A special wooden 'pod' for reading and writing has been installed at Tower Hill Primary school in memory of a staff member’s relatives.

Claire Lawrence-French lost both her mother, Sheila French, and her sister, Michelle Jackson, to cancer over the last year.

She said: “We knew we wanted to do something, and my mum and sister both were adamant that the money wouldn’t go to cancer.

“They’d just had enough of it. They wanted to do something different.”

Mrs Lawrence-French has been a pastoral support worker at Turner Hill for the past 10 years, providing extra care to students in need.

“My sister and I both went to the school, and my mother was a volunteer here.

“I talked with my dad and he thought it would be good to give something back.”

The wooden pod contains sofas, cushions, and rugs and can hold about 20 students as a comfortable space to work on reading and writing.

Mrs Lawrence-French said: “What my dad and I wanted is for it to be for the children that go here and will continue to go here.”

“Though it is in their memory, it’s very much about the future.”