Children at the primary that won the Oxford Mail’s Save Our School competition are to get even more for their prize.

St Christopher’s CofE Primary School in Temple Road won a revamp from Abingdon-based firm Leadbitter worth £7,500.

Work started last week and it has emerged the true value will be up around £25,000 because other companies are helping out.

Many of the materials for the work have been donated for free or sold at cut-price rates.

Keyline in Reading donated 95 building slabs and Jewson in Oxford has provided sand, blocks and cement at cut price rates.

Site manager Pete Lee said: “We are going to companies and saying it is an SOS and it is for children, and they are giving it to us much cheaper.

“I have been really impressed by the response.”

Pupils designed the plans, which are now being put into place by Leadbitter.

Mr Lee said: “The designs are superb and it is great that the kids put all of this together.

“A lot of thought has gone into it and there is a bit of everything in there.

“It is going to be great for the children.”

He added: “We are looking forward to seeing it done.

“It will be nice to see the end result.

“Hopefully we can come back and be here to see the children’s faces when they first see it. That would mean a lot.”

Among the features will be a sundial, performance area and outdoor teaching area.

Stepping stones will wind around the garden, through a willow tunnel and over a fairy bridge.

Mr Lee, himself a father-of-three, said: “They have grown up now, but this would have been really nice for my children.

“And we certainly did not have this in my time.”

He added: “I am taking pictures every day of what we are doing so we can put something together at the end.

“The children might want it.”

He said the job was the most unusual one he had ever worked on but his team was enjoying it.

He said: “We are really happy about doing this job because we know we are doing it for the children and the school.”

Under the competition, finalists were able to collect tokens published in the Oxford Mail.

St Christopher’s C of E Primary School collected the most tokens per pupil – more than 64 each – to win the building work from Leadbitter.

tjennings@oxfordmail.co.uk