A SCHOOL pond which lay in disrepair for more than 20 years has a new lease of life thanks to a much longed-for grant.

The River School in Droitwich Road, Claines, Worcester, was awarded a £6,000 grant to renovate its wildlife pond in what the school has named its Water of Life project.

Site manager Marc Cawte has been maintaining the area for 15 years in the hope of one day getting funding to restore it to its former glory.

He applied for the Springwatch Lottery Fund through the BBC website after seeing it mentioned on the programme.

Mr Cawte said: “It was an area that was never used. I kept maintaining it, hoping we would get some funding.

“It had fallen into complete disrepair.

“It lay dormant for two years before the school bought the land and it was a high maintenance area up until now, thanks to the funding.”

The pond was a centre for wildlife when the school was a horticultural college in the 1970s. After falling into disrepair in the early 80s, the pond has been out of action since.

Work has already started on the site and is due to be completed in early autumn and pupils are being encouraged to help with its development.

When completed, the pond will be part of a new nature centre, which will be open for community use to other schools and organisations.

There is a range of wildlife already visible at the pond, including badgers and foxes.

The area is also home to dragonflies, frogs and newts, and Mr Cawte said it will not be long before the area is filled with animals.

Mr Cawte said: “All the pupils are really excited about it, but the younger children always appreciate things a bit more.

“They come down everyday to see how everything is progressing and I think the centre will be used daily.”

PICTURE CAPTION: HARD WORK: River School pupils Zac Peel, aged 12, Callum Acampora, 14, and Charlotte Jeavons, 12, helping out maintainance assistant Dave Cutteridge and site manager Mark Cawte at the wildlife pond which is to be renovated.