What People Say About Us

ON THIS PAGE YOU CAN FIND SOME OF THE COMMENTS PEOPLE HAVE MADE ABOUT SOMERFORD SCHOOL, STAFF & PUPILS. WE ARE VERY PROUD OF OUR SCHOOL & CHILDREN & ARE DELIGHTED THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE TOO!

02 December 2022 – “I wanted to let you know what a pleasure it has been to teach your pupils over the last few years. I am retiring after forty years of swimming teaching.

All your pupils have tried really hard during their lessons and the behaviour has been lovely. I have enjoyed teaching your school and especially want to thank Emma Whitehead and Steph Briant for all their enthusiasm and support on poolside. They are obviously dedicated to the children and always putting the children’s best interests first.

I have had a lot of fun working with them. I wish all the pupils continued progress with their swimming and your lovely school all the best. ” (Swimming teacher)

February 2022 – “I have had 3 children go through this school and I’ve seen how well the school has grown and changed into the school it is now. All children walk past my house are clean, tidy and respectful. I couldn’t have wished for better support and encouragement for my children. The teachers there are like second parents. We are always in communication ensuring the best welfare for my child. Thank you Somerford.” (Parent)

February 2022 – “I have been very happy with my son attending Somerford. Since he joined, he has gained so much confidence and!! I would recommend this school.” (Parent)

February 2022 – “My son is coming on leaps & bounds & is working above average. This is down to the help support & all the learning he receives from the school. I am happy with the outstanding learning my son receives.” (Parent)

February 2022 – “Somerford Primary School is a fabulous school to be part of . I have never had any problems with the school and always had support and help if need from the staff there and have always felt able to talk to which ever member if I needed to. I would also like to say they have been excellent through out these last couple of years with the Covid pandemic and have been very supportive . 100% Well done to all the staff!” (Parent)

February 2022 – “My daughter has grown in confidence and socially so much since she started at Somerford Primary School. She is so happy and can’t wait to get to school everyday. Excellent communication from the school and always ready to discuss progress etc.” (Parent)

February 2022 – “Lovely teachers and staff, very friendly!” (Parent)

February 2022 – “My daughter loves school! She has a real desire to learn! She loves her teachers and her class! She runs into school, happy every day! Whenever I have needed support from the school, I get it! I sing the praises of Somerford and feel very lucky that my children are in such good hands! It truly is an amazing school! (Parent)

February 2022 – “My son loves school and looks forward to coming everyday” (Parent)

February 2022 – “My child is happy and enjoys school life, which I think is so important. A happy child is a child ready to learn and reach their full potential. Thank you Somerford Primary School.” (Parent)

January 2022 – “Mrs Frampton, Mr Walsh and Mr Thorne come with extremely high recommendations from me. With my son they have been incredible. They have done everything I’ve asked, helped my anxiety, ensured my son has been given every aspect of support he can get from them. I’ve recommended this school to everyone I know and even changed the minds of parents whose children now attend the school after listening to me. All I can say is thank you. Please continue to do what you do because it’s very much appreciated.” (Parent)

January 2022 – “I cannot recommend Somerford highly enough! It is a wonderful school. I feel so supported and able to raise concerns to the teachers! My son is so happy at school, he is in Year 5 and has never once not wanted to go into school- I think that says a lot about what kind of teachers are at Somerford! Just thank you!! You are very appreciated.” (Parent)

January 2022 – “Brilliant school and staff” (Parent)

July 2021“Thanks for a lovely start to her schooling in Dorset. Mrs Ramos and all the lovely staff really motivated her to succeed. ” (Parent)

March 2021” This school is amazing. I can’t sing your praises enough. You go above & beyond for your pupils & their families without judgement . Mr Walsh has been a godsend to us, helped us so much. Miss Briant has been an amazing teacher to my daughter. She is so thoughtful, kind & caring & my daughter really loves being in her class. I am so thankful to all the staff & the fact that they have been understanding to our situation, not penalized me when I have been rubbish & forgetful. If I’m ever not sure about something they don’t mind guiding me or helping me to be more confident in my decisions. The office staff are also kind & don’t make me feel like I’m being a pain & like they’re fed up with me calling as sometimes I feel stupid calling I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing or even when they have to call me to remind me things. I also am really grateful that they take the time to call me & remind me knowing that I am quite forgetful. I appreciate it, I know I’m probably a pain of a parent at times with my forgetfulness etc. You all go above & beyond for us & I honestly can’t thank you all enough.” (Parent)

September 2020 – ” It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that our daughter has been offered a place at her local primary school (Mudeford Junior) and will be leaving Somerford Primary with last day Tuesday 22 September.
She has had a fantastic year with Miss Briant and we cannot praise the teaching staff at the school enough for their hard work and dedication.  We just feel that being at a school within our local vicinity will be an advantage for her, and make pick up/collection for us easier also.
Please pass on our very best to Miss Briant who we hold in such very high regard.  Our daughter will miss her very much
. ” (Parent)

July 2020 – ” Good morning,  my children and I have just finished listening to the last chapter of Street Child and they have thoroughly enjoyed having it read to them, so could you please pass on their’s and my thanks to all of your wonderful staff that took time to read and record the chapters. It was a blessing to find this during lockdown and kept us all connected before we were able to return together these last few weeks. Stay safe and enjoy the well deserved summer holidays. ” (Computing Lead and Year 4 at Haslucks Green School, Solihull)

July 2020 – ” We just want to say a big thank you for all of your hard work and support throughout this.  You have been fantastic as well as the rest of the school.  My husband and I have been so impressed with the school website, the YouTube channel and the feedback you have provided.  We are sad that our daughter only had you as a teacher for a short while and wish you all the best. ”  (Parent)

July 2020 – ” I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and all the staff at Somerford for everything that you have done for the children and parents through out the COVID -19 Pandemic. 
You have kept the children going with all the work and YouTube videos that have been posted, and most of all you have kept us in touch with us. 
” (Parent)

July 2020 – ” Good afternoon. Firstly I just want to say thank you, for all the support me and the kids have received. It has helped me enormously with work and the children both feel incredibly lucky to have been at school and are also very proud to be a part of the Somerford Primary School community.  I think you have all done a great job in such really tricky times. Thank you.  Kind regards ” (Parent)

June 2020 – Class ‘Zoom’ meetings held with pupils during Covid-19 Lockdown – ” … Our son really enjoyed it. I’m grateful they managed to sort it out at school so that he could join in. I think you are all doing such a great job at keeping the children in touch and involved with things as much as possible. He definitely misses you and all his school friends. He will look forward to the next one. Thankyou for all your hard work, it is appreciated. 🙂 ” (Parent)

March 2020  World Book Day ‘Super Spud’

  • Thank you so much for all that you organised today.  Thank you for saving me the cost of an outfit.  We all say we want less material goods and more time with our children and you managed to achieve just that.  Thank you!
  • Great idea, loved being involved in the activity.  The children seemed to enjoy it too!
  • Had a fun time making the potatoes into characters and spending time with my son.
  • I enjoyed the interaction and the mess .. which I didn’t have to clean up! Thank you.
  • Another fantastic idea to get the parents involved!
  • Was so much fun and nice to see the lighter side of learning!
  • Great engagement and respectful children.  A credit to their teacher and the school!‘ (Parent)

September 2019 – ” Dear Mrs Frampton, Apologies for the lateness of my email I have been meaning to email you since we broke up for the summer holidays. I wanted to write and thank you and your staff for giving my daughter such a fantastic year at Somerford. She has now left the school to join her younger sister at another school and she joins having had the most fantastic year at Somerford following our move from Wiltshire last year.I would like thank both Miss Briant and Mrs Gaines for their hard work, positivity and enthusiasm but particularly Mrs Gaines who taught my daughter for most of Year 2. She has blossomed in the last year and has emerged as a confident enthusiastic learner, we are thrilled with her progress and the delight she shared every day when collected from school. This is definitely down to Mrs Gaines who encouraged my daughter from day one. Mrs Gaines approach to teaching is second to none and I could not recommend her enough. Whilst I am happy that both my children can continue their education together both my husband and I were sad for my daughter to leave Somerford as she had such an amazing time. Thankfully she has already settled well into her new school but I know she will always look back at her time at Somerford fondly. I know Somerford sometimes does not always receive the credit it deserves as a school so I wanted to put that right with our thanks and praise. If you can pass on our thanks  to both Miss Briant and Mrs Gaines that would be appreciated.  I would like to wish the school and the staff all the best for the future. Thank you once again.”  (Parent) 

June 2019” We were all delighted with your wonderful children, how good they were and how well they participated. They came in so quietly and were most attentive. Our team includes several very experienced retired teachers so I hope their glowing observations are particularly encouraging to you.”  (Visitors to assembly)

September 2018” As I expect you know by now, I called today to let the school know that my daughter who joined Year 6 this month, has just been offered a place at another Christchurch school on appeal, and because of this, sadly she will be leaving Somerford at the end of this week. I’m sure I’ll see the class teacher over the next couple of days, but I really wanted to say an absolute heartfelt thank you to all the staff at Somerford, who have really gone out of their way to make my daughter feel comfortable and happy at the school. She really has had an absolutely brilliant few weeks with you.  She loves being in her class, her PA job, being able to play violin and lots of other little things, and I just wanted to let you to know that we wouldn’t think of moving her if it wasn’t for the close proximity of the other Christchurch school to us in comparison to Somerford – a 15min walk compared to up to a 45min drive in traffic. Anyway, I know she hasn’t been with you long, but the school has definitely made an impact, and she will be sad to leave. Thank you again.” (Parent) 

July 2018” I just wanted to say thank you for allowing me to volunteer at Somerford Primary School last week, I really enjoyed myself and feel I have gained some valuable experience in working and communicating with children.” (Volunteer)

July 2018 – “It’s been a pleasure teaching at your school so far this term. On the whole I have found all of the students at your school to be polite and confident individuals.  They are always willing to engage and show a lot of respect to myself and hopefully the staff. I’m sure that there are one or two who provide a challenge but it shows what a great environment they are being taught in for them to have such good manners. When you factor in the socioeconomic background of a majority of your students this should been seen as a massive achievement on behalf of school staff, parents and the pupils. I am thoroughly impressed.” (Supply Teacher)

 March 2018” I would like to thank all of the staff for looking after my daughter so well.  The support we have received from the teachers has been amazing and I am so grateful.” (Parent)

January 2018” We would use this opportunity also to thank you immensley for taking such wonderful care of all, especially of our boys.  They felt very welcomed and taken care of in your school.” (Parent)

October 2017” Thank you for your recent visit to the Red House Museum, I hope you all enjoyed the trip yesterday?

We just wanted to say that it was a pleasure having pupils from Somerford Primary School visiting the Red House Museum.  The learning facilitators mentioned afterwards how polite & engaged the children were with the topics that they were covering.” (Local Museum staff)

 July 2017“Our daughter has moved because her brother is already at The Priory and it is walking distance from our house. However, she and I were both very sad for her to leave Somerford Primary School and this is due to the wonderful care, support and teaching she received in her class and I wish to pass on to you my praise of her teachers.  She misses her class friends but also her teachers and this is a great compliment to them. She was looked after and taught extremely well during her time at Somerford Primary and I cannot praise the staff enough.”   (Parent)

July 2017“My daughter has only been at Somerford a short while but has settled in very well, been made to feel very welcome and been very well looked after and cared for by her teachers and class of RLC.  She has also learnt a lot and progressed in her learning and confidence whilst at Somerford and I would like to highly praise and thank her teachers and all other staff who have looked after her.” (Parent)

June 2017“As with his brother, he has also loved his time at Somerford, if he had his own way, he would have Mrs Cook teach him for the rest of his life!  He has made some lovely friends and with the assistance of Mrs Cook and her support staff, he has made amazing progress as he has struggled to adapt to English from learning in German.” (Parent)

December 2016“We would like to thank Mrs Whitehead and all the other staff at Somerford.  It’s a really nice school and our son will be sad to go.”   (Parent)

April 2016“ I just wanted to say well done for achieving “good” in the latest Osted inspection. This is a massive turnaround since the 2014 report and this is clear from the report that it is due to the hard work and commitment shown by you all to my children’s wellbeing and education. 
If there is anything that we collectively as parents or as individuals can do to help the school achieve “outstanding” then please feel free to ask. 
Well done to you all. “   (Parent)

July 2015“Our children have had a fantastic start to school and they have been supported by an extremely dedicated and caring team of teachers and teaching assistants.”   (Parent)

July 2015“Our son has enjoyed a lovely year and has done amazingly well.” (Parent)

June 2015“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff at Somerford Primary School for making our son feel very welcome.  We feel he has made excellent progress whilst in Year 2.”    (Parent)

March 2015“Really, really lovely school…..warm, welcoming staff and children…pleasure to come in and work with you.”   (Comments from visitors)

September 2014“The newly painted school looks lovely.  Well done on doing such a good job – it makes such a difference!” (Educational Psychologist)

September 2014“So impressed with the new head teacher good choice governor. The whole school seems a much calmer place at the moment.  Children seem happy and learning.  I know me and a few parents of children with more needs are finding our children are doing fantastically this term.  The changes put in place seem to be working well and I know how hard the governors and staff are working.”  (Parental comment to a Governor)

September 2014“It was a pleasure being involved In the Year One & Two Assembly and I hope the children enjoyed it as much as I did.  I was really impressed by their behaviour and also the range of questions that were asked.

 As Chairman of Burton Youth FC one of my goals has been to drive forward our community involvement beyond just providing football so the opportunity afforded by The School for me to promote our village Youth Football Club speak is really appreciated.  Thank you.” (Visitor)

July 2014“An outstanding school report.  Very impressed and pleased with my child’s progress this year. A personal thank you to the teacher for teaching and guiding my son so well.”   (Parent)

July 2014“My child loves going to school”     (A Nursery parent)

July 2014“We have loved watching our child’s confidence grow over the past year and are sure he will settle into his Reception year well”     (A Nursery parent)

June 2014Really pleased to have met you and the children who were all impeccably behaved and a credit to the school.”     (Burley Villas Riding Stables)