Thanks!

Thanks to all who baked cakes for the staff the week before last. Your efforts were much appreciated and the cakes much eaten and enjoyed!

Cakes for Portway - 21 June

On a regular basis, we have been making cakes to take into Portway school to bless the staff there. This is very much appreciated and is a big blessing to the staff.

The next Cakes for Portway is on 21 June. If you would like to bake a cake for the team to take in, please email Georgina.

Portway in the news!

2006 has brought about some exciting changes and success for Portway School. Ofsted have said that Portway no longer requires Special Measures and have been given a Notice of Improvement. Ofsted 'have confidence in the schools capacity to make lasting improvements'. Mr Hebden (the new Head) has been said to have 'brought fresh hope to the school and has focused, with great success, on the most urgent issues'. The report mentions significant improvements in behaviour and the management of challenging behaviour by staff.

In recent days, the turnaround at Portway has been in the local press. In the article, Mr Hebden acknowledges the impact of the Pray for Portway events:

...And he was astonished to find dozens of people from local churches, who meet regularly in the school, were praying for it to overcome some of its difficulties. "I'm not a religious person myself, but that was amazing," he said.

Welcome to the Pray for Portway blog!

On this blog, you'll find latest news from the Pray for Portway initiative as well as information about upcoming Pray for Portway events.

If you'd like to leave a comment on this blog, just click on 'Comments' at the bottom of any of the posts.

About Portway School

Portway Community School is situated in Shirehampton; it is a mixed comprehensive school with 741 pupils aged 11-16 years. Pupils attend Portway from some neighbourhoods facing considerable disadvantage, and standards upon entry to the school are below the national average.

The school have faced various challenging circumstances in recent years, and are now able to celebrate some success as in the recent inspection of March 2006 HMCI declared that the school no longer requires special measures.

At the start of 2006 the school moved in to a new building with a new head teacher. HMCI are confident that the school have the capacity to improve and have given the school a Notice of Improvement. HMCI feel that the head teacher has brought the school a fresh hope that lasting improvements will happen.