On Friday 11th November the school was visited by Mr John Burnett our local Member of Parliament and a senior representative from the Education Authority. Our school roll has grown greatly over the last three years and we are in dire need of extra teaching space. Mr Bumett has committed himself to the support of our buildings programme and we are all confident that the school and it's children will be benefiting from additional class space as early as our next school year.
Over the last three years the number of children who come to our school has greatly increased, from 92 in the Autumn of 1998 to over 130 this January. From September of this year we have been teaching the children in five classes for the first time and this has meant that we have been able to cut greatly the number of children in each class and this is of obvious benefit to everyone and not least of benefit to the children's development.
However, despite the fact that nearly £1000 has been spent setting up and equipping the new class, it is not desirable to be teaching them in the school hall and this is not a long term solution. It is of great importance to the school and our children that we have extra, permanent, class space as soon as possible and it is to this end that we have canvassed the support of Mr Burnett. We have also met with Mr Trevor Sillifant, in his capacity as a representative of the Parish Council, to report our situation and I know that Mr Sillifant and the rest of our Parish Councillors are also willing to do all that they can to aid us.
I am very happy to be able to report that the school has been placed high on the Education Authorities list of priorities and that we should now be benefiting from new class space next year. In January the County will find out how big it's allocation from the government will be and at this point we will meet again to finalise the development at Bradworthy.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents of children at the school because without their support I do not believe we would have progressed anything like as quickly as we have.
This is an important time for all of us at Bradworthy School, we have come through a difficult patch where the whole school staff has changed, where we have created an extra class and where we have had to cope with very large classes. Despite these difficulties the school has been making great progress, as recognised by OFSTED when they inspected us last year and as shown by our greatly improved SAT results over the last two years, and we feel that we are well placed to go from strength to strength.
It is our aim that Bradworthy County Primary School, by working in partnership with parents and the community, will be a happy and enriching learning environment. We hope that by celebrating the children's achievements, helping them fulfil their potential, respecting their differences and encouraging kindness, consideration and respect, we will foster self?esteem and provide a sound foundation for their future life.
Now that we have come to the point where our single major problem, that of lack of space, is about to be eased we are better placed than ever to continue to develop the school so that our progress is maintained and that we continue to grow.