A supermarket has given “caring and helpful” teachers at Ipswich’s Copleston High School free tea and biscuits in recognition of their “amazing” work to support families during the Covid-19 crisis.
Staff at the school, which moved into a brand new multi-million pound building earlier this year, immediately became aware the pandemic would put parents and young people under unprecedented pressure as lockdown was enforced.
So as well as providing thorough online learning for its 1,800 students at home, the Gippeswyk Community Educational Trust school teamed up with the Raedwald Trust to start a new “community shelf” - donating hundreds of food parcels to families most in need.
MORE: Hundreds of food parcels delivered to Ipswich families from schools’ ‘community shelf’
It has also loaned laptops to pupils at risk of falling into a “digital divide” and gave constant mental health and wellbeing guidance to students during the lockdown and beyond.
The school’s work was so valued by parents, they nominated it for the East of England Co-op’s Tea4Teachers initiative - started by the supermarket as a “gesture of appreciation on behalf of local communities for teachers who continued to provide educational support to youngsters during the pandemic”.
The East of England Co-op said the Foxhall Road school “received a number of glowing nominations”, with teachers at the school described as “very hardworking, caring and helpful”.
Their work during the pandemic, which was also praised by Ipswich MP Tom Hunt when he visited the school earlier in the year, was described as “amazing” and “fantastic”.
MORE: Ipswich MP Tom Hunt praises school for giving ‘lifeline’ to the disadvantaged
Copleston High School principal Andy Green said: “We were absolutely delighted and honoured to be nominated by parents and incredibly grateful to the East of England Co-op, who’ve shown generosity to us.”
Lynn Warner, community events manager for the East of England Co-op, said: “We were blown away with the number of nominations we received as part of our Tea4Teachers project.
“This is a testament to how strongly parents feel about the dedication and importance of our local schools, teachers and support teams.
MORE: Schools must be ready in case of further lockdowns, Ipswich headteacher warns
“The comments we received were heart-warming and genuinely all of the schools nominated deserved to win.”
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