Leighton Buzzard families invited to 'Windmill Fest' to raise funds for pre-school and celebrate its 60th anniversary

A preschool near Leighton Buzzard is celebrating its 60th anniversary this Saturday (July 24) and is inviting families to celebrate at Windmill Fest.

Windmill Pre-School, Ivinghoe, was unable to mark its diamond anniversary in 2020, so staff and pupils are partying in style tomorrow with games and fun for everyone.

Families can come along to the pre-school tomorrow from 12pm until 5pm and enjoy bouncy castles, a rodeo bull, a wild woodlanders workshop, disco zone, face painting, hook-a-duck, gladiator dual, face painting, and more!

Emma McEnteggart, manager at Windmill Pre-School, explained why the funds raised will help the team. She said: "We are a registered charity situated in the small village of Ivinghoe and we currently have 47 children on roll. 24 are leaving us in July for school and 31 are due to join us in September. This is record breaking amount of children joining us!

"Due to Covid-19 we have since seen an increased number of people wishing to join us after having so much time at home over the past year. We now have use of the old Children’s Centre building and are knocking through to expand our provision, so we can provide places for all the children on our increasingly lengthy waiting list."

Although the school is situated in Ivinghoe, the pre-school started 61 years ago as a 'pack away pre-school' in Pitstone Memorial Hall. The pre-school now has a purpose built building in Ivinghoe, but 80 per cent of its cohort live in Pitstone.

Pitstone Windmill is the landmark from which the pre-school logo was designed.

Emma added: "During Covid (mainly the first lockdown in March 2020) we ran a virtual fundraiser with a JustGiving page, and we got the whole area Ivinghoe, Pitstone and beyond, 'Walking for Windmill!'

"During their daily exercise, the children and their families walked miles and miles. Then each week we totted up our mileage and then compared them to certain landmarks. For example our first week we walked the same amount of miles from Pitstone to Westminster, London!

"Not only was this fun and good for exercise, we also managed to raise over £1,000 For the Pre-School. As a charity, we rely on these donations. We were so thankful for the people who sponsored our children and staff for their efforts."

Tickets now available to purchase! Email [email protected] to order yours.

Prices are £5 per adult £3 per child (Under 1s go free).