If you were watching the BBC South Today News on the evening of February 16, you might have spotted Sompting Abbotts’ Headmaster Mr Stuart Douch, along with children from Year 4..

The BBC ran a news feature about a Lockdown video performance poem by Year 4 and interviewed Mr Douch about his opinions on the forthcoming school return.

Mr Douch said schools had been “through a mangle“ with the “stop-starts”. “Look at what happened at Christmas. We thought we were going to be going back in a staggered fashion right up to the day before term was due to start,” he said.

He said how much he was looking forward to children returning to school when lockdown measures were eased but that he wanted to be entirely sure it would be safe before that happens. Schools, this time, he said needed to be given enough time to prepare.

“However good the remote education being provided is, it’s not the same as being physically in school because school isn’t just about academic achievement. It’s about emotional development and the pastoral support that school gives our children.

He praised Sompting Abbotts' staff and children for coping so well. “We’ve all clapped our wonderful NHS and keyworkers. We should be applauding our children too for coping with such massive changes in their lives and their routines and I am so proud of all of my staff for working so very hard .”

He urged parents and children to '“hang in there”. “There is life at the end of the tunnel.”

Presenter Sally Taylor described the children's poem as “wonderful” and 'beautifully done and beautifully delivered”.

To see the full version of the poem that featured in the BBC News item, please click here.