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Sept
2009
For many people, ‘village school’ conjures up a romantic image but perhaps doubts about a sound modern education. What is the truth?
Nostalgia and emotion aside, the fact is that village schools continue to have a vital role as centres of their communities and as places where young people get a great start in life.
Advocates of large primary schools, serving wide areas, point to the additional resources and facilities enjoyed by such schools, but it is noticeable that these people are often councillors with more interest in balancing the budget than in children’s welfare. Small schools can and do provide just as good an education as larger ones – as the inspection body Estyn agrees – and in many ways they give children a better experience.
These days, all schools follow the National Curriculum and are regularly and rigorously inspected. In Wales however, the best results at A level and beyond tend to come from those areas with the highest proportions of small schools, and that’s unlikely to be a coincidence.
How often do you hear of problems, at village schools, of drugs, bullying, exclusions,
truancy, gangs, anti-
Children in small schools are noted for their understanding and tolerance of each other, regardless of any differences.
What’s the use, at a large school, of having a lovely hall, with a well-
Every child is treated as an individual, and everyone – children, parents and staff – knows everyone else. As a result, a village school has a safe, caring, homely atmosphere in which children flourish.
Single-
In short, there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that children leave village schools with greater maturity and confidence than their counterparts from larger schools. At Ysgol Carno there’s certainly a big emphasis on learning about life, not just learning to pass exams.
When children are educated within their own community they have the chance to walk or cycle to school, providing health, educational and social benefits. Even when children have to be brought by car, parents still get to meet informally with each other, and with staff, twice a day. None of this happens when children are bussed to area schools, a practice which is fraught with problems.
When a school is part of its community it is natural for there to be strong links with local businesses, farms, old people’s homes, churches and so on. Again, everyone benefits, and the children learn the meaning of, and respect for, community life.
