Toby Perkins MP visits Walton Peak Flying High Primary & Nursery Academy for Q&A.
Pupils at Walton Peak Flying High Primary & Nursery Academy were delighted to welcome their local Member of Parliament, Mr Toby Perkins into their classroom as part of their history enquiry about Ancient Greece and the subject of democracy. The visit gave children the chance to showcase what they had learned about voting, representation, and the importance of having a voice in society.
The MP praised the pupils for their enthusiasm and thoughtful questions, noting that understanding how democracy works is vital for the next generation. Teachers said the visit helped bring their lessons to life, giving pupils a real-world connection to the democratic process.
Toby Perkins MP said “It was really inspirational to meet the children at Walton Peak Flying High Academy and to learn about the project they are doing on Ancient Greece and democracy. During our discussion they had some really well thought out questions for me, and I was impressed with their public speaking skills, which is not at all easy, and particularly impressive in year 3 and 4 children.
“It was a very uplifting visit, and I am grateful for being given the opportunity to meet the children and to visit the school.”
Mark Parkinson is Headteacher at the school based on Whitecotes Lane in Chesterfield. He said, “We are grateful that Toby Perkins MP took the time to visit our children during their topic and to see the great things that are happening within our school. As well as visiting our classrooms, we were able to share the recent news of our 2025 SATs data for Walton Peak, which demonstrates how well the school and children are faring in all important measures. At the end of KS2 80% of our year 6 pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths against the national average of 62%. With 90% of pupils achieving the standard in reading, 80% in writing and 95% in maths.
“We are extremely proud of the outcomes, and this is now the third year in a row they have been above national since Walton Peak opened in September 2021. Throughout school children are achieving well in all statutory assessments, demonstrating both the high expectations the school has, and highlighting the hard work of our pupils. Our good news demonstrates the transformational change that has occurred at this school in recent years and we hope our MP and our local community are proud of our children’s achievements.”
Nicola Boler is a teacher at the school, and she said the visit brought children’s lessons to life. “During the recent visit KS2 children developed their historical enquiry, How did the Ancient Greeks change our lives? The children were very excited to come dressed in traditional Greek outfits to ask our MP some very well thought out questions to aid their understanding of how democracy works. They were extremely well prepared and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the role of a local MP.”
Pupil Ebony (KS2) said, “We invited Mr Perkins in to talk about democracy and asked him our own questions, we all enjoyed the visit and learned lots about his job as an MP.” Fellow pupil Alfie (KS2) said, “We have really enjoyed our history enquiry this term learning about the Ancient Greeks, it was great asking Mr Perkins about democracy!”
