A wonderful place to be proud of (From Gazette & Herald)

A wonderful place to be proud of

9:00am Thursday 28th May 2009

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THERE’S no lack of high achievement at St Mary’s RC School in Malton.

The school came top of the league table of North Yorkshire schools and within the top five in the country in its Key Stage 2 SATs – something of which headteacher David Harrison is rightly proud.

“It’s a testament to the hard work of the staff, children, parents and governors,” he said.

“Everyone works hard together to support the high standards in the school.

“We’ve always done well but it’s nice to be at the top.”

The ethos in this small, Catholic school is built around family values and everyone caring for one another, and indeed the school community is like a small family – the staff base their teaching around such beliefs and parents are very much involved in all sorts of activities.

And even though St Mary’s is a church school, it is also open to non-Catholics and Mr Harrison says that they feel very much a part of the school family.

“We also have very supportive parents – this morning, for example, some of them did cycling proficiency with the children, and on Wednesday mornings, they accompany children to the swimming pool,” he said.

The school’s chaplain, Father Tim Bywater, also plays a large and supportive role in the school family, coming into the school for lunch and chats with the children. The very active Parent Teacher Association (PTA) raised a massive £25,000 – or 10 per cent – towards the building works that have just been completed in the school.

“Everyone worked so hard – and it was all worth it,” said Mr Harrison.

These building works, which cost half a million pounds in all, included the construction of two new classrooms, extending the school hall and converting one of the classrooms into a library – all of which have proved invaluable assets to the school, according to Mr Harrison, although, he says, they still strive to keep the small, all-encompassing feeling to the school, which currently has 94 pupils on its roll.

The hall extension has allowed more activities to take place, including PE lessons, larger assemblies and school productions, of which there are several each year, including a nativity play at Christmas for Foundation and Key Stage 1, and end of term celebrations, as well as performances by the school orchestra – a joint orchestra with next-door Malton CP School.

“We have very good links with Malton CP School, we share the same site with them, so that’s very important,” said Mr Harrison.

As well as having an active musical scene – there’s also a recorder group which practises regularly – St Mary’s also has strong sporting activities and is part of the local schools sports cluster, taking part in monthly tournaments, including golf and tennis.

The school also plays an active role in the wider local community, with charity fundraising playing a large part.

The quiet garden, which was designed and built in 2000, is an ideal place for children to sit, think and reflect, and parents spend a lot of time maintaining the garden.

“We are having a garden Mass at the end of the academic year, when the bishop will officially open the new parts of the school and celebrate and bless the school – it will be a nice finish to the year,” said Mr Harrison.

The school has four classes and the teaching staff strive hard to make sure that all subjects taught in the curriculum are vibrant and exciting, to stimulate the children’s learning.

“We like to celebrate successes – we have a ‘star worker of the week’, but it’s not just academic successes that are celebrated, it’s also sporting and musical achievements – it’s very important that all children feel valued,” added Mr Harrison.

One of the successes of the school that was highlighted by North Yorkshire County Council which was the close work between classes one and two, where Year 1 children swap from one class to the other, depending on the activity.

“The class teachers work very closely together and the results have been great, and it makes the transition between classes easier for the children,” said Mr Harrison.

“There are always exciting things going on in the school and it’s a great place to be,” said Mr Harrison.

“It’s a wonderful school and we are very proud of it.”

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