Shailesh Vara, Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire, will tomorrow attend a school assembly at Abbots Ripton Church of England Primary School to present the school council with a special plaque to celebrate the children’s’ success for being selected as runners up in the Speaker’s School Council Awards 2011.
Over 800 school councils across the United Kingdom registered to enter the awards scheme. From this, a shortlist of 5 schools was drawn up from each of the 4 age categories (4 to 7, 7 to 11, 11 to 16 and 16 to 18). The shortlist was then presented to a panel of judges who selected one winner from each age category.
Abbots Ripton Primary School was chosen as runners up for the 7 to 11 age category. The school council was picked for its efforts in transforming playtimes to make them much happier and safer, with fewer disputes and any conflict arising being settled by students.
Mr Vara said:
“I am delighted to present the prestigious Speaker’s Award to Abbots Ripton School. The school council should be very proud of their efforts as they were competing against an impressive pool of applicants. I wish them continued success.”
Miss Helen Wilman, Head Teacher of Abbots Ripton Primary School, also said:
“We are delighted to be a runner up in this competition. However, what makes it more special is that the MP can attend and present this fabulous award. I know that the school council are particularly looking forward to Mr Vara’s visit.”