Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has awarded Annette Stow, Headteacher at St Mark’s CE Primary School in Hadlow Down with the Wealden Hero Award.
St Mark's Church of England Primary is a small, church-aided school in Hadlow Down near Uckfield for boys and girls aged 5–11. Throughout the pandemic, Headteacher Annette Stow and her team have worked hard to keep the school running for children of key workers and children with needs. She had set up a plan for online lessons for those pupils who could not come to school and headed the planning to ensure that the school could safely reopen fully to all pupils.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Throughout the crisis, I stayed in regular contact with Wealden schools and advocated for them in Parliament. Children and school staff have sacrificed so much to keep the country safe during the pandemic and this award shows how much the school leadership at St Mark’s is appreciated by parents and the local community. I greatly appreciate the swift adaptation of schools to provide essential education online. However, the unintended consequences of lockdowns run deep in Wealden and it was my priority to ensure that there was no more delay to school openings and that children would have access to greater mental and physical wellbeing provisions after lockdown.”
