As the final few weeks of term drew to a close, Mrs Maureen Hillsdon, headteacher of Our Lady of Lourdes, Birkdale, reflected on her 19 years of service at the school: first as deputy head and then as head. She had been involved in a number of school improvement initiatives and nine inspections but the period since 23 March probably represented the most challenging circumstances of her entire career. The school aimed to celebrate her dedicated contribution in the forthcoming autumn term.Before Mrs Hillsdon left, she had one final achievement to celebrate: Our Lady of Lourdes becoming the first primary school this year to secure Digital Schoolhouse status. This means they will be able to offer fun, free computing workshops for primary schools in the local area. Digital Schoolhouse, together with Nintendo UK, uses play-based learning to engage the next generation of pupils in order to ensure they are equipped for the future digital economy. All the workshops engage pupils through the use of creative resources, while upskilling and inspiring visiting teachers to deliver the new computing curriculum.
‘We were thrilled that we were successful with our Digital Schoolhouse application. I cannot wait to begin delivering exciting workshops, which I know the children in the local area will love,’ said Mrs Jo Hodge, Digital Schoolhouse lead teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes. 'The application process was extremely rigorous and challenging so to achieve Digital Schoolhouse status in Mrs Hillsdon’s final term is a fitting accolade.'