Standon Parish Council

Standon Parish Council is non-political and is made up of three wards, Colliers End, Puckeridge and Standon. Parish Councils are the first tier of Local Government and therefore have an important role to play in local democracy.

Whilst some powers have been taken away over the years, the parish council are still able to work with the local community, ensuring what powers they do have make the Parish a pleasant place to live and work by maintaining, protecting and developing the environment around us. In England there are nearly 100,000 Parish and Town Councillors who make up around 10,000 Parish, Town and Community Councils.

The Parish Council is made up of unpaid volunteers who have either been elected or co-opted and stood because they want to make a difference by influencing decisions that affect the local communities.

Chairman of the Parish Council is Councillor Richard Stacey who joined the school for our 40th anniversary celebrations on Monday 18th July 2011 and was also a guest at our end of year Awards Assembly on Wednesday 20th July. Here is what he had to say about his visit:-

“It was a great honour to be invited to Ralph Sadleir School to join in their 40 year celebrations. The welcome I got when I arrived at the school from smartly dressed, polite children was fantastic and a credit to the Parish.

The day which included an assembly, sports day and picnic lunch, followed by strawberries and cream for the visitors and staff was tremendous fun and there was a fantastic community feel around the school. The heavy rain did not dampen spirits or stop the event until the last minute and in true British style all the pupils had carried on with a smile on their face, taking part in their various sporting events.

Due to the weather it was not possible to present the prizes on the day, so I returned to their prize giving assembly a couple of days later to present the sporting awards and see them gain various other awards. Being part of this special assembly and seeing what they have achieved over the last year made me very proud of them and its times like this that make me feel so privileged to live in and be part of the Parish.

Whilst I did not go to Ralph Sadleir myself it certainly brought back memories of school sports days and assemblies (something you can never forget), some 25 plus years since I left school and it is something I will treasure for a long time.

One thing that struck me over both visits was the community feel around the school particularly how everyone got on with each other and were enthusiastic in celebrating their fellow pupils’ achievements. Everyone had a sense of pride and achievement and I really look forward to my next visit to the school.”

Click here to go to the Standon Parish Council website.