AS pupils at Whitley Village School spent their first day back in the classroom and playground after lockdown, their head teacher is looking to the future.

“As a school, we are steadfast in our belief that this will not be a lost generation,” said Russell David. 

“We will not let that happen due to our personalised support and passion for each child’s development and wellbeing. We are all excited about the future and the great things that our learners will achieve.”

Despite having to close with just 40 per cent the school’s pupils able to attend during the latest lockdown, the popular village school school ran live lessons for those home schooling every day and provided support packs to help reduce screen time. 

But like in so many schools across the country, pupils at the Village Lane school in Higher Whitely were over moon to be back in with their friends and teachers and it was agreed by all that there’s no substitute for being back together.

“We cannot wait to move forward again and maintain our great standards,” added Mr David.

“As a small school, we are very much a family,” added Mr David. “Our parents have been absolutely fantastic and really supported us. This was all despite many of them being really busy and balancing heavy work commitments themselves. They were simply amazing!

“We had made huge progress in the autumn term and were delighted with the children's achievements. All of our children reached the expected standard in phonics and our Year One remains on track. 

“I was very proud of the efforts of our staff during this lockdown and their amazing attitude and willingness to do whatever they could for our learners. Whitley is an amazing school, and we are really excited to be supporting our learners in the next part of their learning journey.”