Celebrating at St Thomas More School
20 December 2011
Last June St Thomas More Primary School in Cheltenham was placed in special measures by Ofsted. Now the school has been graded good with some outstanding features. The fantastic turn around has been achieved thanks to hard work, by pupils, staff and the governing body. cliftondiocese.com went to meet them.
In our special podcast we hear from Chair of Governors June Little, Interim Headteacher Andy Darby, Chaplain Father Matt Anscombe and dedicated pupils Lauren, Owen, Molly, Shania, Chloe, Tristan, Tyler and Milly.
Big changes have happened at the school in West Cheltenham. The way the school is run and how the pupils are taught has improved. With significant financial support from the Clifton Diocese an extensive refurbishment programme to the buildings and grounds has been carried out. St Thomas More now provides a more comfortable environment where pupils can learn, play and be creative, both indoors and out.
The refurbishment programme, costing nearly £300,000 has allowed for the complete refurbishment of four Key Stage 2 classrooms, including new furniture, storage facilities and decoration. Two new study rooms have been created for pupils, windows and doors have been replaced, improvements made to the children’s cloakroom facilities and the school has been re-carpeted throughout. The spacious hall, which is used for assemblies, PE and drama classes, has also had a new ceiling and lighting. The exterior of the building has not been forgotten either as there are plans for a new roof for the hall in 2012 as well as decoration to the outside of the building.
Interim Headteacher Andy Darby said: “With all the work which has been undertaken over the past year at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, we have aspirations to take the school to an outstanding level of achievement over the next 12 months.”
The school showed off their facilities now on offer to pupils by inviting prospective parents and carers, current parents and members of the local community to visit during a special open day last week.
It was really well attended. Andy added: “Our open day provided an opportunity for people to see our school in action. Ask teachers and me questions and get a real insight into the special school community that we've created.
“Many parents are currently in the process of selecting a suitable primary school for their child and a visit to our school provides them with an opportunity to see just how we can get their child’s education off to the best start.”
You can listen to the podcast from St Thomas More School in the multimedia panel on the right.
It’s a positive time for the Church in West Cheltenham, as well as St Thomas More School’s great recent news, the new £26 million All Saints’ Academy opened at the start of the academic year and our St Thomas More parish is planning for a developing future working with the local community.
Last June St Thomas More Primary School in Cheltenham was placed in special measures by Ofsted. Now the school has been graded good with some outstanding features. The fantastic turn around has been achieved thanks to hard work, by pupils, staff and the governing body. cliftondiocese.com went to meet them.
In our special podcast we hear from Chair of Governors June Little, Interim Headteacher Andy Darby, Chaplain Father Matt Anscombe and dedicated pupils Lauren, Owen, Molly, Shania, Chloe, Tristan, Tyler and Milly.
Big changes have happened at the school in West Cheltenham. The way the school is run and how the pupils are taught has improved. With significant financial support from the Clifton Diocese an extensive refurbishment programme to the buildings and grounds has been carried out. St Thomas More now provides a more comfortable environment where pupils can learn, play and be creative, both indoors and out.
The refurbishment programme, costing nearly £300,000 has allowed for the complete refurbishment of four Key Stage 2 classrooms, including new furniture, storage facilities and decoration. Two new study rooms have been created for pupils, windows and doors have been replaced, improvements made to the children’s cloakroom facilities and the school has been re-carpeted throughout. The spacious hall, which is used for assemblies, PE and drama classes, has also had a new ceiling and lighting. The exterior of the building has not been forgotten either as there are plans for a new roof for the hall in 2012 as well as decoration to the outside of the building.
Interim Headteacher Andy Darby said: “With all the work which has been undertaken over the past year at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, we have aspirations to take the school to an outstanding level of achievement over the next 12 months.”
The school showed off their facilities now on offer to pupils by inviting prospective parents and carers, current parents and members of the local community to visit during a special open day last week.
It was really well attended. Andy added: “Our open day provided an opportunity for people to see our school in action. Ask teachers and me questions and get a real insight into the special school community that we've created.
“Many parents are currently in the process of selecting a suitable primary school for their child and a visit to our school provides them with an opportunity to see just how we can get their child’s education off to the best start.”
You can listen to the podcast from St Thomas More School in the multimedia panel on the right.
It’s a positive time for the Church in West Cheltenham, as well as St Thomas More School’s great recent news, the new £26 million All Saints’ Academy opened at the start of the academic year and our St Thomas More parish is planning for a developing future working with the local community.
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