Educate may 2016

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Educate

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The Magazine for Schools, Parents and Pupils May – August 2016

Choosing a secondary school A Parent’s Guide

Has your school got the WOW factor?

Be a part of the biggest celebration of education in the region (see inside)

NEW SIXTH FORM CENTRE OPENS SEPTEMBER 2016

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We specialise in reinvigorating the Quality of Teaching in schools through highly motivating training and coaching with video.

We can offer INSET days or train 10 of your most enthusiastic teachers to become in house peer coaches, working to re-energise teachers at all levels. Our aim is to move teachers up at least one Ofsted level.

We focus on sustainable impact by training your staff to replicate our processes and thus making ourselves obsolete. Detailed impact reports are provided for governors and inspectors. We work in both Secondary and Primary with testimonies from over 30 headteachers. We have had particular impact within the context of Ofsted categories, having been alluded to in a number of Section 8 reports.

FREE TRAINING: to celebrate our 5th Anniversary, we are offering five schools one half day’s training for free. Topics can be tailored to schools’ needs.

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Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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Educate Contents 52-53

Welcome...

80

Welcome to the May edition of Educate.

110

82-85

Features

63-74

07-10

Educate 16+ Education, training and learning

Choosing a secondary school A guide to secondary school admissions

77

38-39 Meet the headteacher Martyn Campbell, St Edmund Arrowsmith Centre for Learning

43-45 Countdown to victory Educate Awards 2016 - why enter?

A week in the life Karen Hutchings, headteacher at New Park Primary School

82-85 The Great North West Summer Finding ways to entertain the chiildren over the summer holidays

117 52-53 Meet the headteacher Kim Webster, Clare Mount Specialist Sports College

Book review This season’s must reads

118-119

54

Safe in the sun Cover up surf style this summer

Viewpoint Fixing the date of school term times

120-121

56-57 Thoughts worth sharing Bitesize thinking

Where can we go?

Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region

122 59-61 School eco news Pupils are keen on green

My school days Adele Roberts Radio 1 DJ

Front cover: Bellerive FCJ Catholic College Published by Mersey Mirror, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. Tel: 0151 709 7567 Fax: 0151 707 1678 Email: post@merseymirror.com Executive Editor Kim O’Brien Advertising Sales Tel: 0151 709 7567 Photography Liam Deveney, Graham Peel Editorial Alan Birkett, Jennifer Chamberlain, Hannah Fowler, Lydia Connelly, Sarah Brown Design & Production Mersey Mirror, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. Tel: 0151 706 7411 Email: post@merseymirror.com Distribution Barbara Troughton Tel: 0151 733 5492. Printed by PCP. Educate magazine is published by Mersey Mirror.

The contents of this magazine are fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reprinted or reproduced without permission.

Disclaimer The information contained within Educate we believe to be correct at the time of printing, no responsibility can be accepted for errors or omissions. © Copyright Mersey Mirror 2009.

As Year 6 pupils prepare to complete their primary education, the process of choosing a secondary school starts all over again for the current Year 5. The Educate team believe this daunting task requires a comprehensive guide to help parents navigate their way around the current, and increasingly changing landscape. With a calendar of open days about to begin we recommend a read of our special feature, which includes everything you need to consider.

Many of you may already be counting down to summer and we don’t blame you! However there is also less than two months to go until the Educate Awards entry deadline on 24 June and we want to make sure you are counting down to this date too. To find out why your school should enter or why you should nominate a teacher or school support star please head to page 43.

Finding ways to entertain kids over the school holidays can be a never-ending task and often we also want to find something a little bit different. For example did you know you can trek with llamas in the North West? From those with a curious mind to those seeking thrills we present our top picks of things to do this summer.

Fixing the date for term times in schools became a topic of conversation following the recent spring break and different holidays between schools. Find out our panel’s views on page 54 where they share their thoughts.

Don’t forget to have your say and get in touch @EducateMag!

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News

Highlighting the dangers Safer Internet Day 2016 Schoolchildren across the region have taken part in Safer Internet Day, a global event designed to help ‘promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people’.

Educate spent the morning with pupils and staff at Whitefield Primary in Liverpool where the school’s eCadets led online safety training for their fellow pupils, and all years enjoyed a special assembly designed to highlight the potential dangers of playing online games against complete strangers.

Nadine Carroll, headteacher at Whitefield School, said: “These days, it is essential to equip children with armour for internet safety. Events like this are absolutely vital to educate the citizens of tomorrow of the dangers they face today.

“Our eCadets do an incredible job as we firmly believe the children learn more when taught by their peers.”

In the afternoon, Bickerstaffe CE Primary School played host joining the older pupils in watching ‘Jenny’s Story’, a hard-hitting true story about a girl who was groomed online. The younger years also got involved designing fun posters but all activities carried a serious message about staying safe online.

Explaining why Safer Internet Day was important to her, Year 5 pupil Lottie said: “I use the internet a lot and lots of young

The fantastic eCadets from Whitefield Primary School

children don’t understand the dangers of people pretending to be somebody they’re not.

“If we don’t have a Safer Internet Day, we will be less aware and more vulnerable to the people who are faking.”

Safer Internet Day – a global event now in its sixth year – is coordinated by the UK Safer Internet Centre. Over a thousand organisations get involved and pupils and staff can access resources designed to highlight the potential

dangers of using the internet, as well as providing guidance and support to children when online. eCadets is a structured, pupil-led peer empowerment eSafety programme for 318 year-olds; schools can join the programme and work towards achieving the eCadet Gold Mark.

Schools appoint their own eCadets who learn about online safety and then provide peer-led eSafety training within their school.

New school building contracts awarded Contracts worth almost £9 million have been awarded for construction work on two schools in Liverpool.

It will see a new £7 million home for Palmerston School on the site of the current Aigburth High on Minehead Road with Aigburth High moving to a brand new building on Childwall Abbey Road in Childwall.

The new Palmerston School will be a single storey building and will accommodate boys and girls aged 11-19 years with severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple needs, and will be completed by April 2017.

It will include a sports and dining hall plus a new hydrotherapy and splash pool together with sensory learning spaces.

Also, St Margaret’s C of E Academy in Aigburth is to get a new £2 million teaching block, which will house a food technology lab and drama hall/theatre opening in time for the start of the new academic year in September 2016.

Assistant Mayor and cabinet member 6

for education, councillor Nick Small, said: “The current Palmerston School is past its sell-by date and although the teaching is excellent the staff and pupils are hampered by The proposed the lack of outdoor space Palmerston School and modern learning facilities. of half the main playground hopefully to “The work at St Margaret’s will enable be outweighed by the excitement and them to extend their range of academic opportunity of this new facility! and vocational courses, giving students “Work will start on the food tech more choice in the subjects they can facilities after half term! Again a few study. salads and cold dinners won’t shock too Palmerston School principal Lis much in the summer while the builders Burbidge said: “The staff and pupils are reorganise the kitchen facilities! delighted about the prospect of the new “The fact that we will be able to offer school and are already planning how we these two subjects in brand new state of will use the exciting new rooms and the art facilities is very exciting indeed. At outdoor space.” a time when much focus is on the Principal at St Margaret’s Academy, academic it is a refreshing change to give Stephen Brierley, said: “Work has started consideration to the technology and on the new drama hall. A huge steel performing arts! It certainly broadens our structure already erected outside. The loss already rich curriculum”.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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• A G U I D E TO •

SECONDARY SCHOOL

• ADM ISSIONS •

Words by

Lydia Connolly

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Choosing a secondary school

Choosing a secondary school is a daunting task. As the numbers of pupils increase and the amount of places become more and more sparse, parents can begin to feel as though their options are limited.

From when to start looking at schools, what to look for at open days and how the application process works, this comprehensive guide compiles everything a parent needs to consider when choosing a secondary school for their child.

What is the Merseyside landscape in terms of choices available for parents?

The Merseyside landscape offers a broad range of schools available to children. From academies to faith schools, single sex to mixed schools, parents have a lot of decisions to make when deciding what kind of school is best for their child.

If a child is comfortable with sitting an entrance exam, there is one grammar school in Liverpool that offers 180 places and six grammar schools in Wirral offering a total of 985 places.

The growing range of school specialisms means that parents can tailor their child’s talents to the strengths of a particular school, these specialisms range from music, business, languages, sports, science and many more.

The issue with the Merseyside landscape is that while there are many schools on offer, increasingly selective admissions criteria can limit the options available. Grammar schools only appoint places to those who pass an entrance exam and faith schools are selective based on religion. Some schools can even place a percentage of students based on their success in the school’s specialism.

When should parents begin choosing a school?

People may say that parents should start looking at schools from as early as choosing the location of the family home and considering the schools in the area. As many schools take location into consideration during the admissions process this factor can play a major part in choosing a secondary school.

Ideally, parents will begin researching secondary schools when their child begins Year 5.

With open days taking place normally in September, October, January and July, beginning the research early will ensure that parents have the opportunity to visit all of the schools they are interested in.

It is so important to look at all of the options available, research five schools and narrow this

–––

Listening to the headteacher’s speech presents parents with the opportunity to gain an impression of the school’s leadership team.

They should consider how well the headteacher articulates the school’s vision and values ––– down to three. Consider a ‘wild card’ and visit the open day of a school that may not have been considered in the past as parents could find that it is a great option for their child.

Remember that some schools admissions processes involve an assessment day which can take place before the government application deadline. This means that some selective schools ask for application forms to be sent off in the first week of September. Parents who wait until their child has started Year 6 may find themselves pushed for time if they’ve yet to consider secondary school options.

What should parents be looking for?

All parents want the best for their child, but if the highest ranked secondary school is not in their catchment area, that doesn’t mean their child has been cheated out of an education.

It is easy to listen to talk at the school gate and make judgments about which schools to apply to on the basis of these conversations. Yet what may be the best option for one child is not necessarily best for another. Children who are musically gifted may suit a different school to one who is talented

at sports. Weigh up a child’s talents, abilities or interests and measure these against what each school has to offer.

Most importantly, parents should be realistic about the options available to their child. If applying to a school that is far away consider the commute and decide whether this is still a viable option. Also, it is essential that a child fits with a schools entry criteria and parents shouldn’t waste an option on their preference form or raise a child’s hopes on gaining a place at a school they have little hope of attending.

What should be focused on during an open day?

It is important to look at how teachers interact not only with parents, but also with current and prospective pupils. Strong relationships between teachers and pupils reveals a lot about a school’s sense of community. Inspirational and dedicated teachers are vital to the success of a school.

Be sure to prepare questions to ask both teachers and pupils. Parents should make sure that the tour of school includes areas that are of interest to their child such as sports facilities, drama studios or science labs. If certain areas of the school are avoided on a tour be sure to question why.

Parents should focus on their child if they decide to take them with them. Remember that this a huge transition and if a child is excited about attending a particular school this can make this transition so much easier.

Listening to the headteacher’s speech presents parents with the opportunity to gain an impression of the school’s leadership team.

They should consider how well the headteacher articulates the school’s vision and values. From this parents can get a real sense of the leadership team’s enthusiasm and passion, as well as a feel for the school’s academic mission.

What are the values of school specialisms?

School specialisms are specific fields that a school

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Choosing a secondary school

–––

Ideally, parents will begin researching secondary schools when their child begins Year 5. With open days taking place normally in September, October, January and July, beginning the research early will ensure that parents have the opportunity to visit all of the schools they are interested in.

––– excels in. Specialisms include sport, science, languages, music and even sustainability. This means that parents can tailor their children’s strengths or interests to a school that reflects them.

Schools specialising in languages may offer exciting exchange opportunities while a science specialist will have top of the range laboratories.

A child who loves drama will benefit from a school that puts on big yearly productions and has an after school drama club.

Some specialist schools select a percentage of students based on their aptitude for the specialist subject. For example, a language specialist may assess prospective pupils for a high aptitude for learning a new language.

How does your primary school choice affect secondary applications?

Some secondary schools offer priority to pupils making the transition from a feeder school.

Not all primary schools are feeder schools and this could be something that parents consider when selecting a primary school for their child.

An important thing to note is that attending a feeder school does not guarantee a secondary place. Some factors such as religion or having a sibling in the school can rank above feeder schools in the selection process. For example, a child attending a feeder to a faith school will

be of lower preference if they do not follow the associated faith.

If a parent is considering a secondary school and their child does not attend an associated feeder school, they should consider their chances of meeting the entrance requirements against children who do attend a feeder school in the area.

Who decides on the admissions policy?

Admissions policies are decided either by the local education authority (LEA) or the school’s governing body.

Selective schools such as grammar schools are able to select pupils based on ability with places allocated to those scoring highest in an entrance assessment or 11+.

The LEA decides the admissions process for community and comprehensive schools, these schools do not select their intake on the basis of academic achievement.

Voluntary aided schools are state-funded schools where a foundation or trust, usually a religious organisation, has significant influence in the running of the school. The governing body decides on the admissions policy which means that the policy differs according to each school. Faith schools base admissions on affiliation with the associated religion but some will reserve ‘community’ places for children from the local area.

Academies also have admissions policies that are decided by the school’s governing body. Each academy must be researched individually as admissions policies will differ for each school.

How does the application process work?

In September 2016, all Year 6 pupils will receive an admissions booklet from their respective borough. This booklet will outline the application process, the schools in the borough and their up to date admissions policies including the number of places on offer.

Applications can be made online or through paper forms to the local authority. Parents must apply to their own local authority, even if applying to a school in a different borough.

Once parents have narrowed down their three choices, they must list these in order of preference on the application form. The order of preferences is very important as in the event that an applicant receives an offer from more than one school, the place will be allocated

at the school placed as highest preference.

However, the order of preference does not affect the chances of a child receiving a place.

All applicants are weighed up against the entry criteria equally, regardless of whether the school has been listed first or third.

Some schools will also ask for supplementary forms to be sent to them separately, parents must ensure that any additional forms are completed and sent to the school.

Does it matter what borough you live in if you want to apply to a school in a different borough?

Parents can apply to schools in any borough but they will apply via their own local authority.

For example, if the family home is in Knowsley but a parent wishes to apply to a school in Liverpool, they will do this through the Knowsley local education authority.

If parents find that the options within their borough are limited or often oversubscribed, it can be worthwhile to look at the options available outside of their borough. In some cases parents may discover that although in a different borough, their address may still be within another school’s catchment area.

–––

Most importantly, parents should be realistic about the options available to their child. If applying to a school that is far away, consider the commute and decide whether this is still a viable option. Also, it is essential that a child fits with a school’s entry criteria and parents shouldn’t waste an option on their preference form or raise a child’s hopes.

–––

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Choosing a secondary school

–––

It is important to look at how teachers interact not only with parents, but also with current and prospective pupils.

Strong relationships between teachers and pupils reveal a lot about a school’s sense of community.

––– What are some of the criteria schools follow in their selection process?

Information on schools admissions policies can be found on school websites and in the government’s admissions booklet.

Schools can decide on pupils based on catchment area, religion, having a sibling in the school, the results of an assessment day or entrance exam and their attendance at a feeder school.

Parents should remember that catchment areas are not static and depending on the number of applicants each year these areas can either increase or decrease. This means that just because in previous years a school has accepted pupils from a four-mile radius does not mean the same will apply the following year.

How are catchment areas measured?

Catchment areas are measured in two ways.

Some schools measure their catchment area based on the distance of the school from the prospective pupil’s home in a straight line. Other schools measure distance by the most suitable route as generated by a computer. Details on which system each school uses is available in the schools admissions policy.

What is banding?

Banding is a system used by some academies to decide on their intake. Based on an assessment, applicants are divided into several bands.

The school will take a set percentage of applicants from each band. This system aims to ensure that the school receives an intake of students with a range of abilities.

How have academies changed things?

When a school becomes an academy it is no longer under the control of the local education authority. This means that the day to day running of the school, including entry criteria, is decided by the board of governors.

If a parent is considering a school for their child that has recently converted to an academy they should check the entry requirements carefully as they have might have changed from previous years.

Due to an influx of funding, newly converted academies will tend to have new facilities and enhanced buildings. While this is great, if a school has previously been failing, parents should look at other changes that have been made in the conversion process including the leadership team and school mission. Be sure that the school is actively solving the issues previously faced, not just masking them with a brand new building.

How much involvement should a child have in the process?

It is important to take a child’s considerations into account when choosing a school, however a child’s reasons for choosing a secondary school can be very different from a parent’s.

While children may be concerned about attending the same school as their friends, they must remember that they will change over the next five or more years and new friendships will blossom in this time.

Ensure that the child is involved in asking questions at open days and that their favourite subjects are covered in school tours.

However, it’s not a good idea to take children to open days of schools if they fail to meet the

–––

Some secondary schools offer priority to pupils making the transition from a feeder school.

Not all primary schools are feeder schools and this could be something that parents consider when selecting a primary school for their child.

–––

–––

It is important to take a child’s considerations into account when choosing a school, however a child’s reasons for choosing a secondary school can be very different from a parents.

––– admissions criteria. For a similar reason, parents should take care not to create a negative impression about any schools that are being considered. Creating a negative impression about a particular school could result in further upset if the child is not accepted at their first choice.

Should/can my primary school help me with the process?

Primary schools can help with the understanding of the application process and most teachers will be happy to answer any questions regarding this.

However, a child’s primary school has no involvement in a secondary school admissions process as this decision remains with the secondary school. Primary schools are not responsible for a child’s admission into secondary school.

For this reason, many primary school teachers may avoid recommending schools to parents to avoid being made accountable if the child does not gain a place.

Is there any information about this year’s admissions that may help parents make their choice for next year?

Finalised admissions criteria is not available until the secondary school admissions booklet is released in September 2016.

Last year’s booklets are available online from the relevant borough’s council. These can be used to get a general idea about what schools admissions criteria may look like. However, this information should not be taken as final as criteria could change for this year.

Information regarding this year’s admissions may be available earlier at schools holding open days this summer.

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OPEN EVENING Monday 19th September 2016 6.00pm-8.30pm

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Primary News

Star struck Hollywood star returns to boost school attendance Hollywood actor, Stephen Graham, returned to his roots to tour a number of Knowsley schools and reward those who have successfully completed the school attendance 30 day challenge.

To complement the year long campaign, a shorter 30day challenge was introduced around the Christmas period – which traditionally sees a dip in attendance.

Pupils were encouraged to give 100% attendance throughout December and January and there was a 19% increase in pupils achieving 100% attendance compared to the previous year.

The campaign commenced in September 2015 and at the end of the third half term, primary school 100% attendance is 95.9% and secondary 93.5%. At the end of the spring term, silver attendance medals were awarded to almost 3,000 pupils who retained their 100% attendance record – an

additional 600 pupils compared with the same period last year.

Lord Derby Academy received the ‘most improved / best performing secondary school’ award with St Anne’s Catholic Primary School receiving the ‘best performing primary school’ award, Bluebell Park Special School also received a ‘special award’ Since the academic school year commenced in September 2015, the council’s school attendance team has been working with teachers, pupils and their parents or carers to reiterate the importance of school attendance and that requests for absences such as going on holiday or for birthdays would not be approved.

Stephen told pupils at Lord Derby Academy: “I’m very honoured to be here to congratulate you on your achievements.

“Knowledge gives you the power to be whoever you

want to be in life, and the key thing to this is attendance. If you’re not in school you won’t learn.

“Whatever you dream you want to do in life, anything is possible if you put the work in.”

Hollywood actor, Stephen Graham reads to pupils from St Anne’s Primary School.

Pupils show their support

Fundraising friends St Aidan’s pupils in their bandanas.

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Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

Pupils at St Aidan’s Primary School, Billinge donned colourful bandanas for the day to raise funds for Clatterbridge Hospital and to show their support and solidarity with one of their classmates, who is currently receiving care from the hospital.

Headteacher Melanie Ravenscroft said: “Our pupils wanted to show their support for their friend and the hospital were their classmate is receiving ongoing treatment, the treatment will run until Christmas 2016.

“The children had a great day and we would like to say a massive thank you to our amazing children, parents and staff in raising a wonderful total of £375.”

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Primary News

A smash hit Badminton champions visit primary school Badminton stars Rachel Choong, England para-badminton world champion and Isaak Dalglish parabadminton world champion silver medallist paid a visit to St Nicholas CE Primary School were they held a

question and answer session with the children and showed off a clutch of gold medals won at recent championships.

Rachel recently won the Inspirational Performance of the Year award at the

Isaak (third left) and Rachel (third right) with Mr John Howell and pupils from St Nicholas CE Primary School.

British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards 2016.

Rachel, Isaak and their coach, John Howell who is chair of governors at the school then led an interactive badminton session with some of the pupils who were amazed at the para-champions’ skill.

Zara Williamson, aged 9, said, “My experience with Isaak and Rachel was so good. I can't even say how amazing it was because there are no words to describe it. I have learnt that hard work really pays off.”

While Miranda Campbell aged 9 said: “It's extraordinary to meet world champions. They are outstanding players. Their power when hitting the shuttlecock was amazing and they have taught us lots.”

The children really enjoyed the sessions and were inspired by Rachel and Isaak’s great skill. Amanda Metcalfe, PE subject leader said: “Both Rachel and Isaak are truly inspirational people and have shown that with desire and passion, you really can achieve your dreams.

“It was so lovely to see the children light up in awe of these champions. We wish both of them the best of luck in their future competitions”.

School welcomes the Year of the Monkey Pupils from Broadgreen Primary School used innovative digital resources from the Discovery Education Espresso service to learn about the 15 day festival, which this year marks the start of the Year of the Monkey.

As part of the celebrations pupils watched a special animated film – The Great Race, which tells the story of the chinese zodiac, and shows why each year has an animal name. The lively interactive video is the centrepiece of Discovery Education Espresso’s chinese new year module, which includes a whole range of digital resources linked to each area of the curriculum.

With chinese-themed

activities in maths, literacy and art, pupils enjoyed taking part in online sudoku games, completing a chinese dragon number line, reading ebooks about chinese culture, and making a chinese dragon.

They also had the opportunity to put their computer programming skills to the test, by coding a chinese zodiac themed game.

Ann-Marie Moore, Broadgreen Primary School’s headteacher said: “Our younger pupils really enjoyed celebrating the start of chinese new year, and learning about a different culture. The interactive digital resources were really popular, and helped to bring the festival to life in a fun and accessible way.”

Liverpool school children showed off their digital skills as part of chinese new year celebrations.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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Primary News

Just over a year ago pupils from Holy Family Primary School celebrated national Shakespeare week by making a film trailer, which was organised by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

As part of their work during the week, Luke Darlow, one of the class teachers, who has since moved to teach abroad, entered a competition to make the trailer for a short film about Shakespeare.

He made and produced the film in various locations around Southport with a group of children from Years 3 to 6 and they were announced as competition winners.

Their prize was to take part in a filmmaking workshop with the Short Form Film Making Company, the creators of Willshake.

The workshop took place in Stratfordupon-Avon, with the competition winners and all of Year 6 taking part in a fantastic day of film making where they made two short films based on Macbeth and Hamlet.

The children gained hands on experience in all aspects of filmmaking including acting, lighting, sound and editing. They also had a tour of Shakespeare’s birthplace.

As you like it Holy Family visit home of Shakespeare

Holy Family pupils enjoy their visit to the home of Shakespeare.

Primary achieves ‘outstanding’ rating

A St Helens primary school has received top marks at a recent Ofsted inspection.

Parish Church of England Primary School achieved ‘outstanding’ ratings across the board, for effectiveness of leadership and management; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; outcomes for pupils; and early years provision.

The headteacher, Mrs Lynne Ryder, was personally identified as being an 16

‘exceptional’ leader.

Lead inspector, Sue Eastwood applauded the town centre school for having every child’s success at the heart of all it does, commenting on the exceptional leadership, highest standards of teaching, impeccable pupil conduct and active governor involvement.

Inspectors also remarked that pupils, staff and parents are rightly proud of being part of Parish Church of England, as one parent said: “to be at our school makes us smile

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

with pride.”

The mixed-gender primary school of 204 pupils has improved in overall effectiveness since a previous inspection rated it ‘good’.

Lynne Ryder, headteacher, said: “I am so proud of everyone at school, this has been a real team effort; however, the real stars of this report are the children – it is difficult to put into words how proud I am at this moment in time.”

Chair of governors,

Reverend Harry Wood, said: “Parish Church of England holds as paramount its responsibility to provide high quality education which is inclusive and equips children for lifelong learning.

“This ethos underpins the approach to teaching and learning at the school and as headteacher, Mrs Ryder leads a staff team whose dedication is without question and has rightly been recognised in the recent Ofsted inspection as outstanding.”

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StCatholic Vincent de Paul Primary School Pitt Street Liverpool L1 5BY “Serving With Love ‌ Striving For Excellenceâ€?

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ICT Suite PC/Mac/iPads Educational Visits in our Private Minibuses Healthy Schools Award Activemark Gold Basic Skills Quality Mark Liverpool Hope University Articled School Status Archdiocesan Religious Education Inspection “an outstanding school�

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Primary News

Pupils enjoy reading oasis Pupils from LIPA Primary School helped the Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services (LCVS) launch the United Way Reading Oasis programme to help improve literacy across Liverpool.

Designed in collaboration with primary school teachers and children each Reading Oasis not only includes hundreds of carefully selected books, bookshelves, a rug and bean bags to create a comfortable and inviting reading space but also regular tools and tips for parents and carers and access to a interactive website to engage the whole family in reading for pleasure.

Greg Parker, headteacher at LIPA Primary School said: “Reading for pleasure is so important for young children and we are delighted that the reading oasis project gives us the opportunity to further develop this area.

“To have an attractive area where children and families enjoy sharing books can only have a positive impact for our school.”

LIPA Primary School headteacher, Greg Parker, leads Year 1 group in shared reading activity in their newly installed united way reading oasis.

As part of Liverpool’s city of reader campaign and following on from LCVS’ previous literacy programmes, LCVS

wants every primary school in Liverpool to have a dedicated reading for pleasure space by 2025.

Part of the community Pupils and staff celebrated their second Community and Enterprise day at Westvale Primary School, Kirkby.

The day was held as a celebration of community and British values including tolerance and respect for each other.

Year 5 teacher, Miss Bailey who helped organise the days events said: “The pupils organised the event themselves and invited family members and friends as well as the people living in our community.

“They also invited local community groups and the local police, fire, ambulance services

and a local stables. The pupils even invited a Ukulele band to provide the entertainment.

“We had a fantastic turnout and the school hall was packed out all day. It was a resounding success and worthy of all the hard work that our Year 5 pupils had put in”.

The afternoon included an enterprise market were the pupils ran stalls to raise funds for their local foodbank.

Each stall by a different class and had a theme of countries around the world and provided visitors a chance to buy their goods that included milkshakes and smoothies to plants for sale.

Year 2 pupils learning to groom a pony and work together.

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Faith and values St Charles’ Catholic Primary School, Liverpool invited their very own Michelangelo, Keith Fearon, to produce a unique display that highlights the school’s commitment to the Catholic faith and the values of Christ.

Ably assisted by some Year 6 pupils - Keith has produced a unique painting in the foyer of the school entrance. This is the second piece of artwork St Charles’ has commissioned from the Liverpool artist.

Working with Year 6 it took Keith a week to complete the impressive mural.

Headteacher, Mrs Roberts, said: “The colourful artwork certainly lifts the spirits of all who see it proudly displayed in the school’s reception area.

“As well as working in schools Keith has an international reputation for his sporting art and his beautifully painted wildlife and fine art pieces which he delivers across schools and colleges in the Northwest of England.

Keith said: “Having worked with schools for over 15 years there is still something very special and rewarding being able to share my passion for art with primary and secondary school pupils.”

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Primary News

Mapping out a career Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School was determined that their children should learn about some of the careers open to them when they are older, so they approached Liverpool Compact Education Business Partnership (EBP), to run a ‘careers carousel’ in their school.

Liverpool Compact EBP engaged 15 employers to spend a morning talking to the Year 6 children about careers.

The companies set up their exhibition stands in the school hall and the children, in groups of three, visited

each and asked the employers prepared questions about their company and what their job involved.

The children aged 10 and 11 enjoyed meeting and questioning scientists, a veterinary nurse, a social worker, a fundraiser, a police officer, a senior tax consultant and even Liverpool’s answer to Bear Grylls - Dave Dobson, a forest school and survival expert from Learn Out There!

American Airlines, Arriva and Allergan Biologics were just some of the organisations who remarked

Pupils get advice from the American Airlines desk

on the enthusiasm, keen interest and ‘impeccable manners’ shown by the children.

Michelle from Marie Curie said: “The children were inquisitive, sensitive and asked some challenging questions.”

Headteacher, Mrs Raley-

All the school’s a stage With this year marking the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, Garswood Primary School pupils swapped their school uniforms for authentic Elizabethan costumes – as they spent the week celebrating the life and work of Britain’s greatest national treasure.

Actors from the Young Shakespeare Company performed ‘The Tempest’ before KS1 children, in a fast-moving, fully interactive production which was made accessible to the children, while keeping the spirit of the original story alive.

Following on the KS1 children took part in an Elizabethan dance workshop throughout the day, run by Real History Hire, which involved the children dressing up in traditional Elizabethan

costumes.

Educational Theatre Company, ‘West End in Schools’ paid the school a visit the following day as they ran class-by-class drama workshops on different acts of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ – before a final performance was delivered in front of the whole school.

The week was then rounded off with a morning assembly which gave each class the opportunity to share their learning experiences.

Headteacher, Pam Potter, said: “Shakespeare is an important part of British culture and is synonymous with literature - that’s why it is absolutely essential that children of today learn about his world renowned work, so that his legacy can continue.”

KS1 children take part in an Elizabethan dance workshop.

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Williams said: “This was an invaluable event. It excited our children, made them aware of the different careers that exist and consequently raised aspirations. We would recommend a careers carousel to all primary schools!”

Super heroes Winner Milly Perry received her award from Cllr Steff O’Keeffe

The fantastic work of foster carers was explored by children at a Kirkby school who used art to explore what makes ‘Kirkby care’.

As part of Knowsley Council’s campaign to recruit more carers to look after local children in need of a foster family, the children at Kirkby C of E Primary took part in an art and writing competition to express what a foster home means to a child.

The resulting entries were insightful, poignant, and sometimes even very witty.

The competition prompted classroom discussions about fostering and the experiences of children in care – and why it is important for all children to live in supporting, loving households.

Headteacher Mair Hindmarsh said: “The children had some very interesting conversations about families and the role of foster families in our communities. They used those discussions to express their thoughts about foster carers and the experiences of children in care into artwork, poems or short stories and the results were fantastic.”

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Primary News

Young reviewers smash it at BASH awards Children from St Helens primary schools gathered at Chester Lane Library for the annual BASH (Book Awards St Helens) celebration event.

The awards, administered by the St Helens schools library service, see children reading six shortlisted books and visiting local libraries to take part in reading workshops.

The pupils then vote for their favourite book choosing an overall winner.

This year 13 St Helens primary schools took part in BASH. There was an added bonus too this year, with author of the Compton Valance series, Matt Brown, delighting his young audience with a talk on the many books he’s written and his passion for writing. There was also an exclusive first reading from

the fourth Compton Valance book!

Matt then announced the 2016 BASH winner to the excited audience – with David Baddiel’s brilliantly funny The Parent Agency getting the nod.

Two of the shortlisted

authors - Tom McLaughlin, author of The Accidental Prime Minister, and A F Harrold, author of The Imaginary, also attended.

Pupils were encouraged to enter a ‘best book review’ competition, with first prize consisting of a signed copy of

each of the six shortlisted titles.

Matthew from Billinge St Aidan’s was the chosen winner, with his fabulous review of The Imaginary and A F Harrold was delighted to present the youngster with his prize and certificate.

The reviews are in… St Helens primary school pupils with shortlisted authors A F Harrold (left) and Tom McLaughlin (right) with Compton Valance author Matt Brown (centre). Also pictured is head of libraries service Sue Williamson

Teacher training course proves ‘transformational’ As obesity among children continues to make headlines nationally, a training programme to help teachers get their pupils more active and evaluated by Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) has shown remarkable results and its success was celebrated at a special reception at the House of Lords.

The Bupa Start to Move teachertraining programme equips teachers with skills to teach high quality physical literacy in primary schools and improve children's core movement skills of stability, object control and locomotion.

Over 11,000 primary school teachers have taken the one day training course which has had an impact on over half a million four to seven-year-old children.

The study sought to establish how Bupa Start to Move training influenced children’s movement competence and physical activity levels, teacher confidence and competence, and pupils’ enjoyment of PE. Teachers who attended the Bupa Start 22

to Move training programme found it improved their confidence and competence in teaching PE, whilst changing their pupil’s performance levels and experiences.

Professor David Morley, associate dean for research in the faculty of education, health and community at LJMU said: “The programme has proven transformational in the lives of young children as well as for teachers who can now make strides in adopting a movement-based approach to their teaching of physical education.

“We were excited at our research that monitored four to seven year-olds as they embark on their journey of movement and physical activity.

“The evidence suggests that all KS1 and Early Years (EY) teachers should undertake the training to help increase children’s fundamental movement skills and, where pupils score highly, teachers should stretch and challenge these more able children with different activities in order that they make more progress.

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Professor David Morley, associate dean for research in the faculty of education, health and community at LJMU

“We are seeing stories all the time about the sedentary lives of young children, which can prove disastrous for their future health and wellbeing.

Thankfully, this collaboration with Bupa and Youth Sport Trust (YST) has helped us to understand the challenges of improving the physical activity levels within schools and the need to galvanise both teachers and their pupils to take action.

“The impact of the Bupa Start to Move course has been encouraging, although we have a great deal of work still to do to ensure we provide movement opportunities for future generations of children, so that they can remain physically active for life”.

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To T o apply: www www.ljmu.ac.uk/OutreachEvents .ljmu.ac.uk/OutreachEvents mu.ac.uk k | tel: 0151 904 6384 / 6385 email: SummerUniversity@ljmu.ac.uk Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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Secondary News

Building for the future School development nears completion Work is drawing to a close on the new £5.6m sixth form building at Liverpool’s Bellerive Catholic College.

The new facility will boast study space and communal areas overlooking Sefton Park.

It seems a long time since headteacher Sister Brigid Halligan and Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson attended a ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction project last year.

Deputy headteacher Paul McMenamin, said: “Bellerive FCJ Catholic College are looking forward to taking ownership of their new sixth form and performing arts building this June.

“The buillding, supported by the Mayor of Liverpool’s capital project, has been under constuction from May 2015 and the college have been working with contractors Morgan Sindall and architects Mouchel to produce the best possible environment for current and future students.

“The building will provide stunning views of Sefton Park and state of the art facilities in every classroom. Sixth form students will have a purpose-built common room and dining facilities to aid their studies.

The new £5.6m sixth form building nears completion

“Staff and students have been regular visitors on site in recent months to see how the building is progressing and Morgan Sindall have delivered a careers talk to Year 10 students on the subejct of women progressing in the construction industry.”

Barry Roberts, area director at Morgan Sindall, said: “The Bellerive College campus has a hybrid design and will consist of a steel frame podium on the

ground floor with a sustainable timber frame structure elsewhere, providing more job opportunities for local people and further supporting local businesses.

“The design is in keeping with the existing listed building and will provide a modern environment for students to learn in”.

The development is part of Liverpool council’s £169m Liverpool Schools Investment Programme.

Theatre in education School highlights mental health awareness West Derby School Year 13 drama students in conjunction with Merseyside Youth Association (MYA) and the ‘Now’ Festival, performed a piece of theatre in education called, ‘That’s not me’.

The play, which was written to raise awareness of mental health, was performed to whole year groups across the school.

The results of the questionnaires distributed to students after the performance revealed that the play had had a massive impact on their understanding and awareness of mental health.

One of the Year 7 students said: “We learned that everyone has mental health and it has to be looked after, just like our physical health”.

Following these performances, 24

some ‘tweaks’ were made by the students before their final performance on the stage of the Epstein theatre in February.

The response to the boys’ performance on the night was phenomenal. Members of the audience approached the students and staff to express their awe at the play the students had written and how they had performed it.

The boys themselves were overwhelmed by the experience: Drama teacher, Ms Forrest, said: “We want to get across the message that mental health can really destroy a person’s inner self.

“In the beginning we did think ‘that’s not us’ but now after this performance, this is who we are now; a strong, confident and The mirroring of Jordan and Taylor - a scene from the amazing Drama group”. play

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Secondary News

Celebrating music

Science matters

Outstanding wealth of talent on show

Olivia received her award from comedian Ben Miller, Dr Helen Sharman and Dr Emily Grossman

Students from across the UK joined together for a public concert at the Philharmonic Hall

Liverpool became the host city to 11 schools from across the UK as over 300 pupils joined together for a magnificent public concert at the Philharmonic Hall.

The schools, which represent 9,000 pupils, are all associated to the Merchant Taylors’ Company, members included Merchant Taylors’ Schools in Crosby where the original Boys’ School was founded by John Harrison in 1620.

The concert was a result of many months of meticulous planning and organisation.

During the first half each school performed their own piece uniting together in the second half to perform Puccini’s Messa Di Gloria which was ably conducted by David Holroyd, the director of music at Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School, Crosby.

Rehearsals for Messa Di Gloria had only begun the day before, when most of the schools arrived at Merchant Taylors’ Senior Boys’ & Girls’ Schools in Crosby, but the end result was spectacular and demonstrated a wealth of outstanding musical talent.

Mr David Cook, headmaster at Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School, Crosby, said: “we are extremely proud to have hosted, and participated in, this major event.

26

“I would like to thank the company for choosing Liverpool as its venue.

“For many of the pupils involved this was their first visit to the city and I know from their reactions it has been a very positive one.

“It has been an enriching experience and immense achievement for everyone involved - one that I am sure they won’t forget. ”

Year 11 Holly Lodge Girls’ College student Olivia Barkley-Quinn was a winner at the 2016 National Science and Engineering Competition at the NEC in Birmingham.

Her project was to investigate how the bacteria E.coli is able to become resistant to antibiotics through a process called horizontal gene transfer.

Her project showed that bacteria was successfully able to conjugate at temperatures up to 60˚C. This suggested that perhaps if the conditions were right E.coli could conjugate in washing machines if not enough detergent is used.

Olivia went on and made recommendations as to how to minimise this problem in care settings where antibiotic resistance could be a problem.

Once in a lifetime experience

Gateacre School Year 13 students have returned from a two night stay at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

During their stay they experienced a full day of talks and visits around various sites at the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC).

The trip took place during a shutdown period for the beam line so the pupils were fortunate enough to go 100 metres underground to see the Compact Muon Solenoid detector which is where the Higgs Boson was famously detected back in 2012.

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Secondary News

Old and new celebrated at SFX College pays homage to history St Francis Xavier’s College (SFX) has opened its newly refurbished sixth form facilities which pays homage to its rich history.

The sixth form centre is the final piece in the school’s £7.6 million development and forms an integral part of college life.

A new catering area, aptly named ‘Café 1842’, celebrates the year the college was founded and a timeline mural on the wall tracks the key milestones throughout its 174 years as an education institution.

SFX College has a fine tradition of preparing young men and women for higher education and the world of work.

The new facilities were created to aid this further, with two dedicated study zones and an updated common room which boasts computers, internet and Wi-Fi access.

A large part of the building work focused on updating the catering area with a coffeehouse style, which is now known as ‘Café 1842’. By working with catering provider Chartwells, the space has been transformed to offer sixth formers a modern, high quality place to enjoy throughout the school day.

The new catering facilities emphasis the common room’s hub of activity for the Sixth Form, which is regularly used

for assemblies, charity events, coffee mornings and many extra-curricular activities and study groups.

To coincide with the college’s newlycompleted facilities, which also include a science block, sports complex and music suite, the sixth form curriculum has been updated to take full advantage of the amenities on offer.

New pathways in sport and business mean that a student with a special aptitude in those areas can devote their entire curriculum to their specialism, along with individualised programmes of study, work experience and progression

tuition.

Les Rippon, headteacher at St Francis Xavier’s College, said: “I am so pleased with the new facilities which emphasis our proud history and forward-thinking outlook. The vibrant space will ensure our sixth formers have a rewarding and fulfilling time at this most crucial stage of their development.

“This modernisation coincides with our new and improved curriculum offer, which now covers an impressive array of A-level and BTEC subjects which can be combined to provide the perfect route in to higher education or employment.”

Photography student shoots the stars A student at St Margaret’s Church of England Academy (SMA) in Aigburth has been photographing some of the world’s biggest names over the last 12 months.

18-year-old Perry Leach only started his photography career last year, and can list Tinie Tempah, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Peace and the 1975 among the acts that he has photographed.

In December Perry was invited to shoot Mumford and Sons at the Echo Arena resulting in his work being posted to the band’s official Instagram page, which resulted in ‘likes’ running into the thousands.

Photographer Peter Neill, who has worked with the likes of Queen and U2, invited Perry to be his assistant photographing The Script at the 60,000 capacity Croke Park show in Dublin and local magazine, ‘getintothis’, has also scouted Perry and he will now be taking photographs for the publication.

Perry said: “Music has always been an 28

Perry’s photo of Tinie Tempah in concert

influential factor in my life, even at an early age seeing Green Day at the age of six.

“I have worked at the Leeds, Bestival and Isle of Wight festivals which gives you enough musical knowledge to recognise up and coming bands.

“The photography course at SMA has

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really given me the determination to get my name out there as an established music photographer. I am now working on building my contacts within the music industry and hope that these opportunities help me to become a professional concert photographer, touring with bands around the world”.

Stephanie Davidson, head of art at SMA, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Perry, and his success is testament to his hard work, determination and passion for his art. His portfolio captures the emotion and intensity of the performances he shoots, this is a unique skill which takes time to master.

“The art department at SMA aims to foster and nurture creativity within all of our students, encouraging them to strive to fulfil their ambitions, and Perry embodies this ethos. It is the dream of many a professional photographer to shoot some of the names which Perry has already had the opportunity to”.

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STATE-OF -THE-ART SCIENCE, SPORT & CREATIVE MEDIA FACILITIES

Year 6 Open Evening

September 2016

*

*Date to be confirmed

We aim for excellence in all aspects of college life, our commitment to this is reflected in the £7.5m investment in the 11 new science laboratories, sports hall and music suite. This contributes to maintaining the high-quality of teaching and learning, whilst sustaining our position as a centre of academic excellence in a safe environment.

To find out more please call 0151 288 1000 or email admin@sfx.liverpool.sch.uk St Francis Xavier’s College, Woolton Hill Road, Liverpool L25 6EG

www.sfx.liverpool.sch.uk

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Secondary News

Victorious students

A first for Liverpool

Girls return after triumphant tour LFC Foundation College students have returned home after a successful football trip to Dubai.

Twenty-one girls, who are based at St John Bosco Arts College, took part in the football tour which saw them play against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) national side and take in the world famous sights.

Football is the most popular sport in Dubai and the UAE and is widely played in schools. Women’s football is also on the rise with the new UAE FA IPIC Women’s Football League launching last year.

Led by sport tutor Stacey McMahon, the girls took part in training sessions at the JA Centre of Excellence, a top UAE training facility which hosts top European football clubs and international teams.

With training under their belt, the girls played in a fixture against the Under-17s UAE national side.

It was a fantastic game, played in tough conditions with the team winning the match 4-0. Goals came from students Georgia Davies, Phoebe Graham (2) and Katy Beattie.

Captain Lydia Hodgson, said: “Having the chance to visit such an amazing country, bond with the college team and visit so many amazing places was an experience I will never forget.

“Being able to captain the team to a 4-0 victory over the UAE national team was a proud moment and was one of many highlights of the trip.”

Off the field, the girls visited many of Dubai’s famous landmarks, including the Burj Khalifa, traditional Souks and the huge Dubai mall – equivalent in size to more than 50 football fields!

Reflecting on a great trip, sport tutor Stacey McMahon said: “It was a huge success, it allowed the girls to demonstrate their skills and test themselves against quality opposition.

“Aside from football, the students were given the opportunity to sample new cultures and participate in experiences that they will never forget; I’m sure that the trip will live long in the memory of the girls and be spoken about for years to come.

“The girls were not only a credit to the school, but fantastic ambassadors for the city of Liverpool.”

The victorious LFC Foundation College students

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Studio@Deyes is the newest option for 14-19-year-olds across the Liverpool city region and engineering is at the very centre.

Deyes High School is sponsoring the opening of a studio school on Wavertree Technology Park which is set to open in September 2016.

Sarah Gregg, marketing manager, said: “We have taken the growing sectors of our region and worked with industry leaders and employers to create a curriculum that will ensure our students are ready to meet the skills gap and become the future leaders of the fastest developing sectors in the North West and engineering was top of our list.

“Indeed, students can specialise in engineering from Year 10, aged 14.

“The school is pioneering a level of engagement with local and regional businesses yet unseen in education.

“Studio@Deyes is already working with engineering leaders such as ISG who are undertaking the exciting new Lime Street development in the coming year.

Phil Charnock of Draw & Code said: “In the coming years there will be an enormous skills gap. Industries will be crying out for software engineers, developers and coders. Studio@Deyes offers a practical and fantastic solution to this problem. Preparing students for guaranteed jobs.

“Engineering is a growing sector with endless opportunities and the new school for 14-19-year-olds gears young people towards secure futures.”

After studying at Studio@Deyes students are encouraged towards direct employment, high level apprenticeships and higher education.

Ofsted has written of the studio school model: “Students are wellprepared with the knowledge, skills and personal attributes required to develop successful careers.”

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WE ARE ALL TREATED AS INDIVIDUALS WE ARE ALSOP HIGH SCHOOL ALSOP ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE

www.alsophigh.org.uk

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Secondary News

Planning for their future Celebration of National Careers Week 2016 Calderstones School is committed to providing a comprehensive and fully inclusive careers education for all of their pupils from Year 7 to 13 with a view to inspire its pupils to develop an understanding of the different career pathways and opportunities open to them.

As such Calderstones School took the opportunity to actively participate in a number of activities throughout the week which culminated in pupils being invited to participate in an events organisation and management competition.

They delivered assemblies to Years 7-13 and all form tutors shared fun registration activities which aimed to develop the following transferrable skills – interpersonal, diplomacy, management, marketing and entrepreneurial skills.

Sharon Ellis, deputy headteacher, who co-ordinated the week’s activities said: “Our national careers week competition enabled us to assemble a pupil centred marketing committee for the Calderstones School inspiring your future day.

“We also offered additional prizes which included invitations to the your future careers fayre at Goodison Park and an opportunity for younger pupils to experience the diverse career opportunities at Manchester Airport during the summer term.

Looking to the future - Year 7 and 8 pupils of Calderstones School

“We had a huge registration of interest and pupil participation – we really can’t wait to use their combined ideas, expertise and creativity in order to guarantee a trailblazing inspiring your future day during the last week of the summer term.

“Careers education, information advice and guidance is regarded as an integral part of the holistic development of students at Calderstones School. We

believe in educating individual pupils of all abilities, each to a maximum of his/her potential, so that every student can enjoy a high quality of life and contribute responsibly and fully to the life of the community.

“Careers education, information, advice and guidance is embedded throughout the school and all staff see it as their responsibility to deliver sessions to motivate and inspire learners.”

Walking and talking to success For the second year, the students at Notre Dame have been supported in developing a successful examination technique called the ‘Walking and Talking Exam’.

Mrs Kane, head of English at the college, meets the students in an examination hall, with a difference. Instead of total silence, Mrs Kane talks the students through each section of a ‘mock’ English GCSE examination guiding students in what to look for. The exam script is projected onto a screen and as the students work, one other English teacher, completes the paper for the students to see.

Mrs Kane said: “This is a method suggested by the examination board to help students overcome the pressure they experience during the exam sessions.

“It is about training the brain to focus on the examination script and organise their timing in answering each question.

“In the relaxed atmosphere of the classroom the students can usually cope with the exam and completing it within the set period, however during the proper exam we find that some students tend to become anxious and we find this a very helpful way to support the students in developing an exam technique where they can eliminate the pressure”.

Survey results after the students’ experience is very positive showing that 84% of Year 11 students felt an increase in their confidence level.

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Mrs Kane talks the students through each section of a ‘mock’ English GCSE examination

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Secondary News

Zita aims for Paris

Zita Aspell hopes to make selection for Team GB

A 16-year-old pupil from Bebington High is aiming for success after her recent selection for the Team GB discus squad and she is seeking people’s help to achieve that goal.

Zita Aspell said: “I’m really proud and excited to have been given the chance to represent my country in the Catholic Schools Games in Paris and I am hoping to do well" “I’ve made four metre improvements consecutively over the last six years, which is what the team selectors were looking for.

“Provisional entries indicate that teams from Austria, Brazil, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Malta and Hungary will be there.”

But the cost of funding her entry to the competition without outside support is out of Zita’s reach, so her family and friends are hoping with the help and kindness of people they can reach the target needed to be able to help send Zita to Paris.

To reach this goal they have set up a gofundme page at www.gofundme.com/tfpn9844 The competition runs from July 814 and Zita needs to raise over £1,000 to pay for entry, travel and accommodation costs.

Paul Conley head of PE at Bebington High Sports College, said: “Zita has worked really hard to get this far, and has been a dedicated athlete since Year 7”.

Mr Jordan headteacher of Bebington High Sports College said: “Zita is an exemplary student and a great ambassador for Bebington High Sports College, and we wish her well in the competition. The school, of course will help with funding and we will make a donation on behalf of the school.”

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The return of the BIG Little Library The award-winning community venture from Gateacre School is back! The school has relaunched the BIG Little Library at Belle Vale Shopping Centre.

Since the opening in March, the library has gone from strength to strength, welcoming over 3,500 visitors through its doors. With more customers in the last six weeks alone compared to last year’s three month period, it shows how its popularity has grown year on year.

Liverpool’s very own Leon and June from Channel 4’s Gogglebox officially opened the pop-up library, which provides a gathering space where people of all ages and different backgrounds can share their favourite stories.

The library also acts as a fun, educational centre attracting both primary and secondary pupils, as well as parents and members of the local community. The initiative has gone on to scoop many awards for the impact it’s had on the local community, winning two awards at last year’s Educate Awards – the Community Partnership and WOW Recognition Awards.

Building on the success of the project, this year the school has created a new initiative called Neighbourbook Watch.

Inspired by one of its regular customers, the Neighbourbook Watch is an opportunity to have books delivered free of charge by a neighbour.

The school hopes this will bring neighbours together, promote a caring society and help engage all members of local community, even if they can’t make it in store.

Gateacre School’s Lisa Mitchell, who set up the library, said: “I am so happy to see the doors reopen again. We got so much fantastic feedback when it first opened and it is a real asset for the community.

“We are really grateful to Leon and June from Gogglebox – two ex-teachers from our school – to come and cut the ribbon to officially reopen the library.”

Belle Vale and Norman Pannell Primary School were both in attendance along with members of the local community and Gateacre School students, who helped set up the library ahead of the launch.

Students from Gateacre School who helped set the library up

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Secondary News

Exploring the global dimension This year students at St Julie’s Catholic High School in Woolton have been celebrating 200 years of the legacy of St Julie Billiart, the foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

One of the celebration projects has been to send a mini figure of St Julie out to Notre Dame schools across the globe, inviting students to send back some photos to help demonstrate the scale and heritage of the Notre Dame worldwide community.

The project has been warmly received around the world, with postcards from ‘Flat Julie’s’ tour coming back from across Europe, the USA and Japan.

Headteacher, Tim Alderman, said: “This simple concept has been embraced by our global community and is giving a powerful visual tool Flat Julie made an appearance at Maryvale Prep School, California to help our students understand their part in a rich You can follow the adventures of Flat “We are excited about moving forward and diverse Notre Dame heritage, Julie at the school website: with the new and strengthened spanning nations and centuries. www.stjulies.org.uk/flatjulie relationships that the project has forged.”

Callum Clements wins Achiever of the Year award Broadgreen International School pupil, Callum Clements was celebrating after winning the 2016 Novae Educational Achiever of the Year award.

The awards were held in March at the London Palladium and were attended by HRH the Prince of Wales.

Callum was born prematurely with a complex blood disorder and placed into foster care shortly after his birth.

Treatment involved a lot of travel and ruled out the possibility of medicating his ADHD. As a result, Callum suffered at school: he was disruptive, lacked confidence and was isolated from his peers.

Despite moving primary schools and taking part in a number of intervention programmes, nothing changed. It was crunch time and with Callum refusing to go to school, his adoptive mother contacted the school’s xl programme.

Callum agreed to attend and it was there that he started to learn how to manage his emotions and work with others. Leading by example and actively taking part in units like healthy eating

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and money management, Callum became a valuable member of the xl team and earned his xl award and first ever academic qualification: his Level 1 certificate.

The xl club was the catalyst Callum had needed. He now has a firm foothold

in education and feels all the benefits that go with it.

His outlook on life has completely changed and in his final GCSE year, his attendance rose to 95 per cent and he is now in the school’s sixth form.

Callum pictured with Samantha Bond recieves his award from Professor Brian Cox OBE and Theo Paphitis

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Meet the Headteacher Martyn Campbell, St Edmund Arrowsmith Centre For Learning

Having spent more than three decades at St Edmund Arrowsmith Centre For Learning in Whiston, Headteacher Martyn Campbell talks through the most rewarding and challenging aspects of being a school leader.

A holistic approach

by Jennifer Chamberlain

D

espite entering the profession at a young age, Martyn Campbell never aspired to be a teacher. Having passed his 11+ to study at Preston Catholic College, he didn’t like school and, with sport being the only thing he was interested in, he had initially set out to become a sports journalist. However, it was his negative experience of school, as well as his brother’s poor education, which, in the end, encouraged him to become a teacher.

“I had experienced both excellent teachers who had a real vocation and kept me on the right track but also teachers who should never have been in control of students. I suppose in my ideal way of thinking I wanted to do something to readdress the balance” he says. “Spending three years at college in Liverpool meeting new people also seemed like an attractive proposition.”

After completing his degree, the young teacher took up his first position at St Columbas Catholic Comprehensive, where he taught geography, PE and undertook pastoral responsibilities. In 1984, he moved to St Edmund Arrowsmith (SEA) and has remained there ever since.

“I was happy to take on numerous 38

roles”, he elaborates. “There was no five year plan to become a head, I just accumulated a raft of jobs and went from there.”

Now, after more than thirty years at St Edmund Arrowsmith, Martyn reflects on the strong community links built up over the years: “It was a very close knit community and has served the local community well over the years. I am still in contact with ex-students who send their children and now even grandchildren to SEA.” Unlike most secondary schools, SEA is classed as a ‘Centre for Learning’, a term which was born out of an investment made seven years ago by the local authority. The idea behind the term, Martyn explains, is wrapped up with the local community. “Where else can young people go and mix with their friends in a safe environment? The Learning Centre is for the whole community: parents, carers, local groups as well as for our students at weekends.”

As a Catholic school, SEA is celebrating a recent successful report from the Archdiocese. The Catholic faith underpins the ethos of the school, which Martyn believes is of fundamental importance. “I would like to think we live it rather than just have it listed in a document. We must look for the common good, live life to the full and enjoy ourselves,” he says.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

“

The relationship with parents and carers is vital. We are all in this together and we all want our students and children to realise their full potential

”

One thing that is clear from both the school ethos and from the headteacher’s approach is that the students come first.

Martyn speaks honestly and frankly about the social issues young people currently face and why the school has a responsibility to support students in all aspects of their lives.

“Life, for some of our young people, is becoming more difficult every day as government cuts and changes in education begin to bite,” he says. “As a school we have to understand the circumstances and issues that some, but not all, our students have to deal with on a daily basis. We have to support,challenge and stretch those students so they are given the same opportunities that all other students are given.”

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Martyn puts unique emphasis on the individual student. “Every student is different. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses and we need to know what they are in order to help them move forward. The staff are dedicated to realising each student’s potential.”

Over the easter holidays, students have been given multiple opportunities to stay engaged with school life including residential trips, sporting visits, medical training as well as a trip to Lourdes.

This holistic approach is of fundamental importance to the headteacher, who believes that a full education nurtures a student's intellectual, spiritual, moral, personal, social and cultural development.

“Education is not just about achieving 5 GCSEs A* – C including English and maths,” Martyn explains. “It’s also about producing responsible and reasoning adults who can improve their local communities. Failing an exam does not make you a bad person, but making a wrong decision in your local community may have that effect. Students need to be taught the consequences of their actions.”

There seems to be a recurring theme of community running through Martyn’s words. Indeed, it seems that, as a headteacher, his care and attention expands beyond the people inside the school gates. “The relationship with parents and carers is vital. We are all in this together and we all want our students and children to realise their full potential.”

Encouraging parents to get involved with school life and listening to their views has had a positive impact. “Every parents’ evening, the views of the parents are collected and the results are put on the school website. This is very important to the school as these are the views of the people who know us best.”

In his vision for the school, Martyn is positive but realistic. In terms of short term action, the head is keen to address the OFSTED rating.

“Inspections from the HMI, the Archdiocese and the local authority have been very positive, and the school has the capability to become outstanding,

but we need to match the OFSTED criteria for good first. We could have sulked about the OFSTED report but when looked at in detail there were lots of positives there. We want to improve as quickly as possible and we are doing so.”

Martyn realises that exam results are vital to this improvement and students are responding positively to the extra efforts made to secure their success.

More than a hundred students have been attending mock examinations on Saturday mornings so, as the head puts it, “the commitment is there for all to see.”

Improvements to the learning environment are also having an impact with the recent building of new science labs. Costing more than £500,000, the labs will enable more students to study A-level science in the future.

What’s increasingly clear from Martyn’s words is that he truly cares about young people, and not just the students in his school. Certain issues weigh heavy on his mind and he is adamant that schools must take action

to protect students across the country.

“The biggest challenge at the minute is the rise and use of technology and the negative impact it can potentially have on young people’s lives,” he begins.

“The Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) agenda cannot be ignored. In my opinion it is the greatest danger to young people and it must be on the action list of every headteacher from primary to secondary school. It cannot be seen as someone else’s problem and, unfortunately, it is not going to go away.”

Training staff, parents and children about how to spot the signs of CSE and what to do is, in Campbell’s opinion, the best way to tackle the issue and keep students safe.

Martyn moves on to discuss the most rewarding aspects of his position as headteacher of SEA. “It’s seeing young people moving on, becoming successful teenagers then adults and watching them grow and change,” he says. “There is a massive amount of talent in the area and students with great potential. Give them a chance and they will succeed”.

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Secondary News

Under the microscope The perfect excuse for even more science Students from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC took advantage of British Science Week to add even more science into their days.

Students took part in a range of activities across the week including making composite bars from edible materials such as chocolate, marshmallows and pasta in a team challenge to see who could make the strongest bar.

Other students made rainbow snow and created nylon.

Later in the week Liverpool Life Sciences UTC were joined by Trinity St Peter’s Church of England Primary School and Shoreside County Primary School to give primary school students a taster of the types of projects

Life Sciences UTC students explore each day.

A Year 3 class from Trinity St Peter’s worked in the innovation labs with a group of their Year 10 students to study Pearl Danio fish.

They conducted a range of different studies including testing for pollution levels in the water and carried out a study on water fleas looking under a microscope at how they breath.

A team from Farm Urban, joined in with the activities for and came in to the school to challenge a Year 6 class from Shoreside County Primary School to build their own aquaponics system.

Both sets of students thoroughly enjoyed taking part in British Science Week!

Students try out many different experiments

All present Hope Academy in St Helens hosted a conference for a portion of its Year 10 and 11 students, to hear their views on the importance of good school attendance and why barriers to it might arise.

The conference came in the run up to exams for Year 11s, and mock-tests for Year 10s, raising awareness of the impact of absence on achievement, which Department for Education data attests to.

Hope students were encouraged to voice their views and opinions in workshop groups, discussing the negative impact of absenteeism and the most common reasons for missing school.

Some commented on the pressures of workloads, and asked for more assistance with bus fares, whilst others suggested that in-school counselling or mentoring sessions could be introduced, so that students have a safe place to talk about problems at home which may affect attendance.

Pupils go that extra mile whilst having fun

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Memorable experience When St Hilda’s pupils moved into its new building, the Sixth Form found dedicated facilities waiting for them, including a comfortable social area and a cafe reserved for senior students.

Now brand new sports facilities will open from June 2016 to complete the excellent amenities.

Headteacher, Mrs Benson said: “Sixth formers work hard on their exam subjects, so it is important to enrich their experience with other opportunities, from participating in Liverpool John Moore’s fashion project, to the Great Sixth Form Debate, or the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

“They also prepare for the world beyond school. St Hilda’s sixth formers can enjoy a week’s work experience in careers such as accountancy, the police, medicine and law. For future teachers, a primary link offers a term’s placement in a primary school. And for high flyers, there is the chance to join Cambridge University’s HE+ access scheme, including skills training and a summer school.

“Parents rightly expect their sons and daughters to emerge with great A-levels; but these extras make the sixth form experience truly memorable.

Everyone Matters Everyone Helps Everyone Succeeds

Another outstanding performance on the big stage Rainford High moves into the country’s Top 100 Rainford High has entered the Top 100 of non-selective state funded schools in England due to it’s excellent GCSE results in 2015. This goes alongside being the only non selective school in the top ten schools in Merseyside.

For more information or enquiries, call 01744 885914 or visit www.rainford.org.uk @RainfordHigh

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Educate Awards 2016

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Educate Awards 2016

The Educate Awards will return for its fifth year in November; an annual celebration which aims to showcase the brilliance within the region’s education sector. Once again it will award the unsung heroes working behind the scenes, the teachers with an unwavering commitment to helping pupils navigate school life and the inspiring projects which make you say ‘Wow’.

With only two months to go until the Educate Awards entry deadline, we round up the top reasons to enter and tell you how to submit a submission for 2016.

whole community? Whether it’s academic or extracurricular, the awards want to hear all about it and celebrate your success.

This year also sees the introduction of two new awards – Most Inspirational 16-18 Education Provider and School Support Star of the Year – as well as updating the science category to include the whole spectrum of STEM activities, now known as STEM Project of the Year.

WHY E NTE R? It’s the biggest celebration of education in the North West Now encompassing Cheshire and Lancashire alongside the Liverpool City Region, the Educate Awards is the leading celebration of education in the region. Open to all government funded and independent primary, secondary and further education providers; it is the one night of the year where the excellence of the region’s education sector is rewarded in a unique fashion.

Completely free to enter, the awards give schools the opportunity to stand out from the crowd, be recognised for its pioneering ideas and pick up a highly respected award to take back to its school community.

Shout about your school’s success Not only far reaching in terms of its catchment area, the awards cover every aspect of the school’s curriculum, teaching and staff.

Constantly evolving and responding to education trends and new ideas, new and updated categories are added to ensure the awards recognise the very best in education innovation.

Unearthed an exciting eco project? Ran a new sports initiative? Is your school involved in an inclusive project with the

Associate Sponsors

PA ST WINNE RS “It is wonderful to receive this accolade from The Educate Awards and there has been a real sense of pride and excitement amongst pupils and staff. The award has given us all a boost to maintain the momentum in the ongoing cycle of teaching, learning, and reflection.

We have a clear vision and strategic direction for Halewood C of E and are excited for the future and the opportunities that lie ahead for the children in our school.”

Dave Smith, headteacher at Halewood C of E Primary School

Gain a seal of approval from the biggest names in education, business and media With the entries judged and awarded by some of the leading names in education, business and media, the Educate Awards is highly respected throughout the region.

Joining the judging panel this year is Henry Platten, founder of the multi award-winning eCadet Scheme; managing director of MerseySTEM, Michelle Dow and Merseyside track athlete and architect James Tartt.

Returning judges include Radio City presenter Leanne Campbell; Fiona Barnet, director of The Foundry Agency; Councillor Gary Millar, Liverpool’s cabinet member for business, enterprise and investment; Chris Walker, regional managing editor of Trinity Mirror North West and North Wales; Lesley Martin-Wright, chief executive of Knowsley Chamber; Andrew Pimbley of Claremont Farm and Wirral’s Farm Feast; Olympian and managing director of Raise The Bar, Steve Smith and the education team at the Everyman and Playhouse theatres.

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Educate Awards 2016

The whole host of industry experts, spanning across education, technology, arts, science, business and entertainment ensure each category is judged by experienced professionals who have an in depth knowledge of the area – making winning, even more prestigious.

headteacher, parent, governor, pupil or even a business with links to the school in question.

Nominate a teacher or school support star and make their year!

The awards are endorsed by leading businesses in education

Inspire and share best practice with other North West schools A big part of the Educate Awards is collaboration; whether promoting it through a particular award category or on the night itself. The awards join together the region’s schools – both secondary and primary – to form a melting pot of ideas, celebration and best practice.

The event is a unique opportunity to form new links, connect with schools from Liverpool, Cheshire and Lancashire and share your engaging project or initiative with a larger audience.

Celebrate your hardworking teachers and support staff The Educate Awards believes dedicated teachers and support staff are the lifeblood of a school. The awards recognise those who inspire children every day and create a fun, rewarding environment – both in and out the classroom.

The Teacher of the Year award and School Support Star of the Year are given to individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty and those who demonstrate a real passion and dedication to ensuring pupils achieve the best of their ability.

We would encourage anyone who has contact with a teacher or support staff member to submit a nomination. Whether you’re a

HOW TO ENTER

ENTER T

PA ST WINNE RS “The entire school community were immensely proud that our Physical Education Department were selected as the winner of the Secondary Sport Category. It was an entirely appropriate end to a truly amazing year of sporting success.

“We felt very honoured to be a part of the most exciting event in Education and to celebrate the success of so many schools across the North West. We extend our thanks to all your team for an amazing evening and can tell you now our eyes are firmly focused on success in categories at the 2016 Awards.”

Chris Roberts, marketing manager at St. Margaret’s CE Academy

The awards attract the some of the best organisations and businesses in the industry.

Sponsors so far include MerseySTEM, The Foundry Agency, Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation (GMLPF), eCadets, the Merseyside Network for Collaborative Outreach (MNCO), School Improvement Liverpool Ltd, Liverpool John Moores University, PCS Law and the Witherslack Group Ltd. The night itself is the chance to come together with other businesses with a similar passion, network and create new prospects for your school community.

Thanks to their support, the awards can continue to thrive and recognise schools and individuals who epitomise the hardworking and passionate

Opportunity to attend the esteemed awards ceremony The shortlisted schools across all 21 categories are invited to the prestigious awards ceremony, which takes place on 18 November at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Joining the award sponsors, judges and distinguished guests, schools can enjoy an evening of celebration with standout performances, a three-course meal and plenty of surprises along the way.

The awards puts education centre stage and aims to create a special atmosphere for everyone who attends, whether you’re a winner, runner-up or one of the select schools to make the shortlist.

• Head to www.educateawards.co.uk • Browse the 21 award categories and read the criteria for each – you can make as many nominations as you wish, however we advise that each category entry should be unique!

• Draft your entry offline in a word document before uploading – nominations should be no more than 750 words.

• Submit your nomination via the online application form or by post to: Educate Awards Nominations, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. • Once submitted, you will receive an email confirming your entry.

• Deadline for entries Friday 24 June

D AY

www.educateawards.co.uk |

@EducateAwards

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Preparing Primary and Secondary School pupils for a successful working life.

A Registered Umbrella Body for the DBS

How can we help your school deliver its Careers Education Programme?

We are passionate about developing the career aspirations and employability skills of pupils aged 8-18 years! In partnership with business, we organise: ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Business & Enterprise Workshops Primary Careers Carousels Careers Fairs Inspirational Employer Talks Sixth Form Work Placements Work Experience Employability Interviews

Let us inform, advise and inspire your students!

Activities meet DfE/Ofsted requirements.

Please call Maria Hart on 0151 298 9454 www.liverpoolcompact.org.uk

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email:info@liverpoolcompact.org.uk

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@LpoolCompact

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News

Celebrating success Schools success in national PE and sport awards Clare Mount Specialist Sports College and Bebington High Sports College are celebrating their success having been awarded the Outstanding School Award for Inclusion and Health and Well-Being respectively.

The two schools attended the Youth Sport Trust Awards 2016 in Coventry at The Ricoh Arena in March.

Clare Mount have been the youth sport trust inclusion school for Merseyside for the last six years and in that time have trained thousands of teachers and leaders in inclusive PE practice, developed inclusive school games events and competitions as well as establishing various projects such as unified play with the special Olympics in the area.

Bebington are the health and wellbeing lead for the area and have introduced a range of exciting health initiatives such as Personal Best Thursdays in their own school, as well as establishing a North West Schools Health and Well-being Consortium which works closely with partners like the NHS to develop best practice and develop employability skills through such projects as ‘Skills for Health’.

Kev Byrne, health and well-being lead at Bebington, said: “It was a brilliant night for Wirral. To have two of the six national awards going to Wirral schools shows the strength of our PE and sport provision in the area.

“Both schools share a common vision that sport changes lives and we regularly

see the impact of our programmes on the attendance, behaviour and self-esteem of the young people involved”.

Reeve Christall from Clare Mount was also runner-up in the Young Person of the Year Award for demonstrating his ability to be resilient through PE, sport and physical activity.

Award winners from Clare Mount and Bebington High schools

Reading is on the agenda Annual Primary English Conference A leading education service provider is bringing an exciting conference to Liverpool to help support teachers in developing a lifelong love of reading in children.

School Improvement Liverpool Ltd (SIL), which delivers training and consultancy to schools and academies across the UK, is hosting its ‘Annual Primary English Conference - The Reading Agenda’.

The day will focus on equipping subject leaders with practical ideas to create engaging reading environments and celebrating reading for pleasure.

The conference, to be held at the Crowne Plaza Liverpool on 29 June, will consist of hands-on workshops led by local reading advocates and teachers, as well as a keynote presentation from award winning author and educational advisor, Aidan Chambers.

A prolific reader himself, Aidan is passionate about literacy and regularly writes novels, plays and literacy criticism.

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His inspiring two part book, ‘Tell me: Children, Reading and Talk’ with ‘The Reading Environment’ describes, with practical examples, the attitudes that support children’s encounters with books.

Delegates will receive a complimentary copy as part of the day.

After his keynote speech, Aidan will delve deeper into how to help children talk well about books; Jill Wright, deputy headteacher at Whitefield Primary School will lead a session on using quality texts as a core part of English provision; Nicola Stretch, reading advocate at St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, will discuss developing the physical reading environment, while Jeannie Turner, reading recovery teacher leader for SIL will explore early reading strategies.

Sue Killen, primary learning strategy manager at SIL, said: “This Conference hopes to highlight the many ways teachers can approach reading in the curriculum and promote a love of reading from a young age. We are delighted to

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

have Aidan Chambers involved who will be the day’s keynote speaker and impart his fantastic knowledge and experience of reading.

“We believe reading is the foundation for all learning, that’s why this event is so important and we would urge all teachers to get involved and explore some new, exciting ideas to take back to the classroom.”

SIL also runs its highly successful reading quality mark, supported by the National Literacy Trust. The award recognises the effort schools have made in promoting the joy of reading amongst their pupils.

For further information, please visit www.ednet.co/conferences or contact SIL on 0151 233 3901.

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Meet the Headteacher Kim Webster, Clare Mount Specialist Sports College

Clare Mount Specialist Sports College in Wirral is a wellestablished specialist school for students aged 11 to 19 with moderate learning difficulties and additional needs.

Headteacher Kim Webster speaks to Educate about the privilege of running a specialist school.

Breaking down barriers

by Jennifer Chamberlain ‘As a youngster I always liked to be the leader, the one with initiative. I have always liked to take risks and to see how far I can push myself, ‘ says headteacher Kim Webster.

‘From an early age, if anyone asked me what I wanted to be, I would say I wanted to teach and help youngsters be the best they can be.’

Competitive by nature, Kim gravitated towards sport at school, a passion and subject that has stayed with her throughout her career as a PE teacher and now as a headteacher of a sports college. ‘I actually didn’t enjoy school that much, probably because I just wanted to play and compete all day long rather than study. Few teachers got that but I believed there had to be a better way to teach kids like me who didn’t enjoy studying.’ As a result, Kim decided to be ‘that teacher’.

Though originally from the North, Kim trained at Bedford College for Physical Education, combining her love for sport with her desire to teach. After completing her teaching practice, Kim took her first job at a school in Cambridge before moving home to get married.

After teaching in comprehensive schools in deprived areas and not one to shy away from a challenge (she is also a 52

mum of twins), Kim decided it was time to take her career in a new direction.

This new direction turned out to be Clare Mount Specialist Sports College. ‘I had very little experience in this specialised field but thought I would apply anyway. I landed the job and thought I would do it for a couple of years then move on...that was 21 years ago!’ says Kim. ‘I was told I’d either love it or hate it.’

Little did Kim know that the buzz she got from working with Clare Mount students would keep her at the school for more than two decades. Not only that, but sport would continue to have just as much, if not more, of an important role to play in her students’ lives. ‘Soon after I started, I took a group of sixth formers who couldn’t read or write to Wales on a Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition. It was phenomenal!

They were amazing!,’ beams Kim. ‘Watching them reading maps and working together to gain their bronze award was my eureka moment. I knew then that ‘special’ was for me.’

With its status as a sports college, physical education plays a central role in school life at Clare Mount. As well as the known health and physical benefits of PE, Kim believes it has had a positive impact on attendance and attainment figures, as well as on behaviour. ‘PE and sport helps our pupils so much socially

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

“

Students at Clare Mount are encouraged to be catalysts for change, breaking down barriers and challenging perceptions of their special educational needs through sports

”

and personally, building on their selfesteem and fuelling an ‘I can’ mentality’, says Kim. ‘Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s quote “Sport has the power to change the world”, students at Clare Mount are encouraged to be catalysts for change, breaking down barriers and challenging perceptions of their special educational needs through sports. Indeed, the school has won a number of sports accolades in recent years including Merseyside Sport Secondary School of the Year (2015) and Youth Sport Trust Outstanding School of the Year for Inclusion (2016).

Having taken up a variety of roles during her time at the school, it was Kim’s predecessor at the school who encouraged her to become a

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headteacher herself, a role that she took up in 2014. ‘My headteacher gave me the confidence and support to keep moving forwards and to believe in myself. She also encouraged me to complete my Masters at Chester University specialising in Autism.’

Clare Mount educates and supports students with a wide range of additional needs, including Autism, Down’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, visual impairment and deafness to name but a few. Teams of professionals specialising in speech and language, hearing sport as well as psychologist and social workers offer support where necessary.’

With 200 students enrolled, Clare Mount is bigger than the average specialist school. However, the class sizes are kept small with just 7 to 12 pupils in each class. ‘Small class sizes facilitate enhanced rapport with teachers and pupils alike. Whole school assemblies really feel like a family coming together to share their experiences and celebrate successes,’ says Kim. A recent school survey highlighted the child centred ethos at Clare Mount as an area of real strength and relatively

small numbers help teachers to really get to know each pupil in a short space of time. ‘We treat every child as an individual, mapping out individualised programmes to support their learning.

We are always aspirational in our approach, teaching our pupils to be independent and resilient and always with the view that they will be accepted into the outside world.’

As a secondary school, preparing students for the future is of utmost importance. As they near the end of their time in compulsory education, Clare Mount students are supported in a number of ways when considering their study and career options, including visits from more than 40 learning providers as well as work experience placements.

One of the most important things to the headteacher is creating a sense of community, and the school enjoys a supportive and collaborative relationship with parents and carers. However, the fact that 80% of students come to school on escorted transport, not with their parents, means that the school has to work extra hard to maintain strong relationships as well as supporting

students to maintain their own friendships. ‘One of the difficulties with attending a special school, and being bussed in rather than going to the one in your local area, is that your friends don’t live next door; they may live 20 miles away. We talk to the children about friends and school being a family and try and create that community atmosphere for everyone’ The school host regular events, including a monthly parent/carer group, a ‘chill and chat’ club as well as a weekly community sports night, to boost this harmonious home/school partnership and is in the process of building a community cafe.

Looking to the future, Kim is keen to build on the Clare Mount’s strong foundations. Her vision for the school is based on an acronym of the word CHILD: ‘C is for our child-centred approach; H represents the many holidays and vast range of other provisions we offer to our pupils; I is for the information channels we put in place for our parents/carers; L is for links in terms of the all-important transition to life after Clare Mount and D represents the emphasis we place on the rounded development of each of our pupils.’

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Viewpoint

Fixing the date of school term times Headteachers have been told they can set their own term dates to stagger school holidays and help families avoid skyhigh holiday costs during the school breaks, but does this work if you have children at different schools and at different education authorities which have different term times. Does it complicate child care issues for some families and will we see an increase in parents taking children out of school during term time and face being fined as in the case of a Lancashire woman who took her daughter out of one school for a family holiday to be with the rest of the family?

Mark Anderson, headteacher Maghull High School We are pleased that our governing body has the flexibility to set our own holiday dates but in doing so we are always trying to minimise the disruption caused to parents and make the spread of teaching time across the year as sensible as possible. This is quite a challenging task for us as we serve families not just in Sefton but also in Liverpool, Knowsley and Lancashire. Paid childcare can be horrendously expensive for families and is often a necessity and, in my view, more of an issue than the way in which travel costs shoot up in the school holidays. Easter is always the biggest problem and its timing can have quite an impact as students and teachers are working hard in the

run-up to examinations. Different local authorities still donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to be able to quite agree on when the spring break should happen and this year itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been especially hard for teachers who live in Lancashire or Wigan where the schools that their own children attend have had very different holidays to ours. The vast majority of parents try very hard to avoid holidays in term time and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not convinced that fines are the best solution. One of the growing trends in the last few years seems to be requests for time off to attend family weddings where the ceremony is held abroad or midweek.

Martin Hill, school governor The Blue Coat School The recent drive has quite rightly been for all schools to ensure that all children and students receive the best education and that teaching is not disrupted by unnecessary absences. There is good evidence that absences have a detrimental effect on children's education, particularly in the long term.

One of the main reasons for absences has been when parents, often because of the high costs associated with peak holiday periods, have taken their children out of school during term time. I believe that most headteachers are alive

to this, but have a difficult balance to strike. One way forward is for all educational establishments in a local area to work more closely together to try and ensure that holiday times coincide across the catchment area. As a governor, I would encourage this approach, but would reiterate the longer term benefits of children maximinsing their attendance at school.

I would also be in favour of a national approach by Government to try to negotiate with travel companies to adopt a more balanced pricing policy throughout the year.

Maria Winters, parent Family holidays during school breaks are expensive enough for parents who are then financially penalised for having to take one of their children out of school to attend a family holiday. Arbitory decisions made by headteachers to change what were once static school holidays, further complicate holiday time for families, especially where families have children in more than one school, as in our case. We have a child in primary education with one authority and a second child in

secondary education with another authority, but, unfortunately their term times do not always match.

Without doubt my children would be so much worse off in every way, including educationally, if it was limited to when and if we could holiday as a family, as I believe that they would have missed out on so many experiences.

As a parent I absolutely believe the best, most stimulating and memorable education does not always happen in the classroom.

Have your say: To suggest or contribute to a topic for debate in Viewpoint email us at: educate@merseymirror.com www.educatemagazine.com 54

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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i.thornhill@gateacre.org

Hedgefield Road, Liverpool L25 2RW 0151 363 1111

www.gateacre.liverpool.sch.uk admin@gateacre.org @GateacreSchool

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Thoughts Worth Sharing

CURRICULUM VITAE

EDUCATION STATS

Dr John Patterson St Vincent’s School

Your education: I was educated at my local schools Blackmoor Park and West Derby Comprehensive and then after some years in engineering Liverpool Hope University (BEd (Hons), MSc PhD). My education was cemented at the ‘chalk face’ across our wonderful and individually unique communities. I believe education is always an ongoing lifelong learning process.

What’s the secret of your success: At any given time we are all teachers and all learners; listening to people and appreciating how individuals think, feeling and learning is most important. I would have to say praying and focussing on the learning communities we serve are important. I’ve always prayed that I was the right person for each job I’ve gone for and that if my input was useful.

What advice would you give to somebody starting out in education: Like the Scouts, be prepared. Appreciate each school and each child is different, find in each child their interests and thus their creativity and nurture a space for them within each area of the national curriculum possible. Find a vocational strategy for each child within this creative space. Education is not a parachuted in, tick box culture and one size fits all solution.

Finally, get involved in extra curricula activity like sport and art and engage families; you will learn much here to feed back into generating those creative spaces.

What makes St Vincent’s different: The children by their ideas, interest in learning and spirit; the specialist staff by their depth of knowledge skills and understanding; the wide and varied groups supporting school with the vocational strategies we weave into our pupils ‘enriched’ curriculum wherever possible.

Tell us about St Vincent’s plans for the next 12 months: After being awarded ‘Freedom of the City’ we are focussing on developing a range of access and communication technologies allowing participation in sports, ICT and ultimately employment. Working with Rotary District 1180 our aim is to put the ideas we are producing into a ‘sightbox’ and send to schools for the visually impaired across the globe. To fund this we launched the ‘Million I project’ (see Twitter @StVincentsL12). We are looking for one million people to support our research and innovation with £1. Perhaps you could share our youtube link and help us go viral https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_nBdw CTwHU

Tweet all about it The five best educational tweets

@WhitechapelLiv Thank you to everyone who took part in the #cathedralsleepout for @LivCathedral & @WhitechapelLiv you're amazing! #snoring #superstars

@sthelenscouncil Congratulations to Parish Church C of E Primary school on your outstanding Ofsted rating!

@MerseysideSport Fantastic interview from @Sport_England CEO Jennie Price on @BBCRadio2 for #IWD2016 talking about the success and future of #ThisGirlCan

@NewParkPrimary Once again we have been shortlisted for Primary School of Year #proud #tesawards #newparkfamily

@SI_Liverpool We're proud to be sponsoring this year’s Educate Awards...good luck to everyone who's entering!

84.2 per cent

The proportion of appicants nationally who were offered a place at their first choice of secondary school, down 1.0 percentage points from 85.2 in 2014

4.65 per cent

The overall absence rate across state-funded primary, secondary and special schools has increased slightly from 4.5 per cent in 2013/14 to 4.65 per cent in 2014/15.

86 per cent

Since August 2015 the proportion of good and outstanding schools has risen by one percentage point to 86 per cent for primary schools

466

The number of appeals for GCSE and A-levels in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and other UK regions rose from 456 in 2013 to 466 in 2015.

0.2 per cent

The A-level exam pass rate has increased by 0.2 percentage points since last year to 98.8 per cent. Since 2010, it has increased by 0.5 percentage points.

39 per cent

Sixth forms continue to be the most common destination for young people with 39 per cent, with further education colleges the second most common at 34 per cent followed by sixth form colleges at 13 per cent

87.4 per cent

87.4 per cent of 19-year-olds were qualified to Level 2 or higher in 2015. This is an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to 2014 and 20.8 percentage higher than the start of the time series in 2004.

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Thoughts Worth Sharing

Headteacher Talk

Stephen Brierley from St Margaret's C of E Academy

One thing I wished I had learned at school: …is how to cook. In the 1980s I went to an all boys’ school which didn’t have a food and nutrition room.

When I got my first job and lived on my own, I had to teach myself how to cook – it was all a bit experimental, and sometimes the experiments went spectacularly wrong! Perhaps that’s why creating a practical food and nutrition room here at St Margaret’s has been such a high priority for me, and why I’m so delighted we’ve been given the money to build one over the summer. We’re in the process of appointing our first ever head of food and nutrition, which is very exciting both for us as a school and, given my own ‘food journey’, for me personally too.

The book I haven’t read that I must: Oh dear: there are quite a few to choose from! I loved reading To Kill a Mockingbird when I was at school: the book really spoke to me in a way that few books since have. So far I’ve not plucked up the courage to read Harper Lee’s second book, Go Set A Watchman – because I’m afraid it will spoil the love I still have for her first novel.

But I know I should. And there are any number of other books – nonfiction especially – with no end of hidden gems inside, that are by my bedside table waiting for my attention. One day..!

The education story that has caught my eye: …is the Government’s proposal to require all schools to become academies. I’m proud to lead St Margaret’s Church of England Academy, but St Margaret’s converted to academy status voluntarily, and I think all schools should be able to choose what’s right for them.

English education has long had a wide range of different types of

My Favourite

school – church schools and community schools, single-sex schools and mixed schools, 11-16 and 11-18 – the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of making us all academies doesn’t fit in to that rich tradition. And it will cost a lot of money (around £25,000 per school for 10,000+ schools) at a time when money is very, very tight. I’m sorry, but all in all I think there are more urgent issues for our political leaders to focus on.

What I am most proud of about our school: Where do I start?

I’m sure every head says it, but it’s true: the pupils here are amazing, not because they’re amazingly clever (though of course they all are, in some way or another), but because of the choices that they make. Choosing to be polite, or choosing to volunteer (we have a huge volunteering programme), or choosing to take part in extra-curricular activities – these aren’t the choices everyone makes, but I’m proud that our pupils make them. The staff here make me proud of our school too, because without them there wouldn’t be the extracurricular activities, or the volunteering programme, or the huge number of opportunities for learning both inside and outside the classroom that our pupils experience every day. And I’m proud of the new drama studio we’re having built… and did I mention the food and nutrition room…?

“

Take deeper breaths, hold them longer Unknown

and why Normandie Wragg Chief Executive - Nugent Care

”

This is my favourite quote because: Sometimes the world throws scary things at you and you have no other choice but to stand firm, and take a deeper breath to hold steady.

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SCHOOL

SPONSORED BY

Pupils are keen on green In a bid to become a more sustainable and environmental friendly school, pupils at Queen’s Park Primary School, St Helens got stuck into a weeks worth of challenges to help reduce school waste.

As part of ‘Waste Week’ – an annual national campaign run

by EDF Energy’s schools programme, the Pod - pupils on the school’s eco committee took it up upon themselves to decide on behalf of the school that more needs to be done on tackling waste and protecting biodiversity.

As a result, the whole school got the bin bags and litter pickers out to take part in an organised litter pick after noticing an increase in the amount of litter on the school grounds.

To further highlight the problem of littering to the children, each class took part in waste week related lessons with their class teacher and looked at waste and recycling at home through home work sheets and during class discussions.

PE teacher Matt Ward, who also runs the school’s eco club said: “Queens Park has recently started on its journey to become an eco school and has made significant changes to the recycling of paper waste, thanks to the newly formed eco committee.

Green team... Members of Queen’s Park Primary School’s eco “By taking part in waste committee with Matt Ward week, it has allowed the pupils of Queen’s Park to roll their sleeves up and get involved in helping reduce waste in and around their school, while also having fun.”

How rubbish is your lunch?

Year 3 pupils from Somerville Primary School, Wirral visited Gillmoss Recycling Discovery Centre and discovered how rubbish their packed lunches were.

The visit started with a tour of the materials recovery facility, where they discovered how the recycling from their wheelie bins is sorted. After lunch, students took part in a waste audit to discover how much rubbish was left over from their packed lunches.

The children learned how to sort any leftovers from their lunches into compostable and non-compostable food waste and reusable, recyclable and non-recyclable items.

Kirsty Martin, education officer at Veolia said: “Everyone was surprised how much waste was created from their lunches.

“Making easy changes like: buying larger packs and splitting at home, instead of individually wrapped items and storing food in reusable containers instead of foil or plastic bags can make a huge difference.”

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Sponsored by

‘Love where you live’ Huyton children become litter busters Children from a Huyton primary school have taken up the challenge of becoming local litter busters.

The pledge comes after the children from Huyton with Roby Primary School attended a ‘Love where you live’ session at their school staged

by Knowsley Council’s environmental sustainability and street scene services.

The 10 and 11-year-olds penned letters to the council expressing their views and concerns about litter and dog fouling. This prompted the classroom sessions to talk about the local area, raise awareness of the council’s street cleaning operations and let the young people find out more about what they, along with their community, can do to help keep their neighbourhoods clean and tidy.

During the sessions, pupils heard some surprising facts about everything from dog muck to rats to litter fines!

They were shocked to hear that the amount of dog muck

dumped in Britain weighs the same as 182 elephants, there are around 60 million rats living alongside us in the UK and the maximum fine which can be imposed for littering is £2,500.

Further sessions will be held at the school in the coming months when pupils will be encouraged to produce posters and newsletters

promoting litter-busting messages to classmates, families and friends - and provided with equipment to organise their own litter picking activities.

Nicola Winstanley, business manager at Huyton with Roby Primary said: “We are delighted that the council has responded so positively to the children’s concerns by

visiting us.

“Our pupils worked hard to produce effective, powerful letters that expressed their concerns and their solutions to the issues of litter, dog fouling and vandalism in our area.

“The council’s response has also taught the children about how to use their voices politically now and in the future.”

Cllr Christina O’Hare and cllr Brian O’Hare joined the litter busting session with pupils at Huyton with Roby Primary School

A model way to recycle Pupils at Liverpool schools are being asked to use their modelling and art skills to boost the city’s recycling rate.

They will be taking part in a competition to create a figurehead - to be called Recycle Michael - for the city’s recycling drive.

The schools are being asked to create a model or drawing depicting Recycle Michael which will be used to reinforce the message of reducing, reusing and recycling.

Models will be constructed out of clean recyclable materials such as paper, cans, cardboard and plastic drinking bottles by children working together in classes.

The competition, which is open to all primary and secondary schools was launched by the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson at Sacred Heart Primary School.

Mayor Anderson said: “We need to recycle more in this city – we are improving and we have increased our recycling rate by about 8% but we want 60

to cut the amount we send to landfill by a lot more.

“It is our young people who are often the keenest to recycle. This was brought home to me at an environmental summit in which there was a schools art display.

“It showed not only what talented youngsters we have in the city but they are very aware about the importance of recycling.

“We are taking that a stage further and are harnessing their enthusiasm for recycling. I am sure they will take the message home to their families and help us all to recycle more. If we have pride in

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

our city together we can make it greener and cleaner.”

The competition, which runs until 1 June will be operated by the council’s Liverpool Environmental Advocate team (LEAT) and is the first stage of a programme in which the team will visit schools offering practical advice on recycling.

There will be two winning entries chosen, one from a secondary school and one from a primary school.

Winners will receive trophies made from recycled material. All participating schools will receive a certificate.

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Sponsored by

Green car project underway Students plan to build and then race an electric car Students at St Margaret’s Church of England Academy in Aigburth are building an eco-car to race in a national competition.

St Margaret’s Academy (SMA) is the only school in Liverpool taking part in the national Greenpower car competition.

Guided by their teachers and an industry mentor, students will design, build and then race an electric car at a number of track days across the country.

Students from the school’s STEM club have been tirelessly fundraising so that they can buy and build their eco-friendly car, which costs £2,790.

Fundraising has seen the boys restoring and selling old bird boxes at a local craft fair, taking part in a sponsored bike ride, and holding a cake sale and raffle to promote national STEM week.

A bag-pack in a local supermarket has also helped to raise funds, where pupils not only raised money for their own project but also for the British Heart Foundation.

As part of the project, the STEM club will be designing the body for the car. After completing a project on the aerodynamics of bobsleighs, pupils designed their own

The St Margaret’s pupils with a prototype of their eco-car

rockets and modified them to see how weight affects the distance travelled.

With these findings, pupils have designed their own cars, which they have made out of blue foam and tested in a wind tunnel to trial the different models.

The boys will have to race their car for a total of three hours, and so it is vital that they test their engineering skills, managing battery power with speed and distance.

In preparation, pupils arranged a visit to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in Speke, where they were given a tour

of the factory as well as some great advice from the JLR team.

Knowsley Community College also visited the school with a hybrid car simulator, which taught the pupils the difference between petrol powered and electric cars.

Suzannah Lalgee, STEM Co-ordinators at SMA, said: “We are incredibly proud of the hard-work and determination which the boys have showcased in this project so far, from their innovative fundraising to their meticulous research into the dynamics of building an ecocar.

“Not only is this a great opportunity to build upon core team-work and research skills, but also to raise awareness about the importance of looking after the environment. Some members of the team have organised to take their Goblin car into local primary schools to teach younger children about eco-friendly cars and showcase their new engineering expertise!”

The winners will gain a place in the national final at Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northamptonshire, on 15 and 16 October.

Funding support for school’s anniversary project Summerhill Primary School in Maghull has received £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to mark the school’s 50th anniversary.

Funding for the ‘Summerhill 50’ project will allow pupils and the local community to find out about the origins of the 200-pupil school, learn about life in the 1960s and share memories.

Pupils will also research the farm that stood on the school site in Poverty Lane, and they will launch their own mini-farm using modern techniques to grow vegetables. A stone cattle trough from the original farm stands near the entrance to the school.

Project leader Kath Coyle, a governor at Summerhill, said: “We’re thrilled to have won support from the Heritage Lottery Fund to celebrate Summerhill’s heritage in this 50th anniversary year.

“As well as learning about farming we’re hoping that former pupils will share their photos and memories with today’s pupils, by getting in touch via social media and in other ways.”

Activities including library research trips, a community open day, a short film, podcasts, a booklet and digital workshops will help pupils and project volunteers tell the story of local life 50 years ago.

Pupils and project leaders of ‘Summerhill 50’ at the original cattle trough at Summerhill Primary School, Maghull Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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EDUCATE Education, training and employment

16+

Sponsored by Greater Merseyside Learning Providers Federation (GMLPF)

Courses continue to grow Teenager becomes 500th to enrol on K2A in last 12 months Frank Kinder aged 17 from Netherley has become the 500th teenager to enrol on a Key2Apprenticeships course during the last 12 months.

After completing his GCSEs, Frank left school but was unsure as to what he wanted to do next. He decided to enrol on a course with the young persons opportunities project in Speke to study for a qualification in the building trade.

On the course, Frank also focusses on his maths with the aim of gaining a higher qualification.

Frank said: “I like the construction course as it’s hands on work. I am already getting to complete real life tasks such as tiling walls and making things with wood in our joinery class.

I’m hoping the next step will be to start an apprenticeship in construction.”

Shaun Rimmer, aged 18, is studying alongside Frank. Shaun lives in Huyton and was not in employment, education or training when he signed up.

Shaun said: “I hope to complete my qualifications this year, which will place me in a stronger position to get a job. This time last year I didn’t have any career prospects.”

An increasing number of youngsters like Frank and Shaun are aspiring to become apprentices, but many have left school without the maths, English and other skills needed to secure one of the sought-after apprenticeship positions.

With businesses hiring 25 per cent more apprentices this year compared to last year, GMLPF’s Key2Apprenticeships are helping teenagers without qualifications to not miss out on the opportunities.

In 2014 the government made it compulsory for every teenager to stay in training, education or employment until their 18th birthday. New figures show that the number of young

Frank Kinder, 500th student to enrol on K2A (pictured left) Sharne Kelso K2A manager, GMLPF (pictured centre), Anastasia Johnson, project manager, YPOP, pictured right

people who are completely disengaged from learning or employment is at its lowest for the time of year in more than a decade.

But Sharne Kelso, programme manager at Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation, that funds the K2A courses across the city said this raises concerns: “We suspect more young people are staying on at school after GCSEs. “Keeping less academic pupils on at school when their best option is to develop skills for the workplace leads to them being disengaged.

“Approximately one in ten 16-19-year-olds are still disengaged, but through Key2Apprenticeships, we are working hard locally to boost the numbers that are either earning or learning.’

LJMU’s teacher training is the top programme Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) has been placed fifth best in the country and top in the North West for undergraduate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provision in the latest edition of the Good Teacher Training Guide.

The University scored 577.5 points based on a combination of performance led criteria including entry qualifications based on A-level points, Ofsted grades and information from the NQT survey, and post-course employment figures.

Beth Ayres, a primary Year 1 undergraduate student at LJMU said: “My course at LJMU has provided an outstanding range of opportunities to study, to develop my teaching skills and prepare me for my future career. I have enjoyed every aspect of it”.

Paul Killen, head of primary programmes at the faculty of education, health and community at LJMU said: “This is a remarkable feat for the University. It is really pleasing to be recognised as one of the best undergraduate ITT courses in the

country.

“It is testament to the hard work of our staff and our students and is also a tribute to the strong partnership LJMU has with many primary schools across Merseyside.

“There are today numerous routes into teacher training, each of which have their own strengths, but the primary undergraduate programme provides extensive and unique enrichment opportunities throughout the three year course, that maximise our students’ employability.”

13 YEARS CHAMPIONING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING ON MERSEYSIDE

www.gmlpf.net

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Keeping their cool Spa continues to expand training facilities The Knowsley-based Chill Out Spa opened in November 2008 and has steadily grown in size and reputation on the back of strong customer service and a desire to be the best.

With a client base of over 25,000 and numerous industry awards and accolades, Chill Out Spa is now regarded as one of the most exclusive spa destinations in the North West.

With a background in training, it was almost inevitable that owner Sharon Carroll would eventually diversify her business towards the creation of a ‘centre of excellence’.

By June 2012 she had acquired premises adjacent to the spa, embarked on a complete refurbishment of the neglected Victorian buildings and welcomed her first students to this impressive training facility.

The Chill Out Training Academy is a purpose built hair, makeup, beauty and spa therapy academy offering a wide range of courses and professional qualifications for those wanting to develop a career within the beauty industry.

Sharon Carroll said: “The Academy attracts a wide diversity of students ranging from ambitious 18-year-olds just starting out on a career in beauty to mature students looking for a complete career change. This creates an interesting classroom dynamic but one that seems to enhance the learning experience.

“Since opening in June 2012, the academy has delivered over 200 courses and welcomed more than 1,000 students through its doors with a significant proportion of those students going on to work within the beauty sector and even starting their own businesses.

Left to right: Carolina Escalate, Karen Richards and Clare Sumner who were graduates from the academy and now work as therapists at Chill Out Spa.

“There has also been a close synergy between the spa and the academy when recruiting. Students obviously get the opportunity to showcase their talents and Chill Out Spa gets the opportunity to hand pick the best candidates.”

In the last 18 months, six students have gained full time employment at the Spa. The academy has just completed a significant investment into a real-life working hair salon and make-up set which formally opens in May. The launch will coincide with an ‘open day’ event on Sunday 15 May.

College launches new million-pound library Students and staff saw the grand unveiling of the new, larger library at St Helens College town centre campus following some impressive redevelopment and remodelling work.

The college has invested a charitable donation from the Gamble Education Charity Trust; spending over £1million to create the new space.

The library now boasts a significantly increased number of PCs, individual study booths, a performance and exhibition area and a café serving light snacks and Starbucks coffee, together with a wide range of books reflecting the college curriculum.

Rob Molloy, deputy principal said: “Ensuring our students have access to state of the art facilities to complement their learning is really important to us. This investment highlights our ongoing commitment to this.

“Libraries are so much more than books and this new space ensures that we are meeting the needs of our students to have

adaptable, technologically advanced space, equipment and facilities.

“Students will benefit from a more inviting space to learn, in a comfortable yet stimulating environment that is future proof.”

The official launch featured special guests including Paul Sculthorpe MBE, the Mayor of St Helens and local author Jessica Parish with the stars of her books, her pugs – Pugalugs and Dug. Students were then invited to celebrate with live performances, music, free Starbuck samples, tours of the new facilities as well as games, prizes and giveaways.

Educate 16+ sponsored by GMLPF

FIT UK gold

Local provider FIT UK Training & Education Ltd has scooped a Gold Award from Apprenticeships 4 England.

The GMLPF member was crowned small sub-contractor of the year earlier this year, at a ceremony in London.

Competition for the awards was tough, with twice as many entries compared to last year.

Alan Reddin, director of business development at FIT UK, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement. The award recognises the hard work that our team puts into impacting careers and lives through the active leisure sector. It also recognises the positive relationships we have with our partners and employers across Merseyside and on a national level.”

The awards body acts as the voice of the annual apprenticeships conference, aiming to recognise outstanding achievements in the industry.

www.gmlpf.net

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Chill Out Spa -Training Academy Chill Out Spa opened in November 2008 and has steadily grown in size and reputation on the back of strong customer service and a desire to be the best. With a client base of over 25000 and numerous industry awards and accolades, Chill Out Spa is now regarded as one of the most exclusive spa destinations in the North West.

The Chill Out Training Academy, is a by-product of the award winning Chill Out Spa. It is a purpose built hair, make-up, beauty and spa therapy academy offering a wide range of courses and professional qualifications for those wanting to develop a career within the beauty industry.

Occupying an old Victorian granary and situated within the grounds of Knowsley Hall, the academy is a ‘centre of excellence’ for any aspiring hair stylist, make-up artist or beauty therapist.

Courses range from refresher days to fully accredited and internationally recognised diplomas and the academy is accredited by both VTCT (Vocational Training Charitable Trust) and ABT (Association of Beauty Therapists).

Left to right....

Carolina Escalate, Karen Richards and Clare Sumner.

They are graduates from the Academy and now work as therapists at Chill Out Spa

The Academy attracts a wide diversity of students ranging from ambitious 18-year-olds just starting out on a career in beauty to mature students looking for a complete career change. This creates an interesting classroom dynamic but one that seems to enhance the learning experience.

Since opening in June 2012, the Academy has delivered over 200 courses and welcomed more than 1000 students through its doors with a significant proportion of those students going on to work within the beauty sector and even starting their own businesses.

There has also been a close synergy between the Spa and the Academy when recruiting. Students obviously get the opportunity to showcase their talents and Chill Out Spa gets the opportunity to hand pick the best candidates. In the last 18 months, six students have gained full time employment at the Spa

OPEN DAY AT THE ACADEMY

The Academy has just completed a significant investment into a real-life working hair salon and make-up set which formally opens in May. The launch will coincide with an ‘Open day’ event on Sunday 15th May. This is a perfect opportunity for anyone to view the facilities, see live demonstrations and learn more about the courses available.

Open Day - Noon – 5pm on Sunday 15th May.

Stanley Grange, Ormskirk Road, Knowsley, Prescot L34 4AR Phone: 0151 548 7730

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Excellent advocate Student shortlisted for nursing award An Edge Hill student described as an ‘excellent advocate for the learning disabilities profession’ has won a hotly contested place on a national nursing awards shortlist.

Rachel Gittons, (21) is in her final year at Edge Hill University’s learning disabilities nursing degree and has already secured her first job at a hospital in Greater Manchester.

She has made it onto the shortlist of the student Nursing Times awards for Student Nurse of the Year: learning disabilities, and will compete against nine others from across the country at the awards evening in London where the overall winner will be named.

Rachel said: “I feel utterly proud to be shortlisted and shocked about what I have achieved at Edge Hill as when I first started I had no idea what passion and force I had in me.

“Since I was a little girl I have always wanted to be a nurse and the reason I chose learning disability nursing was because I was involved in girlguiding and was a qualified rainbow leader. Young girls would come in with extra needs and my passion grew from there and seeing their potential grow.

“I had definitely made the right choice coming to Edge Hill, from day one I felt comfortable and relaxed with fellow colleagues and lectures. My placement experience has been great, varied and enjoyable.”

Rachel has been involved in the national learning disabilities (LD) champion campaign. As well as promoting LD champions to schools and the wider community, she has also raised awareness of the specialism and placements to student nurses studying in other fields of nursing.

Star pupil - Rachel Gittons

She has also presented at the positive choices conference about her role as student quality ambassador and was the first student nurse to support lecturers in promoting learning disabilities nursing with her lecturers at Edge Hill open days.

EMPLOYERS ADVISE BLUE COAT STUDENTS “I think a mock interview is one of the most valuable experiences a student can have,” said assistant headteacher Nick Barends of The Blue Coat School, Liverpool.

Hence why every year the school engages Liverpool Compact EBP to run three mornings of employability interviews for their Year 11 students.

Liverpool Compact – Education Business Partnership works with over 6000 businesses and so is able to recruit employers from many different sectors to conduct one to one interviews with students in school. The employer then offers feedback and guidance on the student’s performance and more often than not, professional careers advice!

Nick said: “The opportunity to have a discussion with an actual employer and gain constructive feedback about their strengths is invaluable in boosting confidence” .

The 105 students were initially, understandably nervous but were soon put at ease by the 22 employers representing 12 companies ranging from Liverpool ONE to HMRC. Taking their application form as a basis for the interview the

employers asked questions about the students’ achievements, work experience and skills, evaluating how they promoted their abilities and communicated effectively.

Tax associate, Michael from PwC, said: “Every school should offer this programme to their students. It’s so important to gain an insight into what’s expected of you at interview and we as employers are best set to share our expertise with young people.”

Tax associate, Michael from PwC, pictured with headteacher, Mr Pennington and student Stephen Bubb

Network offer help to students The Merseyside Network for Collaborative Outreach (MNCO) are inviting people along to a twilight event which will be taking place at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts on Wednesday 18 May, from 6pm – 7.30pm.

The evening will focus on helping staff to support students who have an interest in progressing further in performing arts or making performance possible subjects.

Any attendees who would also like to have a look around LIPA are invited to arrive earlier, at 5.15pm, for a short tour.

The evening will include: • A presentation by Phil Christopher, LIPA’s director of higher education, who will discuss how supporting an applicant towards a vocational performing arts related degree course might be different to an application for more traditional academic courses, and what staff should be aware of.

Educate 16+ sponsored by GMLPF

• A Q&A opportunity with some of the teaching staff where you can find out more about courses and careers within performing arts.

• The opportunity to find out more about the outreach opportunities that are available to your pupils through the widening participation team.

To book your place onto this event, you can email b.leventhall@lipa.ac.uk, with your name and the name of your school/college.

Please also include if you would like to attend a tour of LIPA at 5.15pm and if you have any access requirements that we need to be aware of.

The address of LIPA is: Mount Street, Liverpool, L1 9HF – however, attendees will need to meet at our main reception entrance on Pilgrim Street (just around the corner).

If you have any further questions, contact Ben Leventhall on 0151 330 3010.

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Top prize for students Students from The City of Liverpool College scooped the top prize in a competition to produce a film commemorating last year’s historic visit to Liverpool of the three queens cruise ships during Cunard’s 75th anniversary celebrations.

Second year media production students, Jack Riley, Lucy Frodsham and Karl Koo, used their creative skills to produce a promotional video from a mix of film they shot around the city and existing footage shot over the four day celebratory weekend. Their memorable portrait included shelf and aerial shots and archive movies, brought together in a four minute snapshot with a classic music score.

The film will form part of the company’s promotional material to celebrate the benefits of Liverpool as a visitor’s destination when choosing the cruise ship experience.

Jack said: “Being given the chance to edit the video for Cruise Liverpool was a great opportunity and one which I enjoyed very much.

“To win the competition and have my work used as promotional material for the company is a tremendous achievement and something I am very proud of.”

The project formed part of their extended diploma in creative media production and footage included shelfshot, existing film material which also incorporated aerial shots of the ships on the River Mersey and the students selected a piece of music to accompany the reel.

Lucy said: “It was a great experience being able to edit such an iconic event and it’s an honour that our groups edit was chosen as the winner – we all gained a lot of experience from it.”

Liverpool’s deputy mayor, Ann O’Byrne, and cruise manager, Angie

Redhead, awarded the top prize to the team with awards for shortlisted students in the Cunard Building.

Councillor O’Byrne said: “The creativity and professionalism of these students has been outstanding, and all the films produced were of an exceptionally high standard.

“It was great to meet all the students who worked so hard on this course project and I’m sure with all this talent they have promising futures ahead of them.”

Angie added: “I would like to say a

huge thanks to all the students who contributed to this project – they all really captured the very essence of summer 2015.

“We were absolutely overwhelmed by the overall quality of what was produced and never thought the decision of who would be the winner would be so difficult!

“The films managed to portray a historic year and really encapsulated the spirit of what big ships on the River Mersey mean to the people of Liverpool.”

LJMU is chosen to host prestigious Global Coach Conference 2017 Liverpool has been recognised for its rich sporting and cultural history by securing the chance to host the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) Global Coach Conference in 2017.

The conference is a biennial event launched by the ICCE, an international organisation which leads and develops sport coaching globally. Its members seek to enhance the quality of coaching at every level of sport and give athletes around the world the chance to pursue excellence.

Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), have been at the forefront of innovation and development in PE and sports coaching for over 100 years with the school of sport and exercise sciences celebrating its 40 year anniversary as the first course of its kind in the UK last year.

The city’s proud history of developing elite athletes alongside the world leading research in sports coaching therefore lay the foundation for the ICCE being attracted to the city as host.

With the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games due to start in the summer, the LJMU team will maximise opportunities at the conference provided by joint partnerships and use local networks to build a legacy of sports coaching that reflects the ICCE’s vision ‘to enhance the quality of coaching at every level of sport.

Tabo Huntley, chair of the Conference Committee and senior lecturer and sports coach at LJMU, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the ICCE Global Coach Conference to the city of Liverpool, a true city of sport, capital of European Culture and a World Heritage site.

“The conference will create a vibrant environment whereby delegates are exposed to the highest quality of sports coaching and sports science research, frontline experiences representative of the diverse sporting landscape and at the same time provide a truly unique experience of a city that embraces the value of sport in all aspects of community life.”

Daniel in uni trade off Ex-Calderstones student Daniel Edgar is a qualified tool maker with Jaguar Landrover in Speke. Having started as an advanced apprentice in 2011, he has always stayed in touch with the school since he left.

Even before finishing school, Daniel was certain that pursuing a trade was his preferred option.

Armed with A-levels in PE, sociology and geography he applied for an apprenticeship with a handful of large local companies. He soon landed a great job with Jaguar Landrover in Speke as an advanced apprentice.

Daniel, who is 23 and lives in South Liverpool, said: “I would recommend an apprenticeship to anybody. Going to

university was an option after my Alevels and most of my friends went to Leeds University. But financially and career wise I certainly don’t feel as if I made a mistake by not joining them. I’m much further ahead than I would have been even if I had gained a degree.”

Although Daniel admits he missed out

Educate 16+ sponsored by GMLPF

on the fun his friends had at university he feels that his present situation more than compensates.

He said: “I am only 23 and I will be buying a house this year; I have a well paid job and don’t worry about money for things like holidays or going out.

Daniel’s former head of sixth form at Calderstones, Paul Richards, said: “It’s very encouraging for the teaching staff when we see past students embark on promising careers.

“Daniel had a great rapport with the teachers at school and through staying in touch he has been back to help other students who are making applications to become apprentices at either 16 or 18 years of age.”

www.gmlpf.net

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College takes shape Work on the new £32million campus continues Work on the new £32million campus for Knowsley Community College continues as the new building starts to take shape.

Opening in September 2016, the campus will be within walking distance of the College’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Technology at Princess Drive, Huyton.

The new 12,000 square metre college will include state of the art facilities and equipment, industry standard commercial kitchens and an attractive terrace garden restaurant, multi-use games pitches, a brand new home for 99.8FM KCC Live and much more.

Principal Anne Pryer said: “This is a very exciting time for Knowsley Community College. Students will be able to use the learning resources in a much more flexible way, enabling them to learn in a way that more closely mirrors university.

“Students have world class practical and workshop space co-located with teaching rooms that use the latest technology to support learning.

“The college engages with a wide range of local and national businesses and we have been able to tailor our new, industry-standard equipment to the needs of employers, ensuring our students receive the best in career focused training.”

This news follows on from the recent announcement that Knowsley

Community College, in partnership with St Helens College, is opening a brand new state of the art logistics academy at the Kirkby Campus this year.

The academy’s development is part of Liverpool City Region’s pledge to invest over £40 million in a range of projects designed to develop advanced industry skills to meet employers’ needs.

Kristy rises to the top With the support of Liverpool-based learning provider tpm, 18-year-old Kristy Ferguson has achieved outstanding success, progressing from a daily release childcare programme whilst still at school, right through to an advanced apprenticeship after completing both a traineeship and intermediate apprenticeship as stepping stones in between.

Kristy, who currently works as a nursery nurse at Bumbles in Aintree, Liverpool, started on tpm’s alternative provision programme whilst she was still at Archbishop Blanch school.

From September 2012, she attended tpm on a weekly basis, developing both an understanding of the theory of childcare and practical skills gained through genuine work placement in childcare centres.

Kristy progressed onto a traineeship programme in childcare in July 2014, with work experience each week at

Kristy Ferguson - making great progress in further education

Little Angels Day Nursery.

After completion, she started on an intermediate apprenticeship, employed by Bumbles. She completed her level 2 childcare qualification in January 2016 and is currently just starting her advanced apprenticeship.

Kristy has always been very comfortable on her training journey, thanks to the support she has received from tpm as her learning provider: Kristy said: “I’ve had lots of

Educate 16+ sponsored by GMLPF

support from tpm, especially with my maths. I am so happy with the progress I have made, from just starting out to becoming a qualified nursery nurse”. tpm specialises in high quality training for school leavers and other young people who want to develop a worthwhile career in the expanding childcare sector.

The well-established training provider has helped many individuals forge

success as nursery nurses, with some even aspiring to open their own day care centres.

Much of tpm’s success with students is down to the outstanding links they have with local employers in the sector and the exemplary support they offer to students on an individual basis.

Director, Brian Quinn highlights the level of support a tpm student can expect whilst on a traineeship or apprenticeship with them, he said: “We put a huge emphasis on really getting to grips with the exact nature of support that each student needs. This might be one-toone personal support for students with learning difference or intensive coaching in maths or English, or a mix of all these and additional elements.

“Whatever the particular needs are of the young person, we draw up a personalised programme of support and provide this alongside their training, which gives them the best opportunity to succeed.”

www.gmlpf.net

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We’re W e’rre ranked in tthe he top top 3 colleges coll in Merseyside Meerseysid de for for Level provision.

L eevel 3 p rovi v sion n.

START AR A RT HERE HERE ST E GO GO ANYWHERE. ANYWHERE.

£32 MILLION

NEW CAMPUS Opening S September 2016 20 016

Our 32 million campus will O ur new ££32 be opening its doors in September, September berr, with state of the art industry standard commercial ffacilities, acilities a ustrry standar rd commer rcial c , industr kitchens,, a br brand kitchens rand a new home for 99.8FM more 99 9..8FM KCC KCC Live, Live, and much mor re including celebrity hairdresser Lee Stafford bringing his education academy to Knowsley!

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New health facility opens Hope unveils £8.5 million Health Science Building Liverpool Hope University has officially unveiled its new £8.5 million Health Science building.

Lord Charles Guthrie, chancellor of Liverpool Hope University, opened the building, which was followed by guided tours and demonstrations of the new facilities.

The new building features specialist laboratory spaces dedicated to nutrition, genomics, cell biology and psychology, along with laboratories and space for sport and exercise science.

Much of the interior is glazed, so that students will see activity and research taking place all the time.

The building has been designed to sit alongside the more traditional architecture on campus and to complement the Grade II listed Hilda Constance Allen building, one of the original founding college buildings of the University.

Professor Atulya Nagar, dean of science, said: “We are enormously proud of this superb new building. This is a significant development in our future as a research-informed community.

“The faculty’s research arm is well equipped with world class scientists and researchers who are producing internationally excellent research.

“We have indeed set ourselves ambitious goals, but I am convinced that

we have the opportunity to achieve them.

“Our vision builds on what is best about Liverpool Hope: an uncompromising pursuit of academic excellence; a broad, humanistic view of education; and a tradition of leadership and service.”

The new building is phase one of a £14million sports science avenue development at the university. Work has already begun on phase two - a £6million sports complex, due for completion in October 2016.

The current building will be joined to the sports complex, allowing for collaboration between disciplines. The sports complex will be part of the science faculty and for the use of sports science students.

The university will also be encouraging professional and semiprofessional teams to come in and work with sports performance experts and students, and use the strength and body conditioning facilities. It will also be used for the wider wellbeing of students and staff.

Training CEO to help award region’s best property apprentice GMLPF chief executive, James Glendenning will join a prestigious awards panel to help find the region’s top property apprentice.

The NWPAs, which will celebrate achievements across the North West’s residential and commercial property sectors, takes place in October at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

As chief executive of GMLPF, a nonprofit organisation which champions and supports over 80 Merseyside skills and education providers, James will join the existing panel of judges which includes Eric Wright, partner at commercial property agent Hitchcock Wright & Partners, Elaine Cunningham, owner of Elaine Cunningham Design Studio, Alastair Shepherd, director of architects Falconer Chester Hall and Lesley MartinWright, CEO of Knowsley Chamber of Commerce.

The event has 12 award categories in total covering all aspects of the North West’s thriving property sector. James, a prominent figure who champions

apprenticeships and training throughout the region, is a fitting judge for the Property Apprentice category.

The award seeks to recognise and celebrate an apprentice working within the property sector who has made an exceptional contribution to the workplace.

James Glendenning, CEO of GMLPF, says: “It’s a real honour to have been asked to join the judging panel for the NWPAs. I’m looking forward to judging the entries for the Property Apprentice award and recognising an individual who is making an exceptional contribution to their workplace.

“As an ex-apprentice myself, I understand first-hand the benefits and opportunities that an apprenticeship offers to both young people and employers. It will be fascinating to see which businesses throughout the North West are leading the way and nurturing the next generation of talent.”

If you would like to nominate an exceptional property apprentice, visit www.nwpas.com for more details.

James Glendenning, CEO of GMLPF

Educate 16+ sponsored by GMLPF

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Help is on hand Track record for Joint Learning and Virgin Trains GMLPF member Joint Learning has an excellent track record of helping businesses to recruit and train apprentices who add real benefit and value to their employers.

One of the trainees, Chris Billows, has been working in a customer service role for Virgin Trains. He is a great example of what somebody can achieve through applying themselves to a course of vocational study.

Having started as a trainee, Chris has now secured a full time job as an on board host.

Chris said: “I started as a trainee at Manchester Piccadilly in the summer and just four months later have moved into a full time job as an on board host. I love the job and get great satisfaction from it.

“I have already gained certificates in first aid and fire marshalling. Signing up with Joint Learning really was the best thing I could have done.”

As Chris’s traineeship worked so well, Virgin went on to recruit for another apprenticeship position based at Liverpool Lime Street with training provided by Joint Learning.

A further student who completed the traineeship was invited to apply for an

Chris Billows, pictured right, secured a full time job with Virgin Trains after completing a traineeship programme with Joint Learning

apprenticeship with the company.

At their training centre in the heart of Liverpool One, Joint Learning is running an effective study programme with progression to traineeships, apprenticeships and jobs with partner Real Skills who are the UK’s most innovative provider of rail training and rail recruitment to the UK rail industry.

In order to gain the valuable skills needed for employment in the rail

industry, trainees attend on and off the job training, gaining qualifications in transport and operations maintenance.

Once progressed, young people work towards gaining their PTS – a certificate in personal track safety required by all rail workers.

There are more than 190,000 people employed in the rail industry across the UK; with many of them working on the 20,000 miles of track.

Student named Apprentice of the Year An apprentice from Hugh Baird College is celebrating after being named Apprentice of the Year at the Building and Allied Trades Joint Council (BATJIC) Apprentice of the Year Awards.

Gary Parker, from Southport, also collected the Brick and Blockwork Apprentice of the Year Award at the annual ceremony at Accrington and Rosendale College in Lancashire.

Thirty-three-year-old Gary has recently completed the NVQ2 in brickwork at Hugh Baird College.

Although he has worked in construction for more than ten years, he had never gained any formal trade qualifications. So, with the support of his employer, he decided to enrol as an apprentice, attending Hugh Baird College one day a week.

Lecturer and personal tutor at Hugh Baird College, Martyn Pearson, put Gary forward for the BATJIC award.

He said: “I nominated Gary

Gary Parker, left from Hugh Barid College, with his Apprentice of the Year award

for the award because of his motivation and determination to succeed. As a more mature student, he already had a lot of experience on construction sites and he was always willing to help other students.”

Accompanying Gary to the event was his proud employer Mahmood Salam, who said: “I started my career as an apprentice at Hugh Baird College and worked my way up to having my own

Educate 16+ sponsored by GMLPF

business. I’m delighted that Gary’s won this award. He has a real passion for the industry and a natural talent for brickwork.

“His confidence has definitely grown since starting the course and he’s developed all-round skills that, in the long run, benefit my business as well as his career.”

Speaking after the event, Gary said: “I was made up to get an award and it was good

going to the ceremony.

“As well as taking my employer and my personal tutor with me, I was able to take my classmate, Tom Wright. He really helped me with the maths and English parts of the course and it was good to share the success with the people who supported me.”

An apprenticeship is a training programme designed to allow the learner to train within both an academic and true working environment. As employees, apprentices earn a wage and work alongside experienced staff to gain jobspecific skills from organisations operating within industry.

They also work towards nationally recognised qualifications, often attending college one day a week.

Apprentices can be integrated into an organisation whilst they study so that, on the completion of the course, they are fully prepared to become a well-rounded and adapted member of staff.

www.gmlpf.net

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News

Rising star Andrew wins top BBC music award A talented former pupil at Archbishop Temple School has won the Percussion Category Final of BBC Young Musician 2016.

Sixteen-year-old Andrew Woolcock, from Preston, will now progress through to the semi-final of the competition, which is the UK’s leading contest for young classical musicians. Other categories in the competition include keyboard, woodwind, brass and strings.

Marimba player Andrew was one of five percussion finalists in the competition, which is now in its 38th year and has established an enviable reputation for finding outstanding talent.

Broadcast on BBC Four, percussion was in the spotlight as five gifted performers took centre stage.

To claim his place in the semi-final, Andrew performed Piazonore by Gerassimez and Asventuras by Gerassimez.

Reflecting on securing his category

win, Andrew said: “It was one of the best experiences of my life and I would encourage any young musician out there to give it a go; you never know where it might lead.

“Winning the percussion category final has given me more hope and drive to achieve my dream of becoming a solo artist and it’s great to have the exposure which may help me find further sources of support and funding to take my studies to the next level.”

Andrew came to Educate’s attention when his former school entered the

Educate Awards last year and Andrew performed a moving performance of ‘Land’ by Takatsuga Maramatsu at the ceremony held at Liverpool Cathedral.

Andrew only started playing the marimba two years ago, when the school introduced him to the instrument.

He is currently training at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, which provides expert tuition for children and young people with exceptional musical ability.

Archbishop Temple has a rich music curriculum which boasts different chamber choirs, jazz bands and orchestras.

Head of music, Cate Gardner is working with many up and coming musicians in the department who are inspired by Andrew’s legacy at the school.

The semi-final of BBC Young Musician will be broadcast on Saturday 7 May on BBC Four followed by the final on Sunday 15 May.

ANDREW COLLINGE TRAINING

Recruiting now for

apprenticeships across Merseyside & Wirral areas, working towards NVQ Level 2 qualification

Please call 0151 709 5942 for further information Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

75

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SJP Teaching Teaching eac e S School chool A Alliance llianc e

Have you ever considered a career in teaching?

Train to teach at an Outstanding School.

School Direct the school-based teacher training programme.

School Direct is a one-year, full time teacher training programme. At SJP, all School Direct trainees are allocated a dedicated subject mentor, and guided by specialist tutors. At the end of the year successful trainees will qualify with QTS and PGCE, which is accredited by the University of Chester.

What subjects do we offer?

We currently offer teacher training for Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Computer Science, DT, Drama, English, Geography, History, Maths, Media, Modern Foreign Languages, PE, Physics, Primary, RE and Social Sciences.

What are the entry requirements?

• • • •

UK university degree 2:1 or above (2:2 for Maths, Physics, Chemistry, MFL) or a recognised equivalent qualification – we also accept applications from final year students due to graduate in 2016 Grade C or above in GCSE English and Mathematics, and GCSE Science for Primary At least two full days’ school observation You will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check to verify your suitability to work with young people

In addition, our School Experience Programme offers the opportunity to spend a day or two at SJP in your subject department. You will be able to observe classes taking place, engage with pupils, and speak to subject staff and the School Direct trainees who are currently training with us.

If you would like to know more about School Direct or our School Experience Programme please contact Helen Ruscoe, Teaching School and Marketing Manager, helenruscoe@stjohnplessington.com, or 0151 645 5049.

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Karen Hutchings A Week in the Life of… Karen Hutchings, headteacher at New Park Primary School Headteacher Karen Hutchings has a vision to ensure that all pupils are safe, loved and learning at New Park Primary School in Liverpool. An ethos which the school lives and breathes, according to their Outstanding Ofsted status. So it’s no surprise that the school was recently shortlisted for two TES Schools Awards in the highly coveted Primary School of the Year and Headteacher of the Year categories. We spoke to Karen about her busy working week and the school’s uncompromising drive for excellence.

Monday Monday morning started with a reception parents letter and sounds workshop. I attended this as the headteacher and as a parent, as my daughter is in reception at New Park.

This was very beneficial for all the parents who attended, as learning about phonics is the stepping-stone to reading.

I am very passionate about children reading for enjoyment at school and at home and this was very much in my thought process when planning the design of our school library. The children in Year 5 also had bike ability training, which was lots of fun!

Tuesday I met with the assessment working party all morning discussing the evolving picture of assessing without levels at our school. My afternoon was spent at another school that New Park is working in partnership with to assist them in their development.

We also had our weekly Open the Book assembly today, where members from the local church come into school to lead workshops based on the teachings of the Bible.

Wednesday My day started in a meeting with the inclusion officer from the local authority to discuss the admission of new children into our behaviour modification programme (G2BG). Elsewhere, it was a very sporty day at New Park today – some of our girls in Years 5 and 6 attended the Liverpool School Sports Partnership (LSSP) volleyball tournament and children from Years 4 and 5 took part in a multi skills event. In the afternoon I watched the Year 4 children perform a special guitar concert in the hall based on what they have been learning all year. We are so proud of all our pupils at New Park Primary School as they always give 100% commitment and dedication in all they do.

Thursday We had lots of teachers from other schools visiting us today to observe outstanding practice. They then had the opportunity to meet with my teachers to discuss and share the daily practice that happens at New Park. We also had our final reading workshop for parents; this has been a very successful initiative as they are now trained to become volunteer readers in school. As I am the safeguarding lead co-ordinator I attended a child protection conference, which lasted all afternoon.

Our KS2 choir paid their weekly visit to Notre Dame High School where they joined children from many other schools as part of the ‘Resonate Singers’. This is a fantastic opportunity for the children as they are developing their vocal ability as well as taking part in live performances.

Friday This morning started with me waving the reception children off as they visited Tesco, Old Swan to learn about the Farm to Fork programme. They really enjoyed themselves and were allowed to use the tills! Friday afternoon the teachers had their weekly Team New Park meeting to discuss our current planning format and how we can take it forward. Our Team New Park meetings give my staff an opportunity to share good practice and moderate on a weekly basis. It is also the time when we celebrate the achievements of our children in assembly. There are certificates and prizes for pupil of the week, attendance and class dojo champion. Each class teacher nominates a pupil of the week and it can be awarded to a child for a variety of reasons: good manners and behavior, an amazing piece of work, being a kind friend or their attitude to learning. After assembly I had a leadership team meeting to discuss the agenda and diary for the forthcoming week.

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News

First exhibitors announced for The Big Bang North West A pneumatic chocolate factory, a global space experiment and discovering the strangest things to be flushed down a toilet, all this and more will be on offer at this year’s The Big Bang North West.

Thousands of North West schools are expected to flock to the STEM event when it returns to Liverpool Exhibition Centre on 5 July.

Sponsored by global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, The Big Bang North West is a STEM celebration which enables young people to discover the exciting and rewarding science, technology, engineering and maths based careers available in the local area via fun ‘quick hitting’ hands-on action.

Organised by Educate Awards sponsor MerseySTEM, The Big Bang North West has released the first round of exhibitors ahead of the much anticipated event.

The Royal Society of Chemistry is bringing its global experiment - mission starlight - to the event which will demonstrate the strong links between chemistry and space.

With astronaut Tim Peake currently on his Principia mission, space is firmly in the spotlight and The Royal Society of Chemistry will highlight how chemistry has played an important role in UV protection for astronauts.

Visitors will also get the chance to make their own comet bath bombs which they can take away and explore in its interactive tent which will contain glow in the dark stars, glow sticks and LEDs. Automation technology company Festo will also be exhibiting on the day and will ask visitors to channel their inner Willy Wonka for an intriguing look into a pneumatic circuit that sorts caramel from chocolate, just like a real chocolate factory.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) will be dazzling visitors with its lights alive stand which will feature its build your own LED torch activity, the light quiz, volt videos, experiments and careers advice.

Elsewhere, United Utilities will be running many activities throughout the day to bring to life the waste element of its business, ‘What not to flush!’ Its apprentices will also be on hand to introduce children to the three P’s and there will be a chance to put them under the spotlight with a STEM quiz.

Proving that science is fun!

Managing director of MerseySTEM, Michelle Dow, said: “This is going to be the biggest Big Bang North West ever! We have fire shows, dry ice, gadgets, robots, coding, forensics, animals, creatures, slime, medical magic and so much more…you can even race the fastest man on Earth!

“MerseySTEM’s reputation is based on delivering exciting, engaging and interactive events and our motto is to ‘make it happen!’. This year we’re doing just that with a brand new venue that can accommodate 6,000 children and an open invitation to all North West Schools, Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 and beyond. We’re overjoyed to have so many wonderful sponsors on board already and AstraZeneca returning as our headline sponsor! We can’t wait to inspire the next generation of STEM experts and show you how good 2016’s event is going to be!”

If you’re a North West school who would like to book your free place at The Big Bang North West, visit www.merseystem.co.uk.

A hidden gem Perched on Everton Brow, looking down onto Liverpool city centre, the River Mersey and beyond, is Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School - a true hidden gem.

Acres of green space provide the perfect environment for children to safely explore and grow. Climbing frames, a ‘trim’ trail, sensory garden, mud kitchen and so many more features and activities are provided to stimulate young eager minds.

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Allotments tended by the children, the school’s eco club, with their gardener Ian produce potatoes, onions, rhubarb and strawberries which are all harvested to be eaten by pupils in the school dining room.

Forest school activities take place regularly within the school grounds involving staff, children and parents. Last year, as part of the Mersey Forest initiative, saplings were planted to develop a small copse of trees within the grounds.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

Outdoor classrooms provide the playgrounds with shaded teaching spaces and reading chairs to enable staff to take learning into the fresh air.

For those quieter times, a prayer garden is available for the children to reflect during their busy day.

The school is now offering nursery provision for two and three year olds, with free places and extended care, the school also provides a complete nurture and development package for those early years.

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The Great North West Summer

THE GREAT NORTH WEST

Words by

Sarah Brown

Finding ways to entertain the kids over the summer holidays can be a neverending task. The North West is full of fun activities that the whole family can enjoy and so we’ve rounded up our top picks of things to do with the kids that offer something a little bit different this summer.

From drive in movies to llama trekking, here is our best for…

ONE OFF EVENTS Just So Festival Rode Hall, Cheshire, 19 – 21 August

An adventure into the extraordinary. This unique three-day festival of music, art, theatre and dance invites you to lose yourself in a fantastical world of imagination, adventure and creativity. Set amongst 65 acres of ancient woodland kids can let their imaginations run wild with fables around the campfire, acrobatics and performers at every corner and long evenings of live music. Exclusively for families this is the perfect family getaway for those in search of something just a little bit different, putting it at the top of our list.

justsofestival.org.uk

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The Great North West Summer

Those with a sweet tooth The Ice Cream Farm Tattenhall, Cheshire Boasting over 50 flavours the Ice Cream Farm is a sure-fire way to fulfil any craving, with all mouth-watering flavours concocted on-site using only local cow’s milk. Choose from flavours like white chocolate, raspberry & Oreo, choc fudge cookie, and rhubarb & custard, as well as Cointreau & orange for mum and dad. The Ice Cream Farm is no ordinary ice cream parlour, though, with eight play areas on-site for children to choose from. From Honeycomb Canyon sand and water play area to Strawberry Fields mini golf and Silvercone quad biking track, everyone is covered! The Ice Cream Farm is a scoop above the rest and has something to entertain the whole family, making it a must visit.

theicecreamfarm.co.uk

DIVAS IN THE MAKING

CURIOUS MINDS

COTYSSO EXPERIENCE

WORLD MUSEUM LIVERPOOL

Higher Openshaw, Manchester

LIVERPOOL

A blow the budget option for any budding musicians. Let the creative juices flow with this Junior VIP singer experience, where rising stars will be given the full VIP treatment in Manchester’s famous recording studios. Following in the steps of the likes of One Direction, singers can record their favourite song to a backing track, strike a pose in a photo shoot to capture that perfect album cover, and finally take home their very own debut CD! A sure-fire hit with any disco diva, this once in a lifetime experience is the top extravagance in the city.

Boasting the country’s largest number of galleries and museums outside of London, Liverpool is the perfect city to take in some culture. From the planetarium, complete with digital projection system, to the bug house and aquarium, the World Museum has something for everyone. With over 1.7 million artefacts and specimens on display, as well as hands on activities and demonstrations, the museum is the perfect place for curious young minds to explore. And with an ice-cream van stationed outside, a sweet treat can always be found after a hard day of learning and exploring.

singingexperience.co.uk

liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

PICK OF THE CROP

JUMPING JACKS

Claremont Farm CLATTERBRIDGE, WIRRAL Spend an idyllic summer’s afternoon picking your own produce at this working farm in the heart of Wirral’s countryside. Kids can choose their favourites with fruits like strawberries, raspberries and, tayberries coming into season in June. The family run farm also offers free education and welly walks, teaching kids all about seasonal produce and the history of the farm, as well as a hands-on kidz kitchen for mums and toddlers. Round off your day with a trip to the café to sample some of the farm’s seasonal produce, or indulge in a slice of homemade cake.

claremontfarm.co.uk

VELOCITY WIDNES, CHESHIRE A sure-fire way to get the kids up and moving this summer – from slumbering teens to little tykes bouncing off the walls (literally!) – Velocity is the ultimate fun workout. One of the largest trampolining parks in the UK, Velocity is the place for kids to release all that built up energy over the holidays, perhaps with a game of extreme basketball or dodgeball… There is no other trampolining experience quite like it and is the best exercise in disguise.

velocitygb.com

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The Great North West Summer

ACTION MEN (AND WOMEN!) DELTA FORCE ECCLES, MANCHESTER Put down the games console - this child friendly paintball centre is the prefect playground for all budding action heroes and jungle rangers. With movie set style game zones Delta Force offers more than your usual paintballing adventure. Raid an abandoned Wild West village in Gold Rush to claim your fortune, venture into the unknown and battle deadly zombies in Zombie’s Crypt, or even take on a special mission to defend the American President on his UK tour in London Apocalypse. Designed with little ones in mind, smaller guns are available for a softer impact – no more tears! This puts Delta Force on the map.

paintballgames.co.uk

THE URBAN PICNIC CARLUCCIO’S METQUARTER, LIVERPOOL Make the most of sunny days in Liverpool this summer and grab a picnic hamper from Carluccio’s to enjoy in one of the city’s hidden spots. Packed with a veritable Italian feast, special children’s packs come with Salame Milanese, celery and carrot sticks, small vegetarian pizza as well as beef and aubergine meatballs in a rich tomato sauce, finished off with a chocolate sponge bear and a piece of fruit, washed down with freshly squeezed juice. St John’s Gardens or St Nicholas’ Church gardens are our top spots to unwind in the bustling city centre, or venture further afield to Sefton Park for your al fresco picnic and stroll around the Victorian boating lake.

carluccios.com

MOVIE BUFFS ROUTE 66 TRAFFORD PARK, MANCHESTER Create some Hollywood drama this summer and enjoy the latest blockbusters from the comfort of your own car in this American inspired drive-in cinema. Serving cinema snacks and hot food straight to your car door, the whole family can munch as the drama unfolds. Choose from pizzas, burgers and of course the all-American classic, apple pie. A novel cinematic experience which undoubtedly beats your standard multiplex.

route66driveincinemas.co.uk

GETTING BACK TO NATURE LANTERN AND LARKS BLEASDALE ESTATE, LANCASHIRE Glamping at its best. Lantern and Larks is the destination for a restoring family getaway and adventures galore – think the famous five breaking out to Kirrin Island – build dams, dens and camps in the surrounding woodland and River Brock, or venture further afield on local cycle and horse trekking routes. Each luxury tent boasts warming wood burning stoves and ambient lanterns to cosy around on an evening – the ultimate restorative space from chaotic family life – no TV needed, just lashings of ginger beer! With plenty of adventure for the kids and relaxing space for mum and dad too this soul-mending retreat caters for all the family making it the ultimate destination.

lanternandlarks.co.uk

THRILL SEEKERS AERIAL EXTREME PRESCOT, MERSEYSIDE Nestled in the canopies above Knowsley Safari Park is Aerial Extreme, the largest high rope adventure course in the country. With over 60 obstacles to conquer there is a challenge for all levels of adrenaline junkies! Take on the 13m power fan drop if you dare, or one of the course’s four zip wires.

For younger kids there is an equally thrilling junior course waiting to be explored. With the lions and tigers roaring in the distance this is the ultimate wild thrill unlike any other.

aerialextreme.co.uk

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The Great North West Summer

DrAMA QUEENS PETER PAN chapterhouse theatre company Hoghton Tower, Lancashire, 24th July Get lost in the captivating tale of Peter Pan as this new production brings the childhood classic to life in the picturesque grounds of Hoghton Tower.

There is no better way to spend a warm summer’s afternoon, relaxing on the lawn as the tale plays out against the fairy tale backdrop of the hall’s ramparts.

Complete with original music and songs, this new adaptation by award-winning writer Laura Turner is all in support of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. A great cause for an afternoon of great entertainment with the kids.

chapterhouse.org

A WIZARD’S WALK

The ultimate day trip

Fast food for kids on the go

Alderley Edge Woodland Walk

new brighton

Archie’s

Alderley Edge, Cheshire

Wirral

Step into a magical realm of wizardry and mystery on this family walk in the heart of Cheshire’s countryside. Steeped in folklore the trail takes you past legendary landmarks from the tale of Merlin the Wizard. This is a walk full of intrigue and will not disappoint.

Tell tales about The Thieves Hole, a mysterious deep cave dug into the sandstone, enjoy views across the county from Stormy Point, and spot the wizard’s face carved into the rocks above Wizard’s Well.

Finish your walk with a refreshing drink at the Wizard’s Inn or enjoy some lunch in the picnic area. The best walk for kids with a tale or two to tell along the way.

nationaltrust.org.uk

children of the manor Tatton Park to Knutsford Tatton Park, Cheshire A picturesque cycle route through the rolling grounds of Tatton Park. Set amongst 1,000 acres of parkland there is plenty to stop and explore along the way, including an adventure playground and maze, tuck shops, as well as Tatton Old Hall and the Mansion itself. At just five miles long this route is perfect for little ones – if you’re feeling more adventurous you can extend the route onto Dunham Park for a longer ride. Smooth parkland pathways combined with sightseeing makes this route a winner for family friendly cycling.

tattonpark.org.uk

For a classic trip to the seaside look no further than New Brighton – the Wirral’s quintessential seaside resort which has recently undergone an extensive redevelopment programme. Bask in the summertime sun while the kids play on the beach and climb aboard the Black Pearl pirate ship (a free art instalment crafted from driftwood atop a rocky outcrop). It’s just a short walk to the town centre, where you will find a new The Light Cinema and Bubbles’ World of Play should the heavens open.

Caffe Cream is also on hand for a quick award-winning ice cream or spot of lunch – children’s menu served complete with a bucket and spade! With plenty of free parking and things to do come rain or shine New Brighton has you covered for a hasslefree family day out.

visitnewbrighton.com

trying something new The Wellbeing Farm Bolton, Lancashire Take a walk on the wild side with the Wellbeing Farm’s most vivacious residents: Vincent, Laurie, Yasser and Ezra - the llamas.

Since its launch in 2013 the working farm has been running llama trekking jaunts through Lancashire’s rolling countryside with their four-legged friends, where ramblers can lead their very own llama along the way. This is the definitive day out with a difference for big kids, who can experience a slice of the Peruvian foothills right here in the North West.

thewellbeingfarm.co.uk

ranelagh st, liverpool The funky pink American diner décor, complete with neon lights and disco ball, is the perfect setting to enjoy a classic burger with the kids. Burgers are freshly made to order, with hot dogs, wraps and wings also on offer. For an extra treat kids will love Archie’s special recipe waffles, which come topped with whipped-cream, icing sugar and ice-cream. Of course, no trip to Archie’s would be complete without trying one of their famous shakes. Create your own or choose from favourites such as Oreolicious and the Big Bang Shake, topped with jammy dodgers, or try the Million Dollar Shake if you’re feeling extravagant. Reasonably priced fast food with table service, Archie’s is a great treat for the kids which is a step above your usual fast food joint.

lovearchies.com

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SPIRIT OF THE GAMES Competition leaves players in a spin!

Calday Grange Grammar School and Saints Peter & Paul Catholic College have been crowned table tennis champions of Merseyside after coming out on top following a brilliant day of competition for KS3 and KS4 pupils at the Halton Table Tennis Club.

The competition – part of the Merseyside School Games Winter Festival – saw schools from all six boroughs: Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral compete against each other in small groups, with the top two facing each other for the gold medal.

Calday Grange from the Wirral came first in the competition for KS4 pupils (Years 10 and 11) with Halton’s Saints Peter and Paul triumphant in the KS3 competition (Years 7, 8 and 9).

Two schools were also recognised with a “Spirt of the Games” trophy which focuses on “personal excellence through competition” and is given to the school in each competition who are considered to have upheld and demonstrated these values best. The Academy of St Francis of Assisi in Liverpool took home the KS4 trophy with Ridgeway High School from the Wirral landing the KS3 award.

Poised to serve

All six school boroughs took part

Eyes on the ball

Knowsley v Halton

KS3 bronze medallists Wirral Grammar School for Boys

The standard of play was extremely high throughout

KS3 runners up Calday Grange Grammar School

KS3 winners Saints Peter & Paul Catholic College

KS4 Spirit of the Games winners The Academy of St Francis of Assisi

KS3 Spirit of the Games winners Ridgeway High School

KS4 winners Calday Grange Grammar School

KS4 runners up Hope Academy

KS4 bronze medallists Calderstones School

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The orphans

RESOUNDING PERFORMANCE Amazing Annie at Maghull High Maghull High School’s production of Annie was another resounding success for their performing arts team and all the students involved. The school were delighted to have ex-student Matthew Reynolds co-directing with head of performing arts, Ms Guy this year.

Matthew said: “I have always admired Maghull High School’s professional approach to productions; the team’s drive to achieve quality knows no bounds.”

There were three sell out evening performances attended by family, friends and governors. As well as this, two matinees provided for partner primaries were a great success and enjoyed by all. A team of over eighty students and staff across the whole school were involved in not only the performance but also the technical and design aspects.

Ms Guy said: “Maghull High School were very proud of the extremely high quality performance, enthusiasm and commitment of the cast and technical crew, not to mention the canine cast! It has been described as ‘a real delight from beginning to end, of which everybody who contributed should be thoroughly proud’.”

Rooster with Annie and Lilly

Annie played by Jaymee Lee O'Shaughnessy The president and his men

Musicians in full flow

Star turn by Donny the dog Mr Warbucks and Annie Warbucks Mansion

Grand finale

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Year 9 champions St Margaret’s

DAZZLING PERFORMANCE Double success for St Margaret’s Academy St Margaret’s Academy achieved their hoop dreams as they took home two winners’ trophies from the Development Basketball Championships for secondary schools held at Archbishop Beck’s impressive basketball centre.

Eight schools attended the finals’ evening having qualified from previous events and the standard of play was “extremely high” throughout as they battled it out for the honour of being crowned city champions.

Archbishop Beck came out on top in an extremely competitive Year 7 competition with St Margaret’s finishing first in both the Year 8 and Year 9 competition. The schools played each other in a round-robin format with the highlight being a brilliant finale between Calderstones and St Margaret’s for Year 9 boys.

Organiser Jay Watkinson, competition manager for the Liverpool Schools Sports Partnership, said: “It has been a brilliant tournament and I’ve been so impressed with the standard of play. A number of these players could easily go on to club basketball.

“St Margaret’s are clearly very strong but each and every school played well and most of the games were very close and really competitive.”

A Cardinal Heenan player leaping for glory

St Margaret’s Year 8 came out on top

Archbishop Beck won the competition for Year 7 teams Right: A steady hand is required

Below: A great leap by a St Margaret’s star

Stretching for the ball in the Archbishop Beck v Broadgreen match Battling for possession

Action from under the basket

Outnumbered!

The matches were physically demanding

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The opening ceremony

SUCCESS IS THE GOAL Soccer girls shine at football competition Birkenhead School (primary) and Chesterfield High (secondary) have been crowned girls’ football champions of Merseyside after an unforgettable day of sporting drama at Halton Stadium in Widnes.

Held as part of the Merseyside School Games Winter Festival, teams faced each other in a round-robin style format with the top two teams in each competition facing each other to determine the regional winners.

Birkenhead School beat fellow Wirral school Somerville Primary 3-1 in a brilliant final after both sides had topped their groups.

Sefton’s Chesterfield High came out on top during the afternoon tournament for secondary schools after narrowly defeating The Heath School from Halton in the final match of the day.

Sandwiched between the two competitions was an hour-long press conference entitled ‘Women in Football’ where a distinguished panel including ex-England player Mo Marley MBE and current Everton Ladies player Claudia Walker fielded questions from the young footballers.

Organiser Karen Drake hailed the young footballers saying their “behaviour was exemplary” and the quality of football was “of the very highest order”.

Secondary schools gold medal winners – Chesterfield High School – Sefton

Primary schools winners – Birkenhead School – Wirral

All the games were competitive

Celebration time

She shoots…

A player gets her boots signed!

A Sefton player closes in on goal

It’s all very crowded!

A great catch by the keeper

A brave headed clearance

Midfield battles

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The winners were Prescot Primary School

PRESCOT VAULT TO VICTORY Knowsley Primary Schools’ Gymnastics Championships Prescot Primary School are through to the Merseyside School Games after a slender victory in the Knowsley Key Step Gymnastic Championships following a thrilling afternoon of competition at Kirkby High School.

The gymnasts took part in vault, floor and endurance exercises under the watchful eye of judges from Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle’s Total Gymnastics Club and the winning margin was less than one point.

13 schools took part in the event with pupils from St Anne’s School – including the incredible Ruby Coleman whose talent was spotted at the corresponding event last year – on hand to give demonstrations throughout.

Organiser Kerstine Hogg, from the Knowsley Schools Sports Partnership, said: “The standard was extremely high, particularly in the girls’ competition, and you can see that the teachers have worked extremely hard to make sure the children know their routines.

“Who knows? We may have just watched the next Beth Tweddle!”

Balance is a key factor in gymnastics

The brilliant Ruby Coleman was on hand to demonstrate throughout

All 13 schools joined in the warm up

The event was held at Kirkby High School

One of the winning Prescot team in action

Great concentration

Action from the endurance section

There were many fantastic performances to enjoy

A fantastic cartwheel

Rowan is airborne on the vault

The children limber up before the start

We can do the splits!

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NOW taking September bookings for our leap into schools programme We deliver National Curriculum PE sessions in dance and/or gymnastics for children from nursery to Year 11 age.

We also offer LEAP breakfast, lunch time clubs and/or after school sessions.

Leap Dance and Gymnastics Ltd www.LDAG.co.ukâ&#x20AC;¨Facebook.com/Leapclassesâ&#x20AC;¨ Twitter @Leap_Ltd 07903 619989

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CAROUSEL OF SPORT Tennis centre serves up a taster day Disability athletes from Halton took part in a memorable Paralympic-style event designed to provide all children with the opportunity to shine.

The event, held at the Widnes Tennis Centre, saw athletes from 10 local schools take part in a range of sports specially adapted to suit the participants’ level of disability.

Each school spent approximately 10 minutes enjoying a taster session in each sport which included blind football, cycling and wheelchair rugby.

Organiser Gareth Burke explained the importance of sport being available to all children and hoped the event may even inspire a future Olympian. He said: “Young people with a disability can see there are opportunities in sport for them out there.

“They don’t have to fit into a box; the sport can be altered to meet their needs.

“They can also see these sports on the TV in the Rio Olympics in September and say ‘I’ve done that, where can I do it again?’.”

Lining up before a wheelchair rugby drill

Blind football tested each player

Boccia

Preparing to serve in Sitting volleyball

Each drill was adapted to suit the participants’ needs

A winning smile

A great serve!

A nice backhand shot in table tennis

Action from the cycling course

A winning serve is made

This young athlete enjoyed taekwondo

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BLOOMIN’ MARVELOUS

Andrea Durrant playing Audrey and Adam Murphy playing Mr Mushnik, James Harkness playing Jackson, Charlotte Harrison playing Ronette, Sam Mullen playing Seymour.

Schools collaborate on new pantomime Students at Broadgreen International School’s version of The Little Shop of Horrors told the story of Seymour Krelborn, a naive and innocent employee at Mushnik’s Flower Shop who is hopelessly besotted with his coworker Audrey. When the shop is faced with bankruptcy and closure, Seymour brings forth the answer to their problems; a flytrap-esque plant he calls Audrey II. But the plant isn’t everything it seems. Casting for the production began way back in June last year with a fantastic turn-out for auditions and such a pool of talent that for the first time students were cast from Year 7 and 8 in the leading roles of Audrey (Andrea Durrant) and Seymour (Sam Mullen). Couple this with Year 12 Sam Pye playing Orin Scrivello, the evil dentist and Jamie Walker as the fabulous Audrey II making it a whole school production.

Sam Mullen playing Seymour. Andrea Durrant playing Audrey and Adam Murphy playing Mr Mushnik

Sam Pye playing Orin Scrivello

Adam Murphy played Mr Mushnik

The orchestra is made up of pupils from Years 7-13

The Shopettes & the fabulous Audrey II made by the Broadgreen art department

Dental examination Sam Pye playing Orin Scrivello and Sam Mullen playing Seymour

‘Mushnik & Son’ sung

by Adam Murphy and Sam Mullen

Sam Mullen taking the lead role of Seymour Krelborn

‘Somewhere That’s Green’ sung by Andrea Durrant

The Shoppettes reading ghouly horror comics on the ‘stoop’!

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News

European adventures It’s been a busy few months for Archbishop Blanch School as students and staff expanded their learning by visiting a variety of far-flung destinations.

From performing arts in Paris, exploring history in Berlin and Krakow, to soaking up art and design in Barcelona; three separate trips took place involving a variety of faculties and year groups.

The first trip to depart involved 31 sixth formers who visited Berlin and Krakow with the humanities faculty.

In Berlin, the students visited sights such as the Topography of Terror and Wannsee Conference House and explored the rise of Nazi power in the capital.

Students then got to discover the gorgeous city of Krakow, continuing their

studies by touring the Jewish district including the restored synagogue and Schindler’s Factory. The trip culminated with tours of Auschwitz and Birkenau, a visit which students found difficult but essential.

From one European city to the next, the next trip involved 34 art and DT pupils who flew to Barcelona for a jam-packed three days in the

Spanish city. With many of the girls interested in engineering and possible careers, they visited the F1 Circuit de Catalunya which was a fantastic experience.

Next, they explored Barcelona by foot and metro, visiting key landmarks such as the famous Park Guell and the Picasso Museum. The students, now armed with plenty of inspiration for future

art and DT pieces, are excited to apply everything they learned in Barcelona in to their work.

The final trip involved 35 GCSE and A-level dance and music students who jetted off on a once in a lifetime trip to perform at Disneyland Paris.

Students gave a breath-taking performance on the renowned Cinemagique stage in the Walt Disney Studios Park.

Headteacher Heather Duggan, said: “We are incredibly proud of all of the girls and how they conducted themselves across all three trips. We believe learning should extend outside the four walls of a classroom and try to offer as many cultural experiences as possible at Archbishop Blanch. With four European cities already ticked off this year, who knows where the ABS girls will head to next!”

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MAKING A SPLASH Swimming stars shine in Knowsley Primary school swimmers from Huyton and Prescot took part in a memorable gala event at Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park. 13 schools took part in the event which was for pupils in Years 3-6.

The top two pupils in each race then went on to compete for a slot in the prestigious Sainsbury Games which will be held later on this year.

Aimee White from St Margaret Mary’s was one of the day’s top performers as she showed the form which has seen her selected for the City of Liverpool Swimming Club, although there were many other excellent individual and team displays to enjoy.

Organiser Kerstine Hogg from the Knowsley School Sports Partnership, said: “It has been a really brilliant gala – we’ve witnessed some wonderful performances. You can see some of the schools link into swimming clubs like Everton and Prescot.

“The standard of swimming at the Sainsbury Games in July is going to be extremely high!”

The gala was held at Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park

Neck and neck in the relay races

The swimmers cheered each other on!

A smooth changeover in the relay

Aimee White was one of the gala’s stand-out stars

A Prescot Primary swimmer

Hayden shows great technique in the freestyle

One of Mosscroft School’s team in the butterfly

A Sylvester School swimmers winning smile

Great determination from this St Anne’s swimmer

Freestyle action with a swimmer from St Josephs’

A Hope School pupil prepares for the backstroke

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New Build for 2017 Now Under Construction!

Educating children in Liverpool for more than 165 years.

Year 4 and 5 open evening 30th June 2016 3.30-6.00pm

www.stjulies.org.uk

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DOUBLE CELEBRATIONS Fazakerley girls are victorious champions Fazakerley High School had double cause to celebrate today after taking home two winner’s trophies from the Netball City Championships for secondary schools held at Toxteth FireFit. The event, held on International Women’s Day, saw a number of schools battle it out for the right to be crowned champions of Liverpool and the girls from Fazakerley emerged victorious in both the Year 7 and Year 8 competitions, with St Hilda’s triumphant in the Year 9 age group.

The schools competed against each other in ten minute matches with the team topping each group crowned overall winners. Organiser Clare Povlotsky, from the Liverpool Schools Sports Partnerships, said: “I’m thrilled this competition has been held on International Women’s Day as these girls are the women of tomorrow and they have done themselves and their schools proud. I have been so impressed with just how good the play has been. The standard overall has been very high.

Congratulations must go to all schools which took part.”

Eyes on the ball as the break is made

Year 7 champions Fazakerley High School

Looking to break forward

Shooting action

The matches were full of energy Year 9 winners St Hilda’s The matches were competitive but played in a great spirit

The ball is up for grabs!

Fazakerley High won the Year 8 competition

Players must shoot within three sends of receiving the ball

Two girls grapple for the ball

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News

Make their year Nominate a teacher or school support star The Educate Awards is calling for the region’s schools to nominate their inspiring teachers and support staff who are making a real difference.

The Educate Awards will return for its fifth year in November; an annual celebration which aims to showcase the brilliance within the region’s education sector. Open to all schools in the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Lancashire, the awards are the biggest of its kind and cover every aspect of a school’s curriculum, teaching and staff.

Supported by leading businesses in education, sponsors so far include MerseySTEM, The Foundry Agency, Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation (GMLPF), eCadets, Merseyside Network for Collaborative Outreach (MNCO), School Improvement Liverpool Ltd, Liverpool John Moores University, PCS Law and the Witherslack Group Ltd. The Educate Awards believes dedicated teachers and support staff are the lifeblood of a school. The Teacher of the Year and School Support Star of the Year awards recognise those who inspire children every day and create a fun, rewarding environment – both in and out the classroom.

Nominations for the coveted Teacher of the Year award are now open and once again this category is looking for a teacher who brings learning to life.

Passion, encouragement, dedication, patience and energy are all words which have been used to describe past winners, and this year is looking for nothing less.

This year also sees the introduction of a new award which aims to recognise the amazing support staff who make a lasting contribution for pupils. The School Support Star of the Year award is

open to all primary and secondary school support staff, including, but not limited to, teaching assistants, office staff, community coordinators and business managers.

Award nominations can be made by anyone with links to a school and are completely free, either made online or via post.

Sue Shinkfield, chief executive of School Improvement Liverpool, which is sponsoring the School Support Star award, said: “School Improvement Liverpool is excited and privileged to be associated with the Educate Awards 2016. We chose to sponsor Support Star of the Year in recognition of the hugely valuable contribution made by support staff in schools.

“Far less the unsung heroes they may once have been but sometimes still not always first in line when it comes to recognising the contribution they make

Turn your classrooms wild Knowsley Safari’s Learning and Discovery team is offering schools in the Merseyside area the opportunity to win a really wild scholarship.

New for 2016, the safari scholarships will offer schools the opportunity to bring a taste of wildlife into the classroom and include curriculum based learning, interactive demonstrations, all teamed with live animals and bioartefacts.

Nikki Mallott, Learning and Discovery Manager, says: “This is a great 104

opportunity for schools to bring the curriculum to life for their students, helping them learn in an interactive and fun way. The live animals and artefacts really help to excite both the children and the teachers!”

To enter, school staff need to write to 200 words about why their school should receive the prize to education@knowsley.com. For more information visit: http://www.knowsleysafariexperience.co .uk/outreach-scholarship

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

to learning and to subsequent positive outcomes. Support staff are valued partners in the education of our children and young people. They are part of the school’s staff team and therefore the whole school community. Pupils need great teachers AND great support staff; together they can transform the educational experience for the children and young people they work with.”

Kim O’Brien, executive editor of Educate Magazine, adds: “We would encourage anyone who has contact with a teacher or support staff member to submit a nomination this year. We’ve already received some fantastic entries which have really set the bar high and are full of enthusiasm, passion and drive.

“If you know an extraordinary individual who goes above and beyond the call of duty in a school setting, don’t delay and submit an entry, it could make their year!”

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Headteacher: Mrs S Graham 364 West Derby Road, Liverpool L13 7HQ www.westderbyschool.co.uk

Want a head start for your son?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about the circles he moves in.

Looking for a secondary school that delivers success?

For a prospectus call 0151 235 1300.

Save the date: Open Day Thursday 15 September 2016

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AQUATICS ACTION Poolside at Wavertree Wavertree Aquatics Centre hosted two fantastic swimming galas as both able-bodied and disability swimmers took centre stage on a thrilling day of competition.

During the morning session, children from five Severe Learning Disability (SLD) schools took part in a gala which gave SLD swimmers the opportunity to compete against each other over 25m in the breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle strokes.

In a truly inspirational event, swimmers with the most severe disabilities were given help and support from staff to ensure they finished each race.

Organiser Jess McNally from the Liverpool Schools Sports Partnership said of the event “It was one of the best events we’ve ever been involved in and it just shows what can be achieved when you are given the opportunity to shine.”

In the afternoon, five qualifying schools battled it out for the right to be crowned KS3 (Years 7, 8 and 9) swimming champions of Liverpool with St Margaret’s winning the boys’ competition and Belvedere Academy clinching the silverware for the girls.

The girls and boys’ races were held at the same time and all were extremely close, with Calderstones School finishing runners up in both competitions and just a few points away from the gold medal position.

Lane 5 gets a flying start!

The girls and boys races were combined

Secondary Schools girls’ winners Belvedere Academy

Neck and neck!

On your marks…

Millstead School’s brilliant swim team

Thumbs up from this happy swimmer

The teams received lots of support

We did it!

Butterfly action with St Edwards

Nearly there

Katana Rumble was a star performer

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The sports leaders from De La Salle Academy

ATHLETES IN ACTION De La Salle Academy host sports competition Athletes from four of the region’s schools for pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) came together for an afternoon of sporting competition at De La Salle Academy in Croxteth.

Organised by the Liverpool Schools Sports Partnership (LSSP), pupils from Elleray Park, Princes Primary, Redbridge and Stanley Special School competed against each other in polybat and table cricket which are table tennis and cricket but specially adapted to meet the needs of the participants.

Sports leaders from De La Salle Academy helped to organise the event as well as acting as referees and were always on hand to provide support to the athletes who competed in both singles and doubles matches.

LSSP’s Jess McNally said about the event: “It is imperative we give children from SLD schools the chance to compete against each other – sport is for everybody.

“These events mean all children in Merseyside get to take part and enjoy the thrill of competition. We adapt sports like cricket and table tennis to ensure their needs are met and the feedback we get is always positive.”

The athletes thanked the sports leaders for their help

The team from Redbridge School

Polybat is table tennis adapted for children with disability

Connor enjoyed photographing our photographer!

The children could use different equipment according to their individual needs

The young athletes were given help when required

High five!

These boys battle it out under the watchful eye of a staff member

The event was held at De La Salle Academy

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PADUA RULE THE POOL Double celebrations at swimming gala St Anthony of Padua Primary School took home double honours from the primary schools’ swimming championships at Wavertree Aquatics Centre, finishing first in both the girls and boys’ competition for small schools.

Booker Avenue Junior School’s boys took home the trophy for large schools with King David Primary School finishing in the gold medal position in the girls’ section.

Swimmers battled it out against each other in individual races before the relays gave the gala a typically exciting finale. There were only a few points separating the top teams after a thrilling morning of action with Belvedere Preparatory School extremely unlucky to finish second in both the boys and girls’ competitions for small schools.

The winning schools will now go on to represent Liverpool at the Sainsbury Games in July where they will do battle with other teams in the region for the right to be crowned champions of Merseyside.

The Cha-Cha Slide is the traditional warm up song

Small school winners St Anthony of Padua

Large school winners Booker Avenue

On your marks…

This Booker Avenue swimmer gets high out of the water Small school winners St Anthony of Padua Freestyle action

Large school winners King David

There were many thrilling races

The swimmers enjoyed great support from the gallery

They’re off in the relay races

Relaxing poolside

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THE HIDDEN DANGERS

A very powerful message

Drama tells of a message within Year 6 pupils at New Park Primary School put on a special performance of their award-winning drama “Within” for distinguished guests at their school in Kensington. The drama graphically depicts the impact of cyber-bullying and the importance of telling somebody if you are being targeted and how dealing with it alone can have a damaging effect on your mental health.

Cast member Lois said: “The message of ‘Within’ is the victim is trapped after being bullied and she is feeling she can’t talk to anyone. She feels like no-one is there for her; she is being consumed by her inner thoughts.

“But the message is you should always speak to somebody as it can only get worse if you bottle your feelings up.”

The performers wore black outfits to start with but switched to colourful clothing to show the impact talking to somebody about your experience can have. An interactive Q&A session followed the play with the cast members asking the audience a series of questions designed to highlight the dangers of bullying. The play was first performed at the inaugural NOW Festival at the Epstein Theatre where the school took home the Most Creative Performance Award.

The message was of being without a voice when being bullied

The pain of bullying was graphically portrayed Each performer asked the audience a question about the show’s message

A younger pupil waits to answer

The peer-led Q&A was particularly interesting Headteacher Karen Hutchings was visibly moved by the powerful drama

The impact of bullying was shown vividly in the performance

The drama won an award at the NOW Festival earlier this year

The fantastic cast

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World in a box The world of dance came to LIPA Primary School courtesy of Movema.

World dance company Movema have created a dynamic new resource ‘World in a Box’ to help children learn about world cultures.

The colourful cross-curricular resource which includes a series of lesson plans, videos, props, instruments and more.

LIPA headteacher, Greg Parker said: “The World in a Box resource is a delight. It fits perfectly into our project based learning approach, providing clear support to teachers.

“Movema specialise in teaching world dance and culture in a school setting and what’s more the children absolutely love it”.

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WELL READ SCHOOLS Liverpool schools recognised for reading Liverpool schools that are excelling at promoting reading for pleasure have been celebrated at a special event.

A total of 20 primary, secondary and special schools in the city have been awarded the Liverpool Reading Quality Mark.

This award is the first of its kind in the North West, innovated by School Improvement Liverpool Ltd, an organisation that works with schools to help them improve.

Councillor Lana Orr, mayoral lead for primary education, said: “The Reading Quality Mark is giving so many Liverpool children an opportunity to read for pleasure and the work of schools, their staff and students is rightly recognised and celebrated.

“The work being done to raise the profile of reading will create a new generation of readers and ensure our young people fulfil their true potential.”

The award is highly valued by Liverpool schools and its impact is spreading, with several schools in neighbouring Knowsley also working towards accreditation this term.

Sue Killen, senior school improvement officer, said: “For many schools, something that has really made the difference to children’s enjoyment of reading is the development of their indoor and outdoor reading areas.

Transforming them into magical places, themed to be witches’ caves, pirate ships or jungle hideaways and ensuring that they are stocked with the most exciting books means that children want to be there and discover all that they can.”

The event was held in Liverpool Central Library

Sue Killen, senior school improvement officer (Primary) opened the ceremony

Dovecot Primary School

Enterprise South Liverpool Academy

Gwladys Street Primary School

Holy Name Catholic Primary School

Rita Bryne, formerly senior school improvement officer (Primary) was given flowers in recognition of recently being awarded an MBE

Kingsley Community Primary School

Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School

Northcote Primary School

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St Anne’s (Stanley) CE Primary School

St Cleopas CE Primary School

St Teresa of Lisieux Catholic Primary School

St Mary’s CE Primary School

Mary HindPortley read the poem ‘And yet the books’

by Czeslaw Milosz

St Margaret’s CE Academy

Woolton High School

St Frances de Sales Catholic Primary School

Our Lady and St Philomena’s Catholic Primary School

Ranworth Square Primary School

Sandfield Park School

Wellesbourne Primary School

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School

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Book Review

In association with

5-8 Years Harper and the Sea of Secrets by Cerrie Burnell, Laura Ellen Anderson £1.00 The Songs of the Sea festival is about to start, but disaster has struck! The royal musicians will be performing, but all their instruments have disappeared... Harper and her friends use her flying umbrella to come to the rescue, and that very night they start hearing beautiful music coming from Melody Bay. The Nowhere Emporium - Kelpies by Ross MacKenzie £6.99 Winner of the Blue Peter Best Story Award 2016 and the Scottish Children's Book Awards 2016. When the mysterious Nowhere Emporium arrives in Glasgow, orphan Daniel Holmes stumbles upon it quite by accident. Before long, the 'shop from nowhere' - and its owner, Mr Silver - draw Daniel into a breathtaking world of magic and enchantment.

Flying Fergus 1: The Best Birthday Bike by Sir Chris Hoy, Clare Elsom £4.99 The first in a fantastically fun, magical cycling adventure series from Sir Chris Hoy. Fergus Hamilton, a boy who always dreams big, gets a rusty old bike for his ninth birthday from his mum and granddad. It's not the flashy Sullivan Swift he'd longed for - but when it's all cleaned up and he takes it for a test run, he discovers something amazing.

9-12 Years Fiction Quidditch Through the Ages by J K Rowling £4.99 Did you know that there are 700 ways of committing a foul in Quidditch? The game first began to evolve on Queerditch Marsh? What Bumphing is? That Puddlemere United is the oldest team in the Britain and Ireland league? (founded 1163) All this information and much more could be yours once you have read this book.

Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford £5.99 For readers who loved Wonder and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time this extraordinary debut will make you laugh and cry. A story that crosses time and generations, for adventure-loving readers young and old. “My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve.” On Al Chaudhury's twelfth birthday his beloved Grandpa Byron gives him a letter from Al's late father.

Wonder by R J Palacio £5.99 'My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.' Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go.

Teenage Fiction Faceless by Alyssa B Sheinmell £5.99 When Maisie is struck by lightning, her face is partially destroyed. She's lucky enough to get a face transplant, but how do you live your life when you can't even recognize yourself any more? She was a runner, a girlfriend, a good student ...a normal girl. Now, after a single freak accident, all that has changed.

Skellig by David Almond £5.99 When a move to a new house coincides with his baby sister's illness, Michael's world seems suddenly lonely and uncertain. Then, one Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the old, ramshackle garage of his new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature part owl, part angel, a being who needs Michael's help if he is to survive.

How Hard Can Love be? by Holly Bourne £5.99 All Amber wants is a bit of love from her estranged mum. And she's hoping that a summer together at Mum's Californian kids' camp will help patch up her shattered heart. But then she meets Prom King Kyle - and offers her heart up for breaking all over again. Even with BFFs Evie and Lottie's advice, Amber's finding love hard. Is it worth the fight?

Are you a librarian, teacher or purchasing manager? Do you buy books for your school?

Waterstones Liverpool offers a comprehensive account sales service. Contact Sarah Hughes, Children's Department, Liverpool ONE, 12 College Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 3DL. Tel: 0151 709 9820

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Boys Fashion Tommy Hilfiger swim top, £34.00, John Lewis

Shark rash vest, £9.00, Next

Navy rash top, £19.50, Boden

Animal rash vest, £12.50, John Lewis

Cover up surf style this summer.

STYLIST: TILLY HAMILTON Board shorts, £22.50, Boden

Animal swim board shorts, £16.00, John Lewis

Black and white rash vest, £10.00, Next Board shorts, from £22.50, Boden

STOCKISTS : debenhams.com, next.co.uk, boden.co.uk, johnlewis.com

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Girls Fashion Rash vest, £19.50, Boden

Seafolly tropical fever surf set, £32.00, John Lewis Three piece sunsafe suit, £19.00, Next

Board shorts, £19.50, Boden

Tropical print sunsafe top, £16.00, Next

Floral print rash vest, £16.00, John Lewis

Butterfly two-piece, £16.00, Next

Tropic leggings, £10.00, Next Baker by Ted Baker floral rash two-piece, £21.60, Debenhams

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WHERE CAN WE GO? Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region

Friday 13 May

Bluedot Festival 22 - 24 July Jodrell Bank, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9DL Tel: 01477 571766

Liverpool LightNight Various locations around Liverpool Tel: 0151 924 4468 www.lightnightliverpool.co.uk Experience an unforgettable evening of more than 100 free events as Liverpool unlocks the doors of their world-class museums, galleries and heritage sites until late.

This year’s LightNight, the seventh to be held in the city, has the theme Experiment.

You can follow your own exciting trail of light projections, exhibitions, performances, talks, walks, tours, dance and hands-on activities for all ages: whatever you choose to do, you’ll uncover the flourishing creative underbelly that makes Liverpool such an extraordinary place. It’s a Friday night out with a difference.

Bluedot is a brand new festival of discovery at Jodrell Bank, the iconic observatory and heart of our quest for knowledge of the cosmos. Bluedot invites you to camp out under the stars, and to explore a stellar programme of music, science, arts, technology, culture, food and film. attendees can expect an incredible array of talent from across the scientific, literary and arts communities with five distinct arenas featuring space orchestras, talks, screenings, lectures, comedy and debates and a vast spectrum of hands-on activities including the Luminarium, art installations, robot workshops, f Out o a planetarium, the Galaxy Garden, pulsar this hunting, graphene making classes and world much more

20 September - 8 October

28 May - 4 September Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester, Chester, CH2 1EU

Walk amongst the predators and their prey, not knowing what is lurking around the next corner.

You'll take an exhilarating journey back to the Jurassic age when these gigantic creatures roamed and ruled the earth. Chester Zoo have their largest and most fearsome collection of dinosaurs, including the Giganotosaurus, one of the biggest carnivores of all, Utahraptor with his curved claws and feathery limbs, and the gentle giant, the plant eating Brachiosaurus.

120

Twopence To Cross The Mersey

for Grea all t fam t ily he

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

Royal Court Theatre 1 Roe Street, Liverpool L1 1HL 0151 709 4321

FUTURE EVENTS

Dinosaurs...

The Next Adventure

d Bran newe stagon versi

The new stage play version of Helen Forrester’s Twopence to Cross the Mersey is coming to Liverpool's Royal Court following a hugely successful six-week tour in Spring 2015.

This much loved account tells the true story of a young girl and her formerly wealthy family as they are suddenly thrown into poverty during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Loved by millions, see Helen’s dramatic, moving and heartwarming tale come to life as she and her family are forced to survive in the slums amongst the streetwise working class.

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27 - 30 May

3 -5 June

FILM and APP REVIEW The BFG The BFG will be released on July 1.

Audio Sonic Vision St George’s Hall Plateau, St George’s Hall, Liverpool L1 1JJ Taking place inside a dome which will be positioned at The Plateau, Audio Sonic Vision is presented in a planetarium style format in a 10m dome using spherical mirror projection giving a 360° full dome cinema experience with sound being projected around the dome.

Saturday 18 June

International Mersey River Festival Liverpool Waterfront Tel: 0151 233 2008 Liverpool’s famous River Festival will once again sail into Liverpool complete with boat races, cosy canal boats, jet ski stunt displays and historical ships bringing the river in the heart of our city to life and it’s set to host the very first Northern Boat Show.

Thursday 7 July

are espe Shaklive

Destination Space Show World Museum Liverpool William Brown Street, Liverpool, Tel: 0151 478 4393 World Museum has joined forces with the European Space Agency’s first British astronaut, Tim Peake following on from his return to earth on 5 June, to run a fantastic variety of science demonstrations: how to train like an astronaut, how to get to space, what living and working in space.

Branagh Theatre Live: Romeo and Juliet Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Ormskirk L39 4QP 01695 584480 The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company Live cinema season continues with a new vision of Shakespeare’s heartbreaking tale of forbidden love. Branagh and his creative team present a modern passionate version of the classic tragedy.

9 July - 21 August

Wednesday 27 July

Stig of the Dump Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre 55-57 Watergate Row South, Chester, CH1 2LE Tel: 01244 409113

The Canterbury Tales Speke Hall, The Walk, oor Liverpool L24 1XD Outedatre Tel: 0844 800 4799 th

An actual caveman? In the dump? Will anyone believe you, and what on earth could go wrong? A major new adaptation

by Grosvenor Park of one of the best loved children’s classics.

An absolute must for families.

A cast of just five actors present every single one of Geoffrey Chaucer's timeless tales in under two hours! Join the pilgrims for puppetry and poetry, music and magic, talking chickens and burnt bottoms.

Fast-paced, physical and funny, this show is pure medieval mayhem for the whole family.

Directed by Steven Spielberg Starring: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Rebecca Hall, Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, Rafe Spall Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly Ten-year-old Sophie is in for the adventure of a lifetime when she meets the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance).

Naturally scared at first, the young girl soon realizes that the 24-foot behemoth is actually quite gentle and charming. As their friendship grows, Sophie's presence attracts the unwanted attention of Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater and other giants. After traveling to London, Sophie and the BFG must convince Queen Victoria to help them get rid of all the bad giants once and for all.

You get to experience the “giant world” in 3D as it’s scheduled to be released in the Disney Digital 3-D and RealD 3D formats.

Shakespeare in Bits - Romeo & Juliet

By Mindconnex Learning Ltd Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly With William Shakespeare celebrating 400 years there is no better way to fall in love with Shakespeare’s timeless story of love, vengeance and tragedy Romeo & Juliet - in full multi-media magnificence from the comfort of your iPad. A new, exciting, multimedia approach to learning and teaching Shakespeare’s plays - Shakespeare In Bits brings The Bard’s most popular plays to life through magnificently animated re-enactment, full audio and unabridged text in one comprehensive package.

Handy in-line translations for antiquated phrases and words are literally only a touch away, along with full study notes for every section, analyses, plot summaries, cast biographies and relationships - everything that you need to make understanding and appreciating Shakespeare attainable.

Featuring the voice talents of Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen, along with nearly three hours of engaging animation and unabridged text, Shakespeare In Bits Romeo & Juliet will engage the mind and render the hearts of all who view, read and listen to it.

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My School Days Adele Roberts - Radio 1 DJ

My schools: Due to moving around a lot when I was younger I went to a lot of different schools but the main ones were Farnborough Road School in Southport, Ormskirk C of E and Merchant Taylor’s School for Girls in Crosby.

football is now and it’s growing all the time. I remember being in a match with a girl who was the best player I’d ever played against! Both boys and girls. After the match I found out her name, it’s Sue Smith.

My favourite teacher: I don’t really think I could pick just one. Good teachers are worth their weight in gold! The things they teach you stay with you for life.

Thank you to all the amazing teachers who’ve inspired me.

My favourite book: I don’t really read as much as I should but I think my favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

Favourite subject at school: I loved science and my favourite was chemistry.

Were you streetwise or a bit of a geek?

I was a bit of both!

My favourite childhood band/singer: Michael Jackson. I feel so lucky that I got the chance to see him perform at Aintree.

Thank you for taking me Dad! My favourite extracurricular activity: Football. It’s fantastic to see how well established women’s

Do you remember your first school crush?

No, I feel bad that I don’t! But I remember a boy called Michael proposing to me when we were six. I told him I’d have to ask my mum!

Haha!

School dinners: Loved school dinners!

Always stayed around for seconds.

My ambitions at school: I just wanted to make my mum and dad proud. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do but I’m glad that I got to work with music.

Even with the 4am start, Adele Roberts is in no doubt that she has the best job in the world: the presenter of Radio 1’s Early Breakfast Show only wishes she could go back and show her teenage self what she’s doing now…

Her CV starts with a job collecting glasses in a Southport nightclub in 1995 at the age of 16.

After hours, when everybody had gone home, Adele would slip onto the decks and teach herself to DJ. Her first stint on radio was at a student station in Leeds, playing a hybrid of dance, club classics, RnB and HipHop. Whilst at the University, she also secured a residency at legendary house club, SpeedQueen – where she is resident DJ to this day.

Adele is also appearing at this year’s Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) which takes place at various locations across Liverpool 21 - 24 July. LIMF will see the likes of Sigma, Lianne La Havas, The Buzzcocks, Giles Peterson, Yousef and many more play across the duration. Visit www.limfestival.com/

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Where pupils achieve and enjoy an outstanding Catholic education St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Centre for Learning

At the centre all the staff recognise that its young people have unique and special abilties and therefore set personal goals and targets in order to succeed.

Ofsted have awarded the Pupil Support and Guidance within the Centre as Outstanding in the last three reports covering ten years.

For more information or enquiries, call 0151 477 8770 or visit www.seaonline.org.uk

SEA Catholic Centre for Learning Cumber Lane Whiston Knowsley Merseyside L35 2XG