First school in Northamptonshire awarded the Gold standard for health and wellbeing

07 February 2025

Daventry based – Falconer’s Hill Academy has become the first in the county to receive the prestigious Healthy Schools Gold Award for their outstanding commitment to promoting health and wellbeing among their pupils. 

The academy has had its hard work recognised with a Gold Award as part of the Healthy Schools initiative, which is led by West Northamptonshire Council and sets out to empower schools to improve the health and wellbeing of pupils, staff and the wider school community.  

The gold award follows their success in achieving Bronze and Silver Awards previously. The continued efforts and strive for fostering a healthy school environment saw the Academy listen to feedback from pupils and families to implement activities they would like to see take place. This included a focus on increasing the number of pupils who enjoyed and regularly participated in physical activities by embedding various initiatives, including after-school clubs and lunchtime activities, which saw a rise in uptake from 67% to 93%.   

"I like skipping and doing my own exercise. I’m not good at football and don’t really get a chance to play. I can do my own things to keep fit." – Year 5 Student 

As part of this, pupils have been involved in several engaging conversations on topics such as hydration, healthy sleep and eating which in-turn showed significant improvements in areas such as; self-confidence, self-awareness, physical activity, mental wellbeing and resilience. 

"We are thrilled to receive the Healthy Schools Gold Award. This recognition reflects our dedication to creating a supportive and healthy environment for our students. We will continue our commitment to health and wellbeing by integrating physical activity into daily routines and maintaining a focus on healthy lifestyles. Future initiatives include whole school events, regular surveys to monitor progress, and ongoing engagement with parents to ensure a consistent approach to health education."Angela Rock, Headteacher at the academy

“This is a fantastic achievement for Falconer’s Hill Academy to receive this award and reflects their ongoing commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of their pupils. To see such an increase of pupils participating in a variety of physical activity as well as positive feedback on important topics such as mindfulness and self-confidence is a great example of how embedding pupil feedback can make such an impact.  

“We have many schools and academies on different stages of the Healthy Schools Awards programme and we hope this is an encouraging case study for those on their award journey.”  Cllr Matt Golby, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Public Health and Regulatory Services at WNC

To find out more about our Healthy Schools Awards programme please visit: www.westnorthants.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing/healthy-schools-service