Schools Minister Nick Gibb visits White Cliffs Primary
in Dover

by Graham
Tutthill

Schools Minister Nick Gibb has praised
the staff and pupils at a Dover school for the way it has been
transformed.

Four years ago St Radigund’s Primary
School was named as the worst in the country. But it then joined
the Dover Federation for the Arts, was given a new name, White
Cliffs Primary College for the Arts, and has now been rated as
outstanding by Ofsted.

Together with Barton Junior School,
which also belongs to the Federation, the school was one of the top
100 most improved for key stage two results and Mr Gibb wrote to
the schools congratulating them on their achievement.

But he wanted to see for himself the work that had been
done and he visited both schools, as well as Shatterlocks
Infants School and Astor College for the Arts on Monday, January
31.

He met head teacher Sue Knight
Fotheringham (pictured above with some of the pupils) visited
several classes at White Cliffs Primary College and in year six he
heard all about bananas and how they were a war-time luxury from
pupil Sophie Holdstock who read out some of her work.

Mr Gibb described the improvement the
school had made as "stratospheric" and said he was particularly
impresssed by the year six class and the letter Sophie read out.
"It was astonishing, the vocabulary and the expressive way she read
it, I was very impressed. It is clear the children in that class
have read a lot of books.

"I wish we could spread this kind of
achievement across the country."

Full story and pictures in this week's
Dover Mercury, out on Thursday.