EXCITED pupils at a March school were given a big surprise when Roddons Housing Association set up a wooden fort in the playground.

The play fort was gifted to Cavalry School last Tuesday after youngsters designed “Fort Roddons” as the centre piece of its parade float at this year’s March Summer Festival.

Creative pupils turned the wooden structure into an historical fort - matching the Tudor costumes of Roddons staff, who dressed as Henry VIII and his six wives to parade through the town centre last Saturday. A court jester also skipped and danced the entire route, giving out sweets.

Val Spriggs, Cavalry’s Head Teacher, said: “The children were very excited when they saw the fort and we know that it will be very well used. We are very grateful to Roddons for donating it to the school.”

Debby Bunn, head of customer services for Roddons, said: “Roddons is all about providing homes for local people and Fort Roddons fits in nicely with this.

“We are also passionate about making a difference in the community and understanding residents’ needs. Events like the March Summer Festival are a great opportunity for us to meet with residents and find out what really matters to them.

“We received some valuable feedback about our services and answered many questions on housing matters from right to buy schemes to how can we help with arranging local events.

“People also asked about how to apply for a social housing property along with requests for repairs and maintenance improvements, which we will be looking into.”