flying fox, monkey bars and rope bridge.
‘‘It will be really challenging, which is what they [pupils] wanted.''
Mrs Booth was proud of the ‘‘locally raised funds'' that had made developments like the hall and the new playground possible at the school, with a total of more than $300,000 jointly raised for both projects.
‘‘I think that's due to the generosity of the community - the school community and the wider community.''
