‘Primary isn’t about Sats, it’s about preparing for life’

Stephen Pye, head of Churchill Gardens Primary School in Pimlico, London, sends a good luck letter to all his Year 6 pupils before their tests
16th May 2008, 1:00am
Stephen Pye, head of Churchill Gardens Primary School in Pimlico, London, sends a good luck letter to all his Year 6 pupils before their tests.

“Tests are not the be all and end all,” he said. “Some children are stressed and I’ve had children cry.

“I try and make it clear that we don’t mind what the results are - as long as they’ve done their best.

“Primary school isn’t about preparing for Sats - it’s about preparing for life.”

Year 6 pupils at the school are looking forward to life after Sats. There is a barbecue planned, and a trip to Chessington World of Adventures.

Some pupils (pictured, left) are also going to perform their own play, based on Romeo and Juliet, at Stratford-upon-Avon, in the final of a competition organised by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Photograph: Neil Turner.