Catherine Burrell

As a parent of three children who have attended Swanland Primary School and a Teacher at Dunswell Academy, I have a strong connection and commitment to the Trust. Therefore, I am delighted to have had my idea ‘Edukos’ chosen by the Trustees as the new name for the Trust.  

The idea came to me while I was reading the influential 1961 novel ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ by Muriel Spark. In the book, the protagonist places an emphasis on valuing individual learner’s attributes and characters as well as heightening their awareness of themselves and of their world. She points out that although we think of education primarily as filling children’s head with facts and knowledge, the stem of the word ‘education’ actually comes from the word edukos meaning to ‘draw out of’.  

Having worked at Swanland Primary and then later Dunswell Academy, along with associating with the brilliant staff at Hook and Airmyn Park; I believe that this new name reflects the aspirations of all the staff at these schools and who are dedicated to wanting the absolute best for every single child in the Trust.  

To illustrate this, my own three children are all very different in their academic abilities, strengths and personalities and those that know them would say they couldn’t be more different! Despite this, at Swanland they have all been valued, nurtured, shaped and received a wonderful education in the truest sense of the word.