Cornish Mutual donates buddy bench to Kehelland School

The primary school, which is located in a hamlet outside of Camborne in West Cornwall, won the buddy bench through a social media competition, run by Cornish Mutual, for Cornwall’s primary schools.

The colourful bench has now been installed in the playground and is ready for the school’s planned reopening in September.

The buddy bench will provide pupils with a special place to sit at playtime if they are struggling to make friends, are feeling lonely or need a safe space.

Joanna Harvey, Headteacher at Kehelland Village School said: “As a tiny school, we are so pleased to be the winners of the buddy bench competition. We rallied our troops to get local support for this and we would like to thank everyone who voted for us.

“We are sure the bench will be very helpful when our pupils return to us in September. Thank you to Cornish Mutual. Local support is very important to schools like ours.”

Jo Hawkins, Field Force Advisor at Cornish Mutual, said: “Kehelland Village School serves a very rural community. Many of our Members have connections with it, through children attending as pupils or family members working there.

“As a rural insurer for farms and businesses across the South West, we work with families all over Cornwall and are committed to supporting the communities in which we operate. Our buddy bench competition was another way for us to give back to our local communities and thank our loyal Members. The competition proved extremely popular with nearly 8,000 votes cast, between the nine shortlisted schools.

“Kehelland is a small school which is well loved in the local area, and that wealth of support was the reason they won.

“Like all schools, Kehelland Village School has faced a very challenging few months. The buddy bench symbolises hope for the future and reminds us that the time will come when children can, once again, sit together.”