Pupils and staff at Kell Bank Primary School near Masham will bid farewell to their school for good with a walk, hand in hand, around the playground.
Today is the last day of term and as North Yorkshire County Council has issued a closure notice for August 31, the 200-year-old school will not reopen.
Over the past few months, the school has been celebrating its history and local impact, culminating in a memory exhibition last week and a ceremony to plant a tree and dedicate a bench yesterday.
The ceremony began with a leaver’s service at St Paul’s Church in Healey before the students, staff and parents walked down to Fearby Village Green.
Beatrice and Rev. David Cleese cut the ribbon to dedicate the bench and tree
An oak tree and bench, dedicated to the school, is now in place. Youngest pupil Beatrice cut the ribbon with Rev. David Cleese, a long-standing governor.
The memory exhibition included items spanning the past 100 years as well as photographs and entries from previous headteachers’ diaries.
School governor Laurie Hoyes, who helped organise the three-day event, said they welcomed around 200 people in total.
Mr Hoyes said:
“Children, parents, staff and governors will be saddened when today comes to a close, but we are pleased we had the opportunity to give thanks for the 200 years Kell Bank School has educated the children of our community.”
Past and present pupils trying out the new bench on Fearby Green.
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The six remaining pupils will be moved to different schools; the two Year 6s are going to secondary schools in Ripon and Bedale.
For the younger children’s ease and wellbeing their parents chose similar small, rural schools; two are going to Thornton Watlass Primary School and the other two are moving house so will be attending schools elsewhere in the district.
Harrogate primary school wins £260,000 to improve safeguardingA primary school in Harrogate has won £260,000 of government funding to improve safeguarding measures.
Bilton Grange Primary School applied last year to the Condition Improvement Fund, which awards grants to schools for capital projects.
A school spokesperson said it was “brilliant news” it had been chosen and more detailed plans on how the funding will be spent would be discussed next week.
Bilton Grange is one of five North Yorkshire primary schools that belong to Yorkshire Collaborative Academy Trust, which together received £1 million. The other four schools are all outside the Harrogate district.
The CIF fund is designed to keep schools safe and in good working order. This includes health and safety issues, building compliance and poor building conditions.
Aspin Park Academy in Knaresborough got a new roof and fire safety system after it received £500,000 from the fund in December 2019.
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The Bilton and Knaresborough schools both worked with Leeds property consultants Eddisons to secure funding.
Since 2016, Eddisons has raised more than £100 million in successful CIF bids on behalf of schools and colleges.
Ian Harrington, building and project consultancy head at Eddisons, said:
First-choice primary school for 95% of North Yorkshire families“The CIF projects really are essential to creating a better learning and work environment for both students and staff at schools and colleges across the UK.”
In North Yorkshire, 95% of families have secured their first choice of primary school for their child.
Today, many families will have breathed a sigh of relief after receiving news of where their child will attend primary school in September.
A total of 94.91% of families received a place at their first-choice school and 98% got one of their top three preferences.
One Stray Ferret reader said she was “over the moon” her daughter had been offered a place at their preferred school.
Another got in touch to say their child would also be starting at their first-choice school in the next academic year, but remarked that her child had grown up so fast as they still “seem too little”.
Similar high percentages were seen in March when older children received their high school places. Nine out of ten children in the county secured a place at their first-choice high school.
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Stuart Carlton, corporate director of children and young people’s services, said:
Harrogate primary school joins catholic academy trust“We are pleased that so many families continue to gain the first preference from their choice of schools and that the percentage remains consistently high.
“As a local authority we work hard with all North Yorkshire schools to ensure they deliver the highest standards of education so that families who are not given first preferences can still send their children to good schools.
“We wish all children starting primary school in September all the best and hope they experience a happy and exciting start in their new schools.”
St Robert’s Primary School has today become the third school in the Harrogate district to join a catholic academy trust based in Leeds.
The primary school, on Ainsty Road in Harrogate, is now part of the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust.
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Harrogate and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Knaresborough already belong to the trust, which now has 11 schools in north and west Yorkshire.
St Robert’s has 276 pupils, aged 5-11. Although many are catholic, it admits children of all faiths.
Headteacher Jill Collins said:
“The support and care we have been given over the last year shows how the trust will enable St Robert’s to continue providing an outstanding Catholic education to our children.”
The school was rated ‘outstanding’ in its latest Ofsted inspection. Chair of governors, Dr Matt Blackamore said:
“We are so pleased to be joining our fellow Catholic schools in the Bishop Wheeler Trust and we are looking forward to working closely with them to continue providing great education together.”
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Darren Beardsley, interim chief executive of the trust, said bringing another school into the trust helped to fulfil the vision of the Bishop of Leeds, the Right Reverend Marcus Stock, of a family of schools working together to share resources and raise education standards.
The trust is named after Bishop William Gordon Wheeler, who was Bishop of Leeds from 1966 to 1985.
It is one of five multi-academy trusts in the Diocese of Leeds. It plans to expand in the next few years to include 18 Catholic schools in the area.
Vandals target Bilton primary schoolPolice are appealing for information after vandals damaged Richard Taylor Church of England Primary School in Bilton yesterday.
A classroom window was smashed and the roof of a wooden pavilion damaged.
North Yorkshire Police is appealing for anyone who may have seen people on the school premises since it closed last week to come forward.
The force said in a statement:
“The school has recently suffered a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour, all of which has caused alarm to the school community.”
A member of staff at the school told the Stray Ferret it had found empty vodka bottles on the premises.
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Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Geeta Maharjan. You can also email geeta.maharjan2@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Quote reference number 12200241866.