Proud to be leading the way in reading and maths

A Government minister has congratulated a primary school after its results put it in the top 1% of schools nationally for reading and maths.

All pupils at Archbishop Cranmer Church of England Primary Academy, Aslockton, who sat end-of-school exams in reading and maths last year reached or exceeded the expected standard.

The school received a letter of congratulations from school standards minister Mr Nick Gibb.

In his letter, Mr Gibb said: “We want to ensure that every child has the necessary fluency in reading and in mathematics to prepare them for a successful secondary education and beyond, and your school has provided this to all your pupils.

“Thank you for your hard work and professionalism in producing such high standards and congratulations again to you and your staff for all you have achieved.”

The head, Mrs Kate Watson, said the results were testament to all the hard work of teachers and pupils.

She said: “We feel incredibly proud of the children and staff.

“It is a brilliant letter to receive and it validates everything we do.

“Everyone here works so hard and goes above and beyond and to get something like that makes it all worthwhile.

“We have a strong team of high-quality staff and our expectations are high.”

'We put the children first'

Mrs Watson, who has been head at Archbishop Cranmer for five years, said all parents said their children felt safe and well looked-after.

She said the school ensured children developed personally as well as academically by providing development opportunities in areas such as drama, art and sport.

“We put the children first and we place equal value on their personal development and on their academic development,” she said.

“It is not just about reading, writing and maths. It is about knowing who they are and knowing who they want to become and making sure they get an opportunity.

“Children are aware of what is expected of them, whether that is in sport, reading or art.”

Mrs Watson, who is from Newark, trained at Nottingham Trent University and began her teaching career in 1997.

She was a teacher at St Peter’s Primary School, East Bridgford, before moving to Woodborough Woods Foundation School.

Mrs Watson was deputy head at Woodborough for six years and briefly acting head.

She moved to Archbishop Cranmer five years ago and under her leadership it became a founding member of the Aspire Multi-Academy Trust, a partnership involving five schools in Nottinghamshire.

As part of the partnership, Mrs Watson is also executive head of Gunthorpe primary.

Archbishop Cranmer was rated outstanding in a National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools report three years ago.

Inspectors were impressed with the school’s ethos, which they said fostered strong academic results.