ACOMMUNITY came together to celebrate 40 years of a much loved preschool.

Youngsters who attended the Sholing Community Centre Pre- School were invited to an open-house event at the centre.

Everyone was given a commemorative mug to celebrate the milestone anniversary and were invited to share their memories along with a slice of birthday cake.

The day saw dozens of people who had used the pre-school over the past 40 years drop-in to the Butts Road centre for the birthday celebrations.

Lead practitioner Jenny Roles said the event was a chance to celebrate the achievements of the pre-school.

Jenny, who has been at the pre-school for 22 years and heads up a staff of five, said: “We decided to do something special to mark the event as it is such a special anniversary.

“The children who currently attend shared birthday cake in the morning and then past youngsters who had been through the doors came along in the afternoon.”

The Southampton City Council-run preschool has consistently scored highly in Ofsted reports and has been classed as “good” for a number of years.

Currently there are 47 children on roll aged between two years and nine months up to school starting age.

Along with a range of indoor and soft play toys, the pre-school has this year developed outside space into a gardening area and the children are encouraged to learn about planting and growing flowers and vegetables.

“We are very lucky here and have a great hall and wonderful outdoor space, the children get a a lot out of thier learning here," added Jenny.