Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Port Ellen Primary beats thousands to UK Primary School of the Year title

Port Ellen Primary won Primary School of the Year. Image: Pearson National Teaching Awards.
Port Ellen Primary won Primary School of the Year. Image: Pearson National Teaching Awards.

Port Ellen Primary School on Islay has been selected from thousands of nominations across the UK to be named Primary School of the Year.

The island school won the coveted Gold Award at the Pearson National Teaching Awards in one of 16 categories.

Port Ellen Primary uses its surroundings on the Isle of Islay to inspire its curriculum, making sure pupils are part of the community.

This community also sails across the water to other islands where links between schools have been developed to reduce the isolation that can trouble some remote areas.

Lessons at the primary school include building wave powered devices, surveying the island’s heritage sites, campaigning for local issues and developing a social enterprise from a phone box.

It also holds Gaelic close and ensures children get the chance to learn the language as well as its instruments and history.

The award was presented to Port Ellen Primary School – which currently has around 60 pupils – last week.

‘We continue to grow’

Head teacher Maureen Macdonald, said the school looks to do something different, even if it doesn’t always seem like the easy route.

“It has been a great privilege to have been shortlisted for such an accolade among some inspirational schools across the UK, but to have gained the top prize is quite overwhelming and humbling,” she said.

⭐️ ANNOUNCEMENT ⭐️Port Ellen Primary School has been named Primary School of the Year on The One Show on BBC 2 this…

Posted by Argyll and Bute Council on Thursday, 24 November 2022

“The sense of pride and joy within the entire school community is palpable.

“Despite being a small island school we believe, speak and think ‘possible’ which means often stepping beyond our comfort zone and challenging the status quo. We continue to grow and to keep improving but for now, we will collectively enjoy this moment.”

Unsung heroes

This is not the first time Port Ellen Primary has been recognised for the way it delivers its teaching, with the school picking up a number of awards surrounding Stem and entrepreneurialism in recent years.

The Pearson National Teaching Awards, founded in 1998, aim to highlight the often unseen people who make schools and colleges so special.

Yvonne McNeilly, Argyll and Bute Council’s policy lead for education, said: “Maureen and her colleagues play a pivotal role in helping to shape the future of the school’s children and young people.

“They are the backbone of the school community, going above and beyond every day to provide pupils with the guidance and confidence required to succeed.

“Other than parents, teachers have arguably the biggest influence on a child’s life, and the staff at Port Ellen should be very proud that their efforts have led to them beating off stiff competition from across the country to win this prestigious award.”

Conversation