MP praises ‘impressive’ Royal Sutton School

An MP said he was ‘hugely impressed’ by the progress being made at the Royal Sutton School – after being grilled by students on life as a Member of Parliament.

Andrew Mitchell, the MP for Royal Sutton Coldfield, visited the school on Thursday, November 28 to learn about the huge strides being taken there after its relaunch in September.

The school – formerly known as John Willmott – has been on a journey of improvement over the last few years, with the ambition to becoming the Royal Town’s school of choice in the future.

The rebranding of the school, which is part of the respected Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, has seen a new name, logo, uniform and motto adopted, while its culture has been transformed by a set of ‘moral virtues’ that the students are encouraged to embrace.

All of this work led to the first ever ‘Good’ Ofsted rating for the school.

At a meeting with headteacher Nicola Gould, Mr Mitchell heard about the next phase in the school’s renewal – a set of intellectual virtues covering curiosity, autonomy, tenacity and articulacy.

They aim to drive academic achievement at the school in the same way that the moral virtues changed behaviours.

Mr Mitchell also had input into exciting plans for an event next year, before the long-standing MP met students, who quizzed him on his work.

Mr Mitchell said:

“The students look incredibly smart in their new uniforms and are clearly proud to be involved in a project that has really changed the atmosphere at the school.

“I visit all of Sutton’s schools regularly and the changes being made by Mrs Gould and her team are clearly having a hugely impressive impact.

“The values that they are encouraging the students to embrace are also clearly making a difference in terms of behaviour and aspiration. The latest set of intellectual virtues are another ambitious but carefully constructed addition to the framework that is changing the school for the better.

“The students also asked me some very probing and thought-provoking questions – perhaps there are some future politicians among them!”

Mrs Gould said:

“We really want to raise the aspirations of our students and get them to better understand their place in the local community, which is why it is so valuable to have someone like Andrew personally engage with them and answer their questions.”