University destinations for ex-pupils

The parents of an ex-pupil spoke with Mr. Brown in summer 2022. He was very complimentary of his daughter’s experience at the school and wanted to stress how well both she and her friends in the cohort had done. She left the school in the summer of 2015. He wrote:

“C. started her education foundations at Old Oak Primary School and thanks to the brilliant teachers at the school and excellent leadership, she is today studying Biomedical Science at one of the top universities in the UK. Thank you.”

The university destinations of this group of children are:

• Child A – Biomedical Science at University of Manchester
• Child B - Biomedical Science at University of Nottingham
• Child C – History and Sociology at University of Manchester
• Child D – Aerospace Engineering at Queen Mary University
• Child E - Medicine at Imperial College
• Child F – Law and Politics at SOAS
• Child G – Medicine at Queens Mary University
• Child H – Aerospace Engineering at University of Hertfordshire
• Child I – Midwifery at Kings College

Please see the latest testimonial from the Al -Harery family.

These words are powerful and reflective of the work the teachers here at Old Oak Primary put in every day to help enrich the lives of the children who attend here.  Well done to the teaching and support staff who make such a difference!

There are often times during the year when the school is complemented by current or former pupils or members of the public who have met the children of Old Oak in some capacity. Rather than keep these to ourselves we are going to share these with you.

November 2019

It is always a pleasure to visit Old Oak and teach the children here. They are so well-behaved, really caring, full of information and demonstrate higher order thinking skills. They are delightful to work with!

Sarah, Life Bus teacher , Coram Life Education, the leading provider of health, wellbeing and drugs education

February 2018

Last term, the School Council carried out a school-wide Teaching and Learning questionnaire. The members of the School Council wrote the questions and then the teachers gathered the responses of the pupils in their class. The questions related to their opinion of the teaching in the school, ranging from how interesting they find lessons to how effectively they felt their teachers delivered lessons.

A copy of the questionnaire can be found here:

Teaching-and-Learning-Questionnaire-Website.pdf

Here are some of the responses collected from the questionnaire:

"School is an inspiring place. I love it." ~ Year 4 pupil

"I don't have difficulties with interacting with other students because we work well together." ~ Year  4 pupil

"[Old Oak] has a nice learning environment and the students have been really kind." ~ Year 6 pupil
 

"Yes [I would recommend it] because this school is so nice and I don't want to ever leave this school." ~ Year 5 pupil

 "I would recommend this school because it's fun and I learn a lot. I think I have learnt a lot of stuff that my friends haven't learnt. We have singing assemblies and other assemblies like IPC assemblies." ~ Year 6 pupil

"I love this school." ~ Reception pupil

This term, the School Council will be carrying out a Behaviour and Communication questionnaire. The results will be published later in the term.

15 January 2018

Dear Old Oak Staff

As a family we want to pass our gratitude for the impact you have had in the life and development of our children. We are so thankful to have been part of the Old Oak Primary family. We have seen our children grow and become who they are today. All of this would not have been possible withour the contribution of all of you. The kids will definitely miss the school and all it represented to them.

Goodbye! Hope to see you visit our country and God bless you all!

The S Family

                                                                                                                                               1^st November 2017

Dear Mr Brown,

I have been visiting Old Oak Primary School with the Lifebus for many years now. I always look forward to visiting your school. The children are a pleasure to teach. They are bright, full of enthusiasm and keen to share their knowledge and ideas. They show higher order thinking skills and are very emotionally intelligent. I know that some of your children have come to this country from very traumatic situations and in your school, they are made to feel welcome, they settle and thrive. This is largely due to the nurturing and caring atmosphere you and your staff ensure in school. All the children know how to care for each other. Their behaviour is exemplary, they are polite and respectful. They learn well and I am always amazed by how much they remember from year to year.

I always enjoy teaching at Old Oak – it is more fun than hard work.

Many thanks to you, your hard working staff and all the children who make the visit so worthwhile and memorable.

I hope you all have a very good academic year.

Kind regards

Sarah Greenwood

Senior Educator/Manager, London

Coram Life Education

From: Lisa Maynard
Date: Thursday, 4 May 2017 at 21:40
To: Old Oak
Subject: Old Oak Primary School

Dear Graham,

This is just a short note to say thank you for inviting me to visit Old Oak Primary School yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the school, and it was obvious both through observing the stimulating and nurturing environment, and all of the positive interactions between students both with each other and with the faculty, that Old Oak really does an incredible job of creating an outstanding learning environment for all of its' students. In addition to being (from my own observations) an exceptional oasis of love, learning and happiness for those fortunate enough to attend it, it seems to me that Old Oak also stands as a symbol for all that is good, in terms of representing the positive outcomes that are achievable through peoples' combined positive intentions toward creating the best possible future both for young people and the local community, especially when contrasted starkly against the walled background of Wormwood Scrubs. 

To be honest I was both impacted and inspired by my visit yesterday, and really appreciated the opportunity to visit many of the classrooms, talk to the students, and spend time with the Head, Joseph Brown and Deputy Head, Katie Brown. Katie was particularly helpful in sharing many details about the school and I appreciated how generous both she and Joseph Brown were with their time with me - especially when I can only guess how busy their days are.  

I would be happy for you to share my thoughts about my visit to Old Oak with other members of the faculty and the Board of Governors if you would like to.  You all should be congratulated on all you have accomplished as a team! Many thanks again, for what was for me, a truely inspirational visit.

Sincerely,

Lisa Maynard

Lisa M. Maynard, Ph.D.

Honorary Research Scholar, Institute of Education, University College London, Spring 2017

Associate Professor of String Music Education

We recieved a lovely letter from from a family this October 2016. You can read it below.

Testimonial-Oct-2016.pdf