Draft:Shaw Park Primary School

Shaw Park Primary School was a coeducational, primary school located on the Orchard Park Estate, Kingston upon Hull, England, for pupils aged 4 to 11.

History
The school was put into special measures by Ofsted in 1995 after the Secretary of State for Education, he had named and shamed 18 failing schools. Stephen Byers named and acclaimed more than 70 schools across the UK including Shaw park Primary School which turned failure into success.

In 1996, pupils at the school helped the Hull Daily Mail launch the highly acclaimed Reading Together project in the city. The project was designed to improve pupils’ reading skills. The literacy project encouraged parents to help with their child’s reading development. Families receive a specially designed scrap book, a pack of reading activities and their own copy of the Hull Daily Mail two nights a week for four weeks.

Chris Woodhead said “Ofsted is delighted to recognise the very substantial improvement in schools that have been removed from special measures during the year covered by this report”.

Michaela Sarah Sheila Saunders was in the 1999 Birthday Honours list and received an OBE as headteacher of the school for services to Education. Saunders joined Shaw Park Primary in 1995 when the school was in special measures. Saunders was a local authority adviser, and was asked to support the school. Seven months after the initial ousted inspection, she became acting and then permanent head in 1997.

The school site closed on 31 July 2001 due to amalgamation merger with its successor Thorpe Park Primary School. Parents was given the option for pupils to transfer to this already established school nearby.

The school was demolished and replaced with a skate park. In 2017 the park site was awarded £150,000 upgrade by ward councillors, along with a £30,000 changing facility for the sports field.

Mrs Sarrell was voted in 2019 as one the most memorable teachers from the school.