£1,200 has been donated to Wallingford School’s special needs department by BunkFest and housebuilder St Edward, following the sale of reusable drinking bottles at BunkFest festival in 2019.

The special needs department which supports children aged between 11 and 18 has used the funding to purchase crucial new equipment, including two laptops and headphones with text to speech functionality.

The money will also be used to buy resources to provide maths, literacy and language intervention programmes to help children with speech and reading.

John Marston, headteacher of Wallingford School, said: “We are very grateful for the support from BunkFest and St Edward. We are all invested in the town and the local community and the donations will support the provision we can offer our young people in school and it is very much appreciated.”

Cat McWinnie, special needs coordinator at Wallingford School, said: “We are so grateful to BunkFest and St Edward for this generous donation. The wide range of resources we have been able to purchase as a result of these funds will significantly broaden the range of specialist interventions and support we are able to offer our pupils with SEND needs.

Read also: HMS Victory replica completed after 50 years by Oxfordshire man

“We are excited about the opportunity this donation has created for us to purchase essential equipment and expand our use of assistive technology in school. This will help support pupils' academic progress and allow for greater independence in their learning.”