The biggest challenges facing our schools in Penrith and The Border are those of distance and sparsity. We have the country’s smallest secondary school and its smallest sixth form college. The threat of closure is ever present for many of Cumbria’s smallest and most rural primary and secondary schools. We must do all we can to protect our schools: they form the life and heart of every village.
My colleagues and I have lobbied the Education Minister strongly to ensure the National School Funding formula recognises the unique needs of our rural schools, and provides them with additional financial support. I have worked closely with head-teachers and Cumbria County Council to establish a fair allocation of resources in Cumbria, favouring our smaller schools.
Rory Stewart MP has met with some of Cumbria’s key Education figures to discuss some of the challenges facing the teaching system. The group included Graham Frost, Cumbria Branch Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), Sue Sanderson, Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning, and Kathryn Fox, Head of School Partnership and External Engagement at […]
The last twenty years of international engagement have not been comfortable for the West. In the 1990s, many hoped that we were entering an era of unparalleled Western power and influence, in which our institutions and values would remake a globe of liberal democracies. Since then we have faced Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Ukraine, […]
Rory has welcomed the announcement that there will be an additional £1.3 billion dedicated to schools funding over the next two years – helping to create more school places in Penrith and The Border, and more funds for headteachers to continue the important work they do in educating Penrith and The Border’s children. Rory commented […]
The United Kingdom has never been so well-educated. The number of people going to university in Britain has exploded from three per cent in the 1950s to almost fifty per cent today. Our citizens have never been so well-informed about our politicians and their policies. And lobby groups have never been so relentlessly practical – […]
Rory Stewart MP is encouraging primary-school aged children to take part in a Royal Mail competition to create the official Christmas Stamp for 2017, and has written to all primary schools in Penrith and The Border to launch the competition locally. The theme of the competition is: “What does the Christmas season mean to you?”; […]
Rory Stewart MP on Friday met with Jacob Reid, Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) for Carlisle and Eden, to discuss the role of the Youth Parliament, the issues facing young people in Penrith and The Border, and to establish a strong working relationship together. Jacob – a 14-year-old pupil at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School – […]
Penrith and The Border MP Rory Stewart visited YHA Patterdale last week to find out how YHA is working to improve the lives of school children across the country. During his visit Rory met with YHA staff and was given a tour of the hostel which was being redecorated ahead of the next busy summer […]
Rory Stewart MP met with children and staff at Patterdale C of E School on Friday, where he was given a tour of the facilities by head teacher Liz Stewart. The school currently has 29 students and has been rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted. As well as running a nursery and after school clubs […]
Rory Stewart MP has visited St Catherine’s Catholic School in Penrith, and met with Headteacher, Angela Hill. During his visit Rory learned that one of the school’s teachers, Rebecca Davis, has been selected to represent the North West on a specialist maths programme which will see her, for this academic year, attend training led […]
Rory Stewart MP is joining other MPs nationally in calling upon local schools, churches, and choir groups to host a ‘Singing for Syrians’ event in December. ‘Singing for Syrians’, part of the Hands Up Foundation which raises funds for charities working in war-torn Syria, is an upbeat nationwide campaign to encourage the whole of the […]