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Mum and son hoping for success in GCSEs


RESULTS day this summer will be a special moment for two members of The Malling School (TMS).


It turns out that EllenAskew, a


dinner lady at the school, and her son Luke are both sitting the same GCSE this year. With the exam season just


around the corner, the TMS Jour- nalism Club unearthed the story and interviewed the pair. Mum and son (pictured) both


live in Larkfield, and will be sit- ting their English GCSEs coming up thismonth and in June. Mrs Askew (49) said: “I'm


doing the GCSE now because I want to do my level three coun- selling course. “Sometimes I find it hard, but


when I’m stuck I ask Luke for help, although we do not study together. There is no competition between us.” She will be sitting her exams at


HadlowCollege. Luke, who has been at the


school since year seven, said: “I am currently finding it tiring and irritating. I’mfinding it fairly easy at the moment, although when I need help, I have to go to my teacher asmymother cannot help me!” Head teacher JohnVennart said:


“It just goes to show that just be- cause you’ve left school, you don’t stop learning. Like all of the stu- dents this year, we wish Mrs Askew and Luke both the best of luckwith theirGCSEs and cannot


Schools |News Marathon joy


for PE teacher HEAD of PE at the Aylesford School, Alex Groom, has success- fully completed the London Marathon – and is hoping to raise £2,000 for charity. It was the culmination of three


years of preparation and resulted in a time of 3hrs 56mins. Injury blighted one attempt at


the Brighton marathon and Alex had to withdraw from another after a similar niggle. This year, the problem rec-


curred ahead of the London race, but with the help of a physio he was able to make it. Mr Groom said: “I achieved a


time of 3.56 and raised over £1,600. Suddenly, all those long runs and hours spent in the gym paid off. “At times, I was close to conced-


ing defeat with the injury, but I am glad I showed the courage and resilience to carry on and achieve my goal. The feeling at the finish line was incredible.”


Exam stress


THE exam season is upon us and, with it, comes pressure which sends many students to seek help. Teens end up overwhelmed by


wait to hear the final results inAu- gust.” Mr Vennart is a keen supporter


of the TMS Journalism Club as a way of developing students’writ- ing skills, confidence building and gaining experience of the real world. He added: “Extra-curricular clubs like our JournalismClub can


open doors for young people.” The head took over from Carl


Roberts, who left to take up a role in theMiddle East, last September. The school is currently rated as


“good” by the education watch- dog Ofsted. TMS reporting team: Eboni Gladdish, Evie Webster, Lily Shutt and Morgan Lawrence.


Aaliyah’s call to cut speeding


A PUPIL at The Malling School has launched a petition against speeding on two roads near her classes. Aaliyah Kennedy is cam-


paigning to have the limits in New Road (currently 40mph) and Beech Road (30mph) low- ered drastically to make them safer. The student is arguing for a


reduction of 10mph of each. Beech Road, argues Aaliyah,


has blind spots while New Road suffers from a speeding problem, making it dangerous to cycle there. Her petition states: “Many in-


cidents have already happened to our students that were not their fault. Speed has always been the issue - even when ve- hicles are travelling at the cur- rent legal speed.” She cites the recent example


of a student who was hit by a car as he cycled out of New Road into Beech Road. Aaliyah adds: “We would like


to make a change in our com- munity where parents feel that their children are safe travel- ling to and from school.” So far, the petition has at-


tracted 250 signatures and could influence the highways author-


ity to make a change. Local resident John Howling


commented: “I live nearby and have seen New Road become much busier in recent years with too many speeding driv- ers. “I would like to see the limit


reduced to 30mph and think a further reduction to 20mph limit should also be considered near to the Beech Road junc- tion. Beech Road itself should have a 20mph limit. Well done for raising the issue.” The petition can be accessed


on The Malling School’s web- site.


the stresses of parental expecta- tion, exam performance and peer pressure. Childline volunteers delivered


more than 3,000 counselling ses- sions on exam stress to teenagers, 20% in the month of May. Of these, 50% of the recipients


were aged 12 to 15. The prospect of taking exams


had an adverse effect on mental health, leading to, in some cases, self-harming, depression and anx- iety, said the charity. Childline is available 24 hours a


day on 0800 1111 or at www.childline.org.uk.


Charity cut


A 10-YEAR-OLD Allington Pri- mary School pupil has been rais- ing money for a charity which helps children who lose their hair due to cancer. Finnley Bradley grew his blond


hair long in order to have it chopped off, raising £3,600 for the Little Princess Trust. The trust makes wigs for young


cancer sufferers who lose their hair during chemotherapy. Finnley had his shoulder-length


locks cut at the Bush Barbers in West Malling.


Malling May 2019 17


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