CHILDREN at a Nottingham primary school have taken steps to ensure none of their fellow pupils ever feel alone by building a ‘Buddy Bench’ — with the help of one of the UK’s leading builders merchants.
Wellbeing ambassadors at Claremont Primary School, based on Claremont Road, approached their teachers with a request to put in the new friendship facility on the playground used by children in years three to six.
Selco Builders Warehouse, which has a store on Radford Road in Nottingham, then answered the request of the school and Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos for support by providing the materials to allow the children’s vision to become reality.
Keri Bilson, chair of the Parent Teacher Association at the school, said: “One of our core values is to collaborate as a family by working, playing and having fun with each other and this gesture by the children is extremely heart-warming.
“The idea behind it is that, on the odd occasion that a child doesn’t have anyone to play with or feels upset, they can sit on the buddy bench and help from the other children will soon be available. The wellbeing ambassadors are largely made up of children in years five and six and the idea of a buddy bench has entirely come from them which is fantastic.
“The only involvement they have had from adults was to try and secure the materials and we are extremely grateful to Selco for helping the children achieve their aim.
“We look forward to the buddy bench being an important part of the school for many years to come.”
As part of the support, Selco provided a range of materials including concrete blocks, fence posts, topsoil and cement.
Adam Newbold, deputy manager of Selco Nottingham, said: “When we received the letter from the pupils at Claremont School, it really touched the hearts of all our team.
“To see children as young as eight and nine coming up with such an innovative idea and making it reality is fantastic and we were thrilled to supply the materials for the buddy bench. Hopefully the bench will become the location where lots of school friendships are formed.”
See page 11 of our August/September 2025 issue on our Back Issues page.
