New era for Rushden infant and junior school pupils at first joint celebration assembly

Pupils, staff, governors and guests have celebrated the first all-school assembly of the newly formed Alfred Lord Tennyson School (ALTS) in Rushden.

The new school has been formed by the amalgamation of Tennyson Road Infants School and Alfred Street Junior School on their existing sites.

Following elections, representatives of the new school council were handed their badges of office at a ceremony yesterday (Monday).

New school ties were given out to pupils from Year 3 to Year 6, after which a cake was cut to mark the day.

Headteacher Kelly O’Connor said: “I’m so proud of the children, seeing how well they have adapted. It’s been going really well, seeing how excited they were on their first day.

"It’s the first time they have come together. They have been asking me when they can get their ties and looking down on them made me very proud.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson School, a one form entry school. currently has 113 children across two sites managed by the local education authority North Northants Council (NNC).

New school uniform funded by NNC was given to all pupils. The new uniform – red jumpers and blue shirts – features the new school logo based on designs created by pupils.

Cllr Scott Edwards (Con), NNC’s executive member for children, families, education and skills, said: “It’s great that after two years of hard work that it’s finally come together.

"There’s going to be a positive outlook for the school. There’s been huge amounts of work gone on with the two schools working together. It’s been painful at times but the outcome has been positive and the community has been behind us.”

The future plan is for ALTS to be located on one site and work to achieve this has begun. Currently the Tennyson Road site is for children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, and the Alfred Street site is for children in Years 3 to 6.

Ms O’Connor said: “We’ve already had an influx of numbers. We have worked so hard – we’re transforming our early years provision.

"We are considering moving onto one site and we’re having discussions. Governors will consult with parents at a later stage as part of any discussions.”