A colourful celebration for a Derby school at the launch of their ‘Legacy Courtyard’

Jon has left a lasting impression on the school with his creation of four Marvel-inspired colourful Learning Superheroes. Each superhero was designed to encourage the children in his care to believe in themselves and help them understand what it means to be a great learner. Jon’s design and animation of each character (Resilience, Reciprocity, Reflectiveness and Resourcefulness) and the meaning behind them, are still applied to encourage the children of this school to fall in love with learning, whilst gaining confidence and independence and building their resilience. It was his legacy that inspired the design of a colourful space at the heart of the school.

On Friday morning the children arrived wide-eyed and with beaming smiles as they were able to access their finished ‘Legacy Courtyard’ for the very first time. The staff reminded the children of the purpose of each of the four areas and then encouraged them to explore their new environment. In no time at all the children were using the space as intended as they balanced on beams, somersaulted over bars and gathered in groups to debate their new space. Creative conversations were heard and dance routines were performed, whilst some children enjoyed some quiet time in the reflective yellow seated area.

The excitement built in the afternoon as staff, families and friends of the school lined the playing field and cheered on the children in their fundraiser ‘Colour Run’. Squeals of delight and giggles and encouraging whoops on the school megaphone could be heard for miles as the children made their way around the course running through rainbows of powder paints thrown by their peers. This fun event rounded off a magical day for all involved and raised a further £1100 for the ‘Legacy Courtyards’.

The ‘Legacy Courtyard’ has undergone months of planning and construction under the watchful eye of the school project team which involves Jacqui Trowsdale, Head of School and Liam Williams, Head of School Operations. Jacqui said “I feel so proud of this school community! I have had the privilege of being part of the process from the start and I am full of gratitude for everyone who has contributed to bringing our Legacy Courtyard to life. Our school and trust values are lived out every day here at school and our colourful superheroes are meaningful reminders of Jon’s desire to support children in their learning and personal development. This wonderful outdoor area offers so much flexibility. It is an additional learning space where it can serve as a place to read, reflect and enjoy quiet conversations, or a performance space for the children to work on their creative performances and oracy skills, which helps build their confidence and resilience.

Liam added. “For those who know our school well, we have wanted to revamp our quadrangle outdoor space for some time. It’s literally the centre of our school, with all of our classroom corridors overlooking the space. It was tired with an old wooden hut dominating the space which wasn’t very user-friendly. Now it’s a bright and cheery multi-purpose space with colour-coded areas that chime with our superheroes and their meaning. Its prime location has enabled the children and staff to watch the weekly progress. The main transformation, however, took place over the Easter holiday and the final touches were only made this week - so you can imagine how excited the children are to be able to enjoy it for the first time.”

Designer Megan Hough of the Playground Company worked closely with the school to bring the Legacy Garden to fruition and was delighted to witness the children’s reactions to the space. She said, “I’m so happy to be here today. My job is to create spaces that are fun, safe and educational for children of all ages and abilities, and every design should be unique to the space available. Seeing the children’s faces here today and watching the space come to life is a joy. I’m so happy that we’ve nailed the brief. It's wonderful to hear and now see how this has all come together – what a wonderful community effort!”

Noel Sanders, Governor at Allenton proudly explains “It is great to see that the Legacy Courtyard is open. It is a fitting tribute to the hard work and dedication of Mr Fordham, former Headmaster of the school. The Courtyard brings new learning facilities to the school whilst also giving the children a visual link to the values set by Mr Fordham and maintained by the school to this day: Resilience, Reciprocity, Resourcefulness and Reflectiveness. These important values will help the children as they go forward in their journey through the school and beyond.”

This community-minded school works in partnership with its parents and carers and so it was important they felt part of the day. Parent Vicky Dunkley was keen to say, “the Legacy Courtyard is a great way of remembering Mr Fordham, who did so much for this school. As the current head girl, and one of the most senior children of the school, my daughter had the privilege of being taught by Mr Fordham and was one of the first to explore the Legacy courtyard today. She loves it! I think Mr Fordham would be really proud of the staff and everyone who has helped create this space.”

Support in many shapes and forms has come from local businesses and the wider community throughout the creation of the courtyard This continued support was still in evidence on Friday afternoon where the children took part in a sponsored colour run. Wathalls Funeral Directors covered the costs of the children's white t-shirts and Aquinas Education made sure there was plenty of coloured powdered paint to be thrown in the path of the older children in KS1 and KS2. Connor Meakin from Aquinas Education, who also came to offer support said “I’m so pleased to be here today. We have a wonderful relationship with this school and trust and it’s just lovely to be able to give back to this community. We like to help wherever we can.”

Helen, Jon Fordham’s wife came to support the event and cheer on her daughter Sophie. “We are just so grateful as a family for the ongoing support that the school has shown to both Jon and our family over the past two years. It's just lovely to see the children of Allenton, still remembering him, but also moving on and doing great things together. Today is nice and colourful – the legacy courtyard and the colour run– it’s a fitting tribute for Jon. He would have loved it”. Parent Amy Hogkinson agreed, “I think a lot of the children at Allenton really do see themselves as superheroes – and that’s largely thanks to Mr Fordham.”

The school community inhabited the Trust’s motto of “Together we achieve” by raising an impressive total of £6000 towards the cost of the Legacy Courtyard.

Executive Head Teacher, Andrew Sharp, pictured with Jon’s daughter, Sophie concluded, “Today was a joyous occasion and one that the children and school will remember with huge smiles for a long time to come. Jon/Mr Fordham would certainly have been so proud of everyone in their approach and attitude towards this memorable day – particularly the children.”

Allenton Community Primary School is part of the Transform Trust family that has kindness at its core. To find out more about Allenton Community Primary School, you can visit their website or follow them on X. For more information regarding Transform Trust, you can follow them on X and visit their website.