Celebrating the ‘Class of 2023’ at Willows Forest Fest

There were bittersweet celebrations at Willows Day Nursery in Stoke Mandeville as pre-school children marked the end of their time at the award-winning setting with a ‘Forest Fest’ graduation event, filled with themed activities in their enchanting woodland area outside.

To honour the achievements of their fifty young graduates before leaving for school, practitioners from the day nursery on Mandeville Road pulled out all the stops to make it a send-off to remember, decorating the forest space with flowers and bunting, as well as setting up a designated ‘chill out zone’ complete with yurt tents, filled with cosy pillows.

During the celebrations, pre-schoolers were immersed in inspired activities including pebble painting and forest digging, as well as dancing and games, before sitting down for one last meal together in the al fresco picnic area, where children put on their woodland creature masks and enjoyed handmade sandwiches, cakes, fruit platters, vegetable sticks and more.

Willows Day Nursery Manager, Jane Hobbs explained;

“The forest created a truly magical atmosphere for our children to commemorate this milestone. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of them and have loved witnessing their growth and all the friendships they have made along the way. They will be sorely missed by us all, but we cannot wait to hear about their new adventures at school.”