WELCOME!

Welcome to the web site of Rawcliffe Bridge Primary School. This web site will interest pupils; parents, governors and visitors as it provides useful information about our school and lets you know what we have been doing.

Our school was built in 1877 and opened in January 1878. Miss E Myers was the headmistress and she lived in a house attached to the school. The main teaching building is Victorian and houses four classrooms and the very modern ICT suite. The house, which was built for the headmistress, later became the caretaker’s house and is now the school’s administration block and also has the library. To the back of the Victorian building we have a large hall, kitchen and dining room. Behind the hall we have a large field, which is enjoyed by all the children and there are many sports played on the field. During the winter when we have a good fall of snow we enjoy building snowmen on the field and in the spring, when it rains we often have a family of ducks who take up residence for a few days.

In the Autumn term of 2008 we shall be opening our Nursery. Our dining room and kitchen are going to be refurbished to build a Foundation Unit for the children in Reception and Nursery. Children will then use the hall for a dining room and a small room near the hall will be converted into a kitchen. We shall take children into the Nursery once they have reached their third birthday.

Although we have a Victorian building it has been extensively modernised and each classroom has an interactive whiteboard. However, we do not want to lose the character of our building and so you can still see where the fireplaces were and the strong beams in the ceiling.

Visitors to our school comment on the friendly atmosphere; the well-mannered children and the beautiful displays, which promote learning and celebrate achievement.

The school is in a small village, which has built up along the side of the canalised River Don known as the Dutch River and Aire and Calder Navigation. The village dates back to 1633 when the River Don was canalised, by an engineer called Vermuyden, to stop the river flooding around Fishlake, Snaith and Sykehouse. There are two bridges which cross them leading to River cottages and a few farms. The village has two factories, DS Smith Paper Mill and Croda Chemical Works. These provide a lot of employment for the area and each factory gives valuable support to the school. The village has a thriving shop, petrol station, two pubs and a social club.

The school also has the benefit of the Sugar Mill Ponds Nature Reserve. This is a very attractive area where children and their families can take walks and have picnics whilst watching the wildlife. Children from the school often walk down and are delighted each year with the arrival of goslings, ducklings and cygnets. We have to be very quiet when we visit, because we mustn’t disturb the wildlife or the fishermen!

Alternatively, you may like to walk along the canal and river and watch the barges passing by on their way to Goole dockyards.

Rawcliffe Bridge Primary School is a small village school, which offers each child a broad and exciting curriculum. Because the school has a small number of children in each year group it can offer very individualised learning.. There are many opportunities and activities which make the curriculum very exciting and interesting. Beside the National Curriculum the school also offers a range of sporting and musical opportunities. The school has introduced French and German to the curriculum.

The school’s SATs results since 2005 have shown the steady improvement of standards of achevement and attainment. Our school compares favourably with other schools in the locality. The most recent Ofsted inspection, February 2006, judged the school to be satisfactory with good aspects; however, the SATs results from 2006 and 2007 have put the school in the category of good.

In January 2007 the school gained the award of National Healthy Schools' status. It is very important that children are healthy, happy and feel safe and secure as this provides the best learning environment. The school is very aware of the agenda in Every Child Matters and is working hard in all those areas. The school is proud that even though so small we are able to offer a full range of extended services.

The school has close links with the nearby secondary school, The Snaith School. This is a Business and Enterprise centre and offers our school valuable links to ICT and sporting facilities.The school has also developed links with Croda Chemicals who are valuable friends of the school. They provide money for resources and also great opportunities for our children to find out about working in a scientific environment. This helps them to develop aspirations for their future.