St John’s Catholic Primary School in Trowbridge is celebrating after being awarded the OPAL Platinum Award, the highest level of accreditation in the Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) programme.
The award recognises schools that provide outstanding play opportunities for children and have embedded high-quality play across the whole school environment. Following a full audit of playtimes, St John’s was recognised for its creative play spaces, rich use of loose parts, and a culture that encourages children to explore, imagine and play together across year groups.
Children at the school now enjoy a wide range of play opportunities including den building, sand and water play, wheeled play, climbing, digging and nature exploration. The programme has helped transform playtimes into active, creative and inclusive experiences for all pupils.
Helen Easton, OPAL Mentor, said: “St John’s Catholic Primary School has created a truly outstanding play environment for its children. The school has shown a clear commitment to high-quality play, with strong leadership, a dedicated play team and a culture where children are trusted to be creative, active and adventurous in their play.
It has been a pleasure to witness the transformation of play at St John’s and the joy it is bringing to the children. Achieving the OPAL Platinum Award is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the hard work of the whole school community.”
Kim O’Rourke, Headteacher, shared: ‘Our school community is delighted to celebrate receiving the OPAL Platinum Award, a recognition that reflects not only the high quality of play opportunities we provide for our children, but also the way our Catholic mission and ethos are lived out each day across our school grounds.
As a Catholic school, our mission calls us to nurture the whole child—spiritually, socially, emotionally and physically. The development of our outdoor play and learning environment has been a powerful way of putting this mission into action. Through our OPAL journey, we have created spaces where children can explore, create, collaborate and care for one another in a safe and inspiring environment.
At the heart of our approach is the belief that play is not simply recreation; it is an essential part of how children learn about themselves, their relationships with others and their responsibility for the world God has entrusted to us. Our outdoor areas now provide a rich variety of opportunities for imaginative play, physical activity, problem-solving and quiet reflection. From den building and loose-parts construction to nature exploration and cooperative games, children are encouraged to take ownership of their play and develop confidence, resilience and creativity.
Equally important has been the strong emphasis on stewardship of our environment, a key element of Catholic Social Teaching. Our pupils understand that caring for our outdoor spaces is part of caring for God’s creation. They take pride in looking after resources, maintaining areas for wildlife, and ensuring that materials are reused and repurposed wherever possible. This sense of shared responsibility has fostered respect, gratitude and a deeper awareness of how our actions impact the world around us’.
Vicky Holmes, OPAL lead said: “Achieving the OPAL Platinum Award is a fantastic recognition of the work our whole school community has put into transforming playtimes. We are incredibly proud of our children, who showed our visitor just how creative, inclusive and adventurous play at St John’s can be. I would also like to thank our dedicated Play Team and supportive parent community who have helped make this possible.”
A year 5 pupil said, "Play times are so much better now we can use the field and the whole school space. Everyone is much happier and we no longer have wet play!"
And a reception child said, "You can do anything you want in OPAL time, today I went to Disney Land at lunch!"
Recent additions to the playground, including a large sandpit created with the help of parent volunteers and donated materials, have helped expand opportunities for creative and imaginative play and demonstrate the strong community support behind the school’s play provision.
The school will now continue building on this success as it develops its play provision further ahead of its next OPAL re-accreditation in 2028. In November 2025 St John’s Catholic Primary School was delighted to be recognised as offering Outstanding Catholic education in all areas during Catholic Education Inspection. Further details can be found on the school website.
