On Friday, 11th November, I attended the celebration assembly at Mapledene Primary School in Birmingham, to surprise two children – Jensen and Alice.
Thank you to the head teacher, Miss. Stephenson, and the parents for keeping this a secret. Everyone was excited when I entered the hall and made me feel very welcome indeed. It was a very emotional assembly for Armistice Day with Year 6 performing a song they had prepared. There was an abundance of certificates to be awarded; how wonderful to see the children rewarded in such a way, real encouragement for their ongoing learning.
I was thrilled to be able to present an ‘exceptional achievement award’ to Jenson Whitehouse for all the effort he went to on World Book Day and the book launch party for the ‘Return of Saint Nick’, where he came dressed as Lord Ted – this had to be recognised.
But I was also there to present the ‘Lord Ted Fan Club member of the year award’ for 2022 and Amazon voucher to Alice McVeighty - and return her ‘lost’ Peter Rabbit. Alice loves books, animals, dancing and singing and her favourite teddy is a monkey called Ben. Alice was a finalist for our recent competition. She is also, very impressively, Twycross Zoo’s Young Conservationist-in-Chief for this year and is happiest when reading, dancing or with animals. She loves visiting her local library and calls her librarians by their first names and often stamps her own books out. She has been saying since reception she wants to be head girl at Mapledene in Year 6 - what an inspirational young lady!
I really enjoyed my visit to Alice’s class in Year 3 and later Year 6 for an impromptu Q&A session – it’s humbling to see so many children engaged with what I am trying to achieve so thank you for the opportunity.
What a wonderful school, amazing teaching staff and incredible children who are a credit not only to Mapledene School and their teachers but to their parents too.
Well done Jensen and Alice
