Youngsters at a Huddersfield infants school are getting their thinking caps on after their climbing frame was condemned by the council.

The play equipment at Berry Brow Infant and Nursery School has passed its sell-by date and has to be scrapped.

A replacement climbing frame – and a rubber mulch safety surface underneath – will cost £12,000 and a fundraising campaign is to be launched.

Pupils on the school’s Children’s Board have been asked to come up with ideas on how the money can be raised.

The youngsters are speaking to their classmates and have also enlisted the help of parents involved in the Friends of Berry Brow Infants and Nursery School (FOBBINS) group.

Head teacher Mrs Jacquie Hall said the climbing frame had been condemned by Kirklees Council safety inspectors and would be taken down next week.

“We put the frame up in 2003 and in those 13 years it’s been well and truly used,” said Mrs Hall, head teacher for 15 years.

Berry Brow Infants School hoping to replace condemned play equipment - Abigail Totton, Kaeli Gleadall, Evan Pearson, Tanu Shure, Madeline Hoggan and Freya Roberts with Teacher Maegan Brook. and Friends of Berry Brow Infants Caroline Reid, Claire McCartney and Valerie Kolat.

“We have repaired it and repaired the repairs but there’s nothing more we can do with it now. It will be a sad day when it finally goes.”

Mrs Hall said the frame was important for keeping children active as the school didn’t have its own playing fields, relying instead on the recreation ground across the road.

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And it was also vital for confidence-building and development and Mrs Hall added: “When you get your hands, legs, arms and feet moving it means the left and right sides of your brain are connecting and the neurons are firing.

“Climbing high also helps children learn about managing risk. When you climb high you have to think about safely coming down again. It’s all about confidence and self-esteem.”

Berry Brow Infants School hoping to replace condemned play equipment - Abigail Totton, Kaeli Gleadall, Evan Pearson, Tanu Shure, Madeline Hoggan and Freya Roberts.

Mrs Hall said parents may ask why the school couldn’t pay for the new climbing frame itself but the school’s budget was down by £40,000 this year.

“I have a purse in my office that I call the ‘school purse’. I explained to the children that the purse was empty and asked what would happen if we didn’t have enough money and they said we wouldn’t be able to buy paper, pens and books or pay the teachers,” she said.

“The children understand and I hope they will learn that you can’t always just have something when you want it. Sometimes you have to work for it and plan.”

Mrs Hall said it could take 18 months to raise the money.