A SUPPORTIVE St Albans school has been crowned winner of a national education award for its work with pupils suffering from epilepsy.

Sandringham School was presented with the education award, or ‘Edward’, by charity Epilepsy Action in recognition of its work in supporting one of its pupils with the condition, 13-year-old Luke Pile.

The awards were launched to mark the charity’s 60th anniversary and are designed to recognise good practice in education for people with epilepsy. The school, on The Ridgeway, was nominated for the award by Luke’s parents to show their appreciation for the work it has done to help him. Luke lives with severe complex epilepsy and learning difficulties and the measures taken by the school to support him include an epilepsy awareness day for all staff and individual education and health plans. He also has a home diary which both parents and teachers can write in as well as a safe place to go to recover if he has a seizure.

Luke’s school friends also all know about his condition and are very supportive.

Luke’s mum, Rebecca Pile, who was delighted at the news, said, “We are very grateful that the school has a strong inclusive ethos. Luke is fully involved in all aspects of school life – he has attended overnight school trips and he is never made to feel different to his peers.”

Alan Gray, head teacher at Sandringham School added: “It’s fantastic to see that we are doing the right things for children with epilepsy. It’s also good to know that parents feel confident that their children are well-supported during the school day. We hope to continue to build on our success in supporting children with epilepsy in the future.”