Swindon pupils enjoy festive fun decorating cardboard Christmas trees

GWP Packaging is helping local school children get into the festive spirit, thanks to a creative project using cardboard.

Sixty cardboard Christmas trees have been donated to reception age pupils at Catherine Wayte Primary School in North Swindon, with the children decorating these as part of their festive art and crafts programme.

With fundraising and events affected by COVID-19 over the past 18 months – and to ensure that valuable school resources go as far as possible – parents and extended family of Catherine Wayte school children have been donating arts and crafts materials.

This could range from anything including regular household products (such as rice, lentils, shaving foam etc.) through to paint, paper, and even spare packing materials.

These items would then be used by children attending the school for various arts and crafts projects. Approaching December, this included learning about the true meaning of Christmas, as well as a more general focus on developing fine motor skills of reception (i.e. 4 to 5-year-old) pupils.

With a number of employees from North Swindon and the surrounding area, once GWP heard about the schools’ plans we were happy to assist.

Having previously worked with St Sampson’s Primary school in Cricklade on a similar project in 2015 (and run numerous competitions for children of employees too), GWP manufactured and donated 60 cardboard Christmas trees to the school.

These were then used as part of Catherine Waytes’ Christmas activities, with all of the reception children having a tree to decorate however they pleased. This included using paints, crayons, glue, and various other materials to create their festive display.

Produced using a plain, kraft material, the trees are 3 dimensional and freestanding with no additional support. This was achieved thanks to the 2-piece design that slots together, and the use of twin wall material to ensure they are robust and durable (and able to accommodate whatever decorations the children can throw at them!).

Matt Dobson, Marketing Manager at GWP commented:

We always like to help local schools and community groups wherever we can, especially in the run up to Christmas. So when we heard about the plans for the children at Catherine Wayte, we more than happy to help.

He added:

We have produced similar Christmas trees for local schools and even run competitions for children of employees in the past, so we were certain the pupils would have a great time decorating them!

The cardboard trees were exceptionally well received by not only the students, but by teachers and parents too.

Mrs Nicholas, one of two reception teachers at the school, commented:

We were appealing to parents for help with any spare arts and crafts materials that they had, so that we could provide some fun activities for the children in the run up to Christmas. So when we were offered the cardboard trees, we were exceptionally grateful!

She added

The pupils have had great fun decorating the trees, and it has really helped them develop their skills. They have all been really creative. It really is fantastic to see them expressing their personality and creating such unique work.

Charlie, one of the reception aged children from Catherine Wayte, commented:

I had lots of fun making my tree and can’t wait to put it in my bedroom at home!

Lisa Pedley, one of the parents with a child that took part in the activities, added:

It was such a fantastic activity for the kids to work on at this time of year, and I know that everyone associated with the school is thankful for the assistance that we get from local businesses and individuals on projects like this.

Catherine Wayte Primary School was opened just over 20 years ago in September 2000. It takes its name from daughter of the owner of Manor Farm and the land on which the school is built (and who also founded a school in the area in 1806).

Providing education for pupils aged between 4 and 11, it is a popular and well-regarded school in the North Swindon area.

The school aims to create a rich and varied learning environment for its students, as well as encouraging partnerships with both parents and the wider community.

You can find out more about the school – and the projects the children have been working on – by visiting their website here.

Supplying Catherine Wayte school with cardboard trees to decorate isn’t the only community project GWP have been involved with this Christmas.

As a long-standing sponsor of the Christmas lights event in Cricklade, GWP were obviously disappointed (along with so many others) that the event was again cancelled due to the difficulties posed by Coronavirus.

However, in order to help local community groups that rely on such events, GWP instead decided to become a corporate sponsor of the Cricklade Band.

Besides this GWP have taken part in Christmas Jumper Day – donating funds raised to Alternative Angels homeless charity – and have helped Swindon Food Collective by supplying the boxes that are used at their depot (and that are in particularly high demand at this time of year).

GWP have also previously assisted with student projects for Swindon College, Swindon UTC, as well as the Cirencester College “career ready” scheme.

Besides the community projects GWP have been involved with in the run up to the big day, there is also a lot of other Christmas information and guides available on our website.

This includes everything from strategies for businesses to maximise their success during the festive sales period, through to a huge selection of truly eye-opening Christmas packaging facts.

To find out more, please visit the guides section of this site, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and other social media platforms for further updates too.