YOUNGSTERS at a Stevenston primary school are loving their new-look library - after it was transformed thanks to generous support from a former pupil.
Detertec - whose director of operations, Mark Fitzpatrick, is a former pupil at St John's Primary - donated £1,500 to the school to allow the library to be upgraded - just the way the pupils wanted.
St John's had earlier held a discussion with pupils on how to improve the school - and they shared that they wanted to upgrade the library.
The children then collected and collated lots of ideas from each class to represent what they wanted the library to look like and what they would like to have within it.
The school wanted to create a space that represented the views of the children and that the children were keen to use.
And Detertec stepped in to make their dream come true.
Mark said: "I was keen to get involved in the library project which benefits the whole school community, and particularly given my personal tie to the school from attending in the early 90s allowed me to give something back.
"As an employer, I can recognise the benefits that reading brings to children and young people and appreciate how this can help shape their future education and career paths.
“I was pleased to be asked along to visit the new library space which I found to be inviting, open, fresh and a comfortable setting for the children to enjoy.
"I feel proud that we contributed towards making this a reality for the school community."
Joanne Boyle, depute head teacher at St John's, added: "Our children are at the forefront of everything we do. As a staff team we strive to ensure that the views and opinions of our children are listened to and taken seriously.
"We are passionate about creating a positive learning environment and we were delighted that Detertec were keen to support our school in developing our library area.
"It is great to see local companies and businesses supporting schools in their community. The library has been a huge success and the children are already receiving the benefits from the new library space."
Head teacher Karen McAllister added: "Reading is so important to us in our school and we are delighted to have this fantastic library space where our children can enjoy reading for pleasure.
"We are so grateful to Mark and his team at Detertec for their very generous donation in making our plans and dreams for our library come true.
"We appreciate so much that a former pupil has given back to his local school and community and the children will make sure that this library space is well used and enjoyed now and in the future."
And the pupils are over the moon with the end result.
Their comments included:
“I love our new library, you can just chill out and read."
“I like that you can go in the teepees with your friend and read."
“I think our new library is really pretty."
"It has lots of things that we wanted, it's really cool."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here