This small Lincolnshire school, founded in 1869, has kept pace with the ever-changing demands of society ever since. It is particularly important in village community life. Playwright and folk musician Mike Harding opened a new community library at the school designed to encourage a love of reading. Together with strong parent involvement the school creates a family ethos that drives its current success.
Small teaching groups and challenging tasks ensure good individual performance, with particular importance on moral, social, sporting and aesthetic development. Friendships across the age groups build confidence in learning within that strong traditional model of master and apprentice. Children mix easily across the age groups, boys and girls equally.
Staff enthusiasm engenders strong bonds of trust and respect within the community. All children take part in productions and other collective activities- a strength of small schools: in larger schools only a select few are involved.
The report typically portrays this small school as an all-embracing model of excellence. Closure denies such quality to future generations. Our Chair, Bill Goodhand, Lincolnshire farmer and school governor, remembers Nocton as one of the first schools in the county NASS helped campaign for and save from closure.All the usual arguments were put- falling numbers, costs, standards etc., but NASS knows that if schools survive the closure attempt numbers do return over time and Nocton's then 14 pupils are now 60.
| < Prev |
|---|