CHILDREN who struggle with social, emotional or personal difficulties are being nurtured at a Harlow primary school. A big part of the curriculum laid out for nursery and reception age children is to develop and guide their mental wellbeing. But, when children enter Year 1,…

A CANCER diagnosis did not stop brave Joe Sims from achieving a crop of top GCSE grades. When the 16-year-old, from Challinor, Church Langley, found a lump in his neck in February, he feared his chances of succeeding in the summer’s exams had been ruined.…

ALMOST half of the students leaving Burnt Mill Academy this summer scored A* and A grades in their GCSE exams. An impressive 42% of students at the school, in First Avenue, Harlow, achieved at least one top grade. Star student Harry Grace not only has…

AFTER learning the Hakka, circus skills and making music with junk, these students are excited to start their new schools in September. More than 100 children due to start in Year 7 after the six-week break took part in the first week of summer school…

THE head of five Harlow schools has reassured parents she is not leaving Burnt Mill Academy. Helena Mills has stepped away from her role as headteacher of the school, in First Avenue, to concentrate on raising the standards of all six schools within the Burnt…

A SCHOOL which was failing in all areas in 2013 has been judged to have Good leadership, management and pupil behaviour by Ofsted. Cooks Spinney Primary School, in Cooks Spinney, Harlow, was graded in September 2013 as Requires Improvement. A visit this month – the…

MORE than a dozen Essex teachers and support staff have received national recognition after being put forward following the Essex Teaching Awards. Winners from February’s Essex Teaching Awards were put forward by Essex County Council for this year’s Pearson Teaching Awards – an annual national…

A FESTIVAL celebrating a school’s diverse community is being held this summer. Freshwaters Primary Academy, in School Lane, Harlow, broke with tradition last year and held a party in the park in replace of the classic school fete. This year, pupils have requested they recognise…

YOUNG people caring for loved ones are being offered the support they need from their Harlow schools. Burnt Mill Co-operative Academy Trust (BMAT) schools in the town are working hard to identify all young people with a responsibility to care for someone at home. The…

A MENTAL health support app is being created by teenagers in Harlow. Year 10 students at Burnt Mill Academy, in First Avenue, are working with Anglia Ruskin University on a Europe-wide study into teenage mental health. Tim Waller, a professor of child and family studies…

THROWING, catching and running skills were improved when the smallest BMAT children took part in a sporting event. The 60 Year 1 and 2 pupils from the four primary schools in the Burnt Mill Co-operative Academy Trust family got active at Burnt Mill Academy, in…

MUSICAL students took to the stage for the Stortford Music Festival. The Hunt House Band from Burnt Mill Academy, in First Avenue, Harlow, was picked to perform at the event after coming runner-up in a competition by Harlow College. Fifty artists, headlined by The Undertones…

BURNT Mill Academy has been awarded once again for its work with disadvantaged youngsters. The school, in First Avenue, Harlow, was awarded £5,000 as a qualifier in the Pupil Premium Awards earlier this year, putting it among just 27 secondary schools nationally to reach the…

Book characters took a trip to the local library. Pupils dressed as their favourite storybook stars for World Book Day at Cooks Spinney Primary School, in Cooks Spinney, Harlow, before visiting the local library. Other pupils read The Gingerbread Man and baked their own gingerbread…