Hundreds of volunteers banded together on Saturday to give a decile 1 Auckland primary school a facelift.
Hammers, saws, concrete trucks and paintbrushes were out in force as 450 volunteers disposed of a derelict swimming pool, built a new playground, painted the buildings and redid the landscaping.
The Ministry of Education is usually responsible for the upkeep of schools, but LIFE church organised the large-scale working bee at Tamaki Primary School in Panmure to carry out much needed repairs.
The school principal, Corinne Hansell, says the community is "blown away". She says Saturday's makeover will enable more than $150,000 set aside for maintenance to be used for teaching and learning programmes in the school.
She says it will put the school 10 years ahead of its maintenance schedule.
