Head teacher’s tender note to her pupils will warm your heart

A primary school tells its children that within its ethos there is much more to each of them than their exam results.

A primary school in Lancashire has been overwhelmed with support after the head sent a tender and unusual letter to pupils following their exam results.

Children at Barrowford school in Nelson, near Burnley, were told that the school was “very proud” of their effort in the Key Stage 2 (KS2) tests, but went on: “We are concerned that these tests do not always assess all of what it is that make each of you special and unique.“

The letter, from head Rachel Tomlinson along with another member of staff, told children: “The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you – the way your teachers do, the way I hope to, and certainly not the way your families do. They do not know that many of you speak two languages. They do not know that you can play a musical instrument or that you can dance or paint a picture. They do not know that your friends count on you to be there for them or that your laughter can brighten the dreariest day.“

Sarah Metcalfe, the head’s PA, said the school had been “overwhelmed by how the letter seems to have captured the public’s imagination” after it went viral on Twitter. Another staff member said the school prided itself on having “a very different ethos from almost any other school”. The school’s motto is “Learn to love, love to learn” and it aims to ensure are pupils are “rounded and grounded”, with the “ultimate goal” to “provide individuals with the ability to learn what we need to in whatever circumstances we find ourselves”.

Read the Head teachers note in full >>