Secondary school wants to ‘restore former glory’ amid crackdown on bad behaviour

A head teacher who has taken over a Lynn secondary school wants to “restore it to its former glory” as staff look to enforce good manners among students.Darren Hollingsworth, who took the top role at King Edward VII Academy in January, wants to “make the town feel proud of its kids”.Amid a rise in teenagers nationally committing crimes and being involved in anti-social behaviour, Mr Hollingsworth said that Lynn “deserves more” than what is happening across the UK.

A new culture has been enforced at the school this September which enforces “genuine mutual respect” and cracks down on bad behaviour.Mr Hollingsworth said: “We feel like the town deserves more than what is presented nationally in the terms of behaviour both in school and in the community.“It is important at KES we know how to treat people with genuine mutual respect. We teach them manners in school, norms we want as parents our children to know. We teach them manners daily.”

Changes to the school include having teachers chaperone groups of students to their classes after break time to maintain a calm and orderly manner throughout the school. “We want to restore KES to its former glory,” said Mr Hollingsworth.The head teacher also wants to celebrate the school’s long history in the town, with KES being founded in 1510. Year 11 students now have a pelican on their ties, the bird which is on Lynn’s town crest.“We want to bring back some of the heritage from the town – the idea is that the town should be proud of its school,” Mr Hollingsworth added.“We are bringing a lot of traditional values back.” The school is hosting an open evening for prospective parents and students to take a look around.It is taking place on October 1 from 6-8pm.