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Educate educatemagazine.com
The Magazine for Schools, Parents and Pupils
September – December 2016
Future careers Choosing GCSE options
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How strict should school uniform be? Top tech Headline sponsors latest innovation
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Thursday emb 2016 Th ursday 29th September from fr om 4.30pm - 7.00pm Come and see our incredible school in action, talk to our staff and students and experience first hand the opportunities we have to offer.
COLLECT YOUR CO LLECT Y OUR DREAM TICKET D REAM TI CKET FOR FOR CHANCE A CHAN CE TO WIN iPad AN APPLE iP ad MIN MINI
an Apple iPad mini
Prospective A Prospective Alsop lsop Y Year ear e 7 pu pupils pi will be gi ven a “DREAM “DREAM TICKET” TICKE will given at their primary school entering enterin at into the prize draw. draw. them into Tickets Tickets a also lso a available vailable a att the e door. One en entry try per Year Y ear e 5 or or Y Year e ear 6 student. student.
ALSOP ALSOP ACHIEVE A CHIE C CHIEVE EXCELLENCE EX XCELLEN CEL C CE
www.alsophigh.org.uk .a alsophigh.org.uk Telephone: T elephone: 0151 235 1200 www
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Open Evening for entry to Year 7 in 2017
Tuesday 27th September 6.00-8.00pm
Bellerive is a popular choice for girls from across Liverpool and beyond. Come to the Open Evening and ďŹ nd out why it is such a unique and oversubscribed school. inspiring academic + personal excellence
Bellerive FCJ Catholic College Windermere Terrace Sefton Park Liverpool L8 3SB Tel: 0151 727 2064 www.bellerivefcj.org Specialisms in Sciences, Applied Learning and Maths & Computing
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Educate Contents Welcome...
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Welcome to the September edition of Educate. In this issue, as the new academic year begins, we recap on the students across the region celebrating their GCSE and A-level results back in August when Educate dropped in to local schools and colleges. The gallery of photographs captures the celebrations and joy shared by pupils, parents and teachers as they received their results following many years of hard work and study.
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92-95
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Features
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08-11
A week in the life Richard Coakley, headteacher at St Mark’s Catholic Primary School
Pupil Premium Conference 2016 Educate joins the keynote speakers
82-83 38-39 Meet the headteacher Tony McGuinness, headteacher at All Saints Catholic High School
Bold ambitions Revd Richard Peers, Diocese of Liverpool’s Director of Education
92-95 46-49 Making the smart choice GCSEs, careers and your future
A-level results 2016 Tributes paid to hardworking pupils
98-101 54 Viewpoint The uniform debate
GSCE results 2016 Educate joins students on their results day
117 56-57 Thoughts worth sharing Bitesize thinking
Book review This season’s must reads
118-119 60-63 School eco news Milestone marked with Merseyside pupils
Cool your jets Fly with a rebellious twist
120-121 63-74 Educate 16+ Education, training and learning
Where can we go? Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region
122 Front cover: Alsop High School
My school days Anyika Onuora - olympic athlete
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, Amelia Heathman, Stacey Marshall 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 those students embark on a new stage in their career journey there are leaders too in education embarking on a new direction. We chat to Revd Richard Peers, the Diocese of Liverpool’s new Director of Education and we also meet Tony McGuinness, appointed only in 2015 as the new headteacher of All Saints Catholic High School in Kirkby. With a clear focus on the future both are embracing the challenges and opportunities their new leadership roles bring. From the youngest starting primary school to the 11 year olds starting Year 7 in secondary schools, exciting times lie ahead for so many children over the next few months and years. But what about some of the decisions students face during the course of their school days, like what GCSE subjects to take? Year 9 options will soon be the big topic of discussion for many 13 and 14 year olds with their parents, so we attempt to unravel the choices on offer and provide some expert advice.
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Education News
Educate Awards entries are top of the class for 2016! A record number of schools and colleges have entered the biggest celebration of education in the North West – the Educate Awards 2016. The awards bring together inspiring leaders and support staff from schools in the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Lancashire to showcase the brilliance within the region’s education sector. Hundreds of entries have been submitted from across the region for 2016, breaking previous records. From inspiring teachers, superb support staff to innovative projects across the curriculum, hundreds of entries have been sent in across the 21 award categories. Kim O’Brien, founder of the Educate Awards, said: “This year’s quality of entries is outstanding. It’s fantastic to see a great mix of primary and secondary schools to colleges from across the Liverpool City Region, Lancashire and Cheshire take part and highlight their success, whether that be in sport, art, STEM or enterprise. Nominations for
Teacher of the Year and School Support Star have been so inspiring, they really highlight the dedication, passion and energy of the staff who are bringing learning to life for pupils. “The judges are now in the process of shortlisting the entries, which is always a difficult but rewarding task. The whole host of industry experts we have on board as award judges, spanning across education, technology, arts, science, business and entertainment, ensure each category is judged expertly, making winning even more prestigious. Good luck to everyone who entered.” Returning for its fifth year on Friday 18 November at Liverpool Cathedral, the Educate Awards will be held in partnership with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh UK as title sponsors. Associate sponsors include All About STEM, The Foundry Agency, Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation (GMLPF), eCadets, Merseyside Network for Collaborative
Success with extra drama!
As almost half of all pupils in the UK missed the new SATs standard, one school in Liverpool is celebrating a huge rise in their test results for the spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG) paper, and they put their success down to working creatively in SPaG. Broadgreen Primary School have been working with Altru Creative Education for a number of years decided to explore how SPaG through drama and creativity. Broadgreen’s Year 6s went into the exam with a range of creative and innovative tips and tricks, to help them remember and demonstrate their knowledge leading to 81% of pupils achieving their potential - and not only were the results higher than the national average, they were a 26% increase on last year’s results. Headteacher Ann-Marie Moore, said: “We absolutely attribute this to both the high quality teaching in school and Altru’s intervention. “I’ve been in classes where the pupils have been trying to work out a problem and independently reflected back on the work they’ve done with Ed from Altru to help them find the solution – it’s clearly really worked for them.” 6
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
Outreach (MNCO), PCS Law, Capita Education, Wray Bros School Improvement Liverpool Ltd, Liverpool John Moores University and the Witherslack Group Ltd. Making the all-important shortlist are judges Henry Platten, founder of the multi award-winning eCadet Scheme; Michelle Dow, managing director of MerseySTEM; James Tartt, Merseyside track athlete and architect; Radio City breakfast host Leanne Campbell; Olympian and managing director of Raise The Bar, Steve Smith; 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; Fiona Barnet, director of The Foundry Agency; Andrew Pimbley of Wirral’s Claremont Farm; and the education team at the respected Everyman and Playhouse Theatres.
Government outlines plans for Grammar Schools The Prime Minister has unveiled measures to increase the number of good school places and ensure all children have the best start in life. In her first major domestic speech as Prime Minister, Theresa May has made the case for wider social reform to build a true meritocracy in Britain. She said that schools can be an engine of social mobility – giving everyone the opportunity to develop their talents. She added: “For too long we have tolerated a system that contains an arbitrary rule preventing selective schools from being established – sacrificing children’s potential because of dogma and ideology. “The truth is that we already have selection in our school system – and its selection by house price, selection by wealth. That is simply unfair”. The government will now consult on a number of new proposals including requiring new or expanding grammars to take a proportion of pupils from lower income households, so that selective education is not reserved for those with the means to move into a catchment area or pay for tuition to pass the test. They will also require them to establish a new, high quality, non-selective free school. Requiring them to set up or sponsor a primary feeder school in an area with a high density of lower income households.
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Pupil Premium Conference 2016
On 8 July, Educate joined teaching professionals from across the Liverpool city region for School Improvement Liverpool’s Pupil Premium Conference. School Improvement Liverpool is a leading education service provider in the North West, set up to offer support and challenge schools to improve in all aspects of education. The day-long event saw seminars by keynote speakers from the field of education, workshops led by teachers on how they use Pupil Premium funding, as well as exhibitions held by some of the creative businesses and education charities that are currently working in the region’s schools.
Educate reports:
Pupil Premium Conference 2016
Words by: Jennifer Chamberlain 8
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
The venue for the conference: EDEN Building, Liverpool Hope University
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Pupil Premium Conference 2016
The overall aim of the day was to look at the wider impact of the school experience for disadvantaged children, moving beyond the data and celebrating a holistic approach to using Pupil Premium funding. ‘We were keen this year to fully involve Liverpool pupils at our conference and “keep the day real”, says Angela Allen, senior school improvement officer at School Improvement Liverpool. “Using our team of Liverpool School Improvement Partners (LSIPs) we were also able to identify innovative strategies being used in schools across the North West to raise the attainment of Pupil Premium pupils. “We are hugely grateful to these schools who gave up their time to run workshops for colleagues. We were delighted to be able to invite local businesses and charities to exhibit and run workshop sessions during the day. LSIPs have had first-hand experience of the impact these colleagues have had on the outcomes for pupil premium children and look forward to discovering more this academic year,” adds Angela.
Succeeding with disadvantaged children In order to tackle educational inequality, teachers must fully understand the complex reasons why a child is disadvantaged in the first place, and how this directly impacts their school life. According to the leading education charity, Teach First, the link between income and attainment is stronger in the UK than almost anywhere else in the world. In terms of exam results, 33% of pupils on Free School Meals achieve 5A*C at GCSE compared to 60.5% of other students. Whilst it’s well known that a child’s socio-economic background impacts their attainment, a perhaps lesser known fact is that the educational success of a child’s mother is the single biggest factor affecting how they do at school. What is clear, however, is that poverty is intergenerational and more should be done to ensure that children from poorer backgrounds are given the same life chances as those from more privileged families. As the first keynote speaker at the conference, Sue Hackman spoke passionately about educational disadvantage and the best ways to tackle
the issue. Having spent seven years as Chief Adviser on School Standards at the Department for Education, and a former teacher herself, Hackman has an in-depth knowledge of the educational landscape and in particular how to succeed with disadvantaged children. For her, there are four key things that disadvantaged children must learn, and have access to, in order to succeed: linguistic competence, social literacy, cultural capital and economic knowhow. In pinpointing specific areas, Hackman points to some of the ways schools can utilise Pupil Premium most effectively. Furthermore, these key areas cover a range of different skills and add up to an altogether holistic approach; Not only does a child need to learn vital linguistic, social
“33% of pupils on Free School Meals achieve 5A*-C at GCSE compared to 60.5% of other students.”
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Pupil Premium Conference 2016
“Giving disadvantaged young people the best start in life is a vital national endeavour that will pay dividends in providing a more skilled workforce and a stronger social fabric for the future.” and economic skills but they also need cultural experiences, such as going to the theatre or learning a musical instrument opportunities that privileged children are given on a regular basis. As well as providing valuable experiences for pupils, accessing culture in this way provides a simple, straightforward way for schools to use Pupil Premium funding to benefit children who may never otherwise have such opportunities.
How schools spend Pupil Premium The amount a school receives annually through Pupil Premium funding largely depends on the location and demographics of its pupils. In theory, this means that schools in more disadvantaged areas receive the most funding. In the 2016-2017 financial year, primary schools will receive £1320 for every child registered as eligible for Free Schools Meals, with secondary schools receiving £935 for each pupil. Furthermore, schools receive additional funding for Looked After Children. For schools with a large percentage of children registered as eligible for FSM, this additional funding allows them to invest in specialist staff, better facilities and opportunities for the pupils who need it most. One school which receives a large amount of Pupil Premium is St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School in Toxteth. As an inner city, multicultural school in a deprived neighbourhood, 58% of pupils receive Free School Meals and attract Pupil Premium funding for the school. Schools operating in 10
disadvantaged communities are often faced with a myriad of social issues on a daily basis. Unemployment, drugs and gangs and vulnerable parenting are just some of the challenges faced by St Patrick’s and other schools in the most deprived areas of Liverpool, and indeed throughout the country, and engagement with these issues is essential in order to support a child’s learning. As winner of the Local Award in the KS2 category at Pupil Premium Awards since 2011, St Patrick’s is a leading example for other schools of how to effectively use the funding to ensure maximum impact. Raising attendance has been fundamental to raising attainment for the most vulnerable children in St Patrick’s care, and as such the school has used Pupil Premium funding to foster an outreach approach. Investing in a minibus to collect and bring children to school as well as hiring a Family Support Worker to address specific problems within the community have both had a significant impact on pupils. Staff at St Patrick’s understand that they must support a child in all areas of their life, and the school regularly subsidises uniforms, books and stationery as well as sending out food parcels for families that are struggling the most.
“St Patrick’s is a leading example for other schools of how to effectively use the funding to ensure maximum impact.” Attendance is now 96% as the school continues to support families to engage in their child’s education. Although improvements have been made, it is a complex and difficult process and the school admits that such improvements risk being short lived: when extra support is withdrawn, old habits begin again. Furthermore, some of the most vulnerable and hard to reach families refuse to be involved, and there can be a lack of uptake in the support offered. It is worth noting that although schools notify families that they may be eligible for FSM, it is the
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parent's’ responsibility to fill in a form to prove their eligibility; it is not automatic and this means that the most vulnerable children can miss out. “What do middle class children have that our children do not?” asks Mrs Lewis, Headteacher of St Patrick’s. Left by her predecessor at the school, this very question is behind every decision that the school makes about how to provide opportunities for their pupils that they may otherwise never have. Some of these opportunities include: 1:1 tuition for those most struggling, music tuition for all children from Year 3 onwards as well as educational trips abroad. Recently, the school took 20 children from Year 4 to Spain and, out of those 20, the school was able to use Pupil Premium to cover the costs for 5 children. Listen Infants, a community maintained school in the Tuebrook area of Liverpool, adopts a similar approach when spending Pupil Premium funding. The school, which educates children from from 2-7 years, puts emphasis on pupils mastering life skills as early as possible in their lives. Out of the school’s 212 pupils, 18% are eligible for Pupil Premium Funding although it has been as much as 42% in recent years. Other schools share similar stories of a drop in the percentage of children considered eligible for additional funding, due to changes in in the universal benefit system. Many teachers are concerned that children who would’ve benefited from Pupil Premium in the past, are now missing out on much-needed support. Deputy headteacher of Lister Infants, Kirsty Hamilton, begins the workshop with a quote from the founder of the Sutton Trust, Sir Peter Lampl: “Giving disadvantaged young people the best start in life is a vital national endeavour that
“Tracking of entry and exit data and reporting to staff and governors at regular review meetings seem to be the most popular methods.”
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Pupil Premium Conference 2016
“Not only does a child need to learn vital linguistic, social and economic skills but they also need cultural experiences, such as going to the theatre or learning a musical instrument opportunities that privileged children are given on a regular basis.” will pay dividends in providing a more skilled workforce and a stronger social fabric for the future.” As an Infants school, Lister believes in developing essential life skills as early as possible, and focuses on the specific areas of thinking, debate, relationships and positivity. Perhaps an unexpected subject area for children so young, Philosophy takes a central role in the curriculum at Lister Infants through investment in the Talk for Life programme. Children in Key Stage 1 are encouraged to think independently and take part in debates. As well as developing pupils’ thinking skills, teaching Philosophy has had an impact on positivity and helped with conflict resolution throughout the school and in particular, at playtime, as children learn to take turns and accept different opinions. Investing in a learning mentor, and training all TA’s in Theraplay, has also helped to nurture the children’s basic social skills as well as provide targeted support for emotional needs. Pupil Premium spending at Lister Infants seem to strike the balance between improving academic attainment and providing unique opportunities for disadvantaged pupils. When statistics show that pupils who do not reach expected level in English and maths by age 11 rarely catch up by the time they
reach 16, it’s important that these subjects are prioritised at primary level. With 1:1 Number Count Intervention and Early Years Language support, Lister Infants ensures that children are supported in the key areas of English and maths whilst still providing holistic opportunities. Opening the Pupil Premium conference, the school’s Deaf Active choir impressively sang and signed their way through three songs, including their unique version of The Beatles ‘Love Me Do’. Supported by Deaf Active, a charity set up to facilitate opportunities for deaf and hearing young people, pupils at Lister Infants have been able to develop a valuable skill as well as gaining confidence and self-esteem through performing to audiences.
Measuring impact Whilst there are countless ways to use Pupil Premium funding, and each school will have very different aims and outcomes, it’s imperative that schools effectively measure its impact. Monitoring whether a Pupil Premium strategy is working is a difficult and time-consuming task, but it is essential to ensure that
“When children start school, there is a 19-month gap between the most and least advantaged pupils.” the funding is being put to the best use. Ultimately, Pupil Premium will only have an impact if spent wisely. It appears that many schools are following a similar, albeit simple, process when measuring the impact of Pupil Premium spending. Tracking of entry and exit data and reporting to staff and governors at regular review meetings seem to be the most popular methods. But how do schools go about choosing their approaches in the first place? Could more accurate measurement be done to ensure they are spending the funding wisely? The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is an independent, grant-making charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement for children aged 3 to 16. Founded in 2011 and funded by the
Department for Education, the EEF believes in putting evidence into action and works within schools to test which approaches actually work to improve teaching and learning. The EEF’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit, an accessible, user-friendly summary of international educational research evidence, is one of the EEF’s most valuable resources. Based on reviews of research conducted by independent academic teams, the toolkit is practice focused and provides comparisons between approaches, as well as information on implementation. ‘We look for innovative, evidence-based, scalable programmes and approaches and then make grants to fund people to deliver those in schools across England,’ explains Peter Henderson, research officer for the EEF. ‘We carry out a rigorous evaluation process, including randomised control trials, and then publish all the research online where teachers can access it for free.’
Closing the gap When children start school, there is a 19-month gap between the most and least advantaged pupils and, in reality, this gap only widens as they get older. With such alarming statistics, it’s clear that Pupil Premium funding is needed to close the attainment gap and to ensure that disadvantaged are given the best chance of catching up with their more privileged peers. It’s looking positive, and results have improved across the board for all children. However, when the gap is closing at a rate of just 0.5% per year, it’s clear that a lot more needs to be done, and much quicker, to ensure that disadvantaged children are given the best start in life.
“In the 2016-2017 financial year, primary schools will receive £1320 for every child registered as eligible for Free Schools Meals, with secondary schools receiving £935 for each pupil.”
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Primary News
Well read pupils School receives three reading awards Staff and pupils at St Aidan’s Catholic Primary School, Huyton are celebrating after they received three reading awards. Headteacher Moira Kenneway, said: “This follows on the success when last year we were awarded school of the year for all we did to encourage reading for pleasure. “Our teacher, Mrs Maria Cooper won the Reading Recovery Teacher of the Year Award Maria is trained as a reading recovery teacher and works mostly with pupils in Year 1 and 2 to make them readers. “She was recognised for her dedication and determination to making reading a priority for children, parents and staff and to give the pupils the skills to be confident and competent readers. “She was instrumental in the school also achieving Gold Reading Mark awarded by School Improvement Liverpool. Maria has been a reading recovery teacher for many years and works tirelessly with pupils - many disadvantaged to get them reading so that they can access education. “Olivia Doherty is a pupil in Year 1 who was on the scheme. She received support over a number of weeks and
Award winners (left to right) Olivia Doherty, Jakub Siennicka and Olivia Pearson
made great progress. We submitted a video of her reading 'We’re going on a bear hunt' and her reading was chosen as a winner for her expression and fluency. “Olivia joined us in London with some of her Year 1 class mates to collect her prize”. The third award was reading recovery manager of the year and was awarded to
the headteacher for how the school manages the budget and the priorities of school to make reading a priority to raise its profile so that children leave St Aidan's as readers. By supporting staff and providing them with opportunities to develop ideas and by purchasing resources the school have made reading an important part of the curriculum.
Running for a reason Pupils get on the run to raise cash for cancer charity The children of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School in Aintree have put their running shoes on and raised over £8,000 for Cancer Research UK. Every child from nursery through to Year 6 took part in a sponsored ‘Race for Life’ at which they were encouraged to run as far as they could for a special person or people in their lives. The success of the event was far beyond expectations, with the school – which had pledged to raise at least £700 – eventually presenting a cheque for £8,233 to Jennifer Drury, a representative of Cancer Research, at a school assembly. Headteacher Chris Davey, said: “We are extremely proud of our children and their parents for their generosity in raising such an outstanding amount and would like to say a huge thank you to the whole Blessed Sacrament Community. “Cancer Research clearly touches the heart of our community and we are still receiving donations to pass on to the charity.” Right: The pupils from Blessed Sacrament present a cheque of £8,233 to Cancer Research.
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StCatholic Vincent de Paul Primary School Pitt Street Liverpool L1 5BY “Serving With Love … Striving For Excellence”
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Primary News
Future builders Bringing structures to life University of Liverpool engineers have been working with children from Dovedale Primary School to design and build a model of the Anfield roof truss using the latest 3D printing technology. The truss, which is a giant metal structure weighing in at 650 tonnes, is a key feature in the redesign of Liverpool FC’s iconic Anfield Stadium. The Year 5 pupils were tasked with researching, designing and building the truss along with a series of related activities including forming their own company and even coming up with their own brand for it. Working in groups, the pupils started off by building prototypes of the truss using drinking straws and tape. Once familiar with the geometry, they then used a Dremel 3D Idea Builder to help fabricate the 196 individual parts of the truss. These were carefully assembled in stages until the final truss was complete. Finally, the children tested the structure by suspending it between two tables and gradually adding weights until it collapsed. University Engineer, Dr Andrew Green, who undertook the project with Dovedale School, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity to introduce the children at Dovedale to the latest technology and concepts in the field of engineering using the new truss at Anfield stadium as a real life example. “They all really enjoyed the project – whether they were Liverpool or Everton supporters. They impressed me with their enthusiasm, their ability to listen to and follow instructions and to work with great care and attention.”
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Pupils show off their 3D model of the Anfield roof truss.
Pupils to become ‘digital ambassadors’ for new school technology
New Park Primary pupils Olivia Boyd, Xander Heaton, Jasmine Erickson and Thomas Hutchings with teacher Mr Fikrin
New Park Primary School is introducing a new ambassador programme for its pupils this September, training them to use the school’s new impressive technology. Copyrite Systems and Ricoh, joint headline sponsors of this year’s Educate Awards, delivered the UK’s first Interactive Learning Table (ILT) to New Park Primary School in Liverpool earlier this year. The ILT provides a place where students can gather together to interact with subject material in new and stimulating ways. It can be used to support video and game based learning as well as other ways that drive interaction and engagement – the possibilities are endless. After just three months using the technology, the school is introducing a pupil ambassador programme to train the children how to use the table and involve them with the whole development process. From choosing what topics they want to see to attending meetings with staff, headteacher Karen Hutchings believes putting the children first and developing their skills on the piece of technology is key. Since its introduction, Karen and dedicated staff co-ordinators have been working with
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Ricoh representatives to develop a unique curriculum. Much of the focus has been adding content to the learning table so every year group can explore and learn different topics, from the Great Fire of London to electricity. Karen says the aim is to have an interactive ‘pinwheel’ which will split each of the curriculum areas in to year groups to make each topic engaging and accessible to learn. What’s more, the content created by the school will be made available to different schools across the country, putting collaboration and communication at the forefront of the ILT and how it can be used to share new ideas. Andrew Hampson, sales manager at Copyrite Systems, said: “It’s fantastic to see the progress New Park Primary is making with the Interactive Learning Table after only three months. Working closely with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh, the school is transforming new ways to learn and enhancing their classrooms. “The new pupil ambassador programme is a brilliant idea which puts children at the heart of the new technology, which is what it’s all about. We’re excited to see how this develops and what positive outcomes it will bring.”
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Primary News
Pupils take to the streets
Local primary school children in the Sutton area.
Primary school pupils in the Sutton area joined forces by taking to the streets as part of a road safety awareness campaign. Co-ordinated by local community group Sutton Smile and supported by St Helens Council’s road safety team and Merseyside Police, the ‘Brake’s Giant Walk – 20 is Plenty’ initiative is a UK wide event in schools where children learn about traffic pollution, danger and transport choices. First launched by Sherdley Primary School in 2015, this year’s event involved
Key Stage 2 aged children from Sutton Oak, Robins Lane, Eaves and Sherdley primary schools walking along some of the busiest roads in Sutton accompanied by staff, while brandishing banners encouraging local drivers to slow down, and chanting: “Slow down, 20 is plenty.” The campaign also aims to encourage parents and guardians to consider alternative methods for the school run – with statistics showing that 50 per cent of primary school aged children are driven to and from school, yet the average distance is less than 1.5 miles.
A spokesperson for national road safety charity, Brake, said: “Average walking trips per person have decreased by 27 percent since 1995, with walking now making up just over 22 per cent of trips in Britain. “In that time, congestion and air pollution have increased, as have our waistlines, with childhood obesity being described by experts as an epidemic. “Driving less means there will be less harmful pollution pumped into our atmosphere and children and parents will get more exercise.”
It’s all go at Much Woolton! It has been another hugely successful year at Much Woolton Catholic Primary School. Building on the success of previous years, the children have experienced a bumper year, with academic success for all, on top of a number of sporting successes with the school receiving its second Sportsmark Gold in recognition of the twenty plus extra curricular clubs on offer across the age ranges. The school is also developing its artistic talents too, with many children beginning to learn musical instruments and all children having the opportunity to write and illustrate their own book. In addition to this, Much Woolton’s PTA have worked hard over the years to provide lots of equipment, including new laptops, WiFi, playground equipment and other items. This year they have surpassed themselves and provided the school’s first minibus. Headteacher, Matthew White said: “2015-16 has been a wonderful year. We received a glowing report from Ofsted in April, which highlighted the many strengths we have, particularly in the many aspects of leadership across the school and children’s welfare and behaviour. “We have a curriculum which is centred on children’s interests, trips galore, five residential visits for our older children and a huge number of extra curricular activities that altogether ensure that our children are succeeding in their learning. “This is complimented by an energetic PTA and our 16
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wonderful parish of St Mary’s, that are helping us secure superb outcomes for our children. “2016-17 already looks like a busy year, with the addition of a new hall, due for completion this November and a really exciting year for children in all aspects of school life”.
Pupils from Much Woolton Catholic Primary School view their new school minibus.
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Primary News
Remembering the 96 Primary school opens memorial garden Pupils at St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior School in Pilch Lane, Huyton celebrated the official opening of a commemorative garden for
the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster. The idea for the garden came from the pupils themselves and it was developed with the support of
The Mayor of Knowsley, Cllr Frank Walsh welcomes children with their planters
the school gardener, Simon Lyon. Father Mark Moran, parish priest of St Margaret Mary’s, led prayers and a blessing at the opening at which the Liverpool anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was sung. The Mayor of Knowsley, Cllr Frank Walsh and George Howarth MP, were present together with representatives from the Hillsborough Family Support Group and from both Liverpool and Everton Football Club.s The memorial garden has been carefully designed and created in memory of the 96 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives at Hillsborough. It includes 96 planters, which sit around the garden. At its centre is a carved stone bearing the number 96 along with a 96 emblem made up of
plants. All those present at the opening ceremony were invited to place one of the 96 planters into the garden. All the plants and other material in the garden were donated to the school, whose headteacher, Marcella Armstrong, spoke about the impact it had already made on the pupils. “We feel the garden, which all the children can access at all play times, is a wonderful way to ensure that the 96 are never forgotten. “The pupils really enjoyed getting involved in the planning and planting and they are very proud of what they have created. It is a great tribute and a lovely space that all five hundred pupils at our school will enjoy for a long time to come”.
An appetite for a new way of learning Pupils at a Sefton primary school showed their appetite for healthy eating during a visit from their local MP. Bill Esterson MP visited Ursuline Catholic Primary School where he witnessed the school’s innovative approach to teaching children about nutrition. Taking a tour of classrooms with headteacher Mark
McQueen, Mr Esterson saw first-hand how teachers use technology to encourage better mealtime choices. Joining children in Year 2, the MP took part in a fun science lesson, where pupils used digital resources to learn about the human body, and the importance of nutrition. Headteacher Mark McQueen said: “We were delighted to welcome Bill Esterson to our
Bill Esterson MP visiting a Year 2 classroom at the school, to see how pupils are using digital technology to learn about healthy eating.
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school. The visit was a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate our commitment both to healthy eating and digital technology, which really helps us to bring lessons to life for our pupils.” Bill Esterson MP said: “It was a pleasure to visit
Ursuline, a brilliant primary school in the constituency that really makes me proud of Sefton Central. The pupils were really enthused in their lesson, the use of technology was seamlessly integrated to keep interest up and apply their knowledge practically.
A place to flourish
St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School, Litherland have celebrated the opening of the Sullivan Spiritual Garden. The garden, which was developed and brought to life by Mrs McCaughrean, is named after Mrs Sullivan, their former headteacher. The garden was blessed by Parish Priest, Father Barry McAllister. Mrs McCaughrean, said: “It is a place for us to flourish and grow through prayers”.
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Mosspits Lane Primary School
OPEN DAY
Come and join us in Early Years Foundation Stage on
Saturday 15th October 2016 10:00am – 12:00 noon Mosspits Lane ■ Wavertree ■ Liverpool L15 6UN ■ 0151 722 1716
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Primary News
Broad Oak get ‘wiggy with it’
Pupils from Millstead School show their delight at winning gold standard
Millstead School strikes gold again! Children, staff and governors at Millstead Primary School in Liverpool are celebrating as they continue to gain the highest possible levels of recognition for their outstanding provision for learners. The specialist primary school caters for children with severe learning difficulties aged 2-11 years. The school is the first ever special school to be awarded the gold standard quality mark for the new initiative ‘Liverpool Counts’ which aims to; raise the standards of numeracy and mathematics through a fun approach to learning; challenge perception and attitudes towards numeracy and numbers and raise the profile of numeracy through activities and events that reflect the importance of maths in real life contexts. The report captured the variety of events and opportunities to develop mathematical concepts provided at Millstead School.
Alongside the academic success of the children at Millstead School, the holistic child is what really counts. The school gained its MOVE Quality Mark status recognising its approach to supporting children with physical difficulties in June 2014 and quickly became the first Centre of Excellence for MOVE in the North West and has seen huge successes in supporting children in developing their functional mobility. Some of the children are now able to walk independently and parents are thrilled at the level of training and support offered to them to ensure that MOVE is a central part of their child’s daily life. Headteacher Mrs Michelle Beard said: “The staff and governors of Millstead School have the highest aspirations for every single member of the school community. The school is committed to ensuring that pupils receive the highest quality education which will prepare them for life beyond Millstead.”
Rise and shine boost St William of York Catholic Primary School, which is a member of the Kellogg’s Breakfast Club network, was one of fifty schools from across the UK who was selected to receive the breakfast boost of £200. The school entered a competition which was featured in the cereal company’s Breakfast Club e-newsletter, aimed at showcasing best practice and providing practical resources to ensure the sustainability of the club. Headteacher, Martin Murphy said: “We are very grateful to receive this generous donation. We have since been able to purchase new games, toys and activities for our club. These resources will help us to provide our free breakfast club services for our children and their families.” 20
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Pupils and staff at Broad Oak Primary School got ‘wiggy with it’ as they came to school in bright coloured wigs, dyed hair, hats and outrageous hairstyles - in support of Year 2 pupil, Alex Prescott who is recovering from cancer treatment. The day collected over £600 for CLIC Sargent, a children’s cancer charity that has supported brave Alex, who is now on maintenance treatment, as he battled Pre B Lymphoblastic Lymphoma - a type of blood cancer and follows a successful teacher soaking event before Christmas which raised over £1600, bringing the school’s fundraising total to over £2000. Headteacher, Melanie Hignett said: “As part of our Broad Oak family ethos we will continue to show that we are fully behind Alex as he overcomes his illness. “He is a courageous little boy and it’s heartwarming to see his classmates think of ideas on how we can further support him.”
Headteacher Melanie Hignett and deputy head Gary Affleck (back row) with Broad Oak Primary School pupils.
Celebration of music’ Liverpool Lighthouse played host to All Saints Catholic Primary School and the Royal Philharmonic who came together to celebrate the ‘Tuning-In’ Musical Awards evening. A fantastic event saw performances from the school choir, the gospel choir and the school community band, interspersed with performances from the Royal Philharmonic who have worked closely with pupils from All Saints. The school community band that meet every week includes pupils past and present and are led by Resonate, Liverpool’s music hub. Executive headteacher, Mr Jeremy Barnes said: “The evening was a triumphant celebration of the hard work of pupils and staff. “The valued support of the Royal Philharmonic and Resonate is very much appreciated”.
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Grand designs for their future State-of-the-art science, sport and creative media facilities are now open
St Francis Xavier’s College A foundation for learning since 1842 We value your child’s education, that’s why we have invested £7.5 million in 11 new science laboratories, sports hall and music suite. These contribute to maintaining a platform for highquality teaching and learning, whilst sustaining our position as a centre of academic excellence.
Year 6 Open Evening 13th September 2016 To find out more please call 0151 288 1000 or email admin@sfx.liverpool.sch.uk
from 6.30pm for feeder schools other schools welcome from 7.15pm onwards
St Francis Xavier’s College, Woolton Hill Road, Liverpool L25 6EG
www.sfx.liverpool.sch.uk
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Primary News
Another memorable year The Mount celebrates pupils’ achievements The Mount held a special event in Southport to pay tribute to the achievements of its pupils over the past 12 months. For the third year in a row, the Atkinson Arts Centre was the venue for the junior prize-giving ceremony organised by the Blundellsands primary school. And rather than a guest speaker this year, the prizes were presented by Mount headmaster Michael Collins who was leaving the school to take up a headship at a school overseas. As well as being able to bid a fond farewell to Mr Collins, the packed audience at the Atkinson heard that The Mount had again achieved excellent academic results during this school year, with 100 per cent of Year 6 pupils meeting or exceeding expected levels for their age, an impressive achievement in the light of the increased difficulty of assessments this year. A wide range of successes in music and sport were also recognised at the prize-giving event, which also featured performances by the school’s concert band, orchestra, show choir, recorder ensemble and Year 5 and 6 choir. In addition, Year 6 pupils presented a highly entertaining drama performance about the transition to secondary school
Mount headteacher Michael Collins (second left) and wife Karen Collins are pictured with St Mary's principal Mike Kennedy (left) and compere for the prize-giving event, Jonathan Cunningham MBE
called ‘Big School Nightmares’, which was directed by Mr Collins’ wife Karen. Looking back at the last 12 months Mr Collins said: “This annual event is a great way for us to recognise the hard work and achievements of our pupils in many fields over the past year. “I would like to salute each and every one of the children - and the staff and families who support them - and thank them for their contribution to making the school such a special place. “I leave The Mount with incredibly fond memories of my time here, and wish everyone associated with the school every success in the future”.
St Mary’s College principal Mike Kennedy said: “Michael has been headmaster for 14 years and The Mount has gone from strength to strength over this period. “He has led the school with warmth and a fantastic sense of humour, and been loved by pupils and families alike. He will be much missed.” It’s been a busy time for prize-giving events at St Mary’s, with the infants at The Mount being honoured at an inschool ceremony, and a separate event for youngsters at the Bright Sparks Nursery held at the senior school recently.
Dedicated teacher wins national award A dedicated teacher at Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School has received high praise and national recognition as she was presented with a Silver Teaching Award. The presentation was made at a special school assembly as pupils and staff enjoyed a school-wide ‘Thank a Teacher Day’ event. Selected from over 24,000 nominations received by Pearson’s Teaching Awards this year, Sinead Walsh, Year 6 teacher, is one of just 55 educators in schools and colleges across the UK to win the award. Sinead’s triumph means she will now join fellow silver award winners at the UK final of the teaching awards to be held at a glittering celebration at London’s Guildhall on 23 October. The 2016 ceremony, titled ‘Britain’s Classroom Heroes’ will be filmed and broadcast by the BBC as a showcase of excellence in education. Michelle Ravey, Holy Spirit’s headteacher, said: “I am so proud of Miss 22
Walsh. This is great news for her family, our school and the whole community. Miss Walsh is a natural born teacher. If
she was a stick of Blackpool rock and she was cut in half it would say ‘TEACHER’ in block capitals”.
Special assembley at Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School
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Education News
Developing skills New early years programme a ‘fantastic opportunity’ A new Early Years programme by Liverpool Hope University and School Improvement Liverpool Ltd (SIL) has been hailed as a ‘fantastic opportunity’ for Early Years leaders to develop leadership skills and expertise. The Liverpool Early Years Chartered Leader Programme was piloted between September 2015-February 2016 with 10 participants, and a second cohort of 22 participants has just completed the course. The course is aimed at leaders, for example, managers and deputies in Early Years provision such as nurseries. At a special event, early childhood professionals were invited to find out more about the programme while current participants talked about their experience of the course, their development and what measures they have introduced into their early year settings since completing the course. The course is funded by SIL (a Local Authority traded company) and delivered by Liverpool Hope University. A further two cohorts will undertake the programme in 2016-17. Early childhood specialist Dr Babs Anderson and the CPD team from Liverpool Hope University are working in
partnership with the Liverpool LA School Improvement team (Early Years Strategies) to deliver the course. Dr Anderson said: “The original impetus for the programme was the commitment by Liverpool Local Authority to enhance the quality of leadership within early years settings. This was combined with expertise from the Early Childhood Department at Liverpool Hope University to develop an innovative and creative programme, designed to support reflective leadership within the participants’ professional leadership positions.” Lisa Dorrity, senior school improvement officer at School Improvement Liverpool Ltd said: “The pilot of the Liverpool Early Years Chartered Leader Programme was a huge success. Participants were able to network, share expertise and further their understanding of the role of leadership and management in early years settings.” Course participant Stephanie Beesley, nursery manager at Bright Horizons Broadgreen added: “The leadership programme has been a fantastic opportunity for me to reflect on my current leadership style and its effectiveness. I have been empowered to further embed my values, quality standards and expectations.
Left to right: Joanne Prichard from Community Family Services Nursery, early childhood specialist Dr Babs Anderson and nursery manager at Bright Horizons Broadgreen, Stephanie Beesley
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“I have mostly enjoyed networking with other managers and sharing best practice within the group. As a nursery we have improved clarity of our shared goals, aspirations and success indicators are already visual."
Secondary school choice increased
Liverpool City Council is to up the number of secondary schools that parents can express a preference for from three to five from next year. The aim is to increase the percentage of pupils that get in to a school of their choice. Councillor Nick Small, (pictured above), cabinet member for education, said: “The diversification of the schools sector means that there is much more choice available to parents, including community schools, academies and free schools. “We want parents right across the city to have as much choice as possible, and by increasing the number of preferences we hope to ensure that parents get one of their choices after these changes.” A report to the cabinet recommended the introduction of the change for the start of the September 2017 academic year.
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News: Creative Arts
Creative talents Local children’s artwork at Greystone footbridge Children from Malvern Primary School in Huyton put on their creative hats to design permanent pieces of artwork that mark the entrance to the new Greystone footbridge. The Year 6 pupils were involved in a creative session led by Mouchel Consulting, who worked with Knowsley Council to create the design for the new footbridge. The children also learned about the design process for the new bridge and how the final design was developed. They were asked to think about why they would need to cross the bridge and then worked together in groups to talk through their ideas and put them into pictures. The children were really enthusiastic about the new bridge, asking questions about the old and new structures and commented that the new bridge is “beautiful” and a “real improvement”.
The fantastic designers from Malvern Primary School
The ideas generated by the children were incorporated into the final artwork
design for two panels that mark the entrance to the footbridge on Roby Road.
Open for entries Regional art competition for schools dot-art Schools has launched their online, inter-school art competition for 2016/17, which culminates in an exhibition of the winning artworks in the city centre. The competition is judged by arts professionals who shortlist entries and the
public vote on-line to select the winners. The competition is open to both primary (Year 5) and secondary (Year 9) schools in the six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region. It is designed to nurture talent, raise ambition, and take art out of the classroom and into the real world.
2015-16 overall secondary winner Nyah Boorman of St Hildas CE High School and her work Golden Tamarin
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Since 2012 over 2,700 children from over 166 primary and secondary schools in the Liverpool City Region have participated. dot-art Schools guest judge and past president of the National Society for Education in Art & Design, Susan M Coles, said: “Schools
are under such pressure these days, so events like this are so very important - they highlight and showcase, celebrate and share...” Interested schools need to sign up by 21st December 2016 and can view online at http://schools.dot-art.com
2015-16 overall primary winner Aidan Owen of St Bede's Catholic Junior School and his work Boston Terrier
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Bellerive’s double celebration Students and staff at Bellerive FCJ Catholic College had 2 reasons to celebrate on GCSE results day. Not only did the GCSE results for 2016 prove to be excellent, the successful students will be the first to take up residence in the new state of the art sixth form centre overlooking Sefton Park. Results improved from 2015, with 70% of all students getting C grades or better in both English and Maths. 73% of all GCSE entries were at C or above on average and 22% of all grades awarded were either A or A* grades. Almost half of the students achieved at least 1 A or A* grade in their overall results. We are also delighted to report that progress has been secure across the year group as our Progress 8 measure ( reflecting progress for all students in 8 subjects) is positive as is the value added measure. Levels of progress in both English and Maths were also improved from 2015 We were thrilled to see some new subjects among the more familiar GCSE options this year, including Ancient History which was taken by a group of students as an after school class with support from the ‘Classics for All’ team at the University of Liverpool. GCSE Dance and Drama also made a welcome appearance and these subjects will continue to develop in our new performing arts space. Bellerive’s headteacher, Sr Brigid Halligan said: ‘ Our students have really excelled themselves in achieving these results which are testimony to their own hard work, the dedication of their teachers and active support from their parents. We are very proud of all of them, regardless of the final grade, for giving of their best. We are looking forward to welcoming them back in September to start their sixth form studies in our new sixth form centre.”
Inspiring academic and personal excellence
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News: Creative Arts
Through young eyes School stages Christian art exhibition St Michael’s C of E High School, Crosby welcomed Bill Esterston, Member of Parliament for Sefton who visited the Christian Aid art exhibition ‘Through Young Eyes’ which was held at the school. Through Young Eyes, is a series of drawings by Palestinian teenagers who lived through the Israel Gaza conflict, in the Gaza strip, in the summer of 2014 and is part of a wider exhibition of work by Palestinian artists. The visit also included a question and answer session on various aspects of the works and issues surrounding the lives of the Palestinian young people. The exhibition was arranged through the Christian Aid partner, Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA), who after the ceasefire supervised the young artists to go out to shelters to meet other children and listen to their stories. These stories and discussions, their own experiences and what they heard on the news and from within their communities, inspired the illustrations on display.
Headteacher Dr Hulme said: “he was delighted to bring this exhibition to St Michael’s C of E High School and hopes
that the works give a new insight into the lives of those who lived through the Israel Gaza conflict.”
Bill Esterton MP visits St Michael’s art exhibition
Halewood in photographs Pupils capture history in specially commissioned book Photographs by local schoolchildren, capturing the essence of Halewood; have been turned into a book thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, secured by Knowsley’s Library Service. The project, a collaboration between local school children and the archive resource for Knowsley (ARK), came about after a local history workshop with local young people. During the session, they discussed heritage and what it meant to them. The young people said they felt a strong sense of being connected with Halewood, and Merseyside generally, and that this was something which made them feel proud. Many of the young people also said they were interested in photography – and so the idea to capture local history and heritage on film was born. Children from the Halewood C of E’s Primary’s history club were then trained up and sent out and about in their hometown to take photographs of 28
how it looks today – with the idea of creating a book to preserve images of Halewood 2016 for future generations. As well as learning digital photography techniques, the children were given access to historical records and helped to make use of them. The children were also inspired to do art and creative writing based on the project too. Dave Smith, headteacher of Halewood C of E, said: “The children have really enjoyed working on this project. Not only have they learnt an awful lot about digital photography, they’ve also gained a fascinating insight into local history and heritage, which has meant a lot to them. “They are all really proud of the finished book and it’s quite an achievement to have been involved in the making of something that will be of real interest to people in the years to come.” The finished book is now printed and is available in all Knowsley libraries for people to look at.
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Education News
Bigger and better Register your interest for 2017! Organisers have announced The Big Bang North West will return for 2017 ‘bigger and better’ than ever, after the success of this year’s event. Thousands of school children flocked to the STEM event organised by Educate Awards sponsors All About STEM (formerly MerseySTEM) on Tuesday July 5 at Liverpool’s Exhibition Centre. With title sponsors Astra Zeneca, the day featured an enormous list of amazing activities from starlight chemistry, volt experiments, interactive robots to virtual reality gaming! The event was a top trend across the UK with over 100,000 people sharing, viewing and retweeting a post using the hashtag #BBNW. Thanks to its overwhelming success, All About STEM has announced the event will return for 2017 and schools and prospective sponsors can already register their interest. Michelle Dow, managing director of All About STEM, which has recently
rebranded and is expanding, said: “The Big Bang North West was one amazing day of inspiration, you really had to be there to feel the electric atmosphere of thousands of excited young people. “It had everything, from the moment you walked through the balloon arch haze, you were hit with the noise of chatter, laughter, and all round happy people. Exhibitors were fantastic, they engaged and inspired all day. “I overheard careers in engineering being discussed, linking maths and physics to real opportunities from companies in our area. Technology on every level was everywhere you couldn’t move for gadgets and gizmos! “A massive thanks to our sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, judges and team who worked so hard to make the Big Bang North West an absolute triumph”. Schools and companies can register their interest in The Big Bang North West 2017 by visiting http://www.allaboutstem.co.uk.
eCadets launch Go Bubble! Schools across the country are being given a free gift that will allow them to connect their classrooms to schools around the world. Go Bubble, the brainchild of Henry Platten, is a site that has all the fun of social media with the bad bits taken out. Henry Platten is a former police sergeant and founder of eCadets - the UK’s number one pupil-led online safety programme for schools. Henry, who is also a judge at this year’s Educate Awards, said: “With social networks designed for older users there isn’t a safe environment for kids under 13 to develop digital skills and engage with users the same age as themselves. “From our experience in supporting schools with their online safety education, we know how important it is that children are given the opportunity for a safe digital playground to connect with all aspects of their life, family, school and sports.” Research for CBBC Newsround has shown social media is a big part of childrens’ lives, with 78% using at least one network a day despite being under age. Go Bubble’s web version is completely free and there is also an optional paid-for 30
app in Google Play and the App Store. All that needs to be done to get started is go to www.bubble.school to register for a free account. The app’s cutting-edge safety has been acknowledged with it being awarded the age rating of three, this means it’s safe for any school age children to use. Go Bubble is also jam packed full of teacher features, including the ability to create classroom discussions and interactive learning. Henry said: “One of the major dangers of social media is the uncertainty over the identity of the person you’re chatting with. In Go Bubble, every childs’ age is verified by the school. This helps to ensure kids can only connect with children the same year group age around the world. “We’ve also designed out other problems of cyberbullying and inappropriate images. With Go Bubble we’ve taken all the bad bits out of traditional social media.” With more than 3,200 schools signed up already across 17 countries including the UK, China, USA, UAE, Sweden, Australia and Africa, Go Bubble will become a must-have digital resource for teachers.
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Award delivers ‘invaluable life skills’
Trainee licenced conveyancer, Charlotte Henry, has completed her gold Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) award whilst undertaking a rigorous legal course. The 21-year-old was presented with the prestigious award by Prince Edward at a ceremony in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Palace last month. Charlotte completed her award alongside her work at Paul Crowley & Co solicitors. The firm’s commercial arm, PCS Law, sponsor the Educate Awards’ WOW Recognition Award. Having joined Paul Crowley & Co as a conveyancing assistant last year, Charlotte has recently undertaken a course to progress to the role of licenced conveyancer with the firm. Charlotte said: “I have been working towards achieving the gold award for over seven years, so I am delighted to have finally reached my goal. Completing the award has helped me deal with the new challenges that I’m facing in work each day and will continue to use and build upon for the rest of my career.” The continued professional development of employees is central to Paul Crowley & Co’s ethos, who firmly believe in furthering the education and skillset of its team. Managing partner, Tracy Thompson, said: “We are incredibly proud of Charlotte and all that she has achieved through her hard work and dedication, both in and out of work. It is a brilliant achievement which has given her invaluable life skills which will now come into play in the world of work. “Many of the qualities mastered through DofE are those which we are constantly looking for in new recruits, from team building to problem solving, as well as essential people skills that help to develop confidence in young people. As a firm we believe these experiences are vital in developing personal skillsets and would encourage anyone to make the most out of these opportunities”.
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Much Woolton Catholic Primary School C Choosing hoosing a Catholic Catholic S School chool A Practical Guide SSrr Judith Judith Russi Russi SSMN SSMN » At aage ge e eleven, leven, Ca Catholic tholic
With Jesus we love, learn and grow
Open Day Thursday 20 October 2016 2-3pm & 5.30-6.30pm All children and parents interested in joining our thriving school community in September 2017, or before, are warmly welcome to view our school. A short presentation will be held at the start of both sessions in the school hall. Mr M White Headteacher Watergate Lane, Liverpool, L25 8QH 0151 428 6114 www.muchwoolton.co.uk
sschools chools o outperform utperfform the the national English nglish a and nd n ational average average E M aths SA ATs sscores cores b Maths SATs byy 6% »8 83% 3% of of Catholic Catholic secondary secondary sschools chools h have ave Ofsted Ofsted grades grades o off ggood ood o orr o outstanding utstanding (7 (75% 5% na nationally) tionally) » At G GCSE, CSE, Ca Catholic tholic sschools chools o outperform utperfform tthe he n national ational Price: Price: £9.95 £9.95 Code: Code: 1729 1729 ISBN: ISBN: 9780852314616 9780852314616 average byy 5% a vera age b
With statistics such as these it is unsurprising perhaps that demand for places in a Catholic school is often very high. Catholic schools have an impressive reputation and are therefore very popular. Contrary to the image sometimes portrayed in the media about what are termed “faith schools”, standards in Catholic schools are generally higher than those in schools of no particular faith background in almost every Ofsted category. With such an important and far–reaching choice to be made by parents (and pupils) it has never been more important to have clear, informative and reflective guidance on hand to help you make the best decision possible. Choosing a Catholic School will help guide your decision–making at every step.
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Secondary News
Welcome visit SFX welcomes Chief Constable Andy Cooke back to school The new Chief Constable of Merseyside Police paid a visit to his old school, St Francis Xavier’s College, to talk to pupils about modern day policing. During his visit, Chief Constable Andy Cooke met with teachers and was given a tour of the school’s state-of-the art facilities which were completed last year. He then talked to pupils from Years 7 to 12 about policing on Merseyside and policing as a career of choice. Mr Cooke was joined on the day by PC Michael Gormley, who has recently joined the force as a police officer and is also an ex-pupil from SFX. Chief Constable Cooke started at St Francis Xavier’s College in Woolton in 1975 and after finishing his A-levels he went on to study a degree in politics at Nottingham University. After being awarded his degree Mr Cooke, who had set his heart on being a police officer as a child, joined Merseyside Police in 1985 as a constable on the beat in the Kensington area. He became a detective in 1989 and since then he has worked his way through the ranks as a detective at every level. Chief Constable Cooke, said: “I’m delighted to be able to go back to St
Headteacher, Leslie Rippon, PC Michael Gormley and Chief Constable Andy Cooke
Francis Xavier's which played a vital part in my formative years and was instrumental in giving me a solid educational grounding. I was by no means a grade A, perfect student, but the school helped to focus my mind on what I wanted and I was able to achieve the grades I needed to get me to university. "I am really proud to be the Chief Constable of the city and county where I grew up and if I can encourage others to join the force and to protect the communities they serve locally it's a job well done.” Les Rippon, headteacher of St Francis
The Studio wins ICT award The Studio Liverpool was celebrating last term after winning the ICT Innovation Award at the Education Business Awards in London. The award entry highlighted the series of Coder Dojo events that work with primary aged school children, it also highlighted the growing range of project based learning activities that all of the students are able to get involved with. Focus included game and app development to provide students with specific skills. Principal Shaun McInerney, said: “Mentors use their real world and current skills and knowledge in classrooms to make sure that all students are up to date with industry expectations and experience presenting their ideas to members of the industry. “Monthly masterclasses are available to students. These are 32
hosted at The Studio school provided by an individual from an organisation or business relevant to their career aims. Recent guests have included app developers discussing AGILE methodology, music festivals discussing social media and client relationships and many more. “The award is a great reflection of the work done by both The Studio staff and students and The Studio is delighted to receive this award.”
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Xavier’s College, said: “We are very proud of Andy Cooke’s achievements as a former pupil. He is very much a role model for our students and has lived out the college mission statement of ‘life in all its fullness’. He has demonstrated to our young people the importance of having an aim in life and being determined to achieve it by overcoming challenges on the way. He has shown the importance of determination, hard work and self- belief. “We all wish him well in his new position and look forward to him visiting the school again in the not too distant future.”
Hitting the right note Members of St Hilda’s Church of England School Chamber Choir have hit the right note at a national singing competition. The choir made it through to the national selection phase of the prestigious Choir of the Year event, which is the UK’s biggest amateur choral competition. Held in St David’s Hall in Cardiff, St Hilda’s were up against some of the best choirs in the South West, but held their own with two powerful performances. Accompanied by choir director Fiona Linforth and accompanist Kirsty Ligertwood, the choir members impressed the judges with songs including ‘This Little Babe’ and ‘With or Without You’, which was arranged by Year 11 pupil Eve Machin. The choir received fantastic feedback from both adjudicators achieving impressive scores for technical achievement and for musicality. Pupil Eve also received a special mention from the adjudicator and musician Stuart Barr for her ‘masterful arrangement’. Head of music and choir director Fiona Linforth, said: “I am immensely proud of this choir and all they have achieved. Their hard work and dedication has indeed paid off.” More than 170 choirs from around the UK took part in the competition. Following the auditions, the best choirs go forward to the finals and national acclaim, with many past winners enjoying exciting performance, broadcast and recording opportunities as result of their win.
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Secondary News
Top marks for open day campaign
The Bishop of Warrington with special guests and pupils from The Academy of St Francis of Assisi
Unity for all Academy receives prestigious award The Academy of St Francis of Assisi (ASFA), Liverpool has become the only secondary school in the North West to be awarded the Church and School Partnership Award. A joint-faith Catholic-Anglican Academy, ASFA’s distinct Christian spirit is the driving force behind academy life and its commitment to maintaining strong links with local parishes. This unique position allows the academy to maintain relationships with local parishes across both faiths therefore encompassing the entire Christian community. The Bishop of Warrington, Richard Blackburn, joined staff and pupils at a special assembly where they were presented with the award. Ministers Phil Saltmarsh and Pastor Johnson Abimbola, David Thorpe, senior diocesan schools adviser, and school
governors Lady Erica Hedley and Raymond Bissex, joined Bishop Richard. The guests lit candles to symbolise the unity enjoyed by the school and local churches including All Saints Anglican Church, St Michael’s Catholic Church and Alive Believers Church. The awards assembly featured songs performed by Year 7 pupils as well as talented Year 11 student Alzbeta and Mrs Greenough, head of school, and Phil Johnson, academy chaplain, led prayers. Mrs Greenough said: “It is such an honour to be the only secondary school in the North West to be awarded the Church and School Partnership Award. “This award is testament to our dedication to promoting Christian values throughout the community through working with our local parishes.”
Exciting times ahead Bellerive FCJ Catholic College has started the new year after taking ownership of their new sixth form and performing arts building. Paul McMenamin, deputy headteacher, said: “As the image shows, the final result is every bit as spectacular as those envisaged by the architects. “The building is a worthy addition to the Sefton Park landscape and offers over 15 new classrooms, a performing arts space, music facilities, a sixth form centre, a bistro and truly amazing views over the park. “In recognition of the FCJ sisters Ignatian spirituality, the main hall has been named the Loyola Hall, in honour of St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. 34
“Staff and governors who have visited the building have been impressed with the space offered and the amount of natural light”.
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St Margaret’s Academy (SMA) has been overwhelmed by the popularity of its recent open day as a record breaking number of families attended. The school tasked The Foundry Agency, an integrated communications agency, with creating a campaign aimed at drawing prospective Year 7’s to the open day. Working closely with SMA’s marketing manager, the agency developed a promotional pack that could be sent to feeder schools and other primary schools within the catchment area. Christine Roberts, marketing manager at SMA, said: “The response to the pack has been phenomenal and to see over 500 families attend the open day is testament to the impact the pack has had on encouraging parents to consider SMA as an option for their son. “It was a pleasure to work with The Foundry Agency and I applaud its professional approach and dedication to fulfilling the brief we set.” Branded exclusively for SMA, the A5 pack contained postcards depicting snapshots of school life, A3 posters promoting the open evening and a welcome letter from headteacher Stephen Brierley. The Foundry Agency also produced a promotional DVD which included a short feature entitled ‘The best days of your life’ that offered an introduction to life at SMA. Adrian Lloyd, head of design at The Foundry Agency, said: “We created a bespoke collection of marketing collateral for SMA with the goal of enticing primary schools to promote SMA as a key secondary option. “We worked closely with the school to create material that positioned it as an excellent learning environment with a contemporary edge and ultimately developed a comprehensive package that combined print and design, digital media production and marketing. “The feedback from SMA has been terrific and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
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Secondary News
Record breakers Largest reading lesson goes to Rainford High A total of 270 pupils and staff from Rainford High School took on the challenge to break the Guinness World Record for the largest reading lesson. As a starter, Year 7 pupils enjoyed taking part in an interactive group quiz, testing their general knowledge on the Harry Potter series. They were then amazed as J K Rowling appeared on the big screen and began reading the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to them. Pupils listened in awe and followed the author’s every word in their own personal copy of the book as her passionate interpretation of each character made the words come alive on the page. At the end of the reading of the first chapter, pupils applauded and then finished the lesson with a language analysis game based on key quotations from the first chapter. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the literacy lesson
Students from Rainford High show their surprise after the appearance of J K Rowling
with a difference and waited with baited breath to see whether or not they were able to break the record.
Mrs Wheelock, associate principal for literacy, sent the witness statements, the steward forms, along with
photo and video evidence and was delighted to announce to Year 7s in assembly that “We did it!”
Schools awarded dementia awareness certificates The Alzheimer’s Society presented 30, Year 9 pupils from King David School, Archbishop Blanch School, Fazakerly High School and St Hilda's School with special certificates after they took part in an engagement project to raise awareness of dementia in Merseyside. Radio City’s education academy invited 30 Year 9 children from the schools to come into the Radio City tower earlier this year to record the script they had developed about dementia and create an information commercial. This was judged by Alzheimer’s Society staff, a service user and station representatives. Steve Green, operations 36
manager for Alzheimer’s Society in Merseyside said: “This was a great initiative and we were delighted to be approached by Radio City and be involved in this project. The quality and insight the pupils bought to their work was excellent and resulted with
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the final commercial being an amalgamation of the schools thereby capturing highlights from a number of scripts. The final commercial ran on-air through March and April. “The pupils were really interested to learn about dementia and were very
happy with their certificates! This kind of opportunity is really valuable to the pupils – they are the decision makers of the future and dementia is a huge concern for us all.” Laura McQueen English teacher from Archbishop Blanch School said: “This opportunity was a wonderful experience for our students and they really enjoyed having the chance to visit the Radio City tower to deliver their scripts. “They have learned a lot about Alzheimer’s as well as being able to learn about how to record an advertisement raising awareness for Alzheimer’s Society. Thank you so much for the opportunity!”
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Secondary News
Night of music Proms in the Park success for College
St Mary’s Blundell Park playing field was the setting for the spectacular concert
Talented young performers from St Mary’s College were the stars of a spectacular ‘Last Night of the Proms’ music and fireworks extravaganza. Now in its sixth year, the event showcased the musical skills of around 250 students from the college and its preparatory school, The Mount, and was conducted by director of music, Andrew Byers. One of the highlights of the night was a special guest appearance by international soprano Rachael Russell, a former pupil of the college. There were also performances by the choirs from two other local schools Great Crosby Primary School and English Martyrs Catholic Primary School in Litherland. The compere for the concert was popular BBC Radio Merseyside presenter, Roger Phillips who introduced all the old favourites from the famous Last Night of the Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall. These included Elgar’s Pomp and
Circumstance March No 1 (Land of Hope and Glory), Jerusalem, the Fantasia on British Sea Songs written by Proms founder Henry Wood and, of course, Rule Britannia. Earlier in the evening, audience members arrived at Blundell Park early to enjoy a picnic in the open air before settling down to the musical entertainment, often accompanied by some frantic flag waving. St Mary’s College principal, Mike Kennedy, said: “Our Proms in the Park concert is one of the most ambitious events organised by any Merseyside school. “Despite very mixed weather in the run-up to the event the sun shone on the night, which helped to make this year’s concert another outstanding success. “I would like to thank all the performers and audience members for supporting the event and making it another evening to remember. The concert was a wonderful way to highlight the musical prowess of our students”.
Igniting creativity in primary school children The Kingsway Academy have been holding a variety of different workshops which have been designed to ignite creativity as well as give primary school students a chance to try something they may not have before. Christ Church and Castleway Primary took part in ‘Lets get Cooking’ workshops. This focussed on learning how to prepare and cook healthy snacks and understanding snacks do not have to be high in fat and sugar content. Other workshops that have been on offer include an orienteering challenge, where children have learnt to read maps using keys and codes. Examining the human body was another workshop looking at the structure of the human body and learning about the digestive system. The Kingsway Academy have also been holding their ‘Getting to Know You’ evenings which is a chance for new Year 7 students to get to know the school, staff and students before starting at the academy.
Celebrating achievement Each Year the Year 9 pupils at Broughton Hall Catholic High School work towards a diploma as recognition of their year’s work. The diploma is launched with the pupils at the start of Year 9 and the girls collect credits which are then collated and pupils are awarded their diploma which ranges from distinction star to pass level with a small number of pupils achieving a certificate. Headteacher Ms Clarke, said: “We celebrate the achievement of all our pupils. “Credits are awarded half termly 38
from subject staff and each form class was given a challenge to raise as much money as they could for their chosen charity, pupils were also encouraged to collect community credits. “The achievement of all is then celebrated during a diploma ceremony held in our sports hall in July. “All pupils wear gowns and mortar boards and parents and staff come together to join in the celebration. “This is a recognition of our pupils passing into the next stage of their academic journey as they move forwards to GCSE”. Pupils celebrate their year of achievement
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Secondary News
Sweet surprise St Julie’s young chefs dish up tasty desserts Year 9 students at St Julie’s High School in Woolton received a handson culinary experience as a celebrated Liverpool chef paid a visit. Gary Manning, co-owner and executive chef of the 60 Hope Street Group led Year 9 students through a workshop exploring different presentation techniques. Gary walked the students through the preparation of his favourite artisan desserts before demonstrating a wide range of techniques used in the restaurant business for presenting food in beautiful and engaging ways. As well as offering top techniques to students as part of their curriculum, Gary also spoke about food provenance and how utilising local produce is good for the culinary experience, good for the environment and good for business. After learning the best tips and techniques from Gary, the students turned their hand at food presentation and created beautiful plates of food. When the workshop was complete Gary had the difficult job of judging the
Chef Gary Manning with students from St Julie’s High School
completed dishes. Gary said: “I’m really grateful to St Julie’s for inviting me as I gained a great deal of satisfaction from the day, especially seeing how all the students were so engaged in what they were learning.” Tracy Whitfield, who suggested the
idea to Gary after a visit to 60 Hope Street said: “We’d like to say a huge thanks to Gary for making time in his very busy schedule to come and work with our students. “They were all hugely inspired and will be putting all of the top tips they learned into practice!”
School welcomes foundation A trek As part of the school’s personal, social, health, economic education and citizenship programme (PSHEEC), members of the Anthony Walker Foundation were welcomed into St Augustine of Canterbury RC High School to speak to students about racism and hate crime. The foundation has been providing young people across the North West with education and information regarding racism and hate crime for over 10 years since the racially- motivated murder of Anthony Walker in 2005. Using the words of Anthony’s mother, Gee, foundation worker Natalie and volunteer Nelson spoke of Anthony, a devout Christian who dreamed of a peaceful world, to Year 9 students during an assembly. A 30-minute film was then shown to demonstrate how racism can take many forms and its impact on those affected, assisting viewers to empathise how it feels to be discriminated. Ms Barton, PSHEEC lead and coordinator at St Augustine of Canterbury RC High School, said: “We were honoured and very privileged to welcome members of the foundation to our school 40
and hope that in the near future we can invite them back to speak to more students.” John Au, partnerships and projects manager for the Anthony Walker Foundation, said: “The Anthony Walker Foundation is always pleased to respond to requests from schools asking for workshops to raise awareness among pupils and staff about the harm and impact caused by discrimination and racism”.
Councillor Andy Bowden (back row, second on the left) with St Augustine of Canterbury RC High School students and Natalie and Nelson from the Anthony Walker Foundation
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to Thailand This summer a group of Year 11-13 Gateacre School students headed off on the trip of a lifetime to Cambodia and Northern Thailand. As well as trekking through jungles and camping out under the stars they volunteered with an organisation called Working for Children, at the Rainbow Orphanage in the village of Ka Ektom, Siem Riep Province, Cambodia. Working for Children (WFC) is a Khmer volunteer staffed organisation that assists vulnerable children, orphans, their families, and rural schools in Siem Reap province. Founded in 2007 as a registered local NGO, WFC selected a location in rural Siem Reap for its work in the Prasat Bakong, Puok and Banteau Srei districts. The students taught in the classroom, worked on the redevelopment of the playing field, danced in the rain with the school children, organised a sports day and threw a huge party for the orphaned children. It really was an experience none of them will ever forget.
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BE PART OF THE SUCCESS STORY Holy Family Catholic High School & Sixth Form Centre
Open Evening Monday 19th September 2016 6pm - 9pm Come and meet our talented staff and fantastic students See our school website for more information...
We look forward to meeting all year 5 and 6 pupils and their families
Ofsted “This is a caring, supportive school where students achieve well and are well prepared for the next stage in their lives. Students are friendly, polite and helpful; they work well together and show enthusiasm for learning. The students enjoy coming to school.”
Holy Family Catholic High School & Sixth Form Centre Virgins Lane • Thornton • Liverpool L23 4UL • Tel 0151 924 6451 • Fax 0151 932 1417 Email head.holyfamilyhigh@schools.sefton.gov.uk • Web www.holyfamilyhighschool.co.uk Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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Meet the Headteacher Tony McGuinness, headteacher at All Saints Catholic High School
As a former pupil of All Saints Catholic High School, under its previous guise of St Kevin’s, headteacher Tony McGuinness may have ties to the school’s past but it’s clear his focus is firmly on the future and, under his leadership, that future looks bright.
Making a difference by Amelia Heathman
W
hen Tony left St Kevin’s Comprehensive school in Kirkby in 1982, he could not have imagined returning to the school over 30 years later as its headteacher. The school, which merged with St Gregory’s to form All Saints a few years after Tony left, was a key part of his childhood and so too was the Kirkby community in which it is located. And it was ultimately this that brought him back. Taking on the role of headteacher in April 2015, at what was a difficult time for the school (it had been placed into special measures five months earlier) Tony says his passion for the community was a key factor in his accepting the position. “For me, it was a bit of a calling,” he says. “I wasn’t going to turn my back on a school which is at the centre of the community that I was brought up in. I wanted to serve the community to the best of my ability and try to make a difference to the young people’s lives in that special community.” 42
Indeed, this desire to make a difference to people’s lives is what led him to the teaching profession initially. After leaving St Kevin’s he had gone on to gain A-levels at Kirkby Community College before securing a place at Liverpool John Moores University, or Liverpool Polytechnic as it was then known, to study Economics. “I started thinking about teaching because it’s a job where you could make a difference in terms of people’s lives and the degree of stability associated with teaching posts at the time was a big influence,” explains Tony. “Economics was my subject at the time and I was passionate about teaching it.” After a year’s teacher training at Edge Hill University, Tony stayed in the Liverpool area, taking positions at Deyes High School in Maghull, St Francis Xavier’s College, and eventually becoming deputy head at St John Bosco Arts College in Croxteth - a school which was graded Outstanding by Ofsted in 2013. Tony says his time at St John Bosco helped to prepare him for the All Saints role, instilling in him a confidence in his
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“
I wasn’t going to turn my back on a school which is at the centre of the community that I was brought up in
”
ability and a commitment to turning things around at the school.
“I believed in myself and I felt as though I’d had a good grounding in the deputy head role at St John Bosco,” he says. And that belief was warranted. The special measures tag has now been removed (the result of the LEA, Knowsley Borough Council, the Liverpool Archdiocese and the staff at the school working together, he says) and the school has achieved great success, particularly in terms of attendance. Indeed, for the academic year 2015-2016
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the school was awarded with the most improved attendance award from Knowsley Council. “We threw out the old system and brought a system in that I’d used at St John Bosco where there’s much more accountability for attendance at year group level,” says Tony. “But then I backed that up with support, so working with the school welfare office from Knowsley Council, who worked alongside the school’s staff to make sure the children were in school.” One area in which the school has always excelled is in its treatment of students with disabilities, something which has been praised by Ofsted. “The SENCO division has been identified as a real strength,” says Tony. “The most vulnerable are supported by a number of different staff within the school. When there’s a need, we have a team who support the family, so there’s regular six-week meetings with students who have particular needs, to ensure that those needs are being met.” And while the welfare of its students has always been the priority, Tony has also helped to ensure the school remains a beacon of the community he grew up in and still holds dear, participating in community events like performing at the annual Kirkby show and promoting the opportunities on offer, post-16 education, to students. “The post-16 provision in the school is one of the main strengths,” he says. We’re the only Knowsley school that has post-16 provision. The BTECs have been very successful in terms of pathways into university and also into the world of work, in modern apprenticeships. A couple of students have gone to work at places like Santander and the Walton Centre at Aintree Hospital.” Looking to the future Tony says the focus will be on exam performance, something which is already seeing good progress. “We’ve changed the curriculum, so we have a more appropriate curriculum,” he
says. “And we will change the structures, processes and procedures to make the job easier for the staff, so they can concentrate on learning and teaching.” Tony is clearly very proud of his work at All Saints and his ability to play such a key role in the community he still considers home (“My extended family are still involved in the Kirkby community. We still worship there; I go to church every Saturday night in
Kirkby,”). The most rewarding part of the job, it seems, is being able to realise that ambition that set him on the path to teaching all those years ago. “Just making a difference in people’s lives,” he smiles. “Getting to give them an opportunity, whereby they take those opportunities and develop them in a way so that they can lead a healthy life and make a positive contribution to society.”
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Secondary News
Grab and go St Cuthbert’s hosts summer health festival St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School embarked on a week-long celebration of healthy eating, cooking and drinking, food provenance and being active, involving the whole community. The Summer health festival saw students rise to five challenges over as many days, aimed at breaking down the barriers to a healthy lifestyle. The challenges began with a healthy ‘grab and go’ breakfast taster for all students, which demonstrated just how important the most important meal of the day is, and that a healthy breakfast can still be a tasty one. Students were also treated to some refreshing alternatives to sugary drinks and pop, with fruit and herb-infused waters, aimed at getting young people to drink plenty. Later in the week the lunchtime menu was given a healthy twist, with a five-aday fruit and vegetables challenge. Students across the school stretched their legs and also burnt some calories on a mile-long run around the grounds. The celebrations culminated on Friday with an off-curriculum day, including music and dancing, taste and mental health sessions, discussions about food in other cultures and a healthy barbecue to reward the students for their efforts.
‘Grab and go’ breakfasts, with St Cuthbert’s cook Val Turner, Miss Marshall, Mr Magee, headteacher Mrs Twist, Andrew Ferguson (left-right) and Year 7 students.
Mrs Catherine Twist, headteacher of St Cuthbert’s, said: “By following the five challenges through a range of fun and memorable activities across the curriculum, each student will develop core skills and knowledge around food,
diet and physical activity. Even I took to the smoothie bike during the week and the fruits of my labours were healthy drinks that the staff and students really enjoyed!”
Peace and reconciliation The Bishop of Liverpool, The Rt Rev Paul Bayes led worship at Alsop High School to commemorate the 30 young men from Walton who gave their lives during the Battle of the Somme. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Roz Gladden and DCC Andy Cooke QPM, along with young people, laid wreaths of poppies to remember those who fell at the Somme on 1 July 1916 Bishop Paul reminded students that we need to learn from history and the tragedy of war to build a better future. He spoke about how we live in uncertain times and we must work together to build a just and caring society, urging young people to reach out, make friends and work for peace in Europe. Local schoolchildren from Alsop and Pinehurst Primary School led a tribute to 44
a local ‘hero’, Private Percy Tucker who volunteered to join the Liverpool Kings Regiment. The ‘Walton Pals’ battalion included a group of friends who were members of the Walton Church Young Men’s Bible Study Class. They joined together, fought together and unfortunately died together. Musical items included ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and ‘Hope.’ With pupils
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from Pinehurst Primary School singing ‘We Will Remember’, a modern song written by the late Mike Stanley. Mr Joe Mangan, headteacher said: “We were delighted to welcome Bishop Paul and Bishop Tom. Together they powerfully paid tribute to their relatives who served King and country during World War One” Peter Bull, co-ordinator of HOPE 2016 said: “The story of the Walton Pals helped young people to reflect upon and connect with history. This was a poignant visit and young people made a commitment to continue to work for peace and reconciliation in Europe” During 2016 Alsop has worked with partner primary schools and Walton Group of Churches to facilitate a festival to tell stories of hope to both school and community. Inspirational speakers have brought stories of hope in the face of many obstacles and social injustice.
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Year 9 Options
MAKING THE SMART CHOICE:
GCSEs, careers and your future WORDS BY: HANNAH FOWLER
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Year 9 Options
In Year 9 pupils are faced with a landmark task – choosing GCSE options. This is the first time pupils get to take control of their education and begin to map out their future aspirations. So just how important are these decisions for their future career? With an increasing selection of options available, how are pupils and parents supposed to make the smart choice? Educate takes a look at the GCSE landscape, what options and careers advice is on offer and whether the subjects you choose really matter. “The GCSE science conundrum is one that faces many students, as this choice can limit possible pathways in to further education.” GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) are the main qualifications pupils achieve in Key Stage 4 and are designed to provide a good general preparation for further learning and work. The compulsory core subjects at Key Stage 4 are English, maths and science. Other subjects which are compulsory, but may not lead to exams, include computing, physical education, citizenship, religious studies and sex and relationship education. Schools must also offer a least one subject from each of the following areas: design and technology, arts, humanities and modern foreign languages. Perhaps the most confusing aspect for students and parents is that schools can set their own compulsory subjects. A quick look at secondary schools across Merseyside and the difference is vast; compulsory subjects listed in some but not all schools are modern foreign languages, religious studies, information and communications technology (ICT) and PSHEE. Vocational qualifications such as BTEC are also offered at Key Stage 4 in a range of subjects including sport, travel & tourism and creative media. Even among the compulsory subjects such as science, students can choose to study in different ways. The GCSE science conundrum is one that faces many students as this choice can limit possible pathways in to further education, such as A-levels. Students have the option to study ‘double science’, where pupils obtain two GCSEs across biology, physics and chemistry or ‘triple science’ where students achieve three separate GCSEs across the science subjects.
Although it may not seem like there's much difference between the two choices – in fact some students will prefer the double award as it opens up the possibility of choosing another GCSE subject – if a student is considering a science-related career, then schools may advise students to take triple science as it keeps their options open. Some science-related courses at universities can specify that an applicant must have achieved certain GCSE qualifications; for competitive subjects like medicine, dentistry or pharmacy this is particularly relevant as many universities will refer to GCSE results when deciding on a student’s application. Choosing your GCSEs is a pivotal moment; it places a student’s future in their own hands for the first time. However in recent years, governmental changes have reinforced a hierarchy of subjects in secondary schools and narrowed the choices available for students. The introduction of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) has arguably placed more importance on the core academic subjects at GCSE level. While first announced in 2010, the EBacc will be compulsory for the majority Year 9 students choosing their options this year, requiring them to take English, maths, a humanity, science and a language. Just how significant is this? Well, considering these five subjects amount to between six to eight GCSEs, you can see how many argue the EBacc is limiting teenagers GCSE options and pushing out subjects such as art, drama, music, design and technology and religious education. According to official statistics published by exam watchdog Ofqual, the number of GCSE exams being taken in ‘expressive’ subjects such as art, design and drama has fallen since 2015. In the same time period, the number of candidates for science subjects grew by 105,000 and for history and geography by 33,000. While this is encouraging news for science and humanities subjects, should it be at the
expense of creative subjects? If a student shows natural talent in art, has ambitions in the theatre or showcases flair for design, should we be undervaluing these creative subjects? Chris Bayes, collaborative network manager at the Merseyside Network for Collaborative Outreach (MNCO) believes the emphasis on the EBacc has resulted in less flexibility for students when choosing their options. “The development of the EBacc as a standard which maintains that English, maths, science, a language and a humanity define a good education doesn’t really take into account that we all have different learning styles and doesn’t leave much flexibility for creativity,” says Chris. “Especially at a time when the Confederation of British Industry is trumpeting the UK’s status as the home to world-beating creative industries and demanding an education system which produces more creative people.” MNCO is a collaborative partnership between Higher Education institutions and Further Education Colleges in Greater Merseyside, as such Chris works alongside institutions such as University of Liverpool, Edge Hill University and Hugh Baird College to give information, advice and guidance (IAG) to young people at key transition points during their educational pathway. Perhaps most worryingly, Chris says he has had conversations with parents who regard some subjects as ‘soft options’ and are being wrongly advised that certain subjects would not lead to a university education. “Obviously, there is still scope for pupils to pick up a specialism such as Creative and
“Choosing your GCSEs is a pivotal moment; it places a student’s future in their own hands for the first time.”
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Year 9 Options
Performing Arts subjects at a later stage, but I’d argue that many would be less likely to do this if they’re actively discouraged from gaining a grounding in these subjects from an early age,” says Chris. The government introduced further reforms for GCSE courses starting in 2015 to keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands. By 2019, all GCSE results will use a new system of grading, intended to help provide more differentiation, especially among higher achieving students. The new approach will bring an end the traditional A*-G and will introduce 9-1 grading, with 5 considered a good pass and grade 9 being the highest and set above the current A*. Regardless of how GCSEs are assessed, the debate on what choices to make and how these effect young people’s careers is ongoing. Traditionally seen as a ‘stepping stone’ to A-levels and then university, the expanding post-16 options for young people, including apprenticeships and vocational courses have arguably placed more importance on GCSEs than ever. So, should students be worried about dropping a subject and it radically affecting their future? It’s a complex picture, but ultimately it depends on what a teenager wants to do next. If university is on the agenda, then most will expect at least a grade C in English, maths and – sometimes – science. Entry requirements vary from institution to institution but also for different course programmes, so students are advised to check with
“The importance of in-depth careers guidance and information at this stage is vital to ensure students and parents understand what’s on offer and work together with teachers to make the best possible choices.”
“If GCSEs have the greatest influence on anything, it’s a student’s A-level choices and thus, links GCSEs back to the overall cycle of qualifications leading up to higher education.” admissions tutors. Birmingham University regards GCSEs as “very important” while Cambridge has no GCSE requirements for entry to its undergraduate courses, except for medicine and veterinary medicine. The EBacc, although represents subjects which are highly valued by competitive universities, is not an official requirement, even among Russell Group institutions. Some universities and courses may ask for a grade C or above in a modern foreign language, but if a student missed out on the C grade or didn’t take it all together, it’s unlikely to damage their application. If needed, a student may be expected to complete a short language course before or during their first year of study. For apprenticeships, entry requirements vary and you may need up to five GCSEs at grade A* to C including maths and English. If GCSEs have the greatest influence on anything, it’s a student’s A-levels choices and thus, links GCSEs back to the overall cycle of qualifications leading up to higher education. The entry requirements for school sixth forms and colleges differ, but normally students are required to obtain a minimum of four to five C’s, with many across Merseyside asking for at least B’s in the subjects that students wish to study further. Schools can set their own grade requirements for sixth forms, so if a child wishes to study at a specific college or stay on at school, understanding what’s expected of them at GCSE level is important. The priority for students should be taking a balanced and broad set of GCSEs and achieving the best possible grades.
With so much differentiation from school to school, the importance of in-depth careers guidance and information at this stage is vital to ensure students and parents understand what’s on offer and work together with teachers to make the best possible choices. And here lies the all-important question: are we doing enough to ensure pupils make smart choices? Over the last few years, there have been a number of changes to the way careers guidance is delivered to young people. Until 2012, the responsibility of this guidance rested with local authorities and was delivered through the youth careers advice service Connexions. A new act was created in its place and stated that all local authority maintained schools in England need to secure access to independent, impartial careers guidance for their pupils in years 8-13. The model of careers guidance provided by the Department of Education is a flexible one and perhaps it should be, as not all students will need the same level of careers guidance at the same time, for example its more prevalent at key transition periods during GCSEs and A-levels. However, with flexibility comes inconsistency, and schools have been criticised for providing information which is too narrow or inadequate. “There needs to be greater emphasis placed on the importance of information, advice and guidance (IAG) in schools,” says Chris. “This has been recognised by both OFSTED and the Government. Careers guidance in schools has long been criticised as being inadequate and patchy. Ofsted reported in 2013 that: ‘only one in five schools were effective in ensuring that all students were receiving the level of information they needed’”. The development of national initiatives such as the Careers & Enterprise Company is a step in the right direction says Chris, but more needs to be done to build meaningful, sustained relationships with schools and their local employment market. “There will be some schools which can exhibit excellent practice in this area, but equally there will be others that aren’t doing enough at the moment. One thing I do feel whenever I meet colleagues from across the Liverpool City Region is a determination and a passion to
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Year 9 Options
E DUCATE’ S
T P FIVE RESOURCES
improve things,” adds Chris. How do we excite teenagers with the endless career opportunities out there, and motivate them to start thinking about their GCSE options, further education and beyond that, a successful career which they enjoy? Beyond the GCSE options evenings and booklets, schools and students can get involved with many initiatives which can help them on their journey. For teenagers in year 8 and 9 the focus should be on engaging with different subjects to find out what they truly enjoy – even if this means taking an extracurricular approach to help them get a head start. One such extra-curricular initiative is The Girl Geek Academy, an eight week course for 11 to 16 year olds in Merseyside. “The Girl Geek Academy was designed for teenagers to gain hands on, after school experience in subjects that aren't taught yet in schools at this level,” says Chelsea Slater, co-founder of Liverpool Girl Geeks, which is behind the academy. “We want girls to have the opportunities that they are not currently getting and we want to build their self-esteem so that they are confident enough to research careers within the Digital and Technology sectors.” Launching this month, the academy will focus on skills such as coding, 3D printing and robotics and show students how exciting and revolutionary the opportunities in the tech sector are.
“Pupils are encouraged to explore the concept of option choices at GCSE and beyond, encouraging participants to recognise the impact that subject and qualification choices can have on their own futures and the importance of making informed choices.”
“According to official statistics published by exam watchdog Ofqual, the number of GCSE exams being taken in ‘expressive’ subjects such as art, design and drama has fallen since 2015.” MNCO also works in partnership with the region’s universities and colleges to offer a number of tailored programmes to support schools with careers guidance in pupils in year 8 and 9. The ‘It’s your Choice’ programme delivered by the University of Liverpool’s Widening Participation & Outreach team work with schools across Merseyside to encourage young people to recognise that opportunities in further and higher education are open to them. Likewise, Liverpool John Moores University has a ‘Dream, Plan, Achieve’ programme for year 9 upwards. “Pupils are encouraged to explore the concept of option choices at GCSE and beyond, encouraging participants to recognise the impact that subject and qualification choices can have on their own futures and the importance of making informed choices,” says Chris. At 14, not many teenagers will have their careers mapped out, and if they do, it’s likely to change. For students to succeed, they need to be happy, motivated and ultimately enjoy the subjects they have chosen. The GCSE years should be focused on developing new skills, finetuning what you like and dislike and eventually narrowing a specialism for higher education or the world of work. After five years of secondary education studying a broad range of subjects, GCSEs evaluate learning and is the student’s chance to show off their hard work and commitment. If a student can do this, then it stands them in good stead for not only passing exams, but a future career too. As Chelsea says, “At this stage you need to be creative, widen your options and enjoy your education.”
KEY STAGE 4 OPTIONS BOOKLET Every school will have a guide to Year 10/11 choices and the majority will host an options evening or some sort of information event inviting year 9 students and parents to talk through GCSE options. This is important as here you will find out what subjects are compulsory, what optional subjects are on offer and important information on how the examinations are assessed.
MERSEYSIDE NETWORK FOR COLLABORATIVE OUTREACH (MNCO) If you’re a teacher or school looking for new ways to approach GCSE options guidance or find out about upcoming events in the region, a visit to MNCO is a must. The MNCO makes it easier for teachers to access information and help students make informed choices at key transition periods. www.mnco.org.uk
SUCCESS AT SCHOOL This is a fantastic national careers website aimed for students aged 13-19. With advice on GCSE options, career pathways, universities, work experience, apprenticeships and working life, it’s a great platform to help teenagers explore their next steps. www.successatschool.org
THE STUDENT ROOM Starting conversations with teachers, parents or other students is a great idea as it’s important a child is taking an active role in their GCSE choices. The Student Room is a fantastic student community where students can ask questions, join forums and browse learning resources related to GCSE options and beyond. www.thestudentroom.co.uk
PARENTAL GUIDANCE If you’re a parent thinking about your child’s future career, then the Parents Guidance website is for you. Packed with up to date information and guides, the website offers clear, concise and impartial guidance to help parents get to grips with the options available. www.parentalguidance.org.uk
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AWARD WINNING SUCCESS First class careers experience for pupils At the end of July, West Derby School scheduled a first class experience for its Year 7 students. For the first time they invited employers, trainers and experts from industry along with subject specialists in GCSE and A-level courses to promote employment opportunities to their youngest members of the school community. It was a busy and most successful day, which they now hope to replicate each year. Assistant headteacher, Kate Forrest said: “We feel it is really important to engage with our students in dialogue about the world of work and business early on in their education. Our Year 7 students thoroughly enjoyed the day and impressed our visitors with their thoughtful, intelligent questions and excellent behaviour. It was also a great opportunity to develop the logistics theme that the school leads on for Career Ready UK. West Derby School was exceptionally proud to win the Career Ready North West Award for Employability 2016”.
A tour of a HGV gave the boys a taste of life in the logistics industry
A career in logistics is explained on DHL’s stand
Boys could ask questions at each stall
Q&A sessions were held
Some stands set tasks to get the boys thinking A test of strength with staff from the British Army!
Carefully does it! A pupil climbs out of a HGV
These boys look at potential careers in photography
The event was invaluable for the boys A careful listener
The British Army spoke to potential recruits
One stand challenged the boy to come up with a business idea!
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West Derby School 364 West Derby Road Liverpool L13 7HQ
Want a first class education? We Deliver Success
Open Day Thursday 15 September 2016 3pm – 6pm For a prospectus call 0151 235 1300 or visit www.westderbyschool.co.uk Headteacher: Mrs S Graham
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News: Science, technology, engineering and maths
Chemistry for all Merseyside youngsters named Chemists of the Year Merseyside youngsters with a talent for chemistry have been recognised by LJMU, receiving the title ‘Chemist of the Year.’ The university awarded the accolades to 13 and 14-yearolds as part of Chemistry for All, a national, £1 million Royal Society of Chemistry funded project, which aims to increase school pupil participation in chemistry and raise awareness of the wide range of careers related to the subject. Six Merseyside schools were chosen by LJMU to take part in Chemistry for All including All Saints Catholic High School in Kirkby, Bebington High Sports College, Broadgreen International School, Cowley International College in St Helens, West Derby School and Woodchurch High School,
Birkenhead. At the end of the academic year, one pupil from each of the school year groups taking part in the project was named ‘Chemist of the Year’, receiving certificates and vouchers at a special celebratory event held at the LJMU. Teacher of science at Woodchurch High School, Dany O’Connor, said: “This is an absolutely outstanding project. The children have been really engaged throughout and everything is perfectly organised from start to finish. “The children are now really excited about chemistry. Hopefully we’ve got some chemists who will be hooked for life. It has been a real eye-opener for them and offered them opportunities that wouldn’t
Year 8 Woodchurch High and Cowley International College ‘Chemists of the Year’, Matthew Davies and Jasmina Rai.
have otherwise been available.” Dr Ian Bradshaw, project leader of Chemistry for All at LJMU, said: “Our aim with the project is to break down barriers which might prevent pupils from considering
careers related to chemistry and science, and to make them appreciate that higher education is achievable, show them the paths to get there, and help them feel familiar with working in and with a university.”
Students visit Daresbury Laboratory Year 8 students participating in Merseyside Network for Collaborative Outreach’s (MNCO) Employability Programme have paid a visit to Daresbury Laboratory to spend the day exploring the facilities. MNCO is a collaborative partnership between the Higher Education Institutions and Further Education Colleges located in Greater Merseyside. Regularly involved in collaborative activities, MNCO will reprise its role as an awards sponsor at this year’s Educate Awards, sponsoring the Outstanding Arts in a Secondary School category. Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire is one of the UK’s world leading science campuses. It’s part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and is located at Sci-Tech Daresbury, 52
between Liverpool and Manchester. Part of its sci-tech open week, students were welcomed and taken straight to the science fair which had lots of interactive, hands-on activities for the young people to have a go at. Students then went to a lecture in dinosaur biology which was extremely eye opening and gave students a glimpse into the new developments going on in this area of research! The day also included a tour of a particle accelerator named ALICE and a life-sized section of the large hadron collider tunnel.
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Award winners, Luciana Berger MP presents science awards to Phoenix Primary School pupils
Science rocks Luciana Berger MP visited Phoenix Primary School in Fairfield to present ‘Scientist of the Term’ awards and take part in their annual prize giving ceremony. In her introduction she commented on how well Phoenix celebrates achievements and congratulated their mainstream school on their recent ‘Good’ Ofsted grade. Mrs Sue Evans, science lead at Phoenix said: “We were delighted that Luciana could come and celebrate our achievements with us. Everyone at school works hard to raise standards in science. “Children, staff and parents have ensured that science at Phoenix has a high profile.” Mrs Sue Jones, headteacher at Phoenix said: “We have had a very successful year with a good Ofsted, a Silver Reading Quality Mark award and recently we were invited to the Department of Education in Westminster to share our acknowledged expertise in the area of inclusion.”
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THE KINGSW KINGSWAY SW WAY ACADEMY AC ADEMY RESPECT. RESPEC T. ACHIEVE. ACHIEVE. SUCCEED. S UCCEED.
O P E N E V E N I N G : Tuesday 20th September 6–8pm O P E N D AY: Thursday 29th September 10–2pm
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Viewpoint
The school uniform debate School uniforms hit the news headlines at the start of the new term, after a headteacher in Margate sent 50 pupils home for wearing the wrong clothes. We asked three school principals in this region what their views are on the subject. How important do they think a school’s uniform is in relation to standards and expectations from its students?
Dr Shelagh Potter, executive principal, North Liverpool Academy As the most improved school in Liverpool this year, we are very clear that attention to detail on things that seem trivial like uniforms has a very significant impact on our students’ outcomes. This year we improved our 5 GCSEs at A* to C including English and maths by a record 20%. We take a no-nonsense approach. This starts at the beginning of the day with uniforms. I expect my students to take pride in their appearance. Our Year Managers meet every student on the way in to school to make sure they
are dressed appropriately. Of course this improves behaviour and in turn grades. If you give ground on wearing trainers and hoodies, you must expect to be challenged with more serious issues. Our journey of improvement over the last year shows us that commitment to uniforms and behaviour raises the academic achievement of our students. And our GCSE grades absolutely demonstrate this.
Ian Young, principal, Rainford High Technology College I am a strong believer in the importance of uniform as it sets the expected standards as to how we are going to go about our business of learning. It also represents belonging and being proud about what we belong to; to me school is all about being part of something. For some people the only time in their lives when they will be part of a community with a common purpose is school. School and the uniform focuses on us all having the same standards, the same clear expectations and the same shared sets of values represented by the clothes we wear. When we look beyond schools and question the issues of
wider society and how people behave I think it’s important to consider how having shared ethos and values impacts on other successful organisation such as Team GB. The distinctive Team GB uniforms helped reinforce the idea of pride in belonging to a team, working hard and achieving success. Clearly high standards of dress and uniform don’t guarantee success in learning and achievement but as a starting point, how we dress, present ourselves for the day and the expectation of how we intend to learn cannot be undervalued.
Michael Kennedy, principal, St Mary’s College Appearance is a strong indicator of attitude of mind. At St Mary’s College, we expect our pupils to observe our uniform code and come to school looking smart and suitably prepared for lessons, which benefits everyone, most of all the pupils themselves. There is no doubt in my mind that the excellent academic results our pupils achieve here at St Mary’s and the high standards of
behaviour we see around school are closely linked to the smart way our pupils dress and present themselves. Our parents and - perhaps more importantly - our pupils themselves appreciate and support the importance of these high standards in preparing our young people for the world of work.
Have your say: To suggest or contribute to a topic for debate in Viewpoint email us at: educate@merseymirror.com www.educatemagazine.com 54
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Thoughts Worth Sharing
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION STATS
Tce McCann Regional Manager, Capita
Your education: I attended St Julies High School, Woolton and also University of Ulster were I gained a BA Hons English Literature. What’s the secret of your success: I take the time to get to know every single aspect of the roles within my team, regardless of level so I can train and develop to the best of my ability. I go into work every day with the right attitude regardless of what is happening externally. I always treat my staff and my schools’ like I did at the very beginning so the relationship never becomes complacent and my personal strength lies in building a team and getting them to work towards clear and set goals. What advice would you give to somebody starting out in education: Be mindful of what is important to you in a work setting and make sure that you add value in your personal life to upskill your overall CV. Oh and get the
basics right………..be reliable, trustworthy and go that extra mile early on in the game so you stand out. What makes Capita Education different: Capita Education in Liverpool has the luxury of a number of consultants’ who have been with the company for up to 20 years! This is almost unheard of in recruitment and shows how a large FTSE 100 company can still display the family values, culture and ethos that are often displayed by smaller boutique agencies. Tell us about Capita Education’s plans for the next 12 months: Our Liverpool office is the most successful in the company and Capita has extensive plans to expand in the North West after the success of our brand new office in Warrington. If you are a teacher or a recruitment consultant looking to start your career with our company then please get in touch for a confidential chat.
Tweet all about it The five best educational tweets
@MichaelVaughan Let's hope our Great success at the Olympics forces at least 1 hr per day of Sport into our schools curriculum ... #Olympics #TeamGB
@GateacreLL Over 10,000 customers!!! Thank you so much for your support! @EducateMag @BelleValeSC @LivCityReaders
@CllrNickSmall Made up that Liverpool students have achieved what looks like our best ever A Level results - well done everyone!
@DCMS What issues matter most to you? Help decide what UK Youth Parliament debates in House of Commons.#makeyourmark http://thndr.me/xwrg9E
@roald_dahl Drum roll please... The votes are in and the #MostMarvellousBook is... MATILDA! #RoaldDahl100
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92 per cent
In 2014 to 2015 academic year, there were 26,607 ITT postgraduate trainees of which 24,355 were awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
121,000
Between January 2015 and January 2016 the number of pupils across all school types rose by 121,000. Most of this increase was in primary schools.
62,301
In 2016, there were 62,301 admission appeals for maintained and academy primary and secondary schools initially lodged in England, of which 45,784 proceeded to hearing.
40.6 per cent
In 2015 school-to-school mobility accounted for 40.6 per cent of all entrants to primary schools and 44.3 per cent for secondary schools compared to 34.0 per cent and 29.4 per cent respectively in 2011.
£171 M
In the year ending August 2015, the total revenue expenditure in academies exceeded income by £171m. This represents 1.0 per cent of income. However, this does not mean that academies are in debt, as they may have had reserve funds from which these costs were able to be met.
4.50 million
The nursery and primary school population has been rising since 2009 and reached 4.50 milliom in 2016. The secondary school population rose to 2.76 million in 2016 (the first rise since 2005) as the increased births from 2002 reached secondary school age.
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Thoughts Worth Sharing
Headteacher Talk
Andy Keen from Holly Lodge Girls’ College
One thing I wished I had learned at school: I always regret that I stopped learning a foreign language after Year 9 at school. I studied both French and Spanish before dropping them in favour of other subjects during my options. Learning a language really helps you develop your understanding of English and broadens your appreciation of other cultures as well as being an excellent addition to your CV – not having one feels like a gap in mine The book I haven’t read that I must: Reading is a passion and I always have a book which I am working through. Up until last year I had not read many of the great Victorian novels because I thought I wouldn’t enjoy them. I finally asked our English department which one I should read and they recommended Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. I read it over a weekend and was amazed at how skilfully the author used language to immerse the reader in a world which has long gone. I’ve now decided to read more, starting with “Jude the Obscure” by Thomas Hardy. The education story that has caught my eye: I think that there are too many education stories and sadly, very few of them are about actually improving the lives of the most important parts of the system – the students. As a new headteacher I am currently most interested in those
e t i r u o v a F y M
articles about headteachers who have inspired their staff and students to challenge themselves and produce great results and life changing experiences. Luckily there are many heads who do this, so I am spoilt for choice! What I am most proud of about our school: Everyone who visits our school always comments on the calm, welcoming and caring atmosphere which pervades it. I am always proud of this because it reflects the personalities of our wonderful students and the hard work and care of all the staff who support them and make us such a cohesive and successful community. I am also proud of the way our staff and students always rise to the challenges set them – we are an aspirational school and when we ask for more the students and staff always give it to us.
“
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow, A. B. Johnson
and why Andrew Hampson Sales manager, Copyrite Systems
”
This is my favourite quote because: This quote is simple, but it has great value as it reinforces how small ideas can develop in to something extraordinary. At Copyrite we’re passionate about creating change and we’re constantly improving our products and services to strive for excellence. This quote is a reminder that great things come from small beginnings and if you work hard and keep innovating, anything is possible.
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School Sports News
Greenbank secure College Cup Eleven teams of disabled players representing Greenbank College, Hugh Baird College, Knowsley Community College, Warrington Collegiate, Carmel College and City of Liverpool College gathered at Greenbank Sports Academy to compete in this season’s Disability Football College Cup. There was a fantastic atmosphere as the teams battled it out to decide who would take home the trophies. Both finals had to go to penalties to separate the teams. Congratulations go to Greenbank United who won the Premier Cup after beating Hugh Baird 2 – 0 on penalties and Carmel College who took home the Championship Cup beating Sports Academy FC 3 – 2 on penalties. Mark Horlick, LCFA disability football development officer said: “The cup competition is a great end of season finale and it’s fantastic to see everyone having such a great time playing football.” Left: The winning Greenbank United football team
Success at disability cricket competition One hundred and twenty school children with special needs from seven schools across Merseyside took part in the annual Merseyside Disability Cricket Tournament in June at a sun kissed Alder Cricket Club. The competition was organised by Greenbank Sports Academy and the Lancashire Cricket Board. Three separate tournaments took place on the day, with schools competing for the Physical Disability (PD), Severe Learning Disability (SLD) and Moderate Learning Disability (MLD) trophies. Each attending team played a minimum of two group matches, with the successful teams competing in finals. Lancashire Cricket Board (LCB) deaf coach, UK deaf sport ambassador and England deaf cricketer James Dixon said: “There have been some great games, across all categories, which reflects the efforts put in by all of the children and staff. “It is so important for the development of the games that the children and young people have the 58
opportunity to play cricket competitively.” Rob Tipping, disability cricket officer for the Lancashire Cricket Board said: “The competition was a huge success for the Merseyside area and we are indebted to the work of Steve Sullivan at Greenbank Sports Academy for bringing the competition together. My thanks go to all the players, teachers, support staff, umpires, volunteers and Alder Cricket Club for making the event so successful.” PD Tournament Winners: Sandfield Park A (from Liverpool) Runners Up: Sandfield Park B SLD Tournament Winners: Merefield School (from Southport, Sefton) Runners Up: Sandfield Park MLD Tournament Winners: Crosby High (from Liverpool) Runners Up: Clare Mount (from Wirral)
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Bebington host Primary Schools Games Days Bebington High Sports College hosted a five day extravaganza of sport, dance and drama for local community primary schools led by community coaches, PE and sport apprentices and their amazing sports leaders. This year’s festivals ran over four days in July for all Years 1-6 in nine of their partner primary schools. Pupils were provided with a range of sporting activities to participate in including hockey, drama, football, cricket, teambuilding, tag rugby, basketball, tennis, handball and trampoline. All pupils involved in the competitions aim to score points for their school, as well as achieving individual awards for fair play (The ‘Spirit of The School Games’) and outstanding performance throughout the day. This was followed by a presentation of awards and certificates to all participants. Director of specialism and assistant headteacher Warren Dutton said: “These days are always a huge success thanks to our community coaches, sports leaders, apprentices, PE department, and support staff. “Over 1500 students have experienced new activities and competitive inter-school competitions at Bebington High Sports College. “Thanks must go to parents, families and friends as well for supporting this event.”
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SCHOOL
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Milestone marked with Merseyside pupils Centres welcome their 30,000th visitor The Recycling Discovery Centres, based in Liverpool and Wirral, were delighted to reach the 30,000 visitor milestone. Veolia and Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority opened the doors on waste and recycling to Merseyside residents back in 2009, so they could see what happens to their recycling after it has been collected from homes across the region. Students who visited on the special day from Knowsley Community College and St Mary’s Primary School, West
Derby joined in with the celebrations. The Recycling Discovery Centres offer a broad range of educational sessions and show visitors how material from recycling bins in Wirral, Liverpool, Knowsley, Halton and parts of Sefton is sorted and separated at the Materials Recovery Facilities. Kirsty Martin, Education Officer at Veolia, said: “It was great to have a full day celebrating with the groups. We’re looking forward to another busy few months and more community open days.”
Annual scarecrow competition winners Judging of The National Wildflower Centre’s scarecrow making competition once again took place with this year 29 scarecrows to judge. This year Chris Coulman store manager from Sainsbury’s had the very difficult job of picking the winners. And after lots of thought and deliberation the decision was so tough, in the best effort category, he had to pick two winners! Many local schools entered this year and took away the much-coveted winners trophies. Amongst the winners were St Mary and St Paul’s C of E Primary, Prescot who won the U7s titled with their entry, Worzel Whittaker. Gwladys Street Primary and Nursery School, Everton were joint best effort winners with the Olympian, the Lean Mean Running Machine. St Mary and St Paul’s C of E Primary, Prescot (reception class) also took home the highly commended joint U7s 60
Students from St Mary’s Primary School, West Derby at the Recycling Centre
The w waste aste & rrecycling ecycling
Op Open en D Days ays EEver ver w wondered ondered what what happens happens to Come to your your recycling? recycling? C ome along along day ttoo oour ur free free oopen pen d ay tto o ffind ind oout! ut! 10am-2pm – Bidston Bidston SSat at 330 0 JJuly uly 10am-2pm Sat Aug Aug Gillmoss Sat 6 A ug & FFri ri 119 9A ug 110am-2pm 0am-2pm – G illmoss trophy with Victoria Peddleton along with Princes Primary Assessment Centre, Liverpool with their entry Weir Wolf. Wavertree C of E School with their Sporty McWavertree won best effort for U12s. Judge, Chris Coulman said: “I am so impressed by the creativity and the quality of all the entrants. So much work has gone into making the scarecrows that it made it very difficult to choose the winners,” The theme for this year’s competition was ‘sporty scarecrows’.
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Bidston, Bidston, W Wallasey allasey B Bridge ridge R Road, oad, Bi Birkenhead rkenhead C CH41 H41 1E 1EB B Gillmoss, illmoss, Bridgehouse Bridgehouse LLane, ane, LLiverpool iverpool LL10 10 55HA HA
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Learning goes wild Pupils enjoy an ‘empty classroom day’ Pupils at Eccleston Mere Primary School left their desks and work books behind in favour of a more natural setting for learning, as they took part in ‘Empty Classroom Day’. The event encourages schools around the world to celebrate and inspire learning and play by taking lessons outdoors, and is seen as the perfect antidote to the stresses that many children report, from tests and homework, to bullying and growing up. At Eccleston Mere Primary, pupils had a funpacked day enjoying the school's beautiful grounds. Among other activities,
pupils built shelters, scarecrows, plant pot hangers and environmentally friendly bug and insect houses, and made a campfire to cook on. Mrs Yvonne Kirk, headteacher of the primary school, said: “As a school we wanted to inspire learning and playing outside of the traditional classroom setting. “Research suggests that there are many health and wellbeing benefits from spending time in the great outdoors. At Eccleston Mere we have beautiful school grounds and it was a fantastic opportunity to spend more time in them.”
Pupils enjoyed the roasted marshmellows
Molly and Zak’s makeover Haresfinch Park has received a mini makeover – thanks to the efforts of St Peter and St Paul RC Primary pupils Zak (10) and Molly (6) Mulcahy, backed by money from St Helens Council’s Councillor Improvement Fund. The brother and sister, both regular visitors to the park, wrote to ward Councillor Jeff Fletcher to express their view that the small roundabout by the park looked ‘dirty and a bit boring.’ And they wanted to know if the council could do anything to improve things. “I was really delighted that Zak and Molly cared enough about their area to put their ideas forward – and also with the support they and the council received from the school”, said Councillor Fletcher. Council rangers have
helped take things a stage further by inviting Zak’s classmates, along with Molly, to the park to help plant some
wild flower seeds in the same section of the park. They also gave the children a talk about the flowers and how they
help the environment – and presented them with digital cameras to record local flora and fauna.
St Peter and St Paul School pupils Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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Busy year for eco-group Awards galore for school Its been a busy year for St Michael’s C of E High School, Crosby, with their eco group supporting numerous campaigns throughout the year including the ‘RSPB’s Big School Bird Watch’, ‘Energy Month’ and ‘National Waste Week.’ Students have also continued to work hard to maintain and develop these areas around school. Several new wild flower meadows have been sown; wooden stepping stones, made from logs. The area has attracted a variety of birds, butterflies, insects and reptiles. Indeed during their Year 5 activity day, a group of primary students were delighted to discover a hedgehog on the grounds. Following on from last year’s success, St Michael’s
received a certificate of merit from the judges of North West in Bloom. The team also received several awards at the Sefton Eco Champion Awards held at the Ramada Hotel in Southport. The awards were introduced to celebrate pupils and schools from Sefton and further afield, who have made a lasting impression during one of the eco centres awardwinning education programmes. In addition to winning ‘Most Improved School’ in the Green League Table, Year 7 pupil Alfie Butler stole the show by receiving a framed certificate for being an eco champion finalist. Not only that, but Alfie also collected a glass trophy for winning the ‘Community Ambassador’ award.
Eco champion Alfie Butler (right) winner of the Community Ambassador award
Bloomin’ marvellous Staff and pupils from St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Centre for Learning were celebrating after being declared the first prize winner in the school category at the Whiston in Bloom 2016 competition. A team of judges headed by Councillor Dave Williams, visited the school premises and were delighted to see a section of the school landscaping dedicated to teaching gardening skills to the pupils. Teacher, Mrs Pennington said: “We have around forty pupils who have shown a keen interest in gardening, tending to the garden and do the planting in the raised beds, polytunnel and the adjoining area. “We have also planted the raised beds with potatoes, corn, strawberries, garlic and other vegetables which are nearing harvest time. The polytunnel was well stocked with tomatoes, courgettes 62
and aubergines planted by the pupils. Redcurrants and gooseberries were reading for picking. The site manages a well thought out recycling facility including compost bay and compost bins.
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
“The team were also involved in keeping a close watch on some blue tit chicks which fledged from one of the bird boxes situated in the gardens and the bug hotel also seemed to be fully
booked”. The school group received £40 cash prize, a plaque, certificate of merit and up to 40 rosettes for the pupils awarded by Whiston Town Council.
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Pupils aboard the ‘Pride of Sefton’ canal boat
KEEPING AFLOAT THIS SUMMER A week of workshops down by the riverside The Mersey Motor Boat Club (MMBC) was the chosen venue this summer as part of the Leeds Liverpool Bicentenary celebrations which saw over 250 primary school children take part in a round robin of eight activities all linked to the Leeds Liverpool canal. The event which was organised by the Maghull and District Community of Schools (MADCOS) had lively, hands-on workshops, in collaboration with the H&R Ainscough Barge Restoration Project, who dressed in period clothes and brought a variety of historical objects; explaining how they were used on the barges in the 1800’s. The deputy head from Green Park School said: “This was a well organised event that provided a range of fun activities to support the children’s learning. There was something of interest for everyone. The children loved all the different experiences.” Two members of Aintree Art Club led workshops on ‘Brightwork’ the traditional decoration used specifically on the Leeds Liverpool canal barges. Mr Danny MacAreavy, headteacher at St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, said: “The extent to which the children have embraced this celebration has been tremendous. We have learnt a great deal about the canal and its importance in the development of our part of the world”.
Hands on enjoyment Tales from the river by a member of the restoration project
Storytelling was a favourite
A perfect example of how a knot should look
Traditional boat crafts
Designing nameplates
A colourful design
Looking at the past
Learning about different knots
A great day was had by all
The Mersey Motor Boat Club (MMBC)
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EDUCATE Education, training and employment
16+
Sponsored by Greater Merseyside Learning Providers Federation (GMLPF)
College launch State of the art facilities for students
Knowsley Community College has opened a brand new Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Technology (IAMT). The institute forms part of the college’s new main campus and is located on Princess Drive in Huyton. It will provide a simulated learn manufacturing environment, utilising state of the art facilities to develop skills in sectors key to the economy of the Liverpool City Region. The college has worked with employers to develop a focused offer with industry standard equipment, including virtual reality VRTEX welding kits, CAD 3D printing, a high precision FARO arm, and more, to ensure learners gain work-ready
skills and train in a high spec environment. The institute offers a range of pathways in manufacturing, engineering and technology related fields, whilst also supporting employers with apprenticeships - all with the aim of addressing local skill shortages. Andrew Ellams, director of employer services and business development for Knowsley Community College, said: “From listening to employers, we wanted to provide a modern, high quality, manufacturing and technology training facility, which ensures that learners acquire skills to prepare them for the workplace”. Speaking of the institute’s contribution
to the local economy, he said: “As a result, IAMT will in turn contribute to key economic growth priorities for manufacturing and technology across the Liverpool City Region." IAMT forms part of Knowsley Community College’s brand new £32 million Main Campus, alongside the Stanley and Kemble Buildings on Stockbridge Lane. The college are offering activities and opportunities for stakeholders and industry representatives to visit the new institute. The College will officially be opened by Knowsley MP, George Howarth and both the leader and CEO of Knowsley Council on the Friday 7 October
13 YEARS CHAMPIONING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING ON MERSEYSIDE
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Meeting the needs STEM centre officially launched St Helens College unveiled the newly refurbished STEM centre at their technology campus. Local councillors, employers and businesses from across the region attended the opening event as well as college employees who have contributed to the development. Local MP, Conor McGinn who officially opened The STEM centre said: “I’m really impressed with these state of the art facilities. It’s clear to see how St Helens College are aligning to meet the needs of the economy. “Science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) subjects are key disciplines for bolstering industrial competitiveness. Preparing the next generation of STEM-educated workers should be a priority for the government and must feature heavily in any future regional growth strategy.” Jette Burford, college principal said: “STEM is such an important priority for us and as a college we continue to invest in STEM facilities. We are currently working towards obtaining STEM assured status which will help us to ensure that we are responsive to an ever evolving marketplace by diversifying the curriculum that we offer in order to meet the demand from industry.”
Conor McGinn MP with St Helens College principal Jette Burford and deputy principal Rob Molloy unveiling the new STEM centre, technology campus
The STEM centre received a substantial £5million investment and was part-funded by the Skills Funding Agency. It now boasts a brand new dining area, internal courtyards, entrance piazza, remodelled workshops and classrooms plus a new library space
complete with study suites and PC zones. The new STEM centre will enable St Helens College to lead the way in STEM areas such as low carbon technologies and sustainable construction alongside robotics, digital technologies and innovation.
Ambitious plans for Myerscough A proposal from Myerscough College for the Croxteth Hall Park campus will see single-storey buildings being sited opposite the Home Farm area of the site. The scheme would see the college investing £1 million into the project, with an additional £2 million from the Government and £500,000 from Liverpool City Council. A plan of the new training
facilities shows three animal studies blocks along with stabling for more than 20 horses, aviaries and pens for goats, alpacas and hens. In addition there is a midden, bale yard and open-fronted shed. The college has pledged to employ local workers and apprentices during construction. The current scheme is Phase 1 of Myerscough’s
Educate+ sponsored by GMLPF
plans for the Croxteth Hall campus, with proposals for phase 2 to be announced in the coming months. The plans have now been submitted to the City Council and it’s expected work could be completed by September 2017. Any plans to develop Croxteth Hall would also have to be approved by Historic England - as it is on the list of the organisation’s endangered
buildings. In addition, Myerscough College are set to further expand their learning provision in Merseyside as part of a multi-million pound scheme to revamp a local park. Bowring Park in Huyton has received a major funding boost following a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund (BLF), which will bring almost £2 million to a major project to restore the historic park. The project will see Myerscough offering courses in offering horticulture, sportsturf and golf studies in the park. In addition, current arboriculture learners based at the College’s Croxteth Centre will also access practical resources in the park to enhance their studies. The latest funding boost means that work is expected to get underway in summer 2017.
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Student scoops Appy start for GMLPF! once in a Connecting schools across the region lifetime apprenticeship
Liverpool Life Sciences UTC student Adam Waggot
A student from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC has received a prestigious apprenticeship at Unilever Research beating over 300 applicants to grab a spot on one of the best apprenticeships in the North West. Adam Waggot, from Crosby gained a higher-level apprenticeship at Unilever Research as a research and development chemist. As part of his apprenticeship Adam will be studying medicinal chemistry at the University of Liverpool. Whilst studying at the UTC Adam gained two placements, one at the chemistry lab at University of Liverpool working alongside PhD students to research a new antimalarial drug and the other a twoweek placement at Unilever. Meeting higher level apprentices whilst at Unilever gave Adam the idea of a new path he had never thought of. Adam said: “I’d always assumed apprenticeships were a second option if you didn’t secure a place at university. Speaking to apprentices at Unilever made me think again and I realised that this was the option I wanted to take.” Adam described his experience at the UTC as “An amazing access to academic and industry experience which I think a general college would struggle to offer. It has given me a broad understanding of the health science sector which means I’ve been able to make an informed choice about my career”.
Educate+ sponsored by GMLPF
A new mobile app by the Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation (GMLPF) has got off to a successful start, just four months since it launched. The Mapped Out app, which connects other young people to learning opportunities, has received a large number of enquiries from school leavers across the region. Mapped Out is the first app of its kind in the UK and builds on the success of the original web version. Primarily a tool for young people and school leavers, the app is also an invaluable service for schools, parents, community organisations and careers advisors. The local umbrella organisation for local skills providers, GMLPF, represents over 95 training organisations across the region. The app directory enables youngsters to search for training in their local area across more than 30 industries, which include some of the region’s key growth sectors: engineering, creative & digital as well as life science & health. Since the launch, much of the focus has been on app development and updating the app with new GMLPF members. James Glendenning, GMLPF chief executive, said: “The app offers practical help and advice to young people taking that first step onto the career ladder outside the school gates.” “It is crucial for young people to know
what career options are available and where. With Government rules stating that everybody has to be in training or education until they are 18, there is still a lot of confusion about whether they have to stay on at school – but they don’t.”
A drive for change One of first adopters of an online quality assurance resource has seen the benefits of shifting from timeconsuming paper-based SARs to Ofsted-ready information at the press of a button. tpm (Training Plus Merseyside) Ltd provides training and apprenticeships in business and administration, hairdressing and early years’ teaching and helps more than 200 learners a year achieve nationally recognised qualifications and secure full time employment. The Liverpool-based firm has seen the benefits of using new developments as part of its approach to learning and training provision, so it was among the first in the independent training sector to adopt new quality assurance technology from online specialists Mesma. After an initial peer review project, tpm opted long-term for the software to improve the visibility of and access to important performance data. Operations director Brian Quinn, said: “Mesma is accessible and utilised by all of tpm’s 30 members of staff enabling us to
stay up-to-date with progress relating to specific tasks and actions that have been set-up and assigned to individual staff across all areas of the business. “This helps to make quicker and better informed decisions about the business as we move forward in the light of the Ofsted changes”.
Operations director Brian Quinn
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Liverpool students learn how to be safe drivers Students from Calderstones School have been one of the first in the country to participate in the Good Egg Drivers interactive workshop that offers free safety guidance to students learning to drive. Interactive sessions include guidance on the importance of car control from racing driver, Christie Doran. She brings to life the difference between driving on a racetrack and public roads, through to how to choose a good and properly qualified driving instructor. Nicola Schofield, assistant head of sixth form, said: “The Good Egg Driver workshops were absolutely fantastic. They were informative, professional and extremely engaging. Our students have learnt things that will, without a doubt, have a positive influence on their driving attitudes and behaviours in the future and promote safe and responsible driving among our students. “I strongly believe that it is so important for all young people to have access to this type of information as it can save lives.’” Students attending were also shown films on how to spot someone who is driving under the influence of drugs and what really happens in the event of a collision when a passenger is not wearing a seat belt. The workshops provide students with potentially lifesaving coping strategies when they feel unsafe in a car and how to get out of the vehicle without losing face with their
Left to right: Calderstones’ students Grace Saunders (aged 17), Sean Campos (16), and Jake Moran (17) Muhammad Moslemzadeh (17) learning about driving safely with Good Egg Drivers
fellow passengers. Jan James, CEO, Good Egg Drivers: “As a parent I want to help keep my son and daughters as safe as possible. As any parent will attest, concern for their welfare doesn’t end when they reach adulthood. Yet, despite working in road safety for many years, I was alarmed at how little I knew when my own son started learning to drive and, worse still, how little he knew about vital elements such as instructor selection.
“With 40 young drivers and passengers killed or seriously injured every week, this is a national tragedy that must be tackled. We developed the Good Egg Drivers workshop with leading educationalists and transport psychologists to help tackle this issue head on. Feedback from students and teaching staff alike has been excellent and now thanks to MORE TH>N’s support we can offer this to schools and colleges for free.”
College celebrate student awards
Molly Davies receives her award from Cllr Laura Robertson-Collins
Greenbank College celebrated the achievements of its students with an awards ceremony attended by local councillor Laura Robertson-Collins. Tutors were given an opportunity to select a student from their department, based on progression, academic achievement during 2015/16, overcoming barriers to learning and other achievements. This year there were 14 award categories available and each nominee received a certificate and a £20 gift voucher. The overall winner of the Greenbank College Student of the Year 2016, was Molly Davies. Education and curriculum manager, Anne Kinsella said: “The awards ceremony is a great opportunity for our student community to get together to celebrate what has been achieved throughout the year. “The event had a great atmosphere and it’s nice that everyone was so supportive of one another. A particular event highlight was the musical entertainment staged by our singing and ukulele group.”
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Joining forces Universities role out scheme Liverpool Hope University and l’Université Catholique de Lille have signed a strategic roadmap detailing their plans for a Pan–European Institute, which includes collaboration around research, teaching, and the development of joint degree programmes over the next three years and beyond. The Roadmap for Strategic Alliance was signed by the two Rectors, Professor Gerald Pillay (Liverpool Hope) and Professor Pierre Giorgini (l’Université Catholique de Lille), in Lille. Central to the strategic alliance is the development of a Pan–European Institute, which aims to provide a framework for cross-disciplinary research projects, publications, joint masters degrees and co-supervision of PhD students. The Pan–European Institute will be embedded within eight academic projects involving a wide array of disciplines - English language and literature, business, law, environmental studies, politics and international relations, education, health sciences, psychology, theology and philosophy. There are also plans to roll out seven PhD fee-only scholarships, with joint
supervision from Liverpool Hope University and l’Université Catholique de Lille over the coming year. These will be in strategic research areas to be agreed between the two institutions and will be aimed at enhancing the research standing of both institutions. The two universities have already embarked on a student and staff exchange programme. Fostering new, intellectually and culturally enriching learning opportunities for students is high on the agenda of both universities. It is hoped that studying abroad, gaining work experience and volunteering will be significantly enhanced by the new agreement. Professor Nick Rees, dean of arts and humanities at Liverpool Hope University said: “We have been greatly encouraged by the level of engagement from colleagues at both Liverpool Hope and Lille, and their investment in this partnership. “This agreement means that we can step up our strategic research collaboration and build a pan-European Institute, which will aim to have a significant impact in the UK, France and across Europe.”
Professor Pierre Giorgini from l’Université Catholique de Lille and Professor Gerald Pillay from Liverpool Hope University sign the agreement
Growth at GMLPF
The Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation’s (GMLPF) Gareth Jones has had a busy summer since joining the organisation as apprenticeships strategy manager. Gareth moved to the organisation from The Skills Funding Agency, where he had responsibility for employer engagement and worked with stakeholders to promote apprenticeships across the Liverpool City Region. Gareth has been spearheading the development of a dedicated information service to steer GMLPF members through key apprenticeship changes and introducing employer engagement workshops. With a career spanning more than 15 years in the skills sector, Gareth has a wealth of apprenticeship expertise which brings benefits to the organisation’s 95-strong membership and underpins GMLPF’s position in the region. Jones said: “The challenge of continuing to provide the right apprenticeships for young people and local businesses is amplified by the latest government directives. “We want our members to have access to all the latest information about the reforms, but interpreted in a way that relates directly to them.”
A showcase of talent From Japanese inspired game art to medieval dark age work, the artistic talents of students from University Centre St Helens were showcased at an end of year show. Around 50 staff, students, parents and industry professionals attended the annual event which showcased a diverse selection of work produced by the university’s game art degree students throughout their final year of study, showing the breadth of talent and skills
developed. Dean Betton, BA(Hons) Game Art programme leader at University Centre St Helens said: “The work by our final year students was once again outstanding. They have worked hard on their projects and have been professional and innovative throughout their course of study. This year students are progressing into employment within the games development industry as well as further study.
The BA(Hons) Game Art degree has been developed and designed by computer games experts. It offers students access to state-of-the-art equipment and is taught by lecturers with a wealth of experience. The degree gives specialist training for students to become professional 3D games artists, along with theoretical and core skills equipped to fit into a modern creative games studio.
www.gmlpf.net
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Career gets a kick start Alannah goes from strength to strength Alannah Kirby’s career is going from strength to strength thanks to training she completed at St Helens Chamber Business School. Having graduated from the chamber’s six month study programme in sales and marketing, Alannah stepped straight into employment with West Lancashire Steel Services in St Helens, where she is completing an advanced apprenticeship in business administration. Through a full-time curriculum of study, combined with practical experience and industry projects, the study programmes are designed to hone the skills of young people who show an interest and aptitude for business. Alannah said: “The work experience I completed on the study programme helped prepare me for going straight
into employment. This is my first full-time job and I’m really enjoying the working environment.” Alannah helps keep the company running smoothly by working across administration, accounts and sales, and has impressed her employers with her hard work and dedication. The opportunity to develop professionally while gaining qualifications was one of Alannah’s main reasons for choosing to train through St Helens Chamber. Alannah said: “I’m earning as well as learning. Personally I didn’t want to go to university and study for three or four years as you’re not guaranteed a job at the end of it. “Now I have a full-time job whilst also gaining qualifications to help me
Alannah Kirby with Christine Howie, company secretary
progress.” Courses in international trade and logistics, marketing and sales or starting a business are enrolling now for
an October start. The study programmes are open to young people aged 16-19, and offer an alternative route to Alevels.
Gateway to graduate programme Bridging the gap between learning and future careers Six undergraduates from a variety of universities worked on the Mersey Gateway Project site this summer after being selected by Kier, one of the Merseylink project's main construction partners. Melissa Day, HR advisor at Merseylink, said: “Although all of the students are engineering undergraduates they worked in a variety of job roles. “We want to support young talent. We need a lot more engineers in the industry, so by giving these students the
Some of the Year 10 pupils who were on work experience on the project
Educate+ sponsored by GMLPF
opportunity to work on the Mersey Gateway project we will be providing them with vital skills and experience. “Once they have completed their courses they will have the opportunity to apply for our graduate engineer programme.” Peter Stoba, 22, from Anfield, is a civil engineering student at Liverpool John Moores University. He recently started his second summer work experience placement on the Mersey Gateway Project. “The work on the Mersey Gateway bridge complements my degree really well, and is giving me a good practical insight into the theory I'm learning at university. “I’m worked in a site engineer role and supported the team on a variety of tasks including risk assessment and control of permits. Once I finish my course next year I will definitely be applying to join the graduate programme.” 12 Year 10 students from Halton schools who were already on work experience on the Mersey Gateway project joined the undergraduates. The students are from schools across Runcorn and Widnes including Sandymoor Free School, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic College, Wade Deacon High School, The Heath School and Weaverham High School. The students were learning about the civil engineering techniques used for the main bridge and road construction, as well as materials, communications and the environmental side of the project. Neil Wilcock, employment and skills co-ordinator for Merseylink, said: “We're delighted to host these placements, which offer a real insight into the science and engineering behind Halton's new bridge. “I’d like to think that these young people will be inspired by their time with us and that their experience may help them decide on their future career paths”.
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The Vocational College took the crown
WE’RE A KNOCKOUT Summer Games for region’s learning providers! The Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation (GMLPF) brought 20 of the region’s learning providers together for the first networking event of its kind. Taking place at Liverpool Cricket Club, GMLPF hosted the ‘Summer Games’ team-building event for over 150 of its members. Learning providers took on the We’re a Knockout inflatable obstacle course inspired by the It’s a Knockout TV Show. The local umbrella organisation for skills providers, GMLPF represents over 95 training providers across the region. The organisation shares best practice, helps members adapt to the shifts in the local and national skills landscape and provides a single voice that represents its members’ views and priorities. The day began with a well-being warm up from Saeed Olayiwola from So Health, a consultancy which develops bespoke health and well-being programs for schools and workplaces. After the warm up, the We’re a Knockout obstacle course got underway and saw providers go head-to-head with other GMLPF members, tackling different team activities leading up to the grand finale. The Vocational College reigned supreme and took home first place, Mode Training came close second while Employability Solutions came third. James Glendenning, CEO of GMLPF, said: “The day was a great success and brought together over 150 people who are passionate about the training and apprenticeship landscape in the Liverpool City Region. “To make sure that we deliver the best possible service as an industry, it is essential that learning providers have a strong support network available to them. I hope that the Summer Games was the ultimate representation of this and we can continue to offer more events throughout the year which brings our members together.”
Team GMLPF (left to right) Katie Ryder, Sharne Kelso, CEO James Glendenning, Paige Meecham and Ayesha Kamarudin
The foam pit
GMLPF CEO, James Glendenning thanks members
Leap of faith from Jelli Studios
The Tellietubbie challenge
A race against time for Jelli Studios
A vitorious Team Asset
Fighting spirit: team member from the Vocational College
A team effort from the Vocational College
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A Registered Umbrella Body for the DBS
Why we work with Liverpool Compact EBP… For over 20 years Bellerive FCJ Catholic College in Liverpool has worked successfully with Liverpool’s Education Business Partnership - Liverpool Compact EBP, to develop their students’ career aspirations and employability skills to prepare them for the future. Sara Power, Teacher in charge of Careers explains why year after year they choose Liverpool Compact EBP to support them. “We believe the girls should gain an understanding of different Careers and the ‘World of Work’ from an early age so they are informed, prepared and excited about making choices for their future. They need to learn about business, be aware of the skills employers want and how to acquire them. Liverpool Compact’s programmes provide exactly this and boost the girls’ motivation and selfconfidence.”
Careers Fair for Years 9 and 10
Liverpool Compact EBP, supported by employers, organise exciting and interactive Business, Careers and Enterprise Workshops for students from Year 7 upwards, plus Careers Talks, Careers Fairs, Employability Interviews and Work Experience.
people Danny after talking to you! By the time students reach Year 10 they are ready to experience the ‘World of Work’. Students have a 1-1 Employability Interview with an employer and then 2 weeks Work Experience with a local company, organised by Liverpool Compact EBP. Furthermore, in Sixth Form there’s the opportunity for BTEC students to undertake a Work Placement of their choice!
“Liverpool Compact are the experts! They tailor activities to our needs and Ofsted requirements. They have great links with employers who know how to work with the students and pitch it at just the right level.” says Sara. “The ‘Women in Business’ event is perfect for our Year 9 girls. Inspirational women talk about their career journey and offer advice. The girls are impressed and realise that they should aim high and not put a ‘ceiling’ on their ambition.”
“Students learn career specific skills on placement. How beneficial is that for their C.V. or UCAS application!” says Deputy Head, Louisa Allerston. We can’t help but agree… Let us inform, advise and inspire your students!
Please call Debbie Kenrick at Liverpool Compact EBP on 0151 298 9454.
Recently, Bellerive asked Liverpool Compact EBP to organise an in house Careers Fair for Year 9 & 10 students. The local Universities plus leading companies American Airlines, EAD Solicitors, Barclays, Jaguar Land Rover and the National Federation of Builders attended. Sara at Bellerive said “It was so convenient to have all those organisations under our roof for the day. The students had prepared questions to ask each exhibitor so they got the most out of the event.” RAF Corporal Danny Fraser commented “What a great event… there were some good potential candidates for us.” And some inspired and enthused young
A Bellerive 6th Former on Work Experience at a veterinary hospital
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Richard Coakley A Week in the Life of… Richard Coakley, headteacher at St Mark’s Catholic Primary School St Mark’s Catholic Primary School in Halewood has a vision to create a family environment for pupils, whilst ensuring that each and every child reaches their full potential both in and out of the classroom. On the cusp of the school’s 50th anniversary we caught up with headteacher Richard Coakley to find out more about his busy working week and what makes the St Mark’s community so special. Monday I usually arrive at school at 8.00am each morning and pop in to breakfast club to speak to staff and pupils, catching up on their weekend’s events. After that it’s back to the school office to meet office staff and check my messages. We have a briefing each morning for all staff at 8.45am to run through the day ahead, then it’s out onto the playground as usual to greet arriving pupils and parents. Monday is a busy morning as three classes are going swimming at Halewood Leisure Centre, luckily a short walk away. After school is our staff meeting, where we plan school improvement. We are fortunate in having such enthusiastic and committed staff, who are passionate in providing the best for our pupils. Tuesday Every pupil in Year 4 learns to play a musical instrument for the year and our teacher comes into school each Tuesday morning to teach ukulele, which is very popular. Last year I went with them to St Vincent’s School, West Derby to play in a world record attempt at having the largest ukulele performance. They also played this year with the Liverpool Ukulele Orchestra for the school and parents. Spanish lessons take place in the afternoon for pupils. I show a parent around our school and always feel proud as each class we go into sees happy, smiling children who obviously love being here. I usually visit every class for a few minutes each day, to meet with pupils and see their learning in progress. Wednesday I meet our PTA and run though the school’s 50th anniversary celebrations. They have organised a number of activities, including the annual summer fair and we plan the end of year assembly, with each class presenting significant events and music from each decade since the school began in 1965. I also speak to Fred Lawless, an ex pupil who attended St Mark’s when it first
opened, who is going to talk at the celebration assembly. He is a playwright who has written the Christmas play for the Royal Court in Liverpool for the past seven years. Thursday Each Thursday all classes have Big Maths, pupils are split into small groups to focus on specific areas they need to develop. I teach a group of ten pupils, mainly Year 6, but some Year 5 and a Year 4 boy. They are always enthusiastic and eager to learn, which makes a teacher’s job much more rewarding and fun. After school activities are numerous and varied, tonight a parent who is a secondary English teacher is rehearsing with pupils for their performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ as part of the Shakespeare School’s Festival. The athletics team are in training on the school field, following their double trophy winning feats at Wavertree two weeks ago. On the way home after school I met Katarina Johnson Thompson, ex pupil and Olympic heptathlete. She flags me down and a camera is thrust into my face, whilst Darren Campbell asks me questions about Katarina’s time at St Mark’s for a BBC documentary. Friday The morning is spent meeting with the governor responsible for pupil premium spending and looking at pupil progress within each class. Later I finish my Headteacher’s Report for governors in preparation for the end of year meeting. In the afternoon I go out onto the playground to see our zonepark. This involves all children being out on the playground with all our teaching assistants for half an hour in the middle of each afternoon for sports activities. Friday finishes with an assembly, where we celebrate pupils’ achievement in various aspects of their school life. Before I head for home I meet with senior staff to review the week gone by and discuss the week ahead. Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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Educate Awards News
Copyrite Systems and Ricoh to headline Educate Awards 2016 The Educate Awards is delighted to announce this year’s awards will be in partnership with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh UK as title sponsors. The awards is the biggest celebration of education in the North West and returns for its fifth year on Friday 18 November at Liverpool Cathedral. Copyrite Systems and Ricoh UK are two of the UK’s most innovative companies which are passionate about collaboration, technology and communication. With their support, the Educate Awards is heading for its biggest year yet. From its head office in Speke, Copyrite Systems provides a highly professional, responsive and client-focused service that specifically addresses clients changing business needs. Passionate about managed print and deploying the latest technologies, its team works in the education sector to transform learning environments and to increase productivity.
Andrew Hampson, sales manager at Copyrite Systems, says: “We are so pleased to be involved with the Educate Awards 2016 and begin this partnership. It’s great to align ourselves with the awards as it shares some of our core service values of collaboration, loyalty, communication and continuously exceeding expectations. We’re looking forward to joining forces with the Educate Awards to recognise the region’s outstanding schools.” Global technology company, Ricoh, has been transforming the way people work for more than 80 years. Under its tagline imagine. change. - Ricoh continues to empower companies and individuals with services and technologies that inspire innovation and boost business growth. Peter Smith, regional sales director at Ricoh UK, says: “Ricoh is an organisation that is committed to making positive change and we value partnerships that promote education and award inspiring school leaders. In the world of education
Wray Bros help to honour education in the region Liverpool-based Wray Brothers is the latest company to sponsor the Educate Awards, bringing its inspirational story to the awards celebration. Some 31 years ago, The Princes Trust helped the founders of Wray Bros, Graham and Mark Wray, two under privileged kids from Toxteth, start a new business. What started out as a rags and wipers business has grown in to a thriving operation, delivering an extensive range of janitorial supplies and workwear to schools, universities and other businesses across the UK and abroad. Wray Bros will be sponsoring the Most Inspirational Secondary School category, which awards a school that has inspired pupils, parents and the whole community during 2015-16. Past winners include Notre Dame Catholic College and Wellfield High School. The sponsorship coincides with what hopes to be an inspiring year for the firm, as they introduce a new Willy Wiper mascot, in recognition of its 78
original company name. The campaign, launching in October, will pay tribute to the firm’s three decades of trading and give them an opportunity to thank The Prince’s Trust for their support. The public can donate £10 towards the charity and in return they will receive a Willy Wiper mascot. Wray Bros are asking customers to post a selfie with their Willy Wiper, which will then be shared on Wray Bros’ website and social media platforms. Graham Wray, says: “Wray Bros are delighted to sponsor the award for The Most Inspirational Secondary School category at this year’s awards; Inspiring children is education performing at its best. It’s the foundation for everything as it shapes character and purpose, where would we be without it?” The company joins a raft of firms to back the prestigious ceremony, which honours the region’s best schools, teachers and projects and is now in its fifth year.
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
and business both a passion for change and imagination are key to driving success. Therefore, we are looking forward to sponsoring the Educate Awards and being involved in this inspirational event.” Kim O’Brien, executive editor of Educate Magazine and founder of the Educate Awards, says: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh to deliver what will be the biggest Educate Awards yet. Without the support of our sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to bring this unique event to the region which celebrates the value of teachers and recognises all the good happening in schools. “The awards were created to acknowledge those who are transforming the educational experience for children and young people, so it’s great to have Copyrite Systems and Ricoh on board to help us do this and celebrate another fantastic year of education in the North West.”
Capita Education to sponsor ‘Teacher of the Year’ Award The Educate Awards is delighted to announce this year’s Teacher of the Year award will be sponsored by Capita Education. 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. Over the past 15 years, Capita Education has developed a reputation for high quality service to its nurseries, schools, academies, free schools and colleges as one of the UK’s most successful education recruitment businesses. Its experienced teams specialise in different areas of the education sector, including SEN, further education, leadership and early years. Azam Mohammed, managing director of Capita Education, said: “We are thrilled to be sponsoring this year’s Teacher of the Year award. In our line of work we truly understand the lengths teachers go to support their students, this is a profession that should be celebrated and rewarded and the Educate Awards do just that! “We are so excited to see which inspiring teachers will be on this year’s shortlist and are looking forward to celebrating with them all at the awards.” Kim O’Brien, founder of the Educate Awards, says: “We are delighted to have Capita Education involved to help us award a truly inspiring Teacher of the Year. Working in education recruitment, they understand the importance of excellent teachers so are a perfect fit to help us celebrate an individual who brings learning to life.
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Revd Richard Peers, Diocese of Liverpool’s Director of Education
With over 30 years of experience working in education, including both primary and secondary schools, Revd Richard Peers was the unanimous choice to take over the Diocese of Liverpool’s Director of Education role. With his passion for social justice and promoting the values of Christian education, his ambition is to create “more success for more children”.
Bold ambitions by Hannah Fowler
I
t was a parish priest, who was also a priest-headteacher, who ignited Richard Peers’ passion for teaching. Richard recalls how, as a teenager, the priest inspired him to train as a teacher and he hasn’t looked back since. “Education has been part of my whole life,” he says. “I live and breathe education and I am constantly fascinated by the process of learning and how we nurture children and young people as well as offering lifelong learning for adults.” After training at King Alfred’s College in Winchester, Richard taught reception for the first years of his teaching career before becoming deputy head of a primary school. It was during this time that Richard was also ordained as a priest and he has since spent time in numerous school chaplaincy roles. Before taking up his new post in September, Richard was executive head at Trinity All Through CE School in Lewisham, a role which he says was
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challenging but exciting as he oversaw a complete re-build and name change of the school. The last two SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) inspections reflect Richard’s strong leadership, as the school was judged as ‘outstanding’. It was from here that he sought a new challenge - and saw the opportunity at the Diocese of Liverpool. The Director of Education oversees all the work of the education department at the Diocese of Liverpool and supports 119 primary and secondary schools and academies across the North West region. The team takes on a wide range of matters including support for governors and headteachers for senior appointments, SIAMS inspections to curriculum development and building support. It’s a complex and demanding role but one that Richard can’t wait to take on. “I hope that I can build on the excellent practice of our schools to ensure that when children leave them they are committed to building a better world and that they are young people who are
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I think it is almost impossible to have too high expectations of children
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glad to be alive and glad to be able to make a difference.” Richard’s enthusiasm for learning and Christian education shines through, as does his emphasis on nurturing good relationships in classrooms. He says: “I believe all institutions - no matter how large or small - function well when the systems, routines and procedures are in place so everyone is safe and when the relationships are generous and kind. I think it is almost impossible to have too high expectations of children. Relentlessly wanting the best and expecting the best of children allows them to be and do the best.” The vision of the Diocesan Board of Education seeks to ‘ensure that through
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its Church schools and academies it offers children and young people a high quality education’. Richard believes the Board is in a unique position to facilitate school to school support and ensure this vision comes to fruition. “Relentlessly expecting the best, defining what the best looks like and searching for the reasons why children don’t achieve the best is the way to ensure high quality for everyone. The diocesan family of schools is an opportunity for schools to share good practice and ensure that every school is good or better.” So what is the secret to a successful school? “When I asked Sir Daniel Moynihan [chief executive of the Harris academies] what the secret of success was his answer was quite simple: information,” says Richard. “We need to know what is happening in schools and monitor it closely to see where interventions and support is needed. Technology is our friend in this area and the education team will be working to develop the best possible systems for monitoring what is happening in schools.” While Richard acknowledges the challenges and changes facing the education sector, he has confidence in church schools’ ability to respond and adapt. “Church schools benefit from the continuity that the church offers and also from the connections between church schools, locally, nationally and even internationally,” he says. And when it comes to inspiring the next generation of school leaders, Richard is positive that Liverpool will lead the way. “Our national and international connections are invaluable in ensuring that our schools are not just successful but leading other schools. Identifying the dynamic leaders of the future and successful succession planning and leadership training will ensure high quality leadership in all our schools. The Church of England’s national Education Office is piloting a Church of England Professional Qualification for Headship in Liverpool and in two other regions. I am determined that Liverpool will pilot many such projects and lead the way in the Church of England.”
Speaking to Richard, his ambitions are clear, “Too many children underachieve in schools,” he says. “My ambition is to create more success for more children and to ensure that our schools break cycles of poverty and create social mobility for the largest possible number of children. Church schools are profoundly inclusive communities, challenging stereotyping and prejudice of every kind.” Already working in harmony with the Diocese of Liverpool’s Bigger Church, Bigger Difference philosophy, Richard’s parting words read as a mission statement for education leaders everywhere. “We need to make a difference for the pupils in our schools but even more than that I hope that the young people who leave our schools will be world-changers themselves. They will be enraged by injustice and determined to change it.
They will be involved in politics and active in their communities. They will seek to craft lives that are not simply about earning and material gain but service of others. They will recognise the joy of sacrificial living, of living for others and not for themselves, and this will have been modelled to them by the sacrificial giving of their teachers and everyone committed to Christian education.”
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I hope that the young people who leave our schools will be world-changers
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PUPILS DREAMED A DREAM Standing ovations for a spectacular show The pupils of Calderstones School gave two matinee and two evening performances of the highly ambitious performance of Les Miserables. Music teacher Ms Rimmer and assistant director said: “The performances were a culmination of five months of choreography, singing, acting and becoming part of a team of pupils ranging from Young Cosette (Year 7 Katie McVeigh) to Marius (Year 8 Anton Bibby) to Jean Val Jean (Year 11 Joe Francis) to Mme Thenardier (Year 13 Ellie Crail). The cast were supported by phenomenal sound and lighting engineers, set designers, back stage hands and musicians in the band who all made it a truly spectacular show the standing ovations they received on both evening performances were a testament to the talent and dedication of such an enthusiastic and professional cast and crew.”
The cast received a well earned ovation
Cosette singing a stunning solo
The Thenardier's impressing with Master of the House
The Beggars
The inkeepers
Young Cosette singing Castle on a Cloud
Immaculate choreography
Marius and Enjolras leading the revolution - Do You Hear the People Sing?
Joe Francis and Chloe McVeigh wowed as Val Jean and Fantine
One Day More…
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RAISING ASPIRATIONS
Messing about on the river
What a week at Maghull High School Maghull High School held their Raising Aspirations Week in July and what a week it was! Every year the normal timetable is suspended for a week and the way in which students learn is turned on its head. The aim of the week is to give students experiences, both in and out of the classroom that they wouldn’t necessarily ever have. It is hoped that they will be inspired by learning in different ways and through new experiences and as a result, aspire to achieve greater things. Each year group had a theme, with Year 7 marking the four hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare’s death; Year 8 working on a week of outdoor Olympics and European culture; Year 9 working on STEM and Year 10 enjoying a variety of activities including business challenges, university visits and outdoor pursuits. The culmination of the week was a ‘sharing evening’ delivered by the performing arts department, where parents staff and governors had the chance to admire some of the work completed.
Rollercoaster design
Who are we following? Shakespeare craft workshop
Sinking ship
The art of stage make up
Olympics tournament
We did it!
A midsummer's night
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FUN IN THE SUN FOR ATHLETES Merseyside’s sporting stars excel at Summer Games More than 2,000 athletes from the region’s primary and secondary schools descended on Wavertree Athletics Centre to compete against each other at the prestigious Summer Games. The county-level event brought together the ‘best of the best’ of Merseyside’s young sporting talent who had qualified from a series of events across Merseyside. Organised by the Merseyside School Games Operational Group, in association with Merseyside Sports Partnership, children from all six school boroughs: Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral represented both their schools and their district in a range of sports including swimming, tennis, netball and hockey. The games are designed to build on the magic of London 2012 to enable every school and child to participate in competitive sport, including meaningful opportunities for disabled youngsters. Following a typically colourful and entertaining Rio-themed opening ceremony which included acrobatic, dance and musical performances, the children battled it out for the right to be crowned champions of Merseyside whilst upholding the six values of the games: honesty, teamwork, respect, self belief, passion and determination. Guest of honour was three-time Paralympian triathlete Rhiannon Henry, who gave a motivational talk to the athletes before the event and spent the morning mingling with the competitors.
Jumping for joy at the opening of the Summer Games
Action from the opening ceremony
Rhiannon Henry gave a motivational talk
Action from the track events
Paralympic triathlete Rhiannon Henry mingled with the participants
Neck and neck
Sports Leaders’ help and assistance was invaluable
It was a great day to win a gold medal
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Sports Leaders from Bebington High School
Summer Games 2016
Keeping the goal safe on the hockey pitch
Leaping for the win
Dave Sweeney, Chair of Merseyside School Games Operational Group
Touchline acrobatics courtesy of a St Helens athlete
Celebrating a gold medal win
Action from the Tri Golf
The six school boroughs
The spirit was fantastic throughout the day
Relaxing outside the Tennis Centre
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SUMMER OF SPORT Schools bring out the best in young athletes We have seen a great feast of sport during the final school term of 2015/16 from both secondary and primary schools. Here we bring you a small reminder of some of the events which took place last term which include The Merseyside Schools Summer Games, the Liverpool City Secondary Schools Girls’ Athletics Championships, the Liverpool City Secondary Schools Boys' Athletics Championships and the Olympic legacy event for pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD). We hope you enjoy our look back over the highlights and some of the sporting excellence.
Emerging unscathed from the assault course
The pain of the long distance runner
A game of mixed football gets underway Competitors tried a range of different sports
A girl leaps for glory in the long jump
Great technique is shown by this young star
St Margaret’s Academy student Charlie Jolley was a triple champion at the athletics championships for secondary boys
Action from the archery
Sports were adapted to suit the athletes’ needs
A penalty competition
A swimmer breathes between strokes
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Top grades Tributes paid to hardworking pupils Liverpool city region students saw their hard work pay off when they collected their A-level results last month. Arguably one of the most pivotal days for sixth form and college students, the day culminates 14 years of study and three years of exams! Students across the region celebrated with smiles and hugs as they gained places at Oxford, York, Newcastle and Liverpool universities. Students will also be going on to other exciting endeavours including entering the world of work and enjoying gap years travelling the world. St Mary’s College had more than a
third of all A-level grades at A* and A while Broughton Hall celebrated a 100% pass rate. Gateacre School were also flying high with success, achieving a 97% pass rate and students going on to a number of universities and further education options. Individual successes highlighted the excellent achievements of the class of 2016, with many students achieving outstanding A-level results. Areej Shams-Khan from Archbishop Blanch School achieved three A*s and an A and plans to study medicine while Frances De Forges from The Belvedere Academy is off to Oxford. Amy Hughes from St Hilda’s will be
Rebecca Thompson, Olivia Powell, Bethan Ashton and Chloe Edwards from Rainford Sixth Form
Another excellent year for pupils from The Blue Coat School
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Students across the region celebrated with smiles and hugs
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studying English Literature at Liverpool University, Olivia Fairclough is studying music at Bangor University while Megan Langton will be going to Newcastle University to study Geography.
Abigail Kelly from Rainford Sixth Form
Areej Shams-Khan from Archbishop Blanch achieved three A*s and an A and now plans to study medicine
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Frances De Forges from The Belvedere Academy who is off to Oxford
Eloise Morris from The Belvedere Academy who is off to York
Andy McKann, careers adviser with Shannon Thompson and Liverpool Life Sciences UTC principal, Phil Lloyd
Students from Gateacre School were very pleased with their results
Flying high! Congratulations to A-level students from Gateacre School
Top of the class – Matthew Best, Suzanne Vanezis, Andrew Dixon, Megan Wellens and James Ellison from Carmel College
Matthew Donaldson, Matthew Brookes, Calum Duck and Jack McKeon from Carmel College
Friends from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC compare their results
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The hard work paid off for students from Broughton Hall
St Margaret’s Academy is celebrating another year of excellent achievement.
Broughton Hall students celebrate a 100% pass rate
St Margaret’s Academy A-level students
David White from Holy Family Catholic High School has gained the place he wanted at Durham University where he will be studying Economics
Inderpal Bachra Holy Family Catholic High School gained an A*, A, B
A-level results stars from St Mary’s College with more than a third of all grades at A* or A.
All smiles from St Mary’s College pupils
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Headteacher Mr Ripon with some of the school’s top achievers from St Francis Xavier’s College
Some SFX pupils opened their results together
A hug from a very proud mum for this St John Bosco student
Students at St John Bosco School
Students from ESLA Sixth Form
Amy Hughes will study English Literature at Liverpool University, Olivia Fairclough will study Music at Bangor University and Sophie Blaney will study Occupational Therapy at Bangor University. All from St Hilda’s
St Hilda’s students Megan Langton and Helen Turnley.
A grades across the board for Dawid, Aiden, Savina and Lucas, confirming Ofsted's positive view about the leadership of the sixth form and the quality of sixth form teaching at ESLA.
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Exam celebrations Schools and students celebrate GCSE results After two years of hard work, revision and exams, hundreds of students across the Liverpool city region collected their GCSE results and celebrated with family and friends. Educate visited schools across the region to follow the day’s live action and speak to happy students, teachers and headteachers about their success. Success stories included Rainford High Technology College, where 78% of students achieved grades in maths and English at grade C or above and North Liverpool Academy which achieved its best results in four years with a 20% improvement on 2015.
Students and staff at St Mary’s College in Crosby also celebrated a fantastic set of results, with a fifth of students achieving ten or more A* or A grades. The Belvedere Academy also had reason to celebrate, as over 93% of girls gained five A*-C grades, including maths and English. Individual successes highlighted the superb achievements of the region’s youngsters, who will now go on to study at sixth form or undertake an apprenticeship. Daniella Wain from Archbishop Blanch School achieved a full set of A/A* grades, Elise Lloyd from St Hilda’s CE High received two A*s and
Richard Bailey, Jake Spottiswood and Bradley Wilson, Rainford High Technology College
Celebrations at Bellerive FCJ Catholic College with 70% of all students getting C grades or better in both English and maths. 73% of all GCSE entries were at C or above on average and 22% of all grades awarded were either A or A* grades.
8 A GCSEs, while friend Eve Machin achieved five A*s, four As and a B at GCSE.
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Individual successes highlighted the superb achievements of the region’s youngsters
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Sam Jones, Oliver Kerr, Harry McManus and Lewis Ellison, Rainford High Technology College achieved good grades in maths and English at grade C or above
Daniella Wain from Archbishop Blanch achieved a full suite of A /A* grades
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Staff and pupils at The Belvedere Academy celebrating success with this year’s GCSE results. They showed exceptional results with almost 50% of all grades at A* or A and over 93% of girls gaining 5 A*-C including English and maths
Blue Coat GCSE students of all grades awarded, 42.3% were A*, 77.8% were A and 83% of students made more than expected progress in both English and maths
Tower College pupils achieved percentage pass rate of 91% at grades A* to C
Anna McMillan and Chelsea Jones from Gateacre School were happy with their GCSE haul
Gateacre School retired head Gerard Lonergan with top student Bethany Anderson
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St Hilda’s CE High School stars Elise Lloyd achieved 8 As and 2 A* and Eve Machin achieved 5 A* and 4 A and a B
Another wonderful set of results from the pupils of Maghull High School
St Hilda’s CE High School pupils
Darcy Kelly from Holy Family Catholic High School achieved ten GCSEs including eight A* and two A grades
James Meadows from Holy Family Catholic High School who gained ten GCSEs including eight A* and two A grades
Best friends from Knowsley Community College, Michelle Robinson–Hill and Jade Hamid celebrate their GCSE results. Both plan to take an access course and then train to become midwives.
Celebrating success students from Knowsley Community College
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Mark Van Eker pictured with St Margaret's Church of England Academy principal Mr Brierly
St Margaret's Church of England Academy pupils celebrate
North Liverpool Academy achieved their best grades in four years with a record 20% improvement on 2015 in the number of students achieving 5 A* to C including English and maths
This student from North Liverpool Academy is overjoyed with her results
Celebrations all round at St John Bosco as pupils received fantastic GCSE results
Saint Francis Xavier’s College celebrate another year of GCSE success. Overall progress measures for the college show an increase of 6% from 2015 with similar levels of improvement in maths and English
Students family and staff from St John Bosco
Students and staff at St Mary’s College in Crosby celebrated another excellent set of GCSE results this year. A fifth of candidates achieved ten or more A* or A grades and well over a third (39 per cent) achieved seven or more passes at the highest grades
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CELEBRATING PUPILS’ TALENTS
Ellesmere Port had the largest festival, 23 schools took part in the event held at the Civic Hall
Arts Festival helps to raise aspirations During the last school year 50 schools from Ellesmere Port, Neston and Winsford worked with teachers and Edsential, performing and visual arts specialist tutors, to develop performances and pieces of art to exhibit. These have culminated in three celebratory events and exhibitions. The Arts Festivals, organised by Edsential (a Community Interest Company) are aimed at celebrating pupil’s talents, raising aspiration, promoting community engagement and building individuals’ confidence through exhibiting and performing. The art exhibitions and the performances of dance, drama and music have conveyed the vibrancy of the arts in education in Ellesmere Port, Neston and Winsford to over 2,500 attendees. Julie Chambers, headteacher at Willaston Primary School said: “What a fantastic opportunity for our children to showcase their achievements in the arts. I certainly hope this can be a joint venture that we can build on in future years.” Helen Thorpe, St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary, Winsford said: St Joseph's have benefited a great deal from this experience and we very much appreciate Edsentials work and their vision. I hope our paths cross again in the not too distant future.
Parents really enjoyed the evening entertainment as part of this day and night event
Eight primary schools from Neston took part in the event
Storytelling to weaving and drama an excellent showcase of talent in Cheshire
Gavin Cross was the compère for the day held at Neston High School
Winsford Academy where hosts for the day when Antoinette Sandbach, Member of Parliament for Eddisbury opened the event
Twelve schools from Winsford took part in the event Drama performances where a highlight in Ellesmere Port
Edsential Artists had worked with schools for eight months as part of the curriculum in schools
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Edsential
Create, Inspire, Engage. Edsential weekend residential courses develop competence and directly impact GCSE and A-Level results.
All courses: Meet the GCSE, A-Level or BTEC national curriculum Personalise and differentiate learning Provide high level tuition by nationally recognised subject specialists Promote confidence, competence and raise aspiration Held at the Conway Centres, Anglesey
GCSE or A-Level Art Not just drawing! Traditional and contemporary disciplines and processes to develop practical work and subject knowledge. Critical and contextual reference will be used to focus activities and students will produce high quality individual work for their coursework folders. GSCE Drama Unique programmes which address areas such as physical theatre, visual theatre, puppetry, mask work, script work, theatre and lighting design. The work is centred around a text or piece of writing appropriate to the GCSE syllabus. GCSE/BTEC Dance Incorporating relevant sessions in choreography and technique. The weekend aims to give students an awareness of how they need to perform for their relevant assessments and also to inspire them to achieve.
For further information or to book courses please visit www.edsential.co.uk, call 01248 714501 or email conwaycentres@edsential.co.uk
Dates and Costs GCSE/BTEC Dance 14th-16th October 2016 .
. . . . . . . . £147.50
A Level Art 11th-13th November 2016 .
. . . . . . £157.50
GCSE Art 20th-22nd January 2017 . 3rd-5th February 2017 . . . 3rd-5th March 2017 . . . . .
. . . . . . . . £145.50 . . . . . . . . £145.50 . . . . . . . . £147.50
GCSE Drama 27th-29th January 2017 . 10th-12th February 2017. 10th-12th March 2017. . .
. . . . . . . . £145.50 . . . . . . . . £145.50 . . . . . . . . £147.50
*All prices are per student and exclusive of VAT
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GOLDEN CELEBRATIONS School celebrates 50 golden years Staff and pupils at St Mark’s Catholic Primary School, Halewood have been celebrating their golden jubilee with some very special guests. The school invited scriptwriter Fred Lawless to attend their 50th anniversary assembly, alongside other past pupils, staff and parents. Headteacher, Richard Coakley said: “Each class did a short presentation outlining key events from each decade since the school was opened. Fred spoke about his time in St Mark’s as one of the first pupils to attend when it opened and told us about the classroom and teacher who inspired him to write playscripts. He currently has his play ‘A Fistful of Collars’ on at the Royal Court and has written their Christmas play for the past seven years. Katarina Johnson Thompson also visited the school a few weeks before, which was filmed on her BBC documentary ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ and recalled her love for athletics which began in St Mark’s. She won countless athletics medals and she recalled breaking the Liverpool Catholic Schools’ high jump record which had stood for 28 years whilst she was a Year 6 pupil at the school.
Remembering the swinging 60s and the Beatles
Guest for the day scriptwriter Fred Lawless
The 70’s
The royal birth
The royal wedding
The High School Musical years
Children’s programmes through the years
Celebrating 50 golden years
Fred Lawless has the audience enthralled
Frozen the musical years
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Stand out from the crowd with an inspirational school website
Our simple-edit, mobile friendly websites are as easy on the eye as they are on the pocket. Contact Stuart Atherton today for a demonstration to ďŹ nd out why so many North West schools are choosing to work with us.
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IT ALL ADDS UP Liverpool schools gain new maths quality mark The first schools in Liverpool have received a new Quality Mark in maths and have received their awards. The Liverpool Counts Quality Mark is a pilot scheme which forms part of a big drive to raise standards in the subject in all schools across the city. The Quality Mark is designed to tackle the negative attitudes which are prevalent in many areas of society towards numeracy and mathematics and is backed by the National Numeracy Challenge - an independent charity that aims to improve numeracy in the UK. A total of 26 schools have successfully completed the accreditation programme for the scheme and recieved their awards at the Museum of Liverpool. Assistant Mayor and cabinet member for education, employment and skills, Councillor Nick Small, said: “Liverpool schools have really improved their performance over the last decade and exam results are much better, but we recognise that maths results still lag behind those in English. “Liverpool Counts is all about challenging the stigma that not everyone can be good at maths and that you can get through life without it. “Good numeracy skills are an increasingly important part of many skilled jobs and essential to everyday life as an adult”.
Faith Primary School
Elaine Rees, CEO of the Liverpool Learning Partnership, welcomed the schools
Blackmoor Park School
Childwall Abbey School
Millstead School
Holy Name Catholic Primary School Florence Melly Community Primary School
Mosspits Lane Primary School
Our Lady Immaculate Primary School
Holly Lodge Girls’ College
St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School
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St Finbar’s Catholic Primary School
St Michael-In-The-Hamlet Primary School
St Julie’s Catholic High School
St John Bosco
Sandfield Park School
St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School
Girls from Holly Lodge School performed A bad (numeracy) day at the office
The Beacon C of E School
Stockton Wood Community Primary School
St Francis Xavier College
The children were welcomed to Liverpool Museum
West Derby School
ESLA Academy
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WOW! WHAT A WEEK
The fantastic haka
School takes a trip around the world Throughout the month of June Kensington Community Primary School, Liverpool organised a WOW program and hosted a variety of events right across the school. This followed on from their fantastic weeklong WOW Brazil festival that they held during July 2014 in which the children absolutely loved the experience so this year they decided to do it all again! The first being their International Month which included the whole school taking the opportunity to explore different cultures from around the world including England, China and New Zealand. The month concluded with a celebration of their multicultural society and the British values that uphold it. The whole school, all 450 pupils then joined together for a picnic party. Headteacher Mrs Davies, said: “For the past month we have been investigating a variety of countries from around the world thinking about their different cultures, climates and physical geography. After thinking about other countries this was a time to celebrate everything good about living in Britain with our British Values tea party�.
The teachers join arms for the musical finale
Dancing broke out as the band played
There was a great feeling of togetherness in the school
High five from the police mascot, Bobby Busting some moves!
Headteacher Kitty Davies got into the spirit of things
It was a brilliant event
The picnic went indoors due to the poor weather
The Filthy Janes performed a special concert
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The flag bearers gathered in The Well at the end of the service
HANDS OF FRIENDSHIP Cathedral hosts leavers’ service celebration Hundreds of schoolchildren descended on Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral for the annual Year 6 Liverpool Diocesan School Leavers’ Service. Pupils from many of the region’s schools took part in the service which was led by the Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Revd Paul Bayes, and which celebrates “Their time at primary school and looks ahead to the new chapter of starting secondary school”. It began with a procession of colourful banners through the cathedral before members of the charity Y Kids led the children through an energetic and interactive service. The theme this year was ‘Hands of Friendship’ and pupils worked closely with, and fundraised for, the charity Christian Aid, with many of the readings during the service exploring this theme. The celebration ended with the Bishop of Liverpool leading the procession back to The Well where the children posed proudly for pictures. More than 3,000 children attended over the course of four days during which they attended transition workshops held in the cathedral itself including drama performances, time for reflection and celebration.
Wavertree C of E Primary School
The Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes
St Mark’s C of E Primary School
St Thomas’s C of E Primary School
St Mary’s Ince Primary School
St Michael’s C of E Primary School
St Luke’s Primary School
St Helen’s Primary School
St John’s C of E Primary School
St Nicholas C of E Primary School
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A pupil listens in earnest
A silent prayer
Bickerstaffe C of E Primary School
Kirkby C of E Primary School
Tim Coates from the charity Y Kids
Boys and girls from each school lit candles
The congregation heard from a number of readings
Hanging prayers on the Prayer Tree
Hundreds attended the service
The brilliant choir from Aspull School
Proud pupils
This Bickerstaffe pupil had great fun
The procession begins
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The staff from AstraZeneca, the chief sponsors of the event
BIG BANG NORTH WEST 2016 Thousand’s flock to STEM event Over 6,000 school children were inspired as The Big Bang North West 2016 took place at Liverpool’s Exhibition Centre. Bigger and better for 2016, the day featured an enormous list of amazing STEM activities from starlight chemistry, volt experiments, interactive robots to virtual reality gaming! Organised by Educate Awards sponsors All About STEM (Formerly MerseySTEM), 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. Schools from all across the region enjoyed a fun-filled day of STEM learning. Hundreds of colleges, schools and universities visited or exhibited on the day, including Life Sciences UTC, The City of Liverpool College, Rainford High, Wirral Met College, The Belvedere Academy, Liverpool John Moores University, Sacred Heart Crosby, Deyes High School, Notre Dame Catholic College and Holly Lodge Girls’ College. Exhibitors this year included AstraZeneca, Sellafield Ltd, Unilever, Network Rail, Liverpool Girl Geeks, Scottish Power, Carillion, St Helens College and many, many more.
Pupils could try out the latest equipment and technologies
Those interested in a career with horses could try out on a simulator Children could conduct their own experiments at the interactive event
Hands-on skills like joinery could also be practised
Beaumont Collegiate Academy, Warrington, the only school in the UK to be STEM Assured
A young helper assists TV’s Stefan Gates
Visitors could try out different equipment
The team from The Belvedere Academy
An experiment is conducted on the main stage
Experts were on hand to explain their services to the children
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The brilliant staff from Science2U
There were many brilliant scientists on hand
Outdoor entertainment!
“How loud can we get?” An unorthodox soundcheck is made
A controlled explosion!
A young scientist considers the data
A budding farmer milks his cow
Tom Warrender from Medic Mavericks
There were many interactive machines for the visitors to try
One of the stars of the show…the interactive bot!
Tomorrow’s scientists and engineers
Visitors could try beer goggles
Children could test how fast they run on The Accelerator
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A SEA OF COLOUR IN HUYTON Rainbow relay is a hit with all Knowsley Lane Primary School, Huyton became a sea of colour thanks to their Rainbow Relay event. Catherine Martin, said: “The event started last year as a celebration for British Values Week. However this year, we focused more on a sports aspect, which saw the children take part in a series of sporting activities throughout the week. “The children took part in a sports day on Thursday afternoon and on Friday morning, the school took part in the local rise and shine dance event; finishing with the rainbow relay to celebrate the success of the week. “It was a fantastic opportunity for the children, staff and parents to come together in a positive environment and enjoy being active! It is definitely one of the highlights of the year!”
Each year group took turns to run the course
This young boy got covered in paint!
The smiles says it all
The warm up was great fun
A teacher waits for more victims!
A mum and son burst through
The staff got involved too!
CHARGE!!!
It was a brilliant afternoon of fun
A minion helped with the warm up
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RE and PSHE workshops delivered through drama and music. Engaging productions sharing morals and messages from the Bible. NOW taking bookings for our Christmas Production ‘Starry Night’ A modern adaptation of the traditional nativity story! Contact for more information on how we can work with your school, sixth form or college.
www.btales.co.uk hello@btales.co.uk Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, HERE COMES LIVERPOOL’S BIGGEST AND FUNNIEST PANTO OF ALL!
LEANNE CAMPBELL AS THE WICKED QUEEN
JORGIE PORTER
LIAM MELLOR
AS SNOW WHITE
AS MUDDLES
& the Seven Dwarfs 10 – 31 DECEMBER 2016 0844 871 3017*
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Phone and online bookings incur a transaction fee of £2.85.No fees for groups or in person bookings. Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.
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Book Review
In association with
5-8 Years The Seaside Puppy - Holly Webb, Sophy Williams £4.99 A rowdy family comes to stay at the holiday cottages where Laura's mum works. Laura notices that they are always leaving their puppy behind and so she offers to take it for walks. But when the family is forced to leave, Laura finds herself having to say goodbye to the little dog much sooner than she thought. Jack Beechwhistle: Attack of the Giant Slugs - Kes Gray £5.99 Don’t panic, but you’re in danger. At least, you would be, if Jack Beechwhistle wasn't around to protect the world from alien attacks, zombie sweet-shop owners, and exploding conkers - with a bit of help from his trusty sidekicks, Colin and Harry (as long as it's not past Colin and Harry's bedtime). Their missions are daring, dangerous, and deadly. King Flashypants and the Evil Emperor - Andy Riley £5.24 Edwin isn't an ordinary boy. He is a king, with a throne, and his own suit of armour and a castle with secret passages and everything. Every Friday, King Edwin spends all his money on chocolate for the peasants. But when the money runs out, Edwin finds himself in a fix. Cue the arrival of evil Emperor Nurbison, in his pointy-collared black cloak and accompanied by scary striding music. He has had his eye on Edwin's kingdom
9-12 Years Fiction Cogheart - Peter Bunzl £5.24 13 year-old Lily has no idea why her father has worked so hard to keep her identity a secret. Having exhausted any number of governesses, Lily has been sent to the crumbling red-brick institution of Miss Octavia Scrimshaw’s Finishing Academy for young ladies, under the tutelage of The Kraken, a formidable witch of a woman who thinks young ladies should concentrate on learning to stand up straight and deport themselves properly. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J. K. Rowling £5.99 So begins ‘The Tale of the Three Brothers’; a fairy tale, a clue, a secret that unlocks the mysterious Deathly Hallows. Now readers can possess their own copy of the book that Dumbledore bequeaths to Hermione, as translated by her from the original runes. Read about the legacy of the Elder Wand, The Cloak of Invisibility and The Resurrection Stone – the ultimate magical talismans and the key to defeating death itself. Stormbreaker - Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz £5.99 In the first book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, fourteen-year-old Alex is forcibly recruited into MI6. Armed with secret gadgets, he is sent to investigate Herod Sayle, a man who is offering state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers to every school in the country. But the teenage spy soon finds himself in mortal danger.
Teenage Fiction Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon £5.99 Madeline Whittier is allergic to the outside world. So allergic, in fact, that she has never left the house in all of her seventeen years. But when Olly moves in next door, and wants to talk to Maddy, tiny holes start to appear in the protective bubble her mother has built around her. Caspar Lee - Caspar Lee, Emily Riordan Lee £12.99 Unbeknownst to Caspar, his mum secretly signed a deal to write his life story. Luckily, he discovered her plan and dashed to the printers, just in time to correct some of her allegations. The story of Caspar's crazy life so far is brimming with hilarious anecdotes, including how he tried to kill his mum on his first day on earth, his 'eventful' time at school, and how he always was a hit with the ladies. Run - Kody Keplinger £5.99 Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and an alcoholic mom. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks. Agnes Atwood has never stayed out past ten pm, never gone on a date and never broken any of her parents’ overbearing rules. Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. 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
Grey texture bomber, £28.00, NEXT
Patch bomber jacket, £29.99 ZARA
Herringbone bomber jacket, £19.99, ZARA
Boys khaki bomber, £30.00, RIVER ISLAND
Bomber, £17.99, H & M
STOCKISTS : next.co.uk, zara.com, riverisland.com, hm.com, newlook.com
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Girls Fashion
Girls pink floral bomber, £30.00, River ISLAND
Black bomber, £28.00, Next
STYLIST: STACEY MARSHALL
Girls dark red satin bomber, £30.00, River ISland
Green quilted bomber, £28.00, Next
Teens rose print bomber, £15.00, New Look
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WHERE CAN WE GO? Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region
‘ZOO LOGIC’ and ‘FEELINTHECAT’
River of Light Newion it h x e ib
Saturday 5 November River Mersey, Liverpool Waterfront
ork Firew tion a r celeb
New exhibits are the cat’s whiskers By Mark Langshaw Visitors to the Walker Art Gallery will be greeted by a gigantic, inflatable version of Felix the Cat while Turner Prize winner Mark Leckey’s latest installations are in town. This icon of the silent era is one of animation’s most recognisable sons, but towering over the venue’s first floor at 10 metres tall, ‘ZOO LOGIC’ presents Felix as you’ve never seen him before. Younger visitors are sure to react with glee when confronted by an oversized, blow-up feline, while parents might think twice about the character’s legacy and the impact he’s had on popular culture when viewing him at such exaggerated proportions. Although the larger-than-life ‘ZOO LOGIC’ is a striking exhibit, made all the more impactful by its contrasting surroundings including age-old biblical paintings and 19th century architecture- it’s merely a warm-up act for the headline installation. Another of Leckey’s works, ‘FEELINTHECAT’, serves as the main course and promises to be a more substantial piece with no less family appeal. This 70th Anniversary Arts Council Commission invites visitors to enter a large dome shaped like Felix’s head, which houses video screens depicting the artist transforming into the animated cat. Leckey says this piece was inspired by a photograph of a Mickey Mouse actor at Disneyland who wore an expression somewhere between “humiliation and terror” beneath his mask. ‘FEELINTHECAT’ is a more immersive piece than its companion and adventurous youngsters will no doubt feel a satisfying sense of interactivity when entering the dome, while adults can spend time mulling over Leckey’s motivations for turning himself into a cartoon cat. The Walker’s Leckey double header isn’t the kind of exhibition families can spend the entire day at, but it’s a welcome addition to the gallery that brings an unconventional twist to its offering. Although regular visitors will be overly familiar with the venue’s grandiose paintings and sculptures, they’re sure to do a double take when a gigantic feline welcomes them on that first floor landing. Both ‘ZOO LOGIC’ and ‘FEELIN THE CAT’ can be enjoyed by adults and kids alike, albeit on different levels, and this is where their appeal lies. Whether the Walker was crying out for a giant Felix is debatable, but his presence certainly brings something to the gallery. Galactic, cat food tins to hovercraft and methane to the invention of the battery. Expect loud explosions and more!
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Liverpool and Wirral are joining forces on a very special event – and there will be fireworks… Plans are being developed to hold one of the defining events of 2016 on the River Mersey, as Liverpool City Council and Wirral Council come together to stage an unforgettable November 5 fireworks celebration. Although exact details are being kept under wraps for now, preparations are underway to create an incredible spectacle for the tens of thousands of people who are expected to line both sides of the river. A mid-river firework display will wow the crowds, with some special added extras turning it into one of the most ambitions fireworks events in the country.
16 October
Bear Grylls Echo Arena, Kings Dock, Liverpool 0151 709 4321 www.echoarena.com
See Bear Grylls take on his biggest challenge yet with his first ever arena tour: Endeavour. Using 3D video mapping, aerial stunts and other incredible special effects, Bear will bring to life six incredible true stories of real life human survival taking audiences on a journey from frozen Antarctica to the Peruvian jungle, to Everest, to the depths of the ocean and high up into Space! He’ll tell stories about some of the scariest parts of our planet and how people have overcome adversity to survive. This is an inspiring show that should leave you feeling motivated to take on the world!
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22-31 October
5-29 October
FILM and GAME REVIEW Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children The Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will be released on 30 September.
Audio Sonic Vision Liverpool Everyman Hope Street, Liverpool Tel: 0151 709 4776 A riotous new production led by a joyful ensemble of players who will delight with songs, romance and chaos, and hurl Shakespeare's anarchic comedy into the 21st century. Valentine loves Silvia and Proteus loves Julia – but Proteus is fickle and falls for Silvia too.
Pumpkin Fest WWT Martin Mere, Fish Lane, Burscough L40 0TA Tel: 01704 895181
Saturday 29 October
20 November
Pumpkin carving: Create your own spooky face in your very own pumpkin that you can take home. Pumpkin Hunt: There are 15 carved pumpkins named and hidden amongst the grounds find them all for a chance to win prizes. The trail costs 50p to take part.
l rpoo Livteeracy Li stival Fe
Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Medicine Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool
2016 Four Nations Final Anfield Stadium, Anfield Road, Liverpool www.rugby-league.com
Roald Dahl, the beloved creator of children’s novels and adult short stories, was fascinated with medicine, and had a lasting impact on it. Join his doctor, Professor Tom Solomon, who has written a book on the subject, and uses Roald’s stories to explain how the body works.
The 2016 Four Nations tournament is the second biggest international Rugby League tournament to come to the UK in five years and features host nation England, World Cup holders Australia, No.1 ranked team in the world New Zealand and Scotland.
25-30 November
Directed by Tim Burton Starring: Eva Green, Allison Janney, Samuel L Jackson Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly
When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers... and their powerful enemies. Ultimately, Jacob discovers that only his own special ‘peculiarity’ can save his new friends. Adapted from Ransom Riggs’ best-selling novel of the same name. Part of the film was filmed in Blackpool.
No Man’s Sky By Hello Games Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly
Thursday 8 December
al
nim
A gic! The Lanterns at Ma Chester Zoo Chester Zoo, Upton-byChester, Chester, CH2 1LH 01244 380280
Take the zebra crossing through a constellation of stars and on to see your favourite zoo animal lanterns. This year they’re celebrating local woodland and garden creatures with a host of stunning new lantern sculptures and puppets for you to enjoy.
LIPA Christmas Concert LIPA Mount Street onal Seaslight Liverpool L1 9HF de Tel: 0151 330 3000 Step inside from the cold and visit the Paul McCartney Auditorium for the 2016 Christmas Concert, with a seasonal programme of songs, carols and melodies from across the ages. The family based concert will feature performances from instrumentalists, vocalists and choirs.
In No Man’s Sky, you play as an astronaut, piloting the kind of nimble craft. Every player will start their journey on an undiscovered planet; they will be the only person to have walked its surface. From there, you can board your ship, take off, break the atmosphere and begin to tour the galaxy. No Man's Sky's gameplay is built on four pillars - exploration, survival, combat and trading. You discover an open universe, which includes over 18 quintillion planets. By exploring, players gain information about the planets that they can submit to the Atlas, a universal database that can be shared with other players of the game. Players also gain materials and blueprints to upgrade their character’s equipment and purchase a variety of starships, allowing them to travel deeper into the centre of the galaxy, survive on planets with hostile environments, interact in friendly or hostile manners with computer-controlled space-faring factions, or trade with other ships.
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My School Days Anyika Onuora - Olympic athlete
Liverpool athlete Anyika Onuora is a British sprint track and field athlete who competes in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres, and also the 4×100 metres relay and 4x400 metres relay.
My schools: I attended Lidderdale Infants School, Mossley Avenue, which is sadly now closed, Morrisons Primary School and Archbishop Blanch C of E High School. My favourite teacher: That would definitely be Mrs Rees my PE teacher at Archbishop Blanch, she gave me so much encouragement. Favourite subject at school: English, I have always loved the English language. Were you streetwise or a bit of a geek? Oh I was definitely streetwise! My favourite childhood band/singer: For me it was the all girl group Eternal with band members Louise, Vernie Bennett, Easther Bennett and Kéllé Bryan.
My favourite extracurricular activity: Athletics and netball, I have always loved sports. My favourite book: My favourite book has always been the BFG and it is great now that they have made it into a film. Do you remember your first school crush? Yes but I couldn’t possibly reveal his name in case he reads this!
Anyika was part of the triumphant Women's 4 x 400m relay team that won bronze at this years’ Olympics in Rio along with Christine Ohuruogu, Emily Diamond and Eilidh Doyle. The win helped Team GB surpass London 2012's medal tally of 65. She was also competing in her third Olympics. Anyika is not the only talented member of her family, she is the sister of former footballer Iffy Onuora and the academic Emy Onuora, author of the 2015 book Pitch Black, on the experiences of black British footballers.
School dinners: I loved them when I was in school! My ambitions at school: To learn from my teachers and work hard in every subject. Left: Anyika (second left) with Eilidh Doyle, Emily Diamond and Christine Ohuruogu with their bronze medals from Rio 2016.
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Liverpool John Moores University
Are e you interested in nterestted in finding out what it is like to study one of many subjects at LJMU? Then sign up for our taster events available to Sixth Form students: www.ljmu.ac.uk/outreachevents Also check out our upcoming Open Days www.ljmu.ac.uk/opendays
REGISTER ONLINE
lljmu.ac.uk/opendays jmu.ac.uk /opendays