Coleham Primary School in Shrewsbury is our featured Love Your School, and it has a lot to offer.
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00:00So we're here in Shrewsbury at Colham County Primary School and head teacher. Introduce yourself, sir.
00:05Hello, I'm Tom Larkham and I'm the head teacher here at Colham School.
00:08How long have you been head for here, Tom?
00:11Oh, I've been head for about two years, but I've worked here as a teacher since 2009, so about 16 years.
00:20So the pupils all know you well then?
00:22Oh yes, everybody knows me very well, yeah.
00:23So tell us a bit about your school. I mean, I've been here a few times and I was quite deceived at how much space.
00:30What you've got, for one thing?
00:31Yeah, the school, there's been a school here since 1910 and we are a town centre school and from the outside, you're right, it does seem like we're a very kind of concrete hard stand inner city school, for want of a better phrase.
00:46But we have quite extensive grounds, including a conservation area with some Victorian follies in.
00:52We've got a Victorian coach house as well.
00:54This whole plot of land used to belong to part of the estate of one of the big houses that neighbours our site.
01:01And we still have artefacts from that, so like the coach house where the horses and carriages were kept, and Victorian folly in our conservation area.
01:09Hello guys, are you OK?
01:15Yeah.
01:16So what's your names?
01:17Uncle Joey.
01:19Parf.
01:19Hello guys.
01:20And this is a bit unusual.
01:23Where are we?
01:24What bit of your school is this?
01:25This is the Victorian Museum.
01:29Awesome.
01:29So what sort of stuff have you got in here then?
01:32Go on Parf, show me some of the things you've got in here.
01:35Marbles.
01:35Show me the marbles.
01:36Where's the marbles?
01:39Oh, wow.
01:40A treasure chest.
01:42A treasure chest.
01:44Yeah.
01:45And go on, chicken, what else have we got in here?
01:47There's some old pictures I can see.
01:49Is that old people, old school children?
01:52Old school children from a long time ago.
01:58Wow, cool.
01:59And an old fire.
02:00What do you reckon?
02:01That'd be nice in winter, wouldn't it, with the logs on that?
02:03Yeah.
02:04Cool, that's very cool.
02:05So do you use this as part of your history lessons?
02:08Yeah.
02:09Yeah.
02:09Very cool.
02:10Of course, got a big school field as well.
02:13And anyone who comes into the school building and into the site are always surprised at how much space there is around as well, yeah.
02:21And a great use of space of that coach house to turn into the museum there.
02:26It's like another world, isn't it, when you venture into there?
02:28Yeah, the museum is a very small part of the coach house where the coachman would live.
02:35But the main part of the coach house is it's used for interventions for children with social, emotional, mental health concerns or academic progress things.
02:47And we do what we can to use the space for the betterment of the children so they can make lots of progress.
02:53We've got over 65 children who use that space every week, which is a real, real bonus and real help for them.
03:01Imagine we're going to pop in the campfire and we've got to sit down.
03:05Hello guys, you okay?
03:06Look at that.
03:07What have you got?
03:09Nancy, not on your nose.
03:10Look at it.
03:10Pine cones.
03:11Pine cones.
03:13Let's have a look.
03:13Pine cones.
03:14Wow.
03:15So what's going to happen with these pine cones then?
03:17What are we going to do?
03:17We're going to start a fire.
03:20This is going to be our fuel.
03:24Fuel.
03:24Oh.
03:24And then what else do we need to make a fire?
03:27Heat.
03:27Heat.
03:28Heat.
03:29Oxygen.
03:30Amazing.
03:31Cool.
03:31That's our fire triangle.
03:33And roasting marshmallows.
03:34And then we're going to put some marshmallows on sticks like this.
03:37Fantastic.
03:37And put them to be doing two biscuits and take a big bite.
03:40All in the shadow of this amazing holly.
03:45And you seem to go above and beyond here.
03:47I've been here to an event where you had some outside cooks coming in to do cooking sessions with the kids and teach them about food.
03:54And it seems to come above and beyond really a little bit you go here.
03:58Yeah.
03:58I mean school.
03:59I mean certainly from our point of view school is more than reading, writing and arithmetic and academic subjects.
04:05It's all of the creative subjects as well which we value really highly.
04:09But it even extends beyond anything to do with curriculum.
04:12It's all about opportunity and making sure our children have the best start in life.
04:17So their future careers, their future lives are as fruitful as possible.
04:21And we're really aware that even though we're in a nice leafy part of Shrewsbury,
04:26there are plenty of people who are disadvantaged and don't have those opportunities that lots of other children get.
04:33So it's our duty to make sure that those children get that extra above and beyond like you say.
04:39So that they have better life chances moving on.
04:42So who have we got?
04:43What's your names guys?
04:44I'm TJ.
04:45I'm Sophia.
04:45And we're in your school allotment?
04:49Yeah.
04:49So Sophia, I wasn't, but Sophia used to be part of a gardening club.
04:55Okay, yeah.
04:55And I remember when there was nearly nothing here.
04:59Yeah.
04:59And then we were planting and now it's just ravishing and green.
05:04So what are you growing in your garden then Sophia?
05:06So there's some peas I think.
05:09Oh hang on, look this way when I, that's it, just when I've, I ask you just kind of look this,
05:14you can look at me or the camera, whichever is most comfortable.
05:17So what are you growing in your garden Sophia?
05:19So we're growing some peas.
05:20Yeah.
05:22And some rhubarb as you can see.
05:24Fantastic.
05:25And over there is an apple tree.
05:28Yes, we are planted.
05:29We've been planting a few apple trees here.
05:32You get nice blossom in the spring don't you on the fruit trees?
05:35Yes, we do.
05:35So your school seems pretty cool to me.
05:38Would you agree?
05:40It's fantastic.
05:41Yeah.
05:41So what's some of the great stuff about your school?
05:44I'd say with the, well, the only school that I can think of with a Victorian museum that's just in there actually.
05:54I've never seen enough of it.
05:55That's really cool.
05:56So it used to actually be in the Victorian times.
05:59Yeah.
06:00Which is very special for our school.
06:02Yeah, yeah, definitely.
06:03And what about favourite lessons?
06:05What do you like?
06:07To be honest, I like being creative.
06:10Yeah.
06:11And I like maths and science.
06:13Okay, very good.
06:14And what about you, buddy?
06:15I'd say same as Sophia.
06:17I like to be creative.
06:19Yeah.
06:22And I like science and maths.
06:24Because when I grow up, I really want to be an electrician or something.
06:30Okay, good stuff, matey.
06:31So have you got the gardening bug?
06:33Do you help out with mum and dad at home in the garden?
06:36Since I live in a, I don't have a garden.
06:40We have a garden room.
06:41Ah, okay.
06:43Yeah.
06:43Yeah, yeah, so that's cool.
06:45And what about you, buddy?
06:46Have you been helping out at home?
06:48Well, I went to this thing at Blue Water.
06:52Yeah.
06:52And I got this little, like, seed thing.
06:56Look, it's in the shape of a leaf and it's got all seeds in there.
06:59And I, my parents were saying, you can't plant it over the holidays because we'll be away.
07:08Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:08And it won't get enough stuff for it.
07:10Watering, yeah.
07:12So maybe now we're not away.
07:14Yeah.
07:15And so they're wildflowers.
07:17Oh, wow.
07:18That sounds beautiful.
07:19Yeah, get them in.
07:19So I'm going, hopefully, I want to ask them if I know where it is.
07:25Yeah.
07:25And, yeah, hopefully I'll be part of that.
07:28Well, great stuff.
07:29Good luck with those green finger projects you're working on.
07:32Cheers, guys.
07:33And you can see it in the 20, 30-year-olds who have been at the school since I've been here,
07:40coming back, being part of that community, telling us about how they've done this and they've done that
07:45because of the start that we've given them.
07:46And that gives us a huge sense of pride that we're doing the right thing for our community.
07:52Well, thank you for letting us call in this time, Tom.
07:55And the Shrop Sheast, I'll look forward to visiting you again.
07:57Great, thanks very much.
07:58Nice to meet you.