Cathie Lampert, the head teacher of St Mary’s Church of England Primary School and Nursery in Writhlington, Radstock, attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace last week (Wednesday 14 May), hosted by His Majesty King Charles III. The Education and Skills Garden Party was held to recognise those working in education across the country.
Around 7,000 industry representatives attended including Cathie, who was nominated by St John’s Foundation in Bath who work with St Mary’s.
“St John’s nominated Cathie to attend the Education and Skills Garden Party at Buckingham Palace because of her years of supporting under-served children,” said Sam Gillett, Head of Funding at St John’s. “We have had the pleasure of working with Cathie through our Primary Empowerment Programme for five years. Cathie has always been extremely positive about our collective ability to improve outcomes for those children who most need support.”
“Attending the Buckingham Palace Garden Party as Head of St Mary’s was a truly memorable experience,” recalls Cathie. “I may have been there in person, but I also carried with me the pride, joy and spirit of all the children and staff at St Mary’s. It was a day full of tradition, celebration and a real sense of honour – one I’ll never forget.”
St Mary’s is one of 17 schools that are supported by The Partnership Trust, a Multi-Academy Trust based in Radstock. Emily Massey, CEO of the Trust, said, “I’m so pleased that Cathie was invited to attend the prestigious event at Buckingham Palace. She has been rightly recognised as an inspiration in education.”
St Mary’s Church of England Primary School & Nursery in Writhlington was praised by Ofsted in December 2024 for its ‘exceptional’ programme of personal development, and ensuring ‘that pupils get off to a strong start with their education. The school was noted as ‘Outstanding’ in its Personal Development and ‘Good’ across other areas including Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Leadership and Management and Early Years Provision.
