Markington CE Primary and Nursery School

In September 2023, Markington Church of England Primary School began an exciting new partnership with Birstwith CE Primary School, with a new model of leadership under a shared Headteacher.  Both school have Church School foundations and have been keystones of their village communities for over a hundred years.  We aim cherish the uniqueness of each of our small village schools whilst working together to offer the best school experience for every child.  Click here to visit Birstwith's website.

Markington School  is an active member of the Ripon & Rural Schools Cluster.  This is a group of local small schools who work together to provide support and organise joint events to extend the opportunities available to staff and pupils - such as sporting touraments, tranisiton activities, and the school ambassador events.

We are a Church of England School and work closely with our local vicar, Rev Paul Harford, our Foundation Governors, and our Diocesian Advisor.   Several of our pupils have been invited to join the Ripon Cathedral Choir in recent years, and the chidren regularly visit St.Michael's Church in the village for worship.

We are also members of the HART teaching alliance, which provides up-to-date, research-based training for staff and governors, and in addition, Markington staff deliver training and support trainee teachers through our partnership with Northern Lights Teaching School Alliance (NLTSA) based in Skipton. These Alliances enable the sharing of good practice and provide many benefits to pupils and staff.  

We have close links with the school's local community in Markington village, and also wider, through our work with local schools in nearby villages and both Ripon and Harrogate.

We are members of several sports partnerships, which, as well as providing training for staff, organise tournaments and competitions in a wide variety of sports, enabling our children to compete at local, regional and national levels.

School invests in several partnerships to support our governing body in their roles.  We are members of the NGL (National Governance Assocation) and all governors also have access to training and resources from The School Bus.

We are members of NASS - the National Assocation of Small Schools - enabling us to share and learn from colleagues across the country in similar schools.

For over 20 years, the school has supported and maintained links with the (now grown up) children from a Romanian Orphange, initiated by a previous Markington Headteacher.  Some of the parents from our current children still remember links made when they were pupils at the school.  Our Harvest collection raises funds for firewood to help the 'Boys on the Farm' get through the freezing cold winter.