This playground gives our students the challenge, confidence and creativity they need to succeed in school and life. Playground Centre were fantastic partners. They made the whole process seamless from design through to installation.”

Marty Bullock | Principal

A compact playground with big impact

Faith City School set out to upgrade its 25-year-old playground with something robust, challenging and engaging for their students. With a roll of 160 and strong community spirit, they needed a design that maximised play value within a compact footprint while catering to a wide range of ages, abilities and personalities.

Through consultation with students, the school leadership team and Parent Teacher Association, one goal emerged clearly: a playground that would inspire every child – even those who don’t usually play – to get moving, connecting and having fun.

A collaborative, community-driven process

Playground Centre worked closely with the school to capture their goals:

• Offer multiple “stages of challenge” for students of all ages
• Introduce safe risk-taking beyond typical swings and slides
• Integrate natural materials and colour
• Ensure clear sight lines for easy supervision
• Connect the old and new playground areas.

While the PTA led the project to renew and revitalise their playspace, students helped drive the concept, even sketching ideas and requesting features that are adventurous, tall, and exciting.

The result? A clever playground design centred around a modular, multi-activity play structure that offers endless ways to climb, balance, explore and just plain hang out.

The solution: modular play, maximum play value

The school selected a high-impact mix of adventure playground equipment including the Activity Hex Tower 8208 in timber. The standout feature, it delivers height, challenge and social connection.

Students love:

• The bridge crossing
• Rope and rock-climbing routes
• Multiple entry and exit points
• Flying fox, tube slide and monkey bars, and
• The elevated “turret” – a favourite for the older kids.

While the addition of a Stepping Logs Fitness Station offers a simple but powerful way for children to build their coordination and be encouraged to move between their new and old playspaces. Ideal for “floor is lava” games and perfectly placed, the stepping logs enable them to chart their course without touching the ground!

This compact combination offers big play value, long-term durability, and opportunities for every student from Year 1 to Year 8 to play – together.  

A playground the whole community loves

Faith City School’s PTA led extensive consultation with students and the wider school community, gathering ideas, aspirations and feedback.

As Erica Sipright, a teacher and PTA member says: “A key learning was how important it is to bring everyone on the journey – staff, parents and students. When the whole community has a voice, the result is something people genuinely value.”

Thanks to this, the impact of the playground was immediate – and huge.

Parents appreciated how the design suits both confident and cautious children, while teachers have been impressed by improved activity levels, inclusion and wellbeing. And how the benefits have flowed into the classroom.

Principal, Marty Bullock sums it up: “Play is huge for learning. When students are out there moving, challenging themselves and solving problems together, they return to the classroom physically ready and mentally prepared to learn”.

That’s what the adults think. But what about the children? The students rushed to their new playground on opening day, children who rarely played now join in daily and parents even stay for extra playtime after school because their children don’t want to leave!

 “It’s way better than the old playground – bigger, cooler and so much more fun.”

Design a school playground that inspires every learner

At Playground Centre, we design and build playgrounds for schools across Whanganui, the wider Manawatū–Whanganui region, and throughout New Zealand – creating spaces that build confidence, connection and lifelong learning through play.