A SCHOOL in Andover has been recognised for their ability to raise students’ aspirations.

Harrow Way Community School has been given the gold award for The National SMSC Quality Mark.

The SMSC quality mark recognises schools for their efforts in supporting children and young people to raise their aspirations while instilling strong values such as compassion and hope.

The SMSC is awarded by Young Citizens, an charity that helps to educate, inspire and equip the active citizens of tomorrow.

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SMSC Quality Mark manager Safiyya Ahmed said: “I would like to thank all of the pupils who gave up their time to talk to me, they are a real credit to Harrow Way and I was most impressed by their integrity, truthfulness and awareness of the wider world. Every single pupil was able to articulate positive experiences and those ‘light bulb’ moments which we, as teachers, value so much.”

Students impressed Ms Ahmed with their ability to articulate their thoughts with confidence and clarity. She also found their understanding of the wider world, in spite of the demographics of the school, inspiring.

She praised Harrow Way’s SMSC lead’s commitment to embedding best practice at every level of school life and in her feedback she mentioned how vast she found the extracurricular provision at Harrow Way with a wide breadth of choice for students.

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Headteacher Michael Serridge said: “We are all very proud that we have achieve the highest standard of recognition by SMSC. Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are key to ensuring that they are able to make a positive difference to the society in which they live. We as a whole school community are committed to embedding SMSC throughout every element of life at Harrow Way.”

The SMSC Quality Mark has been developed by a working group comprised of educational consultants, headteachers and teachers, as well as staff from Young Citizens. The award is recognised for three years.­