Year 6 leavers waved an emotional goodbye to their teachers and friends on their special ‘walk of pride’ lap as they break up from school this week.
Sixty children, from Orton Wistow Primary School, individually lined up at the school gates and paraded round the grounds, to the car park, where they were all applauded.
Simultaneously, their parents could drive in to the grounds and watch, a tradition which has stuck since the children couldn’t be inside during the pandemic.
The children were also treated to a huge goodie bag – filled with “famous school biscuits”, a leavers hoodie, gifts and poems.
Rachel Tansley, year six Toucan’s teacher, said: “All of our families are invited to a ‘walk of pride’, which comes through our school gates and around our car park, which is where all of our staff cheer them on and wish them good luck as they go onto secondary school.
"Their parents drive round the car park with them as they walk around and collect them at the other end as they leave and we wave them onto their next steps in education.
"The parents love it because they can see it and all be invited, historically we’ve been to bowling or laser force, just for the children, so by having it at school it raises the profile and lets the whole family be involved. It always has really positive feedback and we get all our staff there as well to wish them well too, so it involves everyone.”
July 18 is the last day for the children before they leave Orton Wistow and they are celebrating with a disco and having their shirts signed.
Rachel added: “Myself and Mrs Simmons have been teaching year six for the last four years together, there's a strong working relationship and you get a different sense of pride every year when there’s a new cohort of children that come through.
"Each time it’s still just as rewarding. We will wish them well and we are so proud of everything they’ve achieved this year.”
Take a look at the next images as the year six pupils bid farewell to primary school:
