Smiles, roses and happy tears at the school gates as Northampton parents delighted by gestures of post-Brexit unity

Mums and dads each received a rose from a child on arrival at a Northampton primary school today in a gesture of unity following the Brexit vote.

Both the teachers and parents at Cedar Road Primary, in Abington, noticed on the morning of the result that mums and dads felt uncertain about what would happen next.

So a handful of mums organised for children to hand a rose to each parent as they walked by the school or through the gates.

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Kay Gerrett, the headteacher, said: “Everybody feels a bit like ‘what’s going to happen’ and so this is where it came from and our parent body is lovely.

“Let’s all be positive for the sake of our young people who are the next generation.

“The mood on the playground on Friday morning was a little bit quiet, I have to say.

“I think that’s uncertainty.

“We have 23 different nationalities here who live, work and play together and we’re all one big happy family. That may sound trite but it’s so true.

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“They just wanted to say, lets pull together, stop being silly.”

Well over one hundred flowers were handed out in total with the delight on people’s faces evident.

Stephanie Small, one of the parents who organised the flower giving, said: “Personally, watching the dads get the flowers has been the nicest part.

“Making sure that our children’s futures are the best they can be is the important thing and we can only do that if we are all together.

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“It occurred to us that, even within our own families, there’s some divisions because of the vote - it doesn’t just affect one grouping in the community.

“There are arguments within families and between friends. That’s not the best way to go forward, is it?

“The best way is to say, this is how it is now, we have got to work to make it the best we can for our kids.”

There were hugs between parents and even a few tears as they left, and lots of ‘thank-yous’ to the organisers.

Ayesha Kashif, a mum who received a flower from her son’s classmate, said: “It’s a very, lovely and caring idea. A heart-touching idea.”

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