Following Sir Edward’s press release in December about four of the top 10 primary schools in Leicestershire being in his constituency, he has been visiting the primary schools to congratulate them and their pupils. After visiting St Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Market Harborough last month to meet one of the winners of the Magna Carta competition and to commend the school on its outstanding results, Sir Edward visited the Great Bowden Academy on Friday, 26 February.
He said: “It was a pleasure to meet the staff and pupils at the Great Bowden Academy. I helped the Headteacher, Stef Edwards, last year with regard to the extension to the school hall and its kitchen, so I was delighted to go there last week to see the extra space and new facilities. I was of course also pleased to hear of the excellent SATS results, all thanks to the hard work of all the teachers, staff and parents of the pupils.”
Stef Edwards, the Headteacher, said: “Pupils and staff at Great Bowden Academy had lots of reasons to be delighted to welcome Sir Edward to school on Friday 26th February. They were proud to show him their fabulous new classrooms, refurbished and extended school hall and new music room. Staff in the new production kitchen were preparing to serve lunches, so popular now that they are freshly cooked on site. Pupils in Year 6 enjoyed helping him to master addition of fractions using the Singapore Bar Model, expertly supported by Great Bowden Academy's own NCETM trainee Maths Mastery Specialist Teacher. This was a lovely opportunity to celebrate the academy's recent achievements in teaching and learning, with great results in core subjects and awards in Science, Art and Music over the last few months. I particularly appreciated the chance to discuss with Sir Edward some of the current issues affecting education in Leicestershire.”