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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Lauren Harte

Meet the Lisburn primary school caretaker bringing joy to pupils with weekly show

Chris Curlett isn't your average run of the mill school caretaker. In fact at St Colman's Primary School in Lambeg, he's become something of a legend.

While Chris, 33, from East Belfast, is responsible for health and safety and the daily running of the school, he's perhaps better known to pupils, staff and parents as the host of his very own weekly show.

Every Friday afternoon, The Chris Curlett Show is beamed into classrooms around the school on the interactive white boards.

Read more: Mum's tribute to brave teenage daughter after death from brain tumour

Complete with its own theme song, the show is recorded and edited by Chris in the preceding days as he interviews the children about their personal achievements.

He's also created 'The Cleanest Class' - a weekly Premier League style competition with points awarded to the cleanest class - and the winner at the end of the year also gets a prize.

Chris initially started working at St Colman's PS as a classroom assistant for children with Special Needs seven years ago before taking over from the retiring caretaker. His daughter Matilda, 11, is a P7 pupil in the school.

Belfast Live paid a visit to St Colman's this week to meet the famous host of their very own version of 'School Around the Corner'.

Chris explained: "The show evolved from another programme I did every week called 'The Cleanest Class Show'. During the pandemic, the kids were in their various classes and bubbles so the cleaning staff schedule was doubled and I wanted to find a way for the children to keep their classes cleaner.

"My wife came up with the idea so every Friday I'd announce who had the cleanest class in the whole school that week in a bid to motivate them all to keep it clean and it worked wonders.

"Once Covid ended and we were able to return to normality, I stopped doing the show as I felt it wasn't needed anymore and the children were not happy at all. They tortured me to keep it going so I had to think how I could make it better and came up with 'The Chris Curlett Show'."

But instead of focusing on keeping classrooms cleaner, Chris decided to switch the focus onto the children themselves.

He said: "It was an opportunity for me to interview them about something they'd done that they were proud of. For example one of our children has created a comic book which they are in the process of writing and designing themselves while another won a massive trophy in an Irish dancing competition.

"I thought well your class knows about this but what about letting the whole school know so I would do an interview with them and post it to the school and the children loved it."

Chris added: "I'm a true believer that there are children all over the world going to school who might be shy and afraid to speak out. Unfortunately then their talents will go unnoticed or under the radar so what I want to do is help children build a level of confidence where something that they find cool, other people will find cool too.

"I like to focus on those children who are proud of their achievements and then broadcast it to the entire school. I think it's great for the staff too. We're very lucky that we're such a close community in the school and we run it like a family. You should be proud of your family's achievements so that's what I hope to get through the show."

Chris' fellow staff certainly are full of admiration for his efforts within the school to promote a positive, happy and safe learning environment and feel that he engages with the 400 pupils in ways that some teachers cannot.

Principal Stephen Baine added: "Believe it or not Chris is as much loved by the parents as he is by the children. I see that every morning at the school gates where Chris and I stand as the parents hand over the children.

"He's particularly good with those children who find it difficult coming into school in the morning but once they see Chris, that nervousness goes and they come through the gate while he settles them.

"He's a super addition to our school and we don't like losing any of our staff but if I get word that any broadcasters are sniffing around my caretaker, I'll be very concerned!"

Video by Belfast Live videographer Harry Bateman.

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