Back in April here at Our Lady and Saint Benedict Catholic Academy in Abbey Hulton Stoke-on-Trent we were notified that the school had been shortlisted, in the category of Outstanding Progress in a primary school by the Education Business Awards. We were invited to London for the awards ceremony. Mrs Sarah Clowes (Principal) and Mrs Janine Exon (Vice Principal) travelled on June 12th to the Leonardo Royal London St. Pauls hotel. Here the winners of the 2024 Education Business Awards were announced. The awards celebrated the incredible achievements in all aspects of school life, The winners of the 2024 Education Business Awards were revealed, shining a light on the outstanding achievements  of schools and academies across the UK.

The award for Outstanding Progress - Primary School, sponsored by Action Mats was awarded to:

Our Lady and Saint Benedict Catholic Academy. 

The award was presented by Ashley John-Baptiste - a young BBC broadcast journalist and presenter who has a remarkable story of how he overcame his troubled childhood to study at one of the world’s best universities. 

The school was noted for its strong relationships between pupils, their families and staff which have helped Our Lady and Saint Benedict Catholic Academy part of the Newman Catholic Collegiate to move from requires improvement in 2019 to outstanding in it’s latest Ofsted report last November. Led by headteacher Sarah Clowes the rapid progress has been attributed in part to prioritising reading, with pupils able to use vocabulary with precision and great confidence. Opportunities to benefit from outdoor learning are provided for all pupils. 

Mrs Clowes commented ‘I want to say a big thank you to our children, families, and staff for all the hard work and support that they  have given on this journey to outstanding  which has led to us receiving this award. We are proud to bring the award back home to Stoke-on-Trent. I am immensely proud of the school. I am delighted that the progress that has been made in the school, (which is due to the hard work and dedication of all of the staff) has been recognised through winning this award. The school are very proud to be part of The Newman Catholic Collegiate who have supported the school on its journey to Outstanding. It has been a huge team effort where rapid improvements have taken place which are allowing our children to flourish.   I wish to congratulate the whole OLSB family on the award.