This is the third time a Potter Street student has won the KS1 & 2 accolade, the first being in 2017, and the second time our school has won the title of School of Outstanding Student Progression Overall for Key Stages 1 & 2.

This year’s winner, Leon Cousins, made phenomenal progress whilst at our school, despite experiencing great trauma in his life. Between 2017 and early 2020, Leon faced a series of devastating events in his personal life that many of us will never experience. But despite this, Leon remained a determined and resilient young man who wanted to achieve his very best. He worked with staff to access extra support in lessons and engaged in the range of emotional support the school offered. Working tremendously hard to catch up on lost learning, by the time Lockdown #1 began, Leon had made over two years’ progress in six months and was on track to pass his SATs tests. Not only that, Leon contributed to the school community and became class representative on the school council, impressing his peers with his positive, can-do attitude, and was elected vice-chair. Leon also deputised for the house captain, and confidently addressed the whole school during assemblies. 

One of Leon’s former teachers commented: 'Leon is always full of positivity; he has outstanding manners and showed the school values at all times. He always speaks to you in such a lovely way with a positive energy. This was amazing to see considering he was so in tune with the horrible things that had happened in his life. He was always a brilliant, caring role model for all of the younger children in the school. You could always find Leon helping others. He was determined to always put a smile on the face of everyone he spoke to, even if at the time he was not always in the best place himself.'

Executive Headteacher, Miss Bloomfield added: ‘This is such great news during these challenging times. It’s wonderful that Leon has been recognised for his hard work and dedication to learning; he very much deserves the award. As a school, we try to go above and beyond to provide support to all of our families and the local community.  We’re proud that the work of our staff is worthwhile and has such a positive impact on the lives of our children.'