Turnaround in its fortunes

Head teacher Hannah Tudor credits the school’s success with her staff’s belief in the capabilities of their 206 pupils.

She said: “The school has come a long way since its Ofsted inspection. A few years ago, people would have said it’s not possible, but through the ethos and character of the school we’ve achieved this.

“We’ve got an amazing staff team - everything we do is about the children. We make sure the children get the best possible education experience they can. We believe the children can achieve very highly, and they do because we believe they can.

“We are very, very focused on how we teach them core subjects, and we make sure that nobody is falling through the net.”

Selling Primary School has also shown an impressive turnaround, with a 30% boost to children’s progress since 2017 and 85% of its pupils now hitting expected targets in core subjects.

Executive head teacher Kristina Dyer said: “I am really pleased with the recently published progress scores for Selling CEP, which is part of The Village Academy.

“This reflects the commitment and hard work of both the pupils and the teachers in my school. We promote a strong ethos of supporting children to be ambitious in their learning and we are proud to be one of the top performing schools for Key Stage 2, and also to have achieved improved results in Key Stage 1, phonics and early years.”

‘A few years ago, people would have said it’s not possible, but through the ethos and character of the school we’ve achieved this’

www.kentonline.co.uk

Newsdesk: 01227 475985

www.kentonline.co.uk

But ‘tis the season to be merry, so you have to expect some added revelry in the bars and clubs inevitably spilling onto the city’s streets.

For the vast majority it will be no more than that, but for a few, the excess alcohol can lead to drunken disturbances - and that is true for any town or city with a vibrant nightlife.

Refreshingly, however, the number of police calls to incidents at bars and clubs in the city has fallen significantly in recent years.

Some of that must be credited to the ‘civilians’ whose job or mission it is to make sure everyone is safe at a time of stretched police resources.

And that includes the city door security staff who have long shaken off their old ‘bouncer bully boy’ image to fulfil a vital support role in keeping the peace in venues and outside premises.

They have an extremely difficult job, often in the face of provocation, as Gazette reporter Jack Dyson reports this week after he spent a night in the company of a well-established city security firm.

Fortunately, they are not alone, and other support, albeit in a slightly different capacity, comes from the street pastors who particularly look out for the vulnerable, and CCTV camera operators who quick spotting any developing ugly scenes and alert the authorities.

Together it adds up to a city centre that has an integrated system which helps make Canterbury’s nightlife safe and enjoyable.

But the responsibility still rests with individuals for their own behaviour, some who may on occasion need reminding they can still be merry without causing mischief.