Joy as Epinay School nominated for national ‘Overall School of the Year Award’

Staff at Epinay School, on Nevinson Avenue in South Shields, are celebrating being nominated for the ‘Overall School of the Year Award’ at the Education Today Awards 2023.

The nomination means that the school is just one of six across the country in the running to win the category at the ceremony in London on Friday, December 8.

Chris Rue, the head teacher at Epinay School, has told the Shields Gazette that the mood among the school’s community is high after the surprise nomination.

He said: “I got a phone call out of the blue from Education Today to let me know that we had been shortlisted for the Overall School of the Year Award.

“It was fantastic because we had to be nominated by someone and then had managed to hit all of the judges criteria to make the final list.

“It has been an amazing year with everything that has happened so far and the entire team of staff just feel like we are flying at the moment.

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“September is always a really busy time of the school year due to it being a new term with new students and often new school so this nomination just furthers the togetherness that we all have.

“It is also fantastic for our school community and I can’t thank the parents, carers and the local authority enough for all their support.”

The nomination follows Epinay School receiving an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating in September, following an inspection at the end of the previous school year.