YOUNGSTERS in a village have no excuse not to be word perfect when they start secondary school in September.

For 45 year six pupils at Brookmans Park Primary School have been presented with copies of The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary.

The dictionaries are given by Brookmans Park Rotary Club at the end of the school year as a leaving gift for the children as they move on to secondary education.

Rotary vice-president Steve Northcott, who presented the books, said: “By learning to use them efficiently the children can explore spellings, meanings and derivations.

“One of the most positive aspects of being able to use a dictionary is that it helps autonomy and confidence in the learner – one of the core goals of education.”

** A GROUP of children from Lakeside School in WGC enjoyed a fantastic day out as they joined in the fun of the 21st annual KidsOut Day that Rotary clubs all over the country take part in.

Teachers and carers from the special needs school were joined by members of Brookmans Park Rotary Club, who organised the trip to Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne. Barclays Bank provided a grant to pay for the costs of the day as well as giving time off to a group of employee volunteers to help.

** WATER way to raise thousands of pounds for charity!

That was the verdict as 17 teams who took park in Brookmans Park Rotary Club’s annual sponsored swim gathered at Little Heath School to receive certificates for their hard work.

In total, 520 lengths of the pool at Furzefield Leisure Centre in Potters Bar were completed, with �3,916 being made for charity.

Swimmers included teams from Little Heath and Brookmans Park schools together with Potters Bar Swimming Club, St John’s Church, local residents and supporters and members of Rotary.

Rotary president Michael Jones thanked all the swimmers for their support, saying: “This is the 18th year we have run this event and in that time we have raised over �88,000 for the charities we have supported.

“We are grateful to all the swimmers and sponsors for their generosity. Our thanks must also go to the Furzefield Centre and Potters Bar Lifesaving Club.”

Cheques were presented to representatives of Michael’s chosen charities, Cruse Bereavement Care and the Willow Foundation who spoke briefly of their work and how the money raised would help their vital cause.