Year six students at Catterick Garrison school get special visit
They left Le Cateau Primary School to the sound of drums as the first Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment paid them a visit
Last updated 27th Jul 2021
Students at a school in Catterick Garrison have had a special send off for their last day.
Waving an emotional goodbye to their school, the year six students were given an unexpected send off when 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment arrived to lead them in a final march from their primary school.
They walked out of Le Cateau Primary School for the last time with their heads held high, after an emotional last walk from school.
The school is based in Catterick Garrison and many pupils’ families are attached to the unit, which has recently returned to the town.
The County Council, garrison command and the town’s primary schools have worked closely together throughout the pandemic to ensure support was in place for families and children. The garrison had a high number of key worker parents and many other parents involved in military deployments.
Capt Lofty Simpson-Worboys, Unit Welfare Officer with 1st Battalion offered to organise a special event for the Year 6 pupils at Le Cateau Primary to mark their final day in school on Friday (July 23) and suggested some drummers marched the pupils out for the last time as a special surprise.
Parents were informed a special event was taking place and congregated at the front of the school to watch the children march.
Headteacher Ian Mottram said: “It was a very fitting tribute given the large number of service pupils at Le Cateau and the work we do to support them. We currently have 344 service pupils in the school and have had more than 100 new admissions this year alone. The strong links with the Garrison community is what we pride ourselves on and this has been ever mor the case during lockdown.
“In my role as Chair of the Garrison Headteachers I was heavily engaged in weekly conversations between myself, on behalf of the schools, North Yorkshire County Council and the Garrison command in ensuring we were meeting the wide ranges of needs during the pandemic.
“This was vital in ensuring we could provide the support we needed, support the key workers to attend the school and to make sure the families were well supposed whilst deployment and movements took place.
“This relationship across the garrison is something we are very proud of and works well in supporting the children and their families.”
Capt Lofty Simpson-Worboys said they had wanted to ensure children had a memorable last day of term before starting out in secondary education.
“We wanted to do something special and memorable for the children on their last day in Primary school,” he said.
“It’s a big change for the children who will no doubt miss their friends and all the wonderful staff at Le Cateau Primary School.
“We wish them all “good luck” in their new schools and a safe and happy summer holiday”.