Lauren KATHAGE (Yan Yean) (14:35):

Last week I visited Donnybrook Primary School, one of the 100 new schools being opened by this government. They opened at the start of this year, and the event I attended was the awarding of the leadership badges to their first ever student leaders: Fatima, Jaiteg, Cooper, Ellie and Agampreet. What a lovely bunch of students they were.

This school is building the community that is popping up around it. The school has become a central hub for this community. That is helped by principal Dave Williams, who greets each student by name as they come through the school gates and who takes a personal interest in every student that is there. The sports facilities provided at the school grounds also draw the community in. At the assembly I was pleased to notice how many parents were attending the assembly – just a normal part of the school week, but the local community takes so much interest. The cheers of joy when each class’s student of the week was announced showed the pride that they have in each other’s achievements, and I know that this community will continue to achieve a lot, especially with our government’s support.