Solihull Matters
December 15, 2005 12:00 PM
By Lorely Burt Member of Parliament in Solihull Guardian 15th December 2005
By Lorely Burt Member of Parliament in Solihull Guardian 15th December 2005
Hello and welcome to the first of a new series of short columns I'll be writing for this paper.
I want to tell you about some of my experiences as an MP: perhaps we should call the column 'It shouldn't happen to an MP' or maybe 'I'm an MP, get me out of here'!
Communication is a two way street, however, and you can always write back to me at burtl@parliament.uk or House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
Last week I was giving out prizes at Light Woods School in Shirley. I love prize givings: they are such happy occasions. Having achieved their best ever GCSE results and an excellent Ofsted report Light Woods were justifiably upbeat about their achievements and in a celebratory mood.
Each youngster had selected a book as their prize, and the range of books they had chosen was absolutely fascinating. The Commons is a bit like Hogwarts School, but I was disappointed to see no one had chosen Harry Potter. (I expect they'd all already got the latest volume - I have!).
There were lots of books on sport, and particularly cricket, a fair smattering of the children's laureate Jaqueline Wilson, some classics, some worthy self improvement tomes on ICT and other subjects I find incomprehensible, the addictive Soduko puzzles and some new really interesting looking titles.
I have to admit, some of these books looked so good I found it a bit of a struggle to hand them over! I certainly have plenty of ideas for Christmas presents this year - Burt family take note!
I think the best schools are a bit like a family. The characters of the children come out despite the formality of the occasion and the smart uniforms they wear. Some year elevens from last year had returned to collect prizes and were beautifully turned out too.
The whole event has a very happy atmosphere except for two sad events: the recent deaths of a teacher and a pupil. Tragedy strikes families too, and everyone feels the loss, but we have to struggle through and remember all the good times which almost always outweigh the bad.
When it was over parents were shaking hands with the Head Teacher Vic Scutt and thanking him for their children's education. That education at Light Woods consists of more than good GSCE results: they have become a centre of excellence for maths and ICT, had recently performed the musical 'Grease' and taken part in other cultural activities and done lots of charity work to raise money and gifts for those whose lives so far had been far less fortunate.
Solihull schools are amongst the lowest funded in the country: it's an injustice I'm fighting to redress. But despite the lack of money and investment in the physical infrastructure, the dedication of the teachers, governors and parents give our youngsters the best education money can't buy.
What would you like to do next?
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