Liverpool primary school celebrates a year of success

St Mary’s College Preparatory School recently organised a special event to highlight the achievements of its pupils this academic year.

The Concert Room at St George’s Hall was the new venue for the prize-giving ceremony hosted by the Blundellsands-based school.

The VIP guest at this year’s event was local sporting legend Gill Burns MBE. Gill is one of the most influential figures in the history of women’s rugby.

A former England Captain and Rugby World Cup winner, Gill represented her country on 73 occasions. She also played a key role in paving the way for the popular professional women’s game we know today.

Following her playing career, Gill served as president of the Rugby Football Union for Women, and was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.

She has also continued to champion women’s rugby and inspire young players through:

• Leadership roles
• Mentoring schemes
• Community projects
• Charitable work

In her interesting and wide-ranging speech, Gill encouraged pupils to aim high in whatever they do:

“My advice to you is to make the most of all your opportunities – give things a try no matter how scary they may seem.

“I guarantee that if you work hard enough you will reap the rewards and – equally importantly – very much enjoy your journey.”

Elsewhere at the event, the audience heard that the preparatory school had once again achieved excellent academic results.

They also saw pupils collect prizes and awards recognising their success in a wide range of extracurricular activities including:

• Music
• Drama
• Sport
• Charity work

It also included a special new award for inclusion, presented to deaf Year 6 pupil, Theo Sankson. The award will be presented annually and bear his name in the future.

Meanwhile, as well as the prize-giving, guests were able to enjoy a series of choral and instrumental performances by the preparatory school pupils.

Commenting on the event, headmaster, Jonathan Webster, said:

“This annual event is very important to the school, an evening dedicated to celebrating the achievements, effort and character of our children.

“Each and every award reflects something meaningful about the recipient – their progress, perseverance, talent or contribution to school life – and the event as a whole demonstrates the value of belonging to a school community in which every child is known and valued.”

In his review of the year Mr Webster also pointed out that pupils had represented the school in more than 80 sports fixtures. They had also performed in a range of musical events including the annual St Mary’s at the Philharmonic concert.

This year, children had the opportunity to take part in a number of residential trips including Austria, Keswick and York, as well as more than 20 other visits closer to home.

The school also supported numerous charities during the year, and welcomed a large number of visitors from external organisations, focusing on topics as diverse as deaf awareness, Chinese culture and politics.

St Mary’s College Principal, Mike Kennedy, commented:

“This was a very special evening and I would like to pay tribute to the whole Preparatory School community for creating such a caring and loving environment in which our children can grow, learn and succeed.”