School wins £5,000 – for a messy classroom

A WARRINGTON primary school has won a prize of £5,000 in a national competition to develop an idea that would improve school life.
Great Sankey Primary will use the money to build a new “splat shed” outdoor classroom.
The “Schools We’d Like” competition was run by The Guardian newspaper and encouraged students and teachers to work together to develop an idea that would improve school life for the wider school community.
Children, parents and staff produced ideas and the concept they chose to enter into the competition was a ‘splat shed’ – an outdoor classroom where children can make a mess.
For the grand final in London, staff and pupils from the school visited the newspaper’s headquarters in London, met journalists and even got the chance to write a newspaper front page to deadline.
Head teacher Vicky Briggs said: “We sent off the entry with the idea that, no matter what, the whole school had been involved and it had given me a true insight into what the children wanted.
“We couldn’t believe our luck when we heard we had reached the semi-finals. Two children presented our pitch to the judges and then when we found out we had made it through to the grand final in London we couldn’t believe it!
“The children were outstanding and no matter what the result, we were bursting with pride at the way they presented themselves and our school. We are now extremely excited to get things moving with the new classroom.”
Eleni Ioannides, the borough council’s interim director of families and wellbeing, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the school and it is great news that this idea will now come to life.”
The school’s Parent and Friends Association have also donated £5000 to the project and the school is working with the council to get the project started.
Pictured: Pupils Amelia Moore and Daniel Dean receiving the cheque.