Ben Chapman has visited St John Plessington Catholic College to congratulate the staff and children on reaching the final of the School of the Year Award. Recently, members of the school community including governors and staff went to London for the presentation ceremony, where they reached the final six.

Headteacher Tom Quinn was delighted to welcome Ben to the College.

He said: "It was very good of Ben to drop in last Friday and I hope he enjoyed his visit. He was kind enough to congratulate us on our nomination for the School of the Year Award and took a real interest in the details of our outstanding Ofsted report of last year."

Last year, using the Government's preferred method of calculating performance (CVA) SJP achieved the highest GCSE results on the Wirral, based on progress from primary school to the end of secondary school.

During the visit, Ben was given a tour of the school by Head Teacher Tom Quinn, who was recently appointed a ‘National Leader of Education'. The College itself has been given the status of ‘National Support School' by the National College of School Leadership. These positions are awarded to Colleges that are deemed to be leading the field in education. The position is a support one whereby SJP will be required to work with schools that need support.

Ben Chapman commented:

"This is a tremendous honour for the College. It reflects an impressive increasing national reputation and my congratulations are extended to all those staff, students, parents and governors involved in this success story".

Whilst at the school, Ben also congratulated students on achieving the prestigious Eco Schools Green Flag Award, which symbolises excellence in the field of environmental activity.

Note: Picture shows Ben with members of the Eco-Team outside the College

 Contact: daviese@parliament.uk