High-achieving pupils at St Oswald's RC Primary School, in Nash Avenue, Whiteleas, met the Foreign Secretary during his tour of the constituency last Friday.

He met headteacher Irene Pallas, who has worked at the school for 40 years, 17 as headteacher.

On his tour of the school, he joined children in reception classes who were playing games in the schoolyard, watched as children in Year 5 tackled maths problems, and helped Year 6 pupils working on imaginative story writing projects.

The school was rated as 'outstanding' after an Ofsted report last year.
Mr Miliband said: "This is a fantastic, thriving school with a good community spirit. I saw many innovative learning techniques being used at the school, which looked to be very effective.

"I was very impressed by how vibrant the atmosphere was. The children seemed to love learning.

"It was great to meet the headteacher, who has been working at the school for 40 years. Her dedication to the school and the welfare of the pupils there should be applauded."

Mrs Pallas, who guided him around the school, said: "We were delighted that David Miliband could take time out of his busy schedule as Foreign Secretary and South Shields MP to visit.

"I've been at this school for 40 years, and all of the staff here have helped create a school where each child is valued, and each child understands the importance of learning."

After his tour, the MP visited Gainsborough Avenue Day Centre in Whiteleas, where he unveiled a plaque commemorating the centre's 30th anniversary.

Whiteleas Coun Ernest Gibson said: "It's fantastic that the volunteers and users of the day centre are celebrating 30 years of being open.

"It's a great centre. Mr Miliband spoke to the group who run it, and congratulated them on a job well done.

"They were pleased that he'd agreed to come along and unveil the plaque, along with myself and Coun Bill Brady"