Our City p12/13
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Our City S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0
SEPTEMBER 2010
Our City
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First construction work to start in weeks and all new academies and buildings will be finished within three years
£30m ICT package to provide pupils with very best technology
The future’s bright for
city’s schools ‘‘’’ T
Vicky Tunstall, Assistant Collections Officer at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, uses a magnifying glass to examine one of the new artifacts – thought to be inlay decoration from a drinking horn.
More Anglo-Saxon treasures on display PREVIOUSLY unseen treasures from the Staffordshire Hoard have gone on display to the public. A total of 19 new pieces, from the largest and most valuable collection of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found, are now being exhibited at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in the city centre. And the arrival of the new items has marked the start of a new campaign to raise £1.7 million to conserve and research the hoard. The latest exhibits include intricate gold filigree snakes, sword hilt collars, a silver sword pommel and the possible inlay decoration from a drinking horn. City council Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture Councillor Hazel Lyth said:“These new items demonstrate the scope of this incredible collection. We are still learning what many of these items are, why they were made and what they were used for.
HE city skyline is about to change dramatically as the massive £250 million building programme to transform Stoke-on-Trent’s secondary and special schools finally gets into full swing.
Construction work starts in just a few weeks – after the welcome news from Education Secretary Michael Gove that the city’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme is not included in Government cutbacks that have affected other local authorities. Clearing the final hurdle for the ambitious scheme first envisaged seven years ago came as a huge relief for pupils, teachers and parents. Over the next three years cranes and towers of scaffolding will be appearing on building sites all over the city as five new academies take shape and all secondary schools and special schools in the city are either rebuilt or extensively refurbished. The building programme will create a
There will be a new era of superb educational facilities that will help our young people to realise their full potential.
Councillor DEBRA GRATTON CABINET MEMBER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S SERVICES “family” of schools, academies and post-16 centres that will increase learning opportunities by offering specialist teaching and facilities to all pupils living in the city. And the major project will boost the local economy by bringing much-needed jobs and training opportunities to the city. Main contractors Balfour Beatty and the Thomas Vale/Wates
“But we want as many people as possible to view these entirely unique treasures, to experience these marvels and share in the wonder of how they became buried in Staffordshire soil all those centuries ago.” The city council and Birmingham City Council are joint owners of the collection after a huge public campaign, and a substantial donation from the National Heritage Memorial fund, raised £3.3 million to acquire it. The treasure was found by metal detector enthusiast Terry Herbert on land owned by farmer Fred Johnson near to Lichfield.
consortium have pledged to employ local skilled people wherever possible and to offer apprenticeships in most of the construction trades involved. Building starts as soon as November this year with work commencing on a £6.5 million new build and remodelling project at Haywood Engineering College, Burslem, and a new build
£4.3 million REACH Short Stay School, Trent Vale (both scheduled to be completed in February 2012). The final phase – which will involve some rebuilding at St Joseph’s College, Trent Vale, St Thomas More Catholic College, Longton, and Abbey Hill Special
School, Bucknall – is listed to start in August 2012 and finish in August 2013. A total of £30 million of the £250 million BSF budget has been ring fenced to provide cutting edge Information Communication Technology (ICT) packages in
every one of the schools involved in the programme. Councillor Debra Gratton, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, said: “The confirmation that Stoke-on-Trent is to receive the full £250 million BSF funding is tremendous news
for the city. The building programme will boost the area’s economy by creating employment and training opportunities for local people. There will be a new era of superb educational facilities that will help our young people to realise their full potential.”
New academy students get to work together STUDENTS representing the two Stoke-on-Trent schools coming together to form the Discovery Academy held their latest working together event at Stoke on Trent College, the academy’s sponsor. Around 30 student ambassadors from Mitchell High School and Edensor Technology College attended their third workshop, this time to discuss ideas for their future academy logo. Part of their ambassadorial role is to liaise with the college sponsor, council education officials and academy project managers on a series of issues and report back to fellow pupils at their respective schools. Building work on the Discovery Academy –
‘‘ A selection of the 19 new Staffordshire Hoard items on display for the first time.
Celebrating news that work will start in May on a £14.9 million new school building project for Thistley Hough High are Head Teacher Rob Haynes and BSF Project Director Tracey Penrose-Gould along with students, back row left to right, Toy Thanasin, Pearce Procter, Liam Roberts and Tanya Balderson, and, front row, Jemma Nichols, left, and Cameron Pye.
REACH Short Stay School Head Teacher Lorna Matley, back left, and students Jade Weston, front left, and Zara Latif visit the site in Trent Vale where a £4.3 million new complex will accommodate the school. With them is Colin Harper, Project Manager for Balfour Beatty, the main contractors for the school construction work.
The ambassadors meetings are quite interesting because it’s letting us have our say. Our teachers are nice, push us hard and give us opportunities. I’ve got one GCSE in Expressive Art and I’m working towards another.
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Becky Lees, 13, MITCHELL HIGH.
sited at the Willfield Centre, Lauder Place North, Bentilee – is due to start in the Autumn of 2011 and it is anticipated it will open its doors in September 2013. During the one and a half hour workshop the school ambassadors were joined by around half a dozen college student ambassadors as well as Sarah Robinson, Principal and Chief Executive of Stoke on Trent College. She said:“The student ambassador workshops have been an effective way to help young people from the two schools to meet up, have a real voice in the shaping of their future education and establish a positive relationship well before they merge to form the new academy.”
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It’s alright. I don’t want to wear a blazer and tie though. I hate uniforms. There’ll be a few arguments, that’s only natural, but it’ll be better, a new opportunity. I’m not worried about the new school. Sam Nicklin, 12, EDENSOR TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE.
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Sarah Robinson, Principal and Chief Executive of Stoke on Trent College which is sponsoring the new Discovery Academy, chats with Travis Johnson, a student at Edensor Technical College, and Becky Greasley, a student at Mitchell High School, at a working together event.
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It’s okay. It’s good giving our ideas and it’s going to be bigger with more facilities. It’ll be interesting getting to know who new people are. The thought of a new school is not too scary.
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Bilal Malik, 12, MITCHELL HIGH.
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Some pupils want to stay where they are but on the other hand they want a new school. I’m not really worried, just looking forward to making new friends and the new technology.
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Bryony Chadwick, 13, EDENSOR TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE.
THE BSF programme gives pupils in Stoke-on-Trent schools access to cutting edge information technology facilities that will develop their computer skills. The leading educational solutions provider RM Group has been appointed by the city council to provide and manage innovative ICT services for all academies, secondary and special schools in the city. The six-and-a half-year contract, worth around £30 million and financed out of the £250 million BSF package, starts in September 2010. It includes the provision of in-school hardware, networking and communications services, as well as day-to-day systems management and support. In addition RM will offer its Kaleidos learning platform, identity management services and ongoing professional support. Sharon Menghini, Director of Children and Young People’s Services, said: “RM responded well to the city’s requirements, demonstrating that they understood what was important to schools. “They submitted an excellent bid which reached the very high standards set out in the selection process. We look forward to them working with our schools to drive forward this element of education which will aid both students and staff alike.” Councillor Debra Gratton, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, said:“This is another major step forward in our BSF programme. “The agreement with RM means pupils across the city will have access to the latest hi-tech ICT, giving students the opportunity to develop their computer skills to the highest level.”