Ten years after opening Barkantine Community Nursery, the Duke of Kent returned to see the progress being made.
He was given a tour of the Mellish Street centre during the visit on Wednesday, February 25.
He met staff and children and joined in with creating artwork to commemorate the nursery’s anniversary year.
“It went really well” said deputy manager Husnara Khanom.
“We were really happy he came and visited again.”
Once the Duke - the Queen’s cousin - had toured the centre, he was invited to visit the nearby rose garden.
Husnara said: “It was opened by the Queen Mother in 2001.
“She said she wanted to come back but she passed away before she could, so it was really nice to show it to him.”
The party, which also included the Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Cllr Oliur Rahman, then moved on to the nearby Barkantine Community Hall for lunch and a speech by nursery manager Sajida Malik.
“Eight years ago the nursery was struggling financially,” said Husnara.
“Now it’s a flagship nursery in Tower Hamlets and we get managers from other nurseries visit us to see how things are done.”
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