Stranton Alumni

A Celebration of Success of Former Pupils of Stranton School!

This page is dedicated to showing our children and parents that its good to have aspirations, and we are sharing the stories of former pupils, who have gone on to greater things, whether this be in business, excelling in a particular skill or sport, or contributing to community and society in a positive way!  

If you are or know someone who used to attend Stranton and are proud of your achievements, we want to be proud of you/them too and would love you/them to feature on these pages and to be a Stranton Alumnus/Alumna. 

Please email/ask your parent/carer to email your story to jsimons@strantonschool.co.uk

If you can include:

• What your aspirations were when you attended the school
• Any fond memories of teachers or events
• Your particular journey to your goal with any challenges or tips for those who may want to follow a similar path
• A little bit about you now (live in Hartlepool still, studying?, kids? etc)
• An image you would be happy to share on the website, can be from school, image showing your success or a present photo

“I have truly been on a journey in year 6 my trips were amazing and with awesome memories that I would cherish and never forget. Stranton is an incredible school because it has the best facilities for young people”. 

Umer, who left Stranton in July 2018 to progress to Dyke House College, was recently voted into his new position as Member of Youth Parliament for Hartlepool!

In a constituency adults represent their local area as a Member of Parliament (MP), like an adult MP; the Member of Youth Parliament represents their constituency, working with local young people to help ensure their voices are heard. MYPs are part of the parliamentary group known as UK Youth Parliament.

The role of the MYP is to represent Hartlepool locally, regionally and nationally and they are responsible for facilitating the Make Your Mark national youth voice vote.

They will attend the annual sitting which is an annual conference to take part in workshops, debate, create and change national manifesto policy, and network. The MYP will attend all local and regional meetings across the year.

Umer's parents, Naureen and Yousef, who are both very active in supporting Stranton school, are extremely proud of the young man.   

He has recently featured in an edition of Student Voice @ Dyke House, an E:Magazine, where he mentions his time at Stranton having a positive influence and states that he has three ambitions for the town:

• To have clean beaches
• To prevent bullying
• To improve healthcare and education

Umer's ongoing pride and concern for his local community is apparent as he often takes time out to volunteer, most recently with a beach clean at Seaton Carew.

Aspirations when attending Stranton

I attended Stranton from the age of 3 till I left in year 6 as an 11-year-old. Throughout my time at Stranton I always aimed to achieve anything I set my mind to even if I came across some obstacles on the way. From being very young I always desired to become a teacher and follow in the footsteps of the amazing teachers who supported me throughout my time at Stranton. I always aimed to do well in my SATS and to continue my successes throughout secondary school and college in order to become a teacher.

I also always wanted to receive the ‘Most Outstanding Pupil’ award at the end of year 6. So, when my time in year 6 came to an end I was overjoyed to receive the award, from which the recipients were nominated by the teachers. I always had strong relationships with my teachers and continue to have these relationships with many of the teachers now.

Fond memories

My time at Stranton was always full of enjoyment as a result of the hard work and commitment of all members of staff I encountered. One memory that I will never forget is when Stranton hosted an event called ‘Teacher for a Day’. Each class nominated one pupil to swap roles with the teacher for the afternoon to teach one lesson. Each class was recorded by Mr D and shown as an episode on S.P.T.V. which is still accessible today via the school website. The event was memorable as a result of the actions of Mrs Lackenby and Mrs Nottingham. The pair behaved like naughty school children for the entirety of the lesson which I had the pleasure of teaching. The event was also a great experience as it allowed me to have an experience in the life of a teacher for the day as I got to plan and then teach the lesson.

Another great memory from Stranton is when Year 6 attended Crucial Crew for the day. As a year group we learned valuable life skills by experiencing dangerous situations that you may find yourself in. The setting with the young boy who had crossed the road and been knocked over taught valuable lessons, particularly when we went into a strange lady’s home and got threatened with a rolling pin. The day was a great experience and a good way to work together as a year group.

Journey to my goal

My overall goal throughout Stranton and since leaving the school has always been to become a teacher. I always deliberated between a primary school teacher and a secondary school teacher. When I attended secondary school, I had a passion for History and decided I would enjoy teaching that to students. However, I always came back to Stranton to conduct work experience and have worked with a variety of ages in doing so. I have a strong relationship with many members of staff which makes work experience enjoyable. I previously attended Newcastle University studying History and Geography together, after a successful set of A-Level results in both subjects, with the intention of completing a PGCE and becoming a humanities teacher. However, I decided to drop out of university as I did not find it enjoyable and decided to take a year out to truly decide what career I wanted to pursue. During my year out of education I volunteered as a classroom assistant at Stranton and decided to reapply for university on a primary education course to fulfil my dream of becoming a primary school teacher. Initially my decision to drop out of university and take a year out was daunting as I did not know what I would do instead of following the same path as all my friends and stay in education. The year out of education was beneficial and let me fully decide what was my next step to becoming what I had always aspired to be. I now study with the Open University through a distance learning course focused on primary education. To coincide with this, I volunteer two-three days a week at Stranton to gain valuable experience.

About me:

I currently still live in Hartlepool with my brother Lucas who attends the school and my dad. In August last year we lost my mam to cancer which impacted my ability to study away from home. As a result, studying through distance learning with the Open University has been beneficial in allowing me to remain at home to look after Lucas. I work part-time as a weekend supervisor in Poundland in the town centre which allows me to volunteer in Stranton during the week.