IF you went down to the woods last week you would have seen a teddy-bear picnic like no other.

Pre-school children near Winchester spent the day with parents and bears in tow to mark a special milestone at their playgroup.

Colden Common Preschool turned 40 over the weekend and, to celebrate, invited around 80 of its pupils and their families to a teddy bear picnic day.

The school, which caters for children aged two-and-a-half to school age, is run entirely by parent volunteers – including committee member, Jess Zubaidi.

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She said the weather couldn’t have been better for the school’s anniversary and children and parents alike thoroughly enjoyed the day.

“We had Moving Monkeys and did some activities with the teddy bears,” she said. “Everyone brought their own and did some games with their bears.

“There were balloons and ball-games and all the children had a really good time in the garden. We took on a craft table as well so the children could make things and we were really lucky with the weather.”

It was also a chance for prospective parents to see the school’s location, Mrs Zubaidi added.

“We want to encourage people to have a look around when we’re open because we’d like to get some new families coming along for this September,” she said.