Preston primary school staff nominated for national awards

Next Wednesday, June 23, marks the Thank a Teacher day nationally, where children and parents take time to thank their teachers for their efforts.

Pupils will have a chance to give medals out to their teachers to thank them for all their efforts after a year that meant schools were forced to 're-write the rule book' according to Headteacher Azra Butt.

The news comes as the Primary school is up for three national awards - with staff nominated for the English and Science teams of the year in the TES School Awards 2021, as well as the computing manager Christian Aspinall, qualifying for the 'Digital Innovator Award' in the BBC National Teaching Awards 2021.

Headteacher Azra Butt said: "It has been such a difficult year and every day has brought with it different changes and challenges. Our staff have worked so hard and they deserve to feel like they are a million dollars.

"There have been constantly changing Public Health England announcements and as a school, we have had to re-write the rule book and adapt constantly to keep everybody safe which has been such a struggle, I don't know how we managed it.

"We have cracked on with the day job and have achieved so much and I am so proud of all our staff and they deserve a day where we thank them for all they have done for us. We are so proud that our staff are being recognised for all their efforts and we can't wait to find out if they have won."

The children at Eldon Primary School will finally be able to enjoy their own racetrack and outdoor sports facilities from next week, where they will also be handing out the medals to their teachers for their efforts during the pandemic.

And to mark the occasion, the school will be official opening their new outdoor track facility, which is a first for the school that currently has no suitable green space for the students.

Headteacher Mrs Azra Butt said that their new running track will finally give pupils at the school a chance to exercise outdoors and help to encourage a healthier lifestyle.

She said: "We are thrilled to be launching our new track on Thank a Teacher Day. We are trying to get our students excited about living a healthier lifestyle and want to encourage them to make use of the new track.

"We had it especially designed just for us because we have no green grass on our site. Our children don't have the same stamina as other schools in competitions because they don't have the same outdoor space to practise and play sports and we wanted to change that.

"We have a wonderful base around ten minutes away from the school with our Burrow that recently opened, and we have a wonderful forest there too for our students to explore.

"I hope this will help promote the physicality of our children and we can't wait to start hosting our sports days there now and using our own land, with the children exercising in the open air. It is a great way for them to be active and have daily PE lessons outside.

"All the children will arrive in their sports kits and will have a chance to experience the track one class at a time and will do as many miles as they can between them."

The track, which is due to be completed by next Tuesday, June 22, is on a different site ten minutes from the school on Eldon Street, with Headteacher Azra Butt now appealing for volunteers to lend a hand in the community.