School is a real class act

2:53pm Thursday 27th March 2008

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WOW. That's the only word to describe the state-of-the-art facilities at Pickering Community Junior School.

As you approach the 100-year-old building via a leafy drive, little do you suspect that the very latest in educational technology has been accommodated within the grounds.

For a start, the newest classroom has an attached observation room with one-way glass, a sound system able to focus from table to table and a monitor showing what's on the interactive whiteboard.

"This is great for training purposes. It means we can observe a lesson and discuss teaching techniques without disrupting a class at all, " said headteacher Andrew Clark, clearly excited by the possibilities of the kit, which is in use in only two schools in the country as far as he knows.

And that's not all. There's an impressive IT suite with no fewer than 34 wall-mounted monitors and a soundproofed music room for ensemble work and individual instrumental music lessons including woodwind, brass, strings and percussion.

Outside, there is a new covered playground enabling all-weather playtimes, complete with outdoor table tennis and picnic tables, lighting and power supply. Then there's the new, brightly-coloured sports equipment, cleverly designed to provide a netball and basketball court as well as a football pitch.

"With 282 children you need space, " said Mr Clark. "But you also need points of interest to keep them purposefully engaged."

Wherever you look in the school, which has 10 classes and 30 members of staff, children are purposefully engaged. On the day I visited, science week was in full swing, and the school hall was a hive of experiments, with each class running a stall for parents and other pupils to see what they'd been working on.

One stall had a conductor test, with batteries and wires set up to test which materials -chocolate, kitchen foil, stone - conducted electricity. Pupil Abigail Pollard explained why she thought the experiment was a good thing: "It can tell you answers that you didn't know before, " she said.

Assistant headteacher Simon England said: "We forget 90 per cent of what we read, 80 per cent of what we're told, but at least 50 per cent of what we actually do goes in, so there is no substitute for first hand experience."

Earlier in the term, the school held a European week, and it has strong links with schools in Hungary, Swede, Germany Italy and Poland.

Teachers from the schools visit Pickering Community Primary School and likewise the Pickering teachers travel to them, as part of the International Comenius project.

As a junior school, it is dedicated to Key Stage 2 pupils aged between seven and 11, linking the town's community infant school with the secondary school, Lady Lumley's, nearby.

Although unusual, this system proves a recipe for success. Mr Clark explained: "An Ofsted inspector said that often when you find separate junior and infant schools you find excellence in both, whereas in combined schools you find excellence in either infant or junior teaching. So it is as though you get two specialist schools."

A full national curriculum is followed and French in addition, and it is enriched with contemporary dance, ICT, a web team, a digital photography club, school band, sport, knitting club, eco team, art club, and much more.

The school is proud of its special needs provision and Chris Williamson, special needs co-ordinator for the school, will soon be working full time, dividing her attention 60/40 between children who need extra support and gifted and talented youngsters.

She said: "Our extensive special needs department, in keeping with the school as a whole, is committed to promoting inclusion for all our pupils. The school holds two county quality marks: the dyslexia mark and the inclusion quality mark, both of which acknowledge the school's arrangements in targeting access to the curriculum for children with a wide range of needs."

The school boasts a string of other gongs too, including the Arts Council Artsmark, Investor in People, an Activemark from Sports England and a healthy schools award. It's the first primary or secondary school in North Yorkshire to receive an ICT mark, for outstanding success and provision for ICT.

Sadly, this year marks the end of an era, as Mr Clark is retiring when the academic year finishes. The school, which was originally a grammar school built in 1903, became a junior school in 1964. In its history there have been just two headteachers. Mr Clark said: "Ray Corderly was the first. He was an excellent headteacher and still lives in the town." Mr Clark, who took over in 1988, has overseen some fantastic developments at this high achieving school, which has enjoyed huge investment since 1997. "It has set the scene for future generations to get the benefit, " he said. "I feel privileged to have been able to work with such high quality people during the 20 years I have been here, whose skills, commitment and warmth have served these excellent children so well. The town has a wonderful school here."