COOKING up a treat for hungry tots, staff at a day nursery are thrilled to be able to use a brand new cooker at Headington Quarry Village Hall.

Staff at Kiddies Korner Nursery, which has been offering children’s play sessions for nearly 40 years, celebrated the arrival of the big double oven, which they use to provide warm and nutritious meals at their daily sessions.

Manager Tricia Medlicott, who has been working at the nursery for 25 years, said: “We are really pleased with it. It is lovely to have a cooker that works and is efficient.

“It is really good and it makes the kitchen look brighter and smarter.”

The day nursery offers activities for children aged two to five, from Monday to Friday. The cooker, which arrived at the hall in Margaret Road last month, is part of a restoration project by trustees to update the hall, which dates from 1933.

Trustees of Quarry Village Hall have been working behind the scenes since December 2012, cutting grass, cleaning windows and washing curtains. The committee received a TOE2 environmental grant from Grundon Waste Management to help fund the installation of an energy efficient heating system.

Trustees are thrilled with the new heating, which means they can use the hall’s Jubilee room, and hope the work will allow the hall to be more widely used.

Oxfordshire county councillor Roz Smith said: “The previous cooker was condemned just before Christmas so I was delighted to be able to use my councillor’s community grant to provide a new cooker, microwave and fridge freezer for the hall.

“We have a wish-list and we are gradually getting through it.

“On our list is to bring the stage back into use.”

Co-ordinator of the Friends of Quarry Jenifer Carpenter said she is thrilled with the work done so far by the trustees to get the hall into shape.

She said: “People were very keen to keep the existing village hall. It has had years and years of neglect so we are really trying to bring it into the 21st century.”

The Headington Quarry Village Hall management committee is made up of representatives from the Friends of Quarry, Holy Trinity Church, Cornerstone Church, the Quarry Nursery, Windmill Primary School and the Quarry Women’s Institute.

Kiddies Korner Nursery is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with a special event on Friday, June 27.

Families with any memories of Kiddies Korner are invited to contribute photos and stories for a special display at the Nursery. Contact Tricia Meddlicott on 01865 766762 for more information.