Construction work carried out at Preshute Primary School in Manton, near Marlborough, resulted in three holes in the playground where footings had been dug for three posts supporting a new external canopy. Although only a small amount of Tarmac was required to fill each of the holes, it would have been expensive for the school to hire in a team to complete the work.

Instead, school governor Simon Baldock contacted full fibre broadband provider Gigaclear, which is currently extending its network in the area, to see if it could help.

Simon said: “I’d seen Gigaclear laying its cables in the village and saw they had a ‘hot box’ trailer for the Tarmac. Although I knew it was a long shot, I got in touch with them last week to see if they could help resolve the issue whilst our pupils were on half term.”

Gigaclear immediately contacted Richard Sullivan, Head of Construction at contractor Avonline, who agreed to divert their reinstatement team provided by Proconect DMT to undertake the work. By the time the pupils returned to school today (February 20), after half term, the work had been completed. 

Simon said: “It was a matter of days between me first contacting Gigaclear and the work being completed by Avonline. They could not have been more supportive. Thanks to them, the work is now finished and where we initially thought we’d only be able to provide a temporary finish, we now have a permanent solution. Not only have we managed to save some school funds, but we have a playground ready for the children to enjoy.”  

Gigaclear spokesman Richard Arquati said the company was happy to help and thanked Avonline for its willingness to support the request at such short notice.

Gigaclear is currently extending its network to more than 4,400 homes in Marlborough and its surrounding rural communities with around 1,100 homeowners already able to access its full fibre broadband. Last month saw Gigaclear launch its sponsorship of Marlborough Rugby Club’s minis and juniors teams.