Air engineer technicians from HMS Sultan help out at school

The group, from the Defence College of Technical Training’s Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School at HMS Sultan, spent time helping St Francis School in Fareham.

As previously reported in The News, the special school in Fareham had to close temporarily after £15,000 worth of damage was caused.

Thanks to the generosity of the community the school has been able to repair damaged facilities.

After re-opening, the air engineering technicians from the Gosport base spent several days on a number of different maintenance tasks.

Painting, cleaning and gardening were among the activities, as well as the building of a new shed in the school’s gardens.

Matthew Parker, 21, was really excited about supporting St Francis School.

He says: ‘Joining the military is something I always wanted to do.

‘Every day seems to have offered something different.

‘One of the jobs that we undertook at the school involved using a pressure washer to get some of the moss removed from the playground.

‘Although this might not sound that interesting, we hope that it made the playground that bit safer.

‘It’s rewarding to know that we have made the facility more accessible to the children.’

He adds: ‘It’s great to be able to help out where there is a real need.

‘It was really sad to hear what the school has been through in recent times.’

Carol Marsh, school business manager, said the school was thankful for the help from the team from HMS Sultan.

‘We are very grateful to the trainees for offering their support to us, especially for their input towards revitalising our outdoor facilities,’ she says.