All 14 primary schools connected with Congleton have received a Memory Bear to thank them for the part that they played in keeping their communities safe during COVID-19.

The bears were made by local furloughed resident Alison Cann using school uniform donated by the schools. Inside the bears are the names of the staff, pupils and helpers that made up that school community in 2020-21.

The idea for the memory bears was raised at a meeting of community groups and Congleton Town Council where it was suggested that the schools needed some recognition for the part that they have played in the COVID-19 pandemic. This group was also responsible for Christmas gift bags and Mothers' Day activity packs.

Due to the pandemic, it was not possible to present the bears to the schools in an assembly, so Town Mayor Councillor Denis Murphy made a short video for each school and the bears were collected at Head Teachers meeting at Eaton Bank.

The Town Mayor said: "The school communities have done a great job of supporting our young people through what has been a difficult 18 months of schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to give some recognition to this – so have created a memory bear gift for each school for them to remember how well they all pulled together and supported each other. We hope the bears will take pride of place in the schools for many years to come!"