Pewsey charity Afrikaya has cause to celebrate now the first phase of building a nursery school in The Gambia has been completed.

In 2007 two of the trustees, Geoff and Di Miles, visited The Gambia to learn African drumming and while there they were inspired by a teacher to help improve education in the area.

There is no state education for children under the age of eight in The Gambia but in order to get into a decent primary school, youngsters need to be able to read and write in English.

With this in mind, in 2009 the charity was set up with the aim of building a nursery school in the village of New Yundum.

Stage one of the building comprises of two classrooms, a toilet block with six European toilets, a cesspit, a playground and a banana and tropical fruit orchard.

Afrikaya has provided solar power to supply the classrooms with electricity and a pump that brings water up through a borehole to supply fresh water.

Chairman Mr Miles said: “We are ecstatic. It’s been several years getting to this stage so to see it getting ready to open and children queuing up to enrol is fantastic.”

The school will be self-funded through events run by the management committee and parents paying small fees. For those who cannot afford to pay, the charity will find sponsors in the UK.

Mrs Miles said: “We are delighted we have found an experienced and qualified nursery school teacher who we have employed alongside a newly qualified teacher.”

The school will open in the next couple of weeks at the start of term with an intake of 60 children.

Mr and Mrs Miles are planning a trip to see the nursery in February along with the other trustees Helen and Sanjeen Payne-Kumar.

The next stage for Afrikaya in the UK is to raise funds to complete another two classrooms and build an admin block, comprising a sleeping area, a health centre, staff offices, storage and a small kitchen.