EDUCATION NEWS Top of the comps Multiply the maths

The Junior School at Wells Cathedral School has been renamed ‘Wells Cathedral Prep School’ . Wells Cathedral School Junior School was founded in 1948, and this year celebrates its 75th birthday. The school continues to go from strength to strength: pupil numbers are increasing, in 2022 the Pre-Prep were finalists for two major national awards, and the school’s reputation for excellence and creativity is higher than it has ever been.

The new name has been agreed by the School Governors after hearing from families who reported being confused by the name “Junior School”. The fact that there already was a ‘Pre-Prep’ caused some confusion, with one pupil memorably asking during an assembly: “how can you have a Pre-Prep without the Prep!?” Finally, given that the vast majority of its pupils are ‘prepared’ for entry to the Senior School the new name better represents the aim of a ‘school within a school’.

The structure and governance of the school will remain the same, with pupils attending the Prep School until the end of Year 6, before progressing to the Senior School on the same site. wells.cathedral.school/prep-school

The Times has named Ralph Allen School in Bath as one of the best comprehensive schools in the south west, based upon combined attainment grades achieved at both A-level and GCSE. Staff and students are extremely proud of this accomplishment and firmly believe in their ethos of developing the whole person, which has a positive impact on attainment and character. A huge range of sports, clubs and co-curricular activities are woven into the experience at Ralph Allen. Excellent sports provision is just one piece of the puzzle as the hard work of teachers, students and parents all contribute to the exceptional A-Level and GCSE results each year. ralphallenschool.com

Businesses are being encouraged to help staff develop their numeracy skills by signing up for a new national training initiative to be delivered by Bath College in partnership with Bath & North East Somerset Council. Multiply is a new national Skills for Life initiative, funded through the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), that has been designed to support businesses to invest in their workforce.

The council’s Achieve in B&NES team is working with the college to deliver a programme of free tailor-made industry/sector short courses to help local employees become more maths confident in the workplace. These introductory short courses or one-off workshops will be delivered in the workplace, online or at local community hubs. Bespoke courses could include: working with databases to build in formula; understanding how to work out accurate costings; working with money, including discounts and mark-ups; feasibility or understanding ratios and proportions. Find out more by emailing achieve@bathnes.gov.uk or acl@bathcollege.ac.uk