A head teacher from Radstock attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace hosted by His Majesty King Charles III.

Cathie Lampert attended the Education and Skills Garden Party on Wednesday May 14, which was held by the King and Queen to recognise those working in education across the country.

Around 7,000 industry representatives attended the event, including Ms Lampert, head of St Mary’s Church of England Primary School and Nursery in Writhlington, Radstock. She was nominated by St John’s Foundation.

Sam Gillett, head of funding at St John’s Foundation, said: “St John’s nominated Cathie to attend the Education and Skills Garden Party at Buckingham Palace because of her years of supporting under-served children.

“We have had the pleasure of working with Cathie through our Primary Empowerment Programme for five years. Cathie has always been extremely positive about our collective ability to improve outcomes for those children who most need support.”

Cathie said: "Attending the Buckingham Palace Garden Party as head of St Mary’s was a truly memorable experience.

“I may have been there in person, but I also carried with me the pride, joy and spirit of all the children and staff at St Mary’s. It was a day full of tradition, celebration and a real sense of honour – one I’ll never forget."

St Mary’s is one of 17 schools that are supported by The Partnership Trust, a Multi-Academy Trust based in Radstock.

Emily Massey, CEO of the trust, said: “I’m so pleased that Cathie was invited to attend the prestigious event at Buckingham Palace. She has been rightly recognised as an inspiration in education.”

St Mary’s primary school was praised by OFSTED in December 2024 for its “exceptional” programme of personal development, and ensuring “that pupils get off to a strong start with their education”, and was noted as ‘Outstanding’ in its personal development.