Minister praises Woodley school
A WOODLEY primary school is celebrating having received not one, but three letters of congratulation from a government minister.
MP Damian Hinds wrote to St Dominic Savio Catholic primary school, following pupils’ outstanding academic achievements in last year’s academic assessments.
Headteacher Laura Hulland, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have these letters from Mr Hinds.
“They arrived one after another, which only added to the surprise and delight.
“As a school we work hard to help our children achieve academic success right across the school.
“Our school motto is ‘work hard, be kind’, and that is exactly what our children have been doing.
“Naturally, they are delighted to have done so well, but I’m very pleased that they have also shown kindness in the way that they have supported one another, and celebrated each others’ success.”
In the 2023 multiplication tables check, the children’s average score of 24.3 out of 25, confirming St Dominic as one of the top 200 performing schools in England.
The school also scored highly in last year’s reading, writing, and mathematics Key Stage 2 assessments.
And its KS2 results, where 92% of children either reached or exceeded the expected standard, put the school in the top 1% of primary schools in the country.
The children also excelled in the phonics screening check, when 98% of pupils in Year 1 met the expected standard, ranking St Dominic among the top 2% of all primary schools in the country.
“Our success is down to the hard work of all our staff and pupils,” said Mrs Hulland. “We pride ourselves on being a family at St Dominic Savio, and we believe that every child can achieve, regardless of
their background.
“Our staff are particularly dedicated. They work very hard, go above and beyond, and often give up their own time to support the children’s learning.”
In his letters to the school Dominic Hinds said that multiplication and division skills are important for progression in maths, and that the tables check helps teachers to identify children who need help in this area.
He also said the government wants to ensure that every child has the necessary fluency of reading, writing and mathematics to prepare them for successful secondary school entry.
He praised the school for teaching phonics and early reading, which he said gives its pupils a firm foundation to help them develop a lifelong love of reading.
“We are delighted that the success of our pupils was seen right across the board, from our youngest children right up to our Year 6 students,” continued Mrs Hulland.
“It comes at a time, following the pandemic, when many schools are facing challenges with attendance and commitment.
“I’d like to thank our dedicated staff, our extremely supportive parents, who help to ensure that our pupils can do their best, and all our hard working children. “Congratulations to them all. “They have achieved exceptionally high results, and I know that they will continue to give their best efforts and go on to even greater successes.”
The school is planning a celebratory history project which they hope former pupils and staff may be able to help them with.
They ask anyone with a link to the school to dig out any old photographs, letters, or newspaper cuttings they may have about St Dominic Savio, for inclusion in a collection of memories to mark the school’s success over the years.