A VILLAGE preschool recently marked its 50th birthday with a celebration party.

North Nibley Preschool - which is based at the village hall - celebrated the anniversary on Wednesday, June 5 with an event involving children, parents and its committee. 

The preschool was started in 1974 and was originally called North Nibley Playgroup.

Organisers say it began with a mum from the village arranging activities each week for short sessions and was run entirely by volunteers. 

The preschool has now grown and is now open for 30 hours each week and employs seven members of staff. 

A spokesperson said: “The preschool goes from strength to strength and remains committed to caring for children in the village and surrounding areas. 

“For this celebration we hired an entertainer and had a beautiful cake made, we also had some garden work completed. 

“Much giggling could be heard from the children as they watched the magic show.”

They added: “We also now have our third generations coming through the preschool! 

“North Nibley Preschool is extremely proud of this and hopes that preschool will carry on for many years to come.”