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Outstanding effort by ever-present pupils
A SOUTH Tyneside school is celebrating an “outstanding” turnaround in attendance levels.
More than 50 children at Marine Park Primary School, in Hatfield Square, South Shields, achieved 100 per cent attendance during the autumn term, from September to December 2011.
Over the same period, 115 of the school’s 200 children turned up 95 per cent of the time, ensuring the school met a target set by the Government.
Now all 52 children who achieved maximum attendance have been awarded bronze badges as part of an Olympic-themed reward scheme.
Shirley Ford, the school’s attendance officer, said: “We are delighted that a huge number of our children have reached the maximum figure. 52 pupils out of 200 is exactly double the number from the 2010 autumn term.
“We have been helped by milder weather, but it has also been down to the extra efforts we’ve made to encourage better attendance.
“Attendance is a constant challenge for us, and we have had challenging times in the past, but our figures are getting better.
“These figures are outstanding for us and the pupils, and their parents deserve a lot of credit.”
Staff at Marine Park have worked hard in recent years to improve attendance figures. This school has incorporated incentives into the curriculum, including a lantern parade at Christmas.
If the maximum attenders keep up their 100 per cent record in the spring term, they will get a silver badge, while a gold badge will be on offer to children who turn up every day until the end of the summer term in July.
Mrs Ford added: “The badge scheme has been a tremendous success. The children have been so motivated to get their badge they have been wanting to come to school even when they are not feeling well.
“We admire their attitude, but of course we don’t want children to come to school if they are genuinely unwell.”
Parents joined staff and pupils at Marine Park School for a special assembly on Friday to celebrate the latest attendance figures. The children received certificates, and bronze medals were given to those with 100 percent attendance.
Back in July last year, the Gazette reported how former pupil Charlotte Charlton, 11, maintained 100 per cent attendance for seven years at Marine Park Primary School, before moving on to Harton Technology College, at Lisle Road, South Shields.
joseph.tulip@northeast-press.co.uk
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Thursday 23 February 2012
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