I invited the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to meet with local head teachers at a round table discussion at Peters Hill Primary School on the Lye border.
The Secretary of State and I met with head teacher Simon Duncan, who kindly led us on a tour of the school before we sat down with the leaders of six primary and secondary schools as well as King Edward VI College.
Thank you to the Secretary of State for coming to Stourbridge and meeting some of our local head teachers. It is so important for those in government to hear first-hand from those who are educating our children. The meeting was positive and we discussed a host of subjects which gave the Secretary of State a good overview.
Also a special thank you to Mr Simon Duncan for hosting the meeting and to all those who came. Mr Duncan said: "It was a pleasure to welcome everyone to Peters Hill and to show the amazing things that are happening across our school. Thank you to the local Headteachers who attended to meet the Secretary of State for Education and to talk about the challenges we face and how education can be developed and supported in the coming months.”
The Secretary of State said: '"Thank you to Peters Hill and all the heads and Suzanne for inviting me to this informative event. It was important to hear their views on a wide range of educational subjects.”
She also paid tribute to Peters Hill: “What a fantastic school to visit, so creative, full of energy, brilliant teachers – the children were in great form. It was just wonderful to see them cooking hot cross buns at just six years old – there was sewing, editing, and reportage on WW2. I can see why this school is so popular with parents.”
I look forward to inviting the Secretary of State to another one of our wonderful schools in the future!
The school heads who came to the meeting were:
- Erica Tilley - Rufford Primary School
- Mr Manny Kelay - Thorns Collegiate Academy
- Mrs Rae Cope - Ridgewood High School
- Mr Gareth Lloyd - Pedmore High School
- Mr James Clayton - Redhill Secondary School
- Holly Bembridge - King Edward VI College
- Mrs Jane Cook – Amblecote Primary School
