We love you John Rankin - parents show their gratitude with display of colourful ribbons

Parents at a Newbury school have found a very public and colourful way of showing their gratitude and support for the teachers.

Hundreds of bright ribbons have been tied to the gates of John Rankin Junior School in a “lovely and spontaneous expression of love and positivity for our school” and in bid to spread some smiles during these difficult times.

Parent Hannah Hook said the community had come together and decided to adorn the railings outside the Henshaw Crescent school with the multi-coloured ribbons on Saturday, to coincide with the return of the Year 6s from a week residential.

“After another difficult year for the school and parents to navigate through with Covid and all the changing restrictions, we just wanted to feel a bit of love and give a bit of love, with a small gesture of positivity," she added.

“Our year 6s had spent a week on residential in North Wales and we’d been sent so many lovely emails, showing them having such a great time, we just wanted to say thank you to the school and the teachers.

“Our hope was that the staff would also then come in on Monday morning with smiles on their faces and know that every single parent here knows what a truly amazing school we are members of.”

Mrs Hook, who has three children at the school, said parents had just got “fed up of the gloom” but were surprised at the overwhelming response the ribbons have received.

“We went to the school on Saturday and my daughter was passing ribbons to everyone who walked past,” she said. “There were grandparents walking past and they stopped to tie a ribbon on; people were saying their children had gone to John Rankin in the 70s.”

Anna Sampson, who also has a child in year 6 at John Rankin, said the parents had felt “so positive and thrilled” to have had the flurry of emails last week showing what a great time the children were having on their residential that they were spurred into action.

“There was so much love and support for the school and it was most poignant as our children were away,” she said. “They had missed out on the opportunity to go last year and we were just really thrilled they got to go. So we went down on Saturday so the ribbons were there when they got home.

"My elder daughter used to go there and she has been back where with her friends and they have all tied ribbons on too.

“The school have always been absolutely brilliant; it’s a real community school.”

Mrs Hook said the school had gone above and beyond to make sure all the children continued to achieve their potential throughout the lockdowns of the past 18 months, with teachers calling parents individually to offer guidance and advice.

The residential finally going ahead had been the icing on the cake, she added.

She said that she was pleased to have been told this week that the ribbons have had a positive effect on all the members of staff at the school too.