Members of the community have rallied to support a pre-school that is facing mounting financial pressures amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The Lees community came out in their droves on Sunday (September 25) to raise funds for Leesfield Pre-School at a charity fun day held at Springhead Football Club.

The event opened by Oldham’s Mayor Elaine Garry and attended by the official mascot for Oldham Athletic Football Club Chaddy the Owl, saw the Springhead Veterans football team take on the Leesfield Pre-School team, made up of parents and supporters of the school.

Players on the Leesfield Pre-School team included Oldham fundraiser Sarah Tate who organised the fun day in a bid to raise money for the pre-school which is still recovering after the Covid pandemic.

Discussing the financial strain on the school, Michaela Exton, the manager of Leesfield Pre-School, said: “It has been a combination of Covid affecting the numbers of students we could take and the fact that we now have a cost-of-living crisis which is escalating our outgoings. There is going to be a lot of money for us to find.”

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Chaddy the Owl taking a corner kick. 

Susan Ellershaw, who has been a nursery teacher at Leesfield Pre-School for 22 years, added: “The Covid pandemic has had a massive impact on the school financially. We used to have a pot of money that worked as a buffer but now because of the times that financial buffer has gone.

“We are financially running on fumes now. We are doing fundraising events which have always been important to us but now even more so.”

For the fun day, the Springhead Football Club offered the venue for free, businesses from across Lees donated prizes for the raffles, and members of the community gifted items for the stalls.

Commenting on the fun day, Michaela said: “It is absolutely fantastic. We have had so much support from businesses in the area and here today we have present parents and parents whose children haven’t been at the school for years, but they still come out to support us. It’s just wonderful it’s very humbling.

“We are really community-based as a pre-school so things like this are really important to us.

She added: “The school is my passion in this world. I have been manager for 26 years and I will stay for as long as I possibly can.”

To donate to the school contact Sarah Tate by emailing sjtate87@hotmail.co.uk or the school by emailing leesfieldpreschool@hotmail.com.

The school also runs has a wish list on Facebook where items, including kitchen roll and food, can be donated.