Fairlawn School in Montpelier has a new headteacher following the retirement of founding head Julie Molesworth.
Siobhan Lennox-Brown, who takes the helm this month, has been at the popular primary school in Montpelier since 2015, a year after it opened.
She joined as a Year 1 teacher, later becoming assistant head and then head of school.
“It has been amazing to be part of the school’s journey,” she said. “We have built a team of like-minded people with shared values, all here for the same reason.”
The school has a strong family culture, with parents very involved in activities including stay and play sessions, reading volunteers, trips, forest school, swimming, Iftars, and cultural picnics.
Children have an important voice too, through an active school council and an emphasis on the Rights Respecting ethos.
Fairlawn has established a clear and consistent curriculum focused on developing the whole child, with outdoor play, creativity and curiosity to the fore.
“We want children to be fully engaged in their learning, feeling comfortable to make mistakes and ask questions,” said Siobhan.
It might be a relatively new school but Fairlawn, which is housed in the former Fairfield Grammar School building, has already built firm foundations that foster a love of learning. Siobhan is a former pupil of Colston’s Girls’ School – now Montpelier High – which, like Fairlawn is part of Venturers Trust. She is maintaining a family tradition too; her grandmother, also a teacher, attended Fairfield Grammar School.
Siobhan is supported by deputy head Bern Langton and assistant head Rhys Lewis.