educate magazine

72
FREE Sponsored by Developing your child’s character + INSIDE Winds of Change The future of education Get on board Be creative Notre Dame’s ArtsBus rolls into town May – August 2010 Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils educatemagazine.com

Upload: mersey-mirror

Post on 20-Mar-2016

236 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

Educate Magazine

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Educate Magazine

FREE

Sponsored by

Developing yourchild’s character

+INSIDEWinds of ChangeThe futureof education

Get on boardBe creativeNotre Dame’s ArtsBusrolls into town

May – August 2010

EducateThe Magazine for Parents and Pupils

educatemagazine.com

p01-18:covers 14/5/10 09:45 Page 1

Page 2: Educate Magazine

Telephone 0151 722 1561 to view the school

CHILDWALL SCHOOLA Specialist Sports College

Headteacher Dewi Phillips, J.P., B.A., M.Ed.Fiveways, Queens Drive, Liverpool L15 6XZ

email [email protected] website www.childwallsc.co.uk

Tel: 0151 722 1561

Latest report from Ofsted:

‘ This is a school with energy, ambition and high aspirations for its students.’

‘ Pupils feel safe, secure and valued.’

‘ There is an impressive range of curricular activities, assemblies and extra-curricular opportunities.’

‘ The quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding.’

‘ Pupils thrive in this harmonious community and make good progress in their academic work and personal development.’

p01-18:covers 14/5/10 10:07 Page 2

Page 3: Educate Magazine

Published by Mersey Mirror, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. Tel: 0151 709 7567 Fax: 0151 707 1678 Email: [email protected] Executive Editor Kim O’Brien Advertising Sales Manager Andy Rogers Tel: 0151 709 7567 Advertising Sales Jo Tait Tel: 0151 709 7567 Photography Tom Murphy Editorial Alan Birkett, Lucy Oliver, Jonathan Kearney Design & Production Mersey Mirror, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. Tel: 0151 706 7411 Email: [email protected] 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 oromissions. © Copyright Mersey Mirror 2009.

Welcome...Welcome to the latest issue of Ed-ucate where we talk to The Timeswriter and child psychologist Pro-fessor Tanya Byron about how

parents can help their child tobecome their happiest and

most successful selves.

Our focus group for thisissue debates that nowwe have a new govern-ment in power, what op-

portunities are there for new ap-poraches to providing childrenwith the best education possible.

We have all the latest school newsfrom primary to secondary,showcasing schools, teachersand students achievements,talents and events.

Educate meets up with theteachers, Anne Pontifex of StJohn Bosco Arts College and dis-cusses the benefits of BSF. Wealso chat to Gary Evans of WestDerby School on how his desire toenter the teaching professioncame from his old French teacher.

We get behind England’sbid for the World Cup with

the pick of World Cup andfootball themed goodies.

Finally, we interview Liv-erpool Davis Cup tennisplayer, Ken Skupski, one

of Britain’s rising tennisstars.

Many thanks

Features

08-10The building blocks of characterDeveloping your child

20-21Meet the HeadteacherAnne Pontifex, St John Bosco Arts Col-lege

24-27Winds of changeThoughts shared on education policy

38-39Meet the Deputy HeadteacherGary Evans, West Derby School

40Dear EducateHelp & Advice for parents

42-43 Our day outLocal attractions put to the test

45-48Apprenticeship NewsHelping children plan for the future

62-63Come on EnglandFootball goodies for all the family

65ViewpointHopes for the futureof education

66Book ReviewJennifer Dobson recommends

68-69Where can we go?Out and about in Merseyside

70My school daysRising star, tennis ace Ken Skupski

News

12-14Schools go green

16-18Pupils get frugal

29-32High-tech ArtsBus unveiled

34-36Sports Relief at Childwall College

Events

44Easter chicks!

51Exhibition highlightstalent

53Grease is the word

55Launch of Notre Dame ArtsBus

57Blackmoor on the catwalk

59Goodison here we come

61Keep onrunning

Educate Contents

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 3

p01-18:covers 14/5/10 12:39 Page 3

Page 4: Educate Magazine

Get on board.Becreative.The journey starts here.

TO BOOK YOUR SESSION ON THE ARTSBUSCALL 0151 263 3104 OR VISIT WWW.ARTSBUS.CO.UKHire rates available on request. Sponsorship opportunities available.Notre Dame Catholic College for the Arts - Bringing Art to the Community

p01-18:covers 14/5/10 09:29 Page 4

Page 5: Educate Magazine

What is the ArtsBus?

What can it be used for?

The ArtsBus is a mobile arts centre and approved Apple TrainingCentre operated and run by Notre Dame Catholic College for theArts. It reflects a commitment by Notre Dame to make art andlearning available for all in your community.

Recording studio use

Photography sessions

Podcasting

Film and animation

Live broadcast opportunities

Creative writing - including script-writing and poetry courses

Music software and composition workshops

Visual arts sessions

Outdoor performance opportunities

Accredited courses, including Apple ICT and Creative and Media Diploma

Interactive musical instrumental tuition

Business team-building workshops

Get-away-from-it-all mobile Conference Space

Music, Drama and Dance workshops

Meet the artiste – talks, lectures, performance

Fitness sessions - including Wii, Tai Chi and Jazzercise

Health and Well-Being sessions

p01-18:covers 14/5/10 09:29 Page 5

Page 6: Educate Magazine

Woolton Junior School

Out Lane, Liverpool L25 5NNT: 0151 428 3235 F: 0151 428 9947E: [email protected]

3 + 9 =

Please contact the school toenquire about vacancies for

boys and girls ages 7-11

E = mc 2

5 x 15 =

Sir!

Miss!!!

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils6

Worried about your Child’s education?

Do you recognise any of these problems?

Counting on fingers when adding up Difficulty with subtraction • Can’t grasp times tables • Little interest in reading

Finds reading hard • Poor spellingPoor handwriting • Poor concentration

Learning problems such as these can blighteducational progression. However,they can be

overcome in as little as 4-6 months

CALL TODAY for a free consultationFind out how your child can succeed.

Don’t fail your child. Help them to a bright andprosperous future.

One phone call is all it takes

0151 424 2765Tom Ledson, BA(Hons) Msc PGCEHalton Bridge Therapy and Training

2 Vine Street, Widnes WA8 6DW

Childwall C.E. Primary SchoolWoolton Road, Liverpool L16 0JD

Open Afternoon and Evening for prospective parents and their children

The pupils and staff are delighted to invite prospective parents and their children to an

Open Afternoon and Evening on Thursday, 17th June 2010

Please contact school on 0151 722 1553 to confirm which session you would like to attend. If these dates are inconvenient please contact school to make an alternative appointment

with the Head Teacher.The school will be open from 2.00pm - 3.00pm and from 6.00pm - 7.00pm

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 15:48 Page 6

Page 7: Educate Magazine

Exams are just around the corner...

...but its not too late to book

a course of home tuition for

your child in time for the

summer exams.

Whether your child needs help with specific exams (SATS, GCSE or A Level), to catch up with missed course work, to work through difficult topics or just as a boost for specialist subjects, we can provide tutors for intensive study courses and a minimum of six hour-long sessions and are taking bookings now for the

IntroducingCapita Tutors...

What we offer...

Largest network of tutors in the UK built up over twelve yearsFully qualified, practising teachers with up-to-date relevant experience gained within schoolsHigh quality experienced company providing fully vetted tutors offering peace of mindIntensive 2-3 hour courses during weekends / holiday periods or a minimum of six one hour session bookingsTutors for all ages & abilities from KS1 to A Level including SEN

Private tutoring can achieve amazing results in an extremely short time & offers you much better value for money than group tuition.

Get in touch now and let us show you how we can help.

We look forward to talking to and helping both you and your child.

0845 604 6756

www.capitatutors.co.uk

[email protected]

spring and summer period.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 7

St Vincent de PaulCatholic Primary School

Pitt Street Liverpool L1 5BY

“Serving With Love … Striving For Excellence”

For further details, contact the Headteacher:

Mr P Stewart on 0151 709 2572Fax 0151 707 8942 email: [email protected]

❤ OFSTED Oct 2007 - ‘St Vincent de Paul

Catholic Primary School is an

outstanding school.’

❤ Convenient City Centre Location

❤ Places Available

❤ Breakfast Club:

open from 7.30am

❤ Range of After-School Extra-Curricular

Activities

❤ Two Computer Suites

❤ Educational Visits in our Private Minibus

❤ Healthy Schools Award

❤ Activemark Gold

❤ Basic Skills Quality Mark

❤ Liverpool Hope University Articled

School Status

❤ Archdiocesan Religious Education Inspection

“an outstanding school”

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 13:41 Page 7

Page 8: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils8

Developing Character

The building blocksof character

p01-18:covers 14/5/10 08:51 Page 8

Page 9: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 9

Recent articles in the national press have

highlighted reports in the child psychology

area, which show that strength in character

correlates to a good life and a good society.

This broad summation of the research

emphasised that attributes or character

traits such as emotional control, empathy,

application to task, a sense of personal

responsibility and an ability to defer

gratification amount to what we may

define as a strong character. The

conclusion is that we may expect a person

with these attributes fully developed to

make a valuable contribution to society and

aspire to earn a comfortable living – no

matter how their other personality traits,

interests, and types of skills may set them

otherwise apart. Professor Tanya Byron

clarified what is meant by character:

“That’s to say, someone who has a sense of

themselves in a way that is realistic - a

strong sense of identity which doesn’t

depend on external factors such as how

they look, what they wear, or how much

money they’ve got. That’s the base rock of

character, and then you look at other

aspects of ability. ”

Concerns about the disparity between

young working class men’s levels of

achievement at school and their job

prospects, as compared with their more

privileged counterparts, have taken stock

of how self-confidence, ambition,

motivation and nerve is often lacking

among these communities, where male role

models are often few and far between.

Where circumstances differ, and parents

are able to bring up their children in a

stable environment; developing their sense

of right and wrong, of appropriate

behaviour for various contexts, a sense of

achievement and responsibility, their

empathy and their understanding of

deferred gratification, the impact on the

children is significant. As a result of these

efforts made at home, these children are

better prepared to approach the challenges

of school and their working lives with a set

of realistic expectations about the world –

and the knowledge and security within

themselves to enable them to cope with

whatever life deals them.

Professor Tanya Byron continues: “In this

culture, we think that you measure ability

through educational attainment but

actually if you look at some of the most

successful entrepreneurial people we have

around us at the moment in society, most of

them didn’t necessarily achieve highly

educationally.” This is not to say that

academic success is not a valuable

contributing factor in young people’s life

chances, but that the target-driven system

with SATs exams at primary level is not

conducive either to learning or to

encouraging children to realise their full

potential. She added: “The education

system which is built around targets and

testing takes a herd mentality towards

children. I think that schools are grossly

under resourced in terms of helping

children with special educational needs.

It’s not that the kids aren’t really bright,

they just don’t learn in a conventional way.

That sort of stuff makes it difficult for

children to have a sense of success, and

then they’re particularly vulnerable to our

celebrity culture, with its highly eroticised

images of women and the expectations

associated with that. Boys are vulnerable in

the education system, because at the

primary level – which is highly feminised –

13 per cent of teachers are male. We need a

gender balance and there are rising rates of

single parent families for boys who don’t

have a male role model around in their life,

or not very much.“

Schools do have a role to play in helping

children to develop their full potential as

human beings, but the overwhelming

conclusion drawn from research is that the

primary responsibility must begin with the

parents when the child is in its earliest

stages of life. Simple, primitive human

bonding between mother and child is vital

to establishing the basis for communication

as the child grows. Maintaining eye

contact with a baby, singing to him or her,

and talking to children about all manner of

Every parent wants their child to grow into a well-adjusted,happy and successful adult, but an emphasis on the need forgood exam results and a CV listing prowess in extracurricularactivities is not the straightforward passport for success itseems. Developing your child’s character and their sense ofself is crucial if you want them to be happy in their own skinand succeed to the best of their ability. Educate interviewedThe Times writer and child psychologist Professor TanyaByron, Chancellor of Edge Hill University – a renowned hubfor teacher training and child development – about howparents can help their child to become their happiest andmost successful selves.

p01-18:covers 14/5/10 08:51 Page 9

Page 10: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils10

things and not simply issuing instructions

are being found to have a substantial

impact on a child’s first impressions of the

world and his or her own place within it.

Put simply, if a child is not spoken to,

consulted, or made to feel that his or her

opinions and feelings are valuable to his or

her parents, then how can we expect him

or her to understand or engage in their

schooling or any other activities?

By calling for parents to look at their role

in developing their child’s character, no

professional is suggesting that all children

are the same or that there are any rules to

result in a line-up of well-behaved, socially

aware and high-achieving children. Every

child is different, and developing character

is not about suppressing individual

personality traits – rather it is about

enabling each child to develop his or her

unique set of skills, beliefs and values, to

their utmost. In an increasingly celebrity-

focused culture, where ‘success’ is viewed

not as an enjoyment of the rewards of hard

work, the experts are finding rising rates of

mental health problems among young

people. Professor Byron commented: “In a

celebrity culture, where there is this idea

that anyone can be famous, we have sort of

lost what it is to be successful. Real

success isn’t linked to transient markers

like how well your name is known by the

public and how often you’re in the

newspapers – but that’s the kind of image

children are peddled and it sets up difficult

expectations for young people. How we can

counter that and get them to think more

strategically, more realistically - not just

what’s attainable, but also what’s real – is

what will help our children.”

Of course, parents who are determined to

do the best for their child may like the idea

of signing up for all manner of music

lessons and sports outside of school. While

these skills are useful and your child may

make friends and enjoy the activities, there

is a danger among what psychologists refer

to as ‘helicopter parents’ – that is, they

hover around too much – to over plan each

day, leaving no room for real play.

From her research, Professor Byron argues

that real play is crucial to developing

character and life skills: “I don’t think

children have the opportunity to be bored

any more and boredom is a really important

construct. If you’re bored you become self-

reliant, as you have to rely on yourself, your

own creativity and your own thoughts.

Sometimes it’s from not knowing what to

do that some of the most incredible things

are done. I can remember as a kid, Sunday

was the most boring day on the planet. All

the shops were closed and nothing

happened, and so me and my sister used to

do all sorts of things. I think that now there

is so much around to entertain children and

give them stimulation, but a fundamental

component of character is the ability to

look after yourself, to be still, quiet, and to

think, and I think we need to let our kids

be a bit more bored sometimes.”

Indeed, academic research is finding more

and more that the idea of allowing a child

to play, without being overly restricted by

risk, is crucial to the development of self-

esteem and well-being, without which a

child’s chances of achieving at school and

finding a place in society are limited. The

early years conference held annually at

Edge Hill University last year took

‘Playfulness’ as its theme; this year ‘Let Me

Be Me’ is lead in to the discussion. An

emphasis in education on real play, set

apart from multimedia games and

distractions and the trappings of a

celebrity-focused culture, is the bedrock to

building character in young children, and

the stable mental health and happiness of

other young people as they grow and

develop, preparing them for the world of

work. The critical skills possessed by

robust and healthy adults who are able to

look at the celebrity culture in the

newspapers and on television and make

discerning judgements about what they

see – and not feeling under pressure to

conform to body types, fashions and

behaviours - need to be valued by parents

and fostered in young children. Professor

Byron continues: “Character comes from

who you are in terms of your belief

systems, your ability to empathise with

others and your ability to critically evaluate

your world, so that when these messages

are peddled at you, you have a capacity to

take a step back and look at them, and

reflect on what they really mean.”

“A fundamental component of characteris the ability to look after yourself, to bestill, quiet, and to think, and I think weneed to let our kids be a bit more boredsometimes”Professor Tanya Byron, Chancellor of EdgeHill University

p01-18:covers 14/5/10 08:51 Page 10

Page 11: Educate Magazine

To order the education pack call the Community Links Team on 0151 330 1200or write to: Community Links Team, Merseytravel, 24 Hatton Gardens, Liverpool L3 2AN

A new platform for learningwith Merseytravel Educational Resources

PLATFORM CALLING AT

Each guide plays a part in the curriculum of the school as well as offering pupils useful skills and knowledge for life’s journey ahead.

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 18:07 Page 11

Page 12: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils12

Primary School News

Pupils from Christ Church School,Bootle became ‘railway children’ tobrighten up Sefton railway stations –and increase their awareness of theenvironment.

The youngsters are being encouragedto grow trees and shrubs from seed, andthen plant them in and around thestations to provide an attractive area forlocal people using the rail network.

In a pilot scheme 30 children from theschool travelled to the National WildflowerCentre where they had an educationalsession with Richard Scott from Landlifeabout seeds, trees and shrubs beforecollecting and planting various seeds.

Some of the seeds are now big enoughto plant out at Bootle Oriel Station, withthe remainder due to be planted.

Chris Murphy, from Merseytravel’sCorporate Partnership Team said, “ChristChurch are the first school to becomeinvolved in the project, we hope that it isa success and that we can roll the projectout across Knowsley, St Helens, Liverpooland Wirral.”

Going greenSchools ‘growing’ interest in the environment

Councillor Mark Dowd, children from Christ Church School

A reminder to be kinder! Proud Headteacher Ruth Braithwaitehas presented Bedford Primary Schoolpupil Melissa Simons, age 10, with theschool’s annual achievement prize theAlaa Ali Award.

The special award commemorates aformer pupil Alaa Ali who sadly died fiveyears ago but whom the school has neverforgotten. Every year since losing theirmuch loved pupil, the school presents theaward to an outstanding member of theschool who best represents what it is to bea shining example to others as Alaa did.

Melissa was chosen for the award for herfriendly, hard working and consistently kindnature both in and out of school; onreceiving her award Melissa commentedthat “she has been told what a kind andcaring girl Alaa was and the award will siton a special shelf in her bedroom and willalways remind her to try her best to be thesame kind of person”.

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 18:42 Page 12

Page 13: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 13

Primary School News

Enterprising sign upGame is just the business

Liverpool Compact in association with Educate Magazine and 24 otherbusinesses recently launched the Liverpool Primary Enterprise Board Game.

Liz Roberts, Business Engagement Manger, Liverpool Compact, said: “The gamehas been produced to give Primary aged children the opportunity to engage in a highquality, real life, work related activity.

“In the game pupils will learn how businesses work, demonstrate essentialenterprising skills, develop financial capabilities and the knowledge ofcustomer/supplier relationships”.

The event saw pupils and teachers together with business partners getting to gripswith the ins and outs of financial enterprise in a fun yet business like manner.

Pipped at the postA football team from a primary in Huyton has scoopedthe runners up medal in the English Schools nationalsoccer tournament.

The lads from St Aidan’s school were pipped at the postby a preparatory school from the South, based on thenumber of goals scored in all the games.

They had not lost a game in the contest and were even ongoal difference with Lancing College Prep, so the organisersresorted to counting the number scored by both teamsthroughout.

“The fact that they had not been beaten but were runnersup was hard to take," said head teacher Moira Kenneway.

“But the boys received lovely FA runners up medals andhave had an experience they will never forget.

“They were all great ambassadors for Knowsley and the 50strong bus full of supporters showed how fabulous andsupportive our families are.”

The contest was played over the bank holiday weekendand the lads intend to try again next year.

A pyramidperformance More than 6000 children acrossMerseyside went on an Egyptianadventure - without even leavingtheir schools!

They all took part in AncientEgyptian Adventure – The Secret ofthe Jewelled Heart, an ambitiouscollaboration between NationalMuseums Liverpool and theatre HopeStreet.

Actors performed the atmosphericshow to children inside a ‘pyramidtomb’ stage set, as part of a day ofancient Egyptian activity. The theatreand museum worked together to findnew and innovative ways of excitingyoung people about ancient historyand museum collections. The responsefrom schools has been exceptionalwith teachers saying the uniqueapproach had ‘a positive andeducational impact’, was ‘visuallystunning’, ‘outstanding’, and of being‘completely gobsmacked’.

Thrilled by the popularity of theprogramme, Carol Rogers, ExecutiveDirector, Education, Communities andVisitors at National MuseumsLiverpool said: “National MuseumsLiverpool is delighted to havedelivered a really exciting schools’museum programme in partnershipwith Hope Street Ltd. Find Your Talenthas enabled us to develop a newoutreach approach, which we hopewill encourage schools, pupils andparents to continue to visit ourfantastic museums on a regular basis.”

St Aidan’s Primary School

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 18:42 Page 13

Page 14: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils14

Primary School News

When Mosspits teacher,Alan Harbottle decided toform the Mosspits FilmClub little did he realisethat he would have abudding Jonathan Ross inthe club.

Year 6 pupil Jamie Samuelswrote a review of the film‘Hairspray’ which wassubmitted by the school tothe FilmClub national websiteand was selected as one ofseven reviewers of the week.

Jamie received a goodiebag from FilmClub, which isfunded by the DCSF andintroduces pupils to filmsfrom every era and corner ofthe world.

Alan Harbottle, said: “Wehave over 110 pupils in theMosspits Film Club andpupils meet every Thursdayafter school to watch aparticular film, the pupilsthen review the film anddiscuss any issues that mayarise.

“The pupils also have the

opportunity to watchdocumentaries as well asfilms and we are very proudof Jamie as being one ofthousands to have theirreview recognised”.

Jamie’s review of Hairsprayincluded: “This filmhighlighted, albeit in alighthearted manner,segregation in 1950'sAmerica. Black people wereallowed to entertain innightclubs and other venuesbut in certain states werethen not allowed to have adrink afterwards. The filmwas entertaining, and I likedthe personalities ofcharacters, and plot. This filmis very watchable. Myfavourite character is Tracy,because she never gives up,even when times are hard, Idisliked Penny Pingleton, shewas a bit too dramatic. Alland all this film is great fun towatch, even though there areserious themes underpinningthe film.

Emmaus welcomes Shanghai mascotSchool get a special visitor

The children of Emmaus PrimarySchool, Liverpool have spent a weekstudying Chinese culture, from itsfashions and stories, to traditionaldances. As part of the week’s eventsHaibao, the mascot for the ShanghaiWorld Expo 2010, visited the schooland the children helped to decoratethe character.

Teacher Rebecca Rogan, said: “Thechildren loved the whole thing, Haibaomeans ‘Treasure of the Sea’ and thechildren chose the Liverpool skyline astheir own Treasure of the Sea, theMersey, they also chose purple as it isthe same colour as their school uniforms.

“They really enjoyed trying on theclothing, and just learning about anotherculture that’s so different to their own.”

Rebecca hopes to be joining a group of15 teachers from the Liverpool area, whowill be flying out to see first-hand howeducation is handled in a Chineseschool.

Mosspits own Jonathan RossFilm critic Jamie a web success

Teacher Alan Harbottle with film critic Jamie Samuels

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 18:42 Page 14

Page 15: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 15

Clarendon College

Giving your child thefreedom to learn

and develop to theirtrue potential

We are a small independent school in Liverpool, providing highquality education for children from pre-school right through toGCSE level.Pupils 3-16, no more than 14 children per class. From ages 3-5 FREE child places still available!

Our Nursery class offers Montessori education in which children learn in a prepared environmentallowing them to develop at their own pace and giving them confidence in their own abilities thusensuring, early goals are achieved.

Infants and Juniors follow the National Curriculum. Senior children pursue GCSE courses.

Before and after school supervision is available.

There is after school tuition to prepare children for the Secondary Education exams (open to all schoolchildren).

Contact us today to find out more about this proven teaching method which has been successful theworld over.

OPEN DAY 23rd JUNE 2010 2.00-7.00pm

For a prospectus or more information onthis unique local independent school

Telephone: 0151 494 2094Mobile: 07952 441 886

Clarendon College, Garston Old Road,Liverpool L19 9AF

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 13:42 Page 15

Page 16: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils16

Primary School News

Pupils get frugalSchool celebrate VE Day

Rations and ration books were the order of the day with Year 6 pupils fromRice Lane Junior School.

The pupils have been studying the life of Liverpool children during World War II andlooking at the hardships families faced during the blitz.

The children experienced life living on rationed food and read accounts of what itwas like to be evacuated. As part of their lessons they also visited the Imperial WarMuseum.

The children rounded off their course with a special VE Day event, which involvedthem dressing up as soldiers and evacuees, and they even had a Winston Churchill.The lunch consisted of jam butties and spam.

Proclamation of delight

Staff and pupils alike are celebrating at Barlow’s Lane Primary School, afterrecently receiving an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted school report.

Headteacher, Mrs Jan Taylor was over the moon after the report in January, she said:“The report stated that as a whole, the school was held in high regard by thecommunity and that staff, governors, parents and pupils share an enriched curriculumand an excellent partnership, which we regard as a key element in our school.

“The report also commented on our pupils exemplary behaviour, politeness and howthey are accepting of the views of other of which we strive for at Barlow’s.

“It is also gratifying that we have such strong support of our parents and carers,saying that their children enjoying coming to school, we are delighted by the report andto celebrate the school produced a banner proclaiming to the community our delight”.

Kirkbyschool celebrates outstandingOfstedA school for children with arange of special educationalneeds has been highlycommended following a recentOfsted inspection.

Knowsley Northern PrimarySupport Centre, Northwood,Kirkby, was described as an‘outstanding and inclusive school’by the inspectors.

The report says that, “theoutstanding work done in lessonsis very effective in aiding thedevelopment of pupils’ skills inliteracy and numeracy. These skillswill help pupils to be very wellprepared for moving on to the nextstage of their lives.”

Also in the report, the inspectorscommented that, “the schoolmeets the educational needs ofpupils very well and providesexemplary care and support. Pupilsare keen to attend. Theiroutstanding behaviour shows howwell they appreciate the facility.”

Headteacher Amanda Nicholsonsays, ‘I am really thrilled to havereceived these excellent resultsfrom our recent Ofsted inspection.The staff and governors workextremely hard throughout theyear to provide a positive learningenvironment for our pupils andencourage them to do their best.The children are very well behavedand achieve fantastically in school,despite the many difficulties theyhave to overcome. I am very proudof them.’

The report highlights thepositive atmosphere that is createdin the school environment.“Classrooms offer bright andattractive environments thatgreatly encourage learning. Pupilsgain great benefits from the sharedexperiences that they have inclasses.”

“Pupils, staff and parents andcarers agree that behaviour isoutstanding and this is becausethe calm atmosphere fosters verygood relationships between all.”

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 19:02 Page 16

Page 17: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 17

Primary School News

The Lord Mayor of Liverpool hashonoured a Liverpool school governor- for 69 years of unbroken service.

Edward Burke, 87, has received anaward for ‘Meritorious Service’ from LordMayor Councillor Mike Storey for almostseven decades of service at All SaintsCatholic Primary School in Anfield. He isbelieved to be the longest serving schoolgovernor in England and Wales.

Edward began his service at the schoolin 1941, working as a fire watchman asGerman bombers pounded the city. Hefought in the war and was wounded inItaly, but has continuously served on the

school’s governing body.Ned says education has changed

immensely during his time as a governor.He said: “In those days teachers did notchange schools as often and did not havethe same stresses that they have today.

“There’s a lot of extra work they haveto do. Then it was just running thefootball team or the cricket team, but thatwas voluntary.

“Now, they have all this other stuff todo, and the same goes for schoolgovernors as well.”

But he said that when parents gotinvolved with their children’s’ schooling,

it made all the difference, and urgedmore to take it on.

He added: “It’s all about thesatisfaction of knowing you are doingyour best for the children and settinghigher standards of education than wehad.”

All Saints Catholic Primary Schoolhead Jeremy Barnes, said: “Ned is veryastute and up-to-date with all the latesteducational issues.

“He’s a great friend of everyone at AllSaints and an extremely loyal andinterested governor.

“The children love him.”

Edward is the guv! Honour after 69 years unbroken service

No more empty chairsChildren at Linacre Primary Schoolin Bootle have been working veryhard on an attendance projectcalled ‘The Empty Chair’.

The aim of the project is to raisechildren’s awareness of the importanceof coming to school everyday andmaking them realise that if they arenot in school then they cannot betaught and as a result will not learn.

Based on a project created byBeaufort Park Primary School inLiverpool 8, the children have certainlyembraced the project and now know‘An empty chair, an empty chair, you

cannot teach an empty chair!’As well as having lessons focussing

on what their aspirations for the futureare and as a result why they need tocome to school, every class designedan empty chair. The chairs will nowstay in each classroom as a focal pointfor teachers to refer to for good or poorattendance and to reinforce thereasons why children should come toschool.

The children were also given theopportunity to write poems, designposters or write stories about comingto school and having good attendance.

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 19:02 Page 17

Page 18: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils18

Primary School News

Gold forMosscroftTop spot for primary school

Staff and pupils at Mosscroft Primary School, Huyton are celebrating afterbeing recognised as one of the nationally top 100 primaries at Gold Key Stage2 for the second year running.

Deputy Headteacher, Penny France said: “Not only are we one of the top primariesnationally, but we far exceeded Government and also are own targets.

“We are set targets based on progress and attainment for the forthcoming academicyear and for the second year running we exceeded these targets and received acertificate from the DCSF marking this achievement”.

Headteacher, Jill Albertina, said: “We are delighted at the news. It’s all about highexpectations and the staff and pupils strive to exceed these targets.

“The pupils are very proud of their award, they know that it is down to hard work,not only by the teaching staff but also by themselves. We continually inform the pupilson their progress and on how well they are doing.

“The pupils are also very proactive and it’s not all about academic results, theyrecently raised money for Haiti with an own clothes day, a disco and cake sale, theseevents were organised by the pupils themselves, it shows how sensible and maturethey are, and we are very proud of them all”.

Headteacher Jill Albertina (centre) and Deputy Headteacher Penny Francewith proud Mosscroft pupils

Key appointmentfor localheadThe headteacher and staff atFreshfield Primary School havebeen selected for a top rolesupporting schools in challengingcircumstances.

Vin Osbaldeston has become one ofonly 75 headteachers across thecountry to be appointed in the latestrecruitment round by the NationalCollege for Leadership of Schools andChildren’s Services to the prestigiousrole of National Leader of Education(NLE). It also means the school is nowdesignated a National Support School(NSS).

To mark the occasion Vin wasinvited to an event at the NationalCollege’s Learning and ConferenceCentre in Nottingham for a formalinduction and training for the role theywill play in raising standards.

NLEs use their success andprofessionalism as school leaders,along with the staff in their school –designated a National Support School- to provide additional leadershipcapacity in struggling schools. Thedeployment is tailor-made to suit theneeds of each school in challengingcircumstances. The type of supportprovided is flexible and can involveNLEs becoming acting or executiveheadteacher of the client school orschools. They also have responsibilityfor helping to grow the nextgeneration of NLEs and NationalSupport Schools.

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 19:03 Page 18

Page 19: Educate Magazine

Choosing the rightschool for your childis one of the mostimportant decisionsthat you will have tomake as a parent orcarer.The Choice Advisory Service cansupport and inform you throughthis period.Call 0151 225 6030or log on towww.liverpool.gov.uk

Choosinga Primaryor a SecondarySchool?

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 19

Motor home for hireAvailable for hire a spacious 6 berth motor home

CALL FOR DETAILS: 01695 722202

� King size bed � Bunk beds & a double� Fully equipped kitchen � Bathroom

or email: [email protected]

We are located just outside the market town of Ormskirk.12 minutes from Junction 26 of the M6

6.4MLONG

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 20:07 Page 19

Page 20: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils20

Meet the Headteacher Anne Pontifex, St. John Bosco Arts College

Around £350m will be spent on the transformation of 24Liverpool schools over the next decade as part of the“Building Schools for the Future” programme, thelargest school building project the city has ever seen.St. John Bosco Arts College in Croxteth will be amongthe first schools to benefit from the next wave offunding, as part of a £20m development. For AnnePontifex, headteacher for the past six years, the projectrepresents a promising future for the all girls’ school.

Together with neighbouringArchbishop Beck, St John Bosco willbe the sample school for the city-wide rebuilding project, with workscheduled for completion in 2013.

Anne, who arrived at the school asdeputy 10 years ago, is thrilled at theprospective benefits. She commented:“It’s so exciting. We’re at the stage ofconcept drawing and they’re talkingabout a theatre to seat 800 people, stateof the art science labs and wonderfulwireless ICT facilities. There will befantastic food-tech facilities, wherebythe kitchens are camera-ed up so thatthe pupils can follow the teacher on theTV. It’s all really exciting, stimulatingstuff.”

The work will see the schoolextended and partially rebuilt, with itsentrance moving to Storrington Avenue.The plans to develop the two northLiverpool schools represent a welcomeboost, not just for the institutionsthemselves, but also for the widercommunities beset by trouble in recentyears. The proposed theatre willbecome a permanent base for a

community theatre group, while othermulti-use areas will be accessible tolocal residents. Anne said: “It’s anopportunity for us to breathe some freshchances into the communities ofCroxteth and Norris Green. They’vebeen a little bit neglected in the past.Some of our parents may have had apoor educational experience in the past,if perhaps the schools weren’t whatthey should have been. We’re hopingthat this new building will give anopportunity for our parents to attendclasses. We’re already running motherand daughter classes and primaryclasses in dance, art and ICT.”

Anne was drawn to teaching throughher love of PE and, as a catholic, wasenthusiastic about the prospect ofjoining a school with a catholicgrounding. Such enthusiasm has beencarried into her daily work during hersix years as head, which has beenreflected by the school’s ever-improvingstatus. “I think the school is doing reallywell at the moment. It’s on a realupward trend and it has been for thelast six years. I just think that by giving

the children first class facilities and 21stcentury opportunities it can only gofrom strength to strength. We’vebecome a specialist arts college and ourresults have improved dramatically inthat time. More importantly, when wetalk to our children and parents they’resaying it’s a great place to come to anda great place to learn.”

Truancy rates have fallen duringAnne’s tenure, while exclusions havevirtually been eliminated. Newtechnologies have also been utilised toencourage strong performances amongthe pupils. “We’ve given every child inthe school an electronic notebook. Everychild now has one of them to take homefor homework. The notebooks are the

Foundations for the future

It’s an opportunity

for us to breathe some fresh chances

into the communitiesof Croxteth and

Norris Green

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 18:47 Page 20

Page 21: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 21

way forward. These children aren’tgoing to go into careers that perhapspeople of my generation thought they’dgo into. They’re going to go into careersthat haven’t been invented yet.”

The Liverpool-native made the switchto the Croxteth school following hertime as a deputy at Manchester’sChorlton High School, a fellow specialistarts college. Anne believes all aspects ofschool life have benefited since theawarding of the specialist arts status inSeptember 2004. “We’ve done a numberof projects that link dance and sciencetogether, such as explaining how keycells work. There have been dramasbased around CSI crime scenes andwe’ve done a number of modern foreignlanguage activities whereby thechildren have filmed and then presenttheir films back and then they analysethat.”

Last year the school were also giventhe opportunity to work with theEnglish National Ballet on a productionof ‘Sleeping Beauty’. So impressed werethe world-renowned ballet companythey invited St John Bosco pupils toperform with them at the Royal AlbertHall in July. From there some of the girlswill be selected to dance at a specialevent in Shanghai.

Despite reaching an internationalaudience, St John Bosco’s success hasvery much been grounded in the localcommunity and the school itself, whichwas described by Ofsted as “an oasis foryoung people”. Anne added: “I think themain things are listening to youngpeople’s concerns, offering first class

teachers and having boundaries for allso we all know the direction that we’regoing in and were we want to get to.We put on Saturday classes, holidayclasses, after-school classes andbreakfast classes. If you want theopportunity to improve your work it’sthere for you. We’ve done a lot ofmentoring and a lot of work with ourparents and we run a year 10 and 11success evening, were we’ve said if wework in partnership, these are the kindof things that would help your daughterto be a success.”

by Johnathan Kearney

Pontifex File

Born: Liverpool, 1960

Education: St Joseph’s Catholic Pri-mary School, Penketh; English Mar-tyrs High School, Warrington; CityOf Leeds and Carnegie College ofPhysical Education; MA EducationManagement, University of Man-chester

Career: Meols Cop High School,Southport; Chorlton High School,Manchester

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 18:47 Page 21

Page 22: Educate Magazine

Archbishop Beck Catholic Sports College supported by

Partner Primary Schools

Tuesday 6th July - 7.00pm

t: 0151 525 6326e: [email protected] iverpool.sch.uk

www.archbishopbeck.com

Cedar Road, L iverpool, L9 9AF

Headteacher: Mr P Dickinson

Director of Music: Mr B Hicks

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils22

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 13:46 Page 22

Page 23: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 23

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 14:33 Page 23

Page 24: Educate Magazine

How are schools implementing government

policy already, and what possible changes

could be set to impact on what’s happening

in our schools?

TJ: Our school is a brand new £8million

building, amalgamating three primary

schools onto one site, and we’ve seen many

changes in the set-up. Our previous

headteacher was part of the primary

headteachers steering group and his real

thrust was to see the Rose report

implemented, giving teachers more freedom

in the classroom and how they teach. The

word on the street is that Labour largely

supported this report, while the

Conservatives dismiss it and want to see

more subject-based rather than topic-based

learning – but the latter is more effective in

getting children to learn across the

disciplines.

BH: At Bellerive Catholic College, we try to

combine new thinking with keeping the basic

tools of the central curriculum, as we feel it’s

very important. For Years 7-9 we put

emphasis on giving them the tools to move

forward. At Key Stage 4 there is more

variation of what we can teach, and we’re

working on preparing to deliver the diplomas

– although there is still some uncertainty

surrounding them. We need the curriculum to

meet the needs of all, academic and BTEC

students, but all pupils have to keep on with

the other basic subjects to be well prepared

for the competitive world of work. I’m also

concerned about the amount of time we

spend ticking boxes for external analysis. I

think government policy has moved too much

responsibility beyond education onto the

schools – it’s as though the schools are now

seen as the hub for everything that the child

needs. No teachers object to being held

accountable, but the boxes asking to be

ticked aren’t associated with teaching and

learning. I’d like to see a modified OFSTED

inspection that concentrated on children’s

learning and development. We need to put

education back into the hands of people who

are in schools.

TJ: I agree. The government is putting too

much onto schools, and I wonder if that’s

because schools do things very well – and

putting children’s centres into schools

recognises that. Someone said on a course I

attended recently that the jobs our reception

class will do in the future, haven’t been

invented yet. We need a creative curriculum,

and we need to allow teachers to move in

that direction.

BJ: I’m coming at it from a different angle

because I don’t teach in the primary or

secondary sectors, but we’re talking as if it

will be business as usual; asking will the

Rose report be implemented and so on. As a

result of the recession, we will see cuts

which could be as much as 10 to 15 per cent

in the public sector, a wage freeze for

teachers, and you can imagine the chaos and

impact on staff morale. We could see

ourselves going back to levels of funding

complained about in the 1990s, and the

additional funding fed in by Labour could

well be stripped away. On the plus side the

infrastructure has been improved and there

are many new schools which can’t be taken

away.

Are there external factors creating

problems for children of school age in

society?

BJ: Our education system is desperately

unequal with very well-funded prep and

secondary schools, but only seven per cent of

students go to these schools – before going

on to dominate all the power centres of

society. Other children get a poor deal in

terms of life chances by comparison – their

parents don’t or can’t buy them those

opportunities. There are a million young

people aged between 16 and 24 who fall into

the category of NEETs – with no education,

employment or training. The future jobs will

go to those with skills – but how can those

who seem so resistant to education take this

Focus Group

With a new government in power, the opportunity for new approaches toproviding children with the best education possible is a hot topic forpoliticians, schools and families. We sat down with headteacher at BelleriveFCJ Catholic College, Sister Brigid Halligan, deputy headteacher at AllSaints Primary, Tony Jackson, and a professor of politics at Hope University,Bill Jones, who shared their thoughts on what the new government couldmean for educational policy. Our debate took place in a private dining roomat Liverpool Hope University’s Childwall campus, a renowned centre forteacher training and pastoral formation alongside academic study.

Educate’s roundtable

Windsof change

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils24

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 19:37 Page 24

Page 25: Educate Magazine

up? The SureStart initiative which wants to

replace the parenting that hasn’t been done

in underclass communities, and arguably

there are a few of those in Liverpool, may also

be cut which is even more worrying. I don’t

want to be negative, but I can see dark

clouds on the horizon for the public sector

and for education. What we’ll see is a

growing gap between the state sector, which

is going to be less well funded than in the

past decade, and the private sector going on

to produce much better qualified students

who will go on to take the jobs. Michael

Portillo on the radio said he had come to

realise that growing economic inequality had

now become a threat to the democratic

system in this country.

Are class sizes at primary level important?

TJ: Yes, I think they are the single most

important factor to a better education. There

is a critical number of around 18-20 children,

and with anything less than that a teacher

can really work their magic. I can’t complain

about it, because the average is a figure in

the twenties and we don’t have a problem. It

makes a huge difference when the teacher

can then spend more time with the children.

Are class sizes a factor at secondary school,

and how do schools teach across the

subjects to different ability groups?

BH: I think that a lot depends on what is

being taught and the nature of the pupils is

more important at that level. We find that we

set children in certain subjects, and we keep

some very able children alongside some that

are not so able to present the latter with a

challenge – as success breeds success. They

need some praise and encouragement. Staff

might disagree with me, but I don’t think we

have a problem in our school with the class

sizes. We don’t want the least able children

doing every subject together or they don’t

see what a challenge and achievement is

about. The difference between a Grade C and

a Grade D at GCSE is massive in the job

market because the former is seen as a good

grade – and it influences all their

opportunities in life.

How can parents take responsibility for

giving their children the best education

possible?

BJ: Researchers say that some children are

never spoken to, or read to, and that this has

an impact on their development. Is there

truth in that?

TJ: Definitely. It’s in the spoken language and

time given to children by parents. Most of the

language they receive seems to be

instructional – ‘Sit, do, stand, go’ - and that’s

very limited. How much of it develops their

vocabulary and mental capacity? The

bombardment of the media, the television

and all of these things prevents parents from

engaging with their children during their

crucial formative years. There’s an excellent

book ‘The Toxic Childhood’ by Sue Palmer

about the relationship between mother and

child at a young age, including eye contact,

and simple communication of that kind. A

lack of that sort of contact is correlated with

an increase in autism in the English speaking

world. The old wisdoms, and the role of

grandparents, has been disregarded in the

UK in a way it hasn’t in other cultures –

where they don’t share our problems.

BH: Yes, the role of the extended family is

important.

TJ: Simple things like prams with the baby

facing outwards, or putting children in

bouncers, or watching the television, have

become the norm – and they’re affecting

normal child development.

BJ: The government’s SureStart scheme was

designed to inject some of the parenting into

centres. Lots of underclass kids don’t get any

endorsing language used in conversations

with their parents and carer – but middle

class families do. Those children are able to

go to primary school and swim in that water,

but their underclass counterparts struggle,

and the gap that exists at the age of five or

six gets wider and wider as they grow up.

You see in the secondary school the resultant

attitude that education isn’t for those pupils –

because it hasn’t been. How can you combat

this cultural, deep-seated problem?

Have recent government recommendations

on pastoral and support staff been a

success?

BH: The government wanted to remodel the

workforce in schools, but there are aspects of

that which I haven’t adopted in our school.

Essentially this was to see support staff take

on many of the roles that teachers are doing –

and that was educational policy which all the

parties seemed to subscribe to, to some

extent. I’m not convinced of it. I decided to

leave teachers in pastoral posts at the school,

Tony Jackson, deputy headteacher at AllSaints Primary

Bill Jones, professor of politics at HopeUniversity

Sister Brigid Halligan, headteacher atBellerive FCJ Catholic College

“It’s simplistic tosuggest that femaleteachers all behave oneway producing oneresult, and that maleteachers produceanother”

Tony Jackson

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 25

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 19:37 Page 25

Page 26: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils26

Focus Group

because the teacher is trained to understand

the various aspects of the development of

the young person. If you have teaching

assistants in the classroom, you also need to

look at the reason for that. If it’s a child with

a style of problems not related to learning

then it’s a great support for the teaching

staff. However, for a child with learning

difficulties, it’s a fine line between having

someone to help them and keep the class

together, and the problem of taking away

the individual child’s opportunity to learn

independently.

Is funding for schools critical to the

decisions made by senior staff and how the

schools are run?

BH: I think that whichever party takes

charge there will be reductions, but there is

also a decline in the population of children at

school age at the moment so we can’t say

that a lack of funding is necessarily

motivated by politics. One of the challenges

facing education nationally is that we need

to pay more attention to white working class

children, who have fewer safeguards built in.

In schools we monitor all classifications of

pupils for progress. The boys seem to be

even more disadvantaged than the girls, and

that’s something that needs to be taken

account of. Parental support for their child’s

education, and parental influence on a child,

at all stages of its development, is crucial

because if you ring a parent and say

someone isn’t making progress, etc, an awful

lot depends on the parent’s reaction and

what they do then. Most parents value

education highly and want their children to

succeed. For those parents who have had to

work hard themselves or have come here

from other countries, this is even more the

case, and they are delighted to take

advantage of our education system. For

those who don’t always have a good

understanding of what will be in the long

term interests of their child, there’s a

problem. Of course we want children to be

happy, but we also want them to finish

school and be able to take their place in

society and to make a valuable contribution.

TJ: It’s a strength of the primary system that

there is support from the local community

who attend.

BJ: Yes, the sense of community, of

belonging and being a stakeholder is

important.

TJ: For working class families, I’d like to flag

up that there is a gender issue and poor

parenting has drastic socio-economic effects.

The girls in a family are sometimes more

resilient, for whatever reason, but for the

boys it causes real problems and they can be

disruptive at school. Whether a male role

model in school can turn around some of the

problems with boys who struggle with the

primary system I don’t know. When there are

generations of families without a male role

model, then of course it can be damaging to

boys. All of the teachers receive the same

training, and it’s simplistic to suggest that

female teachers all behave one way

producing one result, and that male teachers

produce another. Teachers have to meet TDA

standards, and it’s very clear what is

expected of teachers. A lot is down to the

individual teacher of course, and their

personality and strengths – and children

flourish when the teacher is allowed the

flexibility to adapt the curriculum to the

children’s needs and bring the subject to life.

To give teachers more control in the

classroom would be a good thing.

How do your counterparts in Europe

operate?

BJ: At one stage in France it was said that

at any time of day, the minister of education

could point to exactly what the children

would be learning in the schools. There’s

nothing like that over here – and it seems

such a straitjacket on education. Do you find

that’s the case?

TJ: The whole culture of education puts a lot

of pressure into streamlining schools and

staff. I have mixed feelings about targets,

because I’ve seen it work well and I’ve seen

it not work well.

BJ: Ultimately, is uniformity having the

biggest influence on schools or is it down to

how good the teaching is?

TJ: I hope it’s down to the individual

teaching. What concerns me is the amount

of children not studying science – and the

effects for future generations. Now that the

emphasis is on subject-based rather than

topic-based learning there’s less opportunity

to combine an interesting topic with literacy,

numeracy, science and so on.

“We try to balance thedemands of schoolleague tables withdoing the right thingfor children”

Sister Brigid Halligan

“Studies show thatability is spread acrossthe classes and just asmany working classkids are as clever asthose in privateschools”

Bill Jones

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 19:37 Page 26

Page 27: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 27

Do league tables add to parental pressure

on schools, and does this help keep up

standards?

BH: I think that science is something that

league tables have affected in secondary

schools. We’re all familiar with the core

subjects taught to bright pupils, but the

BTEC equivalent subjects which are also

ranked in the league tables, are pushed by

schools and the result is that core academic

science courses are neglected at the

expense of these BTEC project-based

qualifications. The league tables have

blurred the edges of what we’re measuring.

If you enter the same student for at least

two BTEC types of courses (say ICT and

science) then you can count eight

qualifications achieved – as opposed to the

number of GCSE subjects which they might

otherwise attain. There’s also been a huge

drop in students taking languages as, while

it used to be compulsory to study at least

one modern foreign language, some years

ago that requirement was removed to give

students as much choice as possible.

Subjects like the humanities, which are

needed for a well-rounded general

education, are also being dropped by

students- but if that happens, how can we

expect them to study law and politics later

on? In secondary school, we struggle to get

the balance right for young people. I’m not

against league tables as we do reasonably

well out of them, but I do think the schools

are being pushed in the wrong way. This is a

hard thing to have to say but I don’t feel we

should be measuring all schools in the

country using the same yardstick. It isn’t a

level playing field. Our school has a wide

mix in its intake – like many schools – and

that’s a good position to be in. However,

because of how schools have grown to be

where they are today you have an inequality

in the intake, based on a selective process at

age 11 or other factors, and the level of

achievement of the young people at that age

across different schools shows great

disparity. Even in the state sector you’re

creating a two tier system.

What about parental choice in deciding

which schools their children attend?

BJ: That’s more to do with the distribution of

wealth in society. Those that are able to

often move into the catchment areas of the

good state schools, and that happens across

the UK, with house prices rising in those

areas. It’s all to do with social inequality

being reflected in the educational system,

and that system reinforcing that inequality

among parents. The end result is a deeply

divided society, at variance with the whole

idea of democracy. It’s a subversion within

the political system of the social and

economic system.

What can we learn from European other

models?

BJ: I am familiar with the Swedish and

German systems, and in Europe generally

they don’t have big private educational

systems. The state system is so good no one

thinks they need to set up the equivalent of

Harrow, Rugby or St Paul’s. I’m sure we do

produce outstanding people in the best

public schools, but so does Germany and

Sweden without that sector. Why can they

do it with their society and we can’t make

our state sector as good as theirs?

TJ: It’s cultural differences rather than the

actual education provision.

BJ: In Brazil, where children live in terrible

poverty, they are desperate to learn. Here we

have so many opportunities but children

don’t want to learn. The figures from

organisations trying to get children from

lower socio-economic backgrounds have

struggled even with government money to

counter this disinclination to learn. Compare

that with the third world where children are

desperate for education. Teachers have a

higher status in Europe and they are paid

very well. In the UK, it used to be the case

that teachers were respected – but that isn’t

the case any more. I’m not saying that

society is broken, that’s overdoing it, but

there is a deficit regarding social attitudes

towards education. Studies show that ability

is spread across the classes and just as

many working class kids are as clever as

those in private schools – but why is their

cutting edge so blunted by social

experience?

BH: On the attitudes of people in other

countries – I spent some time at schools in

China and India and the average class size

in China was 55, but the children were

getting on with the work, and what struck

me was that the parental hopes and

expectations had communicated themselves

very successfully to those children. Those

children felt privileged to be in that room

and they were learning ICT, with Windows

in Chinese, and books by Cambridge

University Press, some in English, and I

thought that class of 55 was less trouble

than 15 over here. I had a similar experience

in India, where there was terrible poverty in

the streets but you went into the schools

and felt rejuvenated. By contrast, we have

tremendous resources in the UK. I put it

down to parental expectations, and I think

governments have made the same mistake

saying to parents, ‘What do you want? You

should complain,” and so on. They never say

sufficiently that they too have a shared

responsibility, that they must do their bit to

convey to their child the privilege that we

have in this country. We’ve got almost

everything you would wish for to create an

equitable society, but we cannot get people

to want or to appreciate that.

BJ: There are so many opportunities and

ways to lead the horse to water, but it’s

getting it to drink. It’s a poverty

economically and poverty of expectations,

and our culture has pushed that. In the

States, we’ve seen so many films and books

on how behaviour is so bad that they have

to ask parents not to let children come to

class with guns.

BH: Society is at risk if we don’t change our

attitudes. Money helps, but it can’t do that.

There is something about attitudes to the

role of adults, parents and teachers, and how

young people need to appreciate that.

Children need to learn to listen to teachers

and to each other, and to be respectful. Some

of those gifts have been lost – look at the

things that are said to and about our

politicians in the news and you can see

where the respect has been lost. We need

people to be treated with more respect.

Panel CredentialsAll Saints Catholic Primary is an

amalgamation of three schools now on

one site in a brand new £8million school.

Bellerive FCJ Catholic College has pupils

from across the city, Wirral, St Helens and

Knowsley, with 45 feeder primary

schools.

A superb three course lunch was enjoyed

by our panel, courtesy of Hope

University’s excellent catering team.

“Michael Portillo onthe radio said he hadcome to realise thatgrowing economicinequality had nowbecome a threat to thedemocratic system inthis country.”

Bill Jones

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 19:37 Page 27

Page 28: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils28

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 13:46 Page 28

Page 29: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 29

Secondary School News

Year 10 students from ArchbishopBeck working with Clapperboard on afilm project, were extremely fortunatewhen actor Jody Latham (Shameless,Spooks and Hell’s Kitchen) popped into deliver an acting workshop.

AST Emma Griffiths, who is co-ordinating the project said: “The studentswere immediately star-struck, but feltprivileged that such a prestigious and‘down to earth’ actor came and gave themsome useful advice and tips in preparationfor the film they will be producing.

“Jody’s charismatic personality andpassion for acting really inspired thestudents. They listened attentively to Jodyand had the opportunity to work alongsidehim in some of their scenes, he gave thestudents constructive feedback which wasgreatly received and appreciated.”

Bosco plan for the futureA new hub for learningSt John Bosco Arts College forGirls, Liverpool have releasedtheir plans for the futuredevelopment of the collegeunder Wave 6 of the BuildingSchools for the Futureprogramme.

The scheme will see St JohnBosco building a new performingarts centre and two-storey buildingwith 'learning hubs.'

Heather Duggan, AssistantHeadteacher and co-ordinator forBSF at St John Bosco, said: “This isa great opportunity for us all andwe are looking forward to thechallenges ahead.

“We will have a 50% new build atthe college giving us a chance toopen a new extension and also anew entrance to the college, thiswill make us more visible andaccessible to the community.

“We will also be building a newauditorium where we will be able tohold theatre, dance and musicperformances with an artist inresidence area.

Outside we will open up the front

with landscaping, which we thencan use as outdoor classes, we arealso building an amphitheatre toshowcase the work of the students.

“We are also investing in thetechnological aspects of education,all our students will receive anetbook and will be able to accesstheir schoolwork from home orwherever they are”.

The college also want to involvethe community as much aspossible, Heather said: “We want tomake the college as accessible aspossible to the community, we willbe holding shows and exhibitionsand have a community arts-worker,engaging the community in all ourevents.

“We will still be holding onto ourSalesian ethos, after all we areimmensely proud of our pupils andof what we have here, we havesomething special at this school,but this gives us the opportunity tolook forward to the challengesahead and know it is not only forus, but for all of the community as awhole”.

Heather Duggan, Assistant Headteacher andco-ordinator for BSF

Clapperboard Film ProjectStar-struck over actors visit

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 18:58 Page 29

Page 30: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and30

Secondary School News

St Julie’s Catholic High School inWoolton has repeated last year’s goldrush by securing two gold medals atthe prestigious Liverpool PerformingArts Festival, 2010.

The annual festival draws thousands ofperformers from across the North West ina competitive spectacle of music,speech, drama and dance. This year thecompetition was held at St George’s Halland St Julie’s entered 37 pupils in thedrama categories. Year 7 once againgained a gold medal in the ‘Shakespeare’category for their performance of scenesfrom Macbeth. At the other end of theage range, Year 12 students won ‘GroupActing’ gold for their grippingperformance of scenes from ‘Salt of theEarth’.

Strong performances also secured abronze medal for Year 10 pupils NiamhMcCallum and Isabella Richardson fortheir duologue performance of scenesfrom ‘Top Girls’.

Sue Doherty, Head of Expressive Arts,said: "I’m delighted that we havesustained our success in this prestigiousand competitive Liverpool Festival, andthe prizes are a reflection of the hugeamount of preparatory work that thestudents have undertaken. This year’s

All’s well that ends wellGold again at the Liverpool Festival

2010 Entrants to the Liverpool Performing Arts Festival, with Headteacher Designate, Mr Tim Alderman.

World Cup teaching initiative kicks off A set of teaching and learning materials for Key Stage 3 students basedon the theme of the 2010 World Cup has been launched at Liverpool JohnLennon Airport (JLA) with the help of St Benedict’s College in Garston.

The football themed initiative is the brainchild of former Merseyside TeacherPhil Freeman who believes the excitement that surrounds this year’s World Cupwill create ideal learning opportunities for pupils.

Six books and interactive CDs have recently been published, each coveringdifferent areas of the curriculum including, English, Maths, Science, FoodTechnology, Geography and Performing Arts. The hope is that schools will usethe materials as part of an end-of-term cross-curricular project during thetournament in June and July.

To celebrate the launch, students from nearby St Benedict’s College in Garstonwho have been piloting the initiative, attended the Airport to display some oftheir work, and give a short performance of music and dance from the speciallywritten one-act musical, ‘Own Goal’ which tells the story of a young SouthAfrican footballer, which is included in the Performing Arts pack.

standard has been very high from allschools and it is particularly pleasing towin awards across such a wide agerange, from Year 7 through to Year 12.”

Tim Alderman, Head TeacherDesignate at St Julie’s, said: "I have been

following the many successes of thestudents very closely and this is anotherexample of the great talent that ischaracteristic of the students at StJulie’s. They are a great credit to theirparents and teachers”.

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 18:58 Page 30

Page 31: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 31

Secondary School News

Notre Dame Catholic College for theArts in Everton has unveiled a high-tech ArtsBus to provide a mobilecentre for creative training andperformance to every child onMerseyside.

With a recording studio, software forinteractive musical tuition and aperformance centre the college’sArtsBus offers the opportunity to bringcutting edge technology to anyone,anywhere, providing there is a parkingspace. The bus has already been bookedfor an education and arts conference inWarwickshire in 2011.

Children and adults, who might usethe bus as part of evening classes orcommunity projects will be able torecord and edit music, produce podcastsand animated film, broadcast a radioshow or experience working in a TVstudio. The bus can deliver workshopsin a variety of creative arts includingCreative Writing, Visual Arts,photography, film, poetry, song-writing,radio and TV. Accredited courses will bepart of the remit of the ArtsBus,particularly in the field of the newCreative and Media Diploma and ICTcourses at Notre Dame.

Director of Arts at Notre DameCollege, Lesley Bentley, along with hercolleagues, provided designers with a

clear brief of what they wanted to usethe ArtsBus for, and what technologythey wanted on board.

“We want to make arts and cultureaccessible to every pupil on Merseysideand across the UK. Art is for everyoneand should not be exclusive. Every childshould be able to explore every elementof culture and every community shouldhave access to arts provision. Creativityand a desire to learn shouldn’t just exist

in school hours in a classroom, this issomething everyone should be able toexplore”.

The ArtsBus was launched at IslaGladstone Conservatory in Stanley Parkwith celebrations involving over 250children from Notre Dame’s PrimaryOutreach programme, Your Artsalongside musicians, dancers anddramatists from the college’s MATCompany.

New ArtsBus takes to the roadInvesting to improve access to creative technology

Marathon ChallengePupils fundraise in memory of coach driverThe boys at West Derby Schoolwanted to share the experience offund raisers running in the marathonby raising money for an internationalcharity which helped some boys andstaff who were stranded in Austria inDecember 2009 after the death oftheir coach driver whilst on theautobahn.

Over 200 boys volunteered to take partin the West Derby Marathon Challenge inorder to raise as much money as possibleto support such a great cause.

The boys ran in teams of up to 13,completing the 26 marathon milesbetween them by running 2 or 3 mileseach. Each boy collected sponsorshipmoney for the Red Cross. Up to now over£2000 has been donated and collected in.

Each runner received a medal and therewere both individual and team prizes forthe best team time and the bestfundraisers. Pupils from West Derby collected money enroute

p19-36:covers 14/5/10 12:01 Page 31

Page 32: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils32

Secondary School News

BelvederePupil WinsAthenaeumAward

The Belvedere Academy arecelebrating after winning theprestigious Athenaeum Award forthe second year.

This year, despite countywidecompetition, the Award was won bystudent Nneka Cummins

This top literary competition is runby the Liverpool Athenaeum inconjunction with the Daily Post, RadioMerseyside and Liverpool City Council.Open to writers aged between 16 and19, entrants were invited to writeabout how a soldier from today mightinterpret Wilfred Owen’s Great Warpoem, Dulce et Decorum Est.

Nneka’s short story Forever at War,about a soldier returned home fromIraq, took the top prize of £1000 at aspecial ceremony in the Athenaeum.

Nneka was awarded £100 for theschool library and a year’s honorarymembership of the Athenaeum. Herstory was published in the LiverpoolDaily Post and will be broadcast onRadio Merseyside.

It all adds upfor MerchantsClean sweep for pupilsIt all adds for Merchant Taylors’maths students but they say theGovernment can’t count.

All 56 boys who sat the new IGCSEexam, one year ahead of schedule,gained A* and A passes. However asthe Government refuses to recognise theinternational qualification the Boys’School has been penalised in therecently published league tables.

Maths Teacher Mrs Peacock, whospecialises in the IGCSE, said: “Theinternational qualification is far morechallenging than the ordinary GCSE andprepares students much better foruniversity. I am delighted that our boyshave performed so brilliantly this year toproduce a 100% clean sweep.”

Headmaster Mr Cook said: “MerchantTaylors’ Boys’ School is among many ofthe country’s top schools to recognisethe added value of the IGCSE, whichparticularly stretches boys’ learning. Allthe country’s top universities includingOxford and Cambridge recognise andvalue this qualification but theGovernment will not.”

All the successful 56 boys will nowstudy maths and or further maths at ALevel with many hoping to study one ofthe most demanding subjects in thecurriculum at university and beyond.Mr Cook said “We are delighted that ourboys continually seek the toughestsubject which tomorrow’s employerswant the most.”

Archbishop hands onArchbishop Patrick Kelly was on-hand recently for the officialopening of the new All Saints’ Centre for Learning, Knowsley.

The new development is designed to meet the local community’seducational needs and provide a basis for a whole range of localfacilities.

“Today marks only the end of the beginning for All Saints’ Centrefor Learning,” said Archbishop Kelly. “A beginning that has seenthe Archdiocese and Knowsley Council work together in genuinepartnership to provide a wonderful education opportunity for theyoung people of Knowsley, and a resource for the wider community.”

All Saints is just one of seven new Centres for Learning, whichKnowsley Council have introduced to the area since securing £150million in government funding to replace all 11 of its’ high schools.

Pictured are the Archbishop of Liverpool with Cllr RonRound and students Adam and Jenny

NnekaCummins

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 18:58 Page 32

Page 33: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 33

St Margaret’s C E High SchoolAigburth Road, Liverpool L17 6AB

“Achievement by faith and work”- the key to St Margaret’s success

OPEN EVENINGFor September 2011 prospective Year 7 pupils and parents

on THURSDAY 1st JULY 6.00pm to 9.00pm

Admissions information presentations will be held in the school hall at 6.00pm, 6.30pm, 7.00pm, 7.30pm and 8.30pm

• 150 boys accepted into Year 7 fromthe Liverpool Diocese (Liverpool,Sefton, Knowsley) in September2011.

• Continued for 2011 entry – 15% ofboys selected by examination heldin September 2010.

• Year 9 National Curriculum Test re-sults are well above national aver-ages for boys in English, Mathemat-ics and Science, maintaining ex-cellent performances in the threecore subjects.

• Over 85% of boys gained five ormore GCSE passes at grades A* toC in 2009.

• 96% pass rate at Advanced Level inour £1m co-educational Sixth FormCentre.

• £1.5m Design Technology and Hu-manities Teaching Suites.

• £2m Cricket and Sports Centre openfor all our students.

• St Margaret’s is a Technology & Lan-guage College, a specialist school,providing excellent facilities includ-ing 250 networked computers givingall students internet and e-mail access.

• Entrance Exam Sat 25th Sept 2010

www.stmargaretshigh.com

"Students feel that the whole ethos of St Margaret’soffers something which ‘will be with them for life’.In a safe and secure environment they are challenged to aim high regardless of their starting point.”National Society Statutory School Inspection of Anglican Schools

“Attendance is high, students show enthusiasm inlessons and their behaviour is exemplary.” Ofsted

COME AND SEE WHAT WECAN OFFER YOUR SON

Visiting the school ‘at work’ is the best way to find outwhat makes St Margaret’s that bit special.

Tours of the school will take place on Mon 13th , Tues 14th, Wed 15th, Mon 20th, Tues 21st,

Wed 22nd, September at 9.30amContact the school on 0151 427 1825

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 13:47 Page 33

Page 34: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils34

Secondary School News

Generous staff and students atChildwall Sports College raisedhundreds of pounds for SportRelief recently through a variety ofsporting activities.

The PE faculty at the Sports College

led a series of activities such as “Beatthe Goalie”, a dance competition inaddition to a basketball competitionbetween staff and students.

Headteacher, Dewi Phillips, said:“Staff and students at Childwall Sports

College had a superb day with allmembers of the school communityplaying their part in raising hundredsof pounds for charity. The generosityof all our students is quiteoutstanding.”

Sports Relief at Childwall CollegeCompetitive fun raises hundreds of pounds

Kids can do itParklands cook up a storm in competition

Recently over 120 esteemed guests attended a gala dinner at theBluecoat, Liverpool. The difference is the kids were doing the cooking –not the usual chefs.

Pupils from Parklands High School in Speke were the recent winners of CanCook’s Schools Competition which brought together 16 schools from acrossMerseyside to battle it out and become the city’s aspiring master chefs.

After grappling through four exhausting cook-offs at the state-of-the-art CanCook Studio, Parklands School has been crowned the reigning champions of thecompetition and cooked for over 120 Liverpool VIPS, including members of thecouncil, radio stars and local journalists.

Robbie Davison, who established Can Cook, a cookery school with a differencesaid: “The achievements and unrivalled commitment of the young people whohave represented Parklands High School is just stunning. Week in week out, thesepupils have created exquisite three course dinners in a restaurant environment toimpress a set of judges – and what a brilliant job they have done.”

“The schools competition is just one of the activities we do as this month welaunch our summer calendar of evening and weekend cookery courses for adults.After all, if the kids can do it, so can their parents! ” Left: The winning Parkland students received a standing ovation fortheir food

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 18:59 Page 34

Page 35: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 35

Secondary School News

Public Speaking SuccessSchool dominates competitionCongratulations to Archbishop Blanch School Year 11 students Victoria andOlivia who won the Liverpool Law Society Merseyside Schools PublicSpeaking Competition, held at Liverpool Town Hall in March.

In the competition's three-year history, this is Archbishop Blanch School's thirdtime of reaching the final and the second time the school has won the trophy.

The team gave a 10 minute presentation on the subject "16 is too young to vote ata general election".

The girls successfully defeated teams from three other Merseyside schools -Belvedere, Caldy Grange and Liverpool College - who had made it through to theMerseyside final.

Archbishop Blanch School Sixth Form debating team also won through to theNorthwest Regional Finals of the Debating Matters Competition at Bridgewater Hall,Manchester. Although the students have not progressed to the national final, thejudges for their use of logic and their tenacity commended them, and Year 12student Emily was awarded the prize for Outstanding Individual Contribution.

I’m every woman

Holly Lodge Girls’ College in WestDerby, recently held an'Inspiration and Aspiration’ day tohelp celebrate InternationalWomen's Day.

The event was held during theschool day and involved the whole ofYear 9.

The idea behind the day was for thesessions to include guest speakersand workshop activities. For theworkshops the students were split into smaller groups and paired with an'inspirational' woman to work on anactivity. This allowed the students theopportunity to work in a more informalsetting and speak and ask question totheir 'inspirational' woman.

The idea behind the event is toencourage the students to think aboutdifferent career options and differentopportunities, which they can access.The day included many 'inspirational'women who could relate to thestudents and who are in variedprofessions. The idea is to inspire thestudents and get them to think aboutroles and job opportunities theywouldn't normally think about.

Facing up to online dangersA new Facebook campaign has beenlaunched to encourage young people to‘Think Before You Post’ with a key focuson educating pupils, parents and teachersabout how to use social networking sitessafely at home and school.

Gateacre Community ComprehensiveSchool in Liverpool is working in partnershipwith e-safe education(www.esafeeducation.co.uk), the UK’s firstcompany to offer forensic monitoring as a‘managed service’, to launch this campaign.The scheme aims to educate parents,students and school staff about responsibleuse of ICT and ultimately make the internet asafer environment. Parents and schools areinvited to join in the discussions on Facebooksite ‘Safer Web’, Twitter site #saferweb orvisit: e-safe education.co.uk for expert advice.

The school uses e-safe to help safeguardchildren in the digital/online world. Thesystem monitors and identifies incidentsinvolving pupils or staff and notifies the schoolaccordingly upon discovery. Experts at e-safeeducation protect staff from exposure to thisdisturbing material, using their skills to forman unbiased and professional view on the levelof risk different content represents.

Gerard Lonergan, Headteacher at GateacreCommunity School, said: “We are delighted towork with e-safe education on this campaignto help give important e-safety advice to thewider community. We feel that socialnetworking skills are increasingly valued byemployers and we want to encourage ourpupils to continue using sites such asFacebook whilst being educated about therisks.”

Victoria and Olivia receive their award from Richard Paton, PresidentLiverpool Law Society and Mike Storey, Mayor of Liverpool

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 18:59 Page 35

Page 36: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils36

School News

Liverpool’s biggest ever schoolrebuilding programme has been giventhe go-ahead.

The government has approvedLiverpool city council’s proposals for‘Wave 6’ of the Building School for theFuture programme. The £350 million planwill see 24 Liverpool secondary schoolsbeing rebuilt or refurbished, in five phasesby 2017.

Former Liverpool City Council Leader,Cllr Warren Bradley, said: “BuildingSchools for the Future is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and I’m delightedthe government has given our plans thego-ahead. It’s great news for Liverpooland paves the way for us to transformeducation at every secondary school inthe city”.

Liverpool’s Wave 6 proposals, which are

due to be completed between 2014 and2017, include the refurbishment of St JohnBosco Arts College for Girls; and theestablishment of an all-boys Catholicacademy at De La Salle High School.

It also includes a new school building,on a new site, for Archbishop BeckCatholic College, Walton, which willinclude a multi-million pound sportsarena.

It will also see the co-location of citycentre school Archbishop Blanch Highand St Hilda’s High at the Innovation Parkon Edge Lane. Also included will be theestablishment of Shorefields CommunityComprehensive, Dingle, as a charitabletrust school, supported by private sectoreducation specialist Mouchel andMathew Arnold Church of England HighSchool. The scheme will also see the

refurbishment of Notre Dame CatholicCollege, Everton Valley.

In addition to the 24 schools which fallunder Wave 6, there will also be a newjoint faith academy in South Liverpool,with New Heys CommunityComprehensive, Allerton merging with StBenedict’s Catholic College, Garston, onthe site of St Benedict’s, this will besupported by Enterprise plc and theUniversity of Liverpool, the new businessand enterprise academy with a Christianethos will be the first of its kind in thecountry.

Returning to work is not always easy,especially after a career break. Oneway to help smooth the transitionback into work is the acquisition ofnew skills, whether you wish toreturn to prior employment or moveto pastures new.

Liverpool Business School at LiverpoolJohn Moores University can helpreturners to work get an advantagethrough flexible attendance on itsprestigious MBA in Executive Leadershipprogramme.

Take mother of one, Claire-LouiseRamsey for example.

For many years, Claire-Louise enjoyed achallenging and successful career as aSenior Manager in the Medical Salesindustry. However, realising that it wastime to realign the priorities in her life,Claire-Louise quit her job in 2008. Fromthis arose the opportunity to return tostudy.

Claire-Louise says: “The MBA atLiverpool John Moores University wasexactly what I was looking for: a highcalibre, well-regarded managementprogramme which, essentially, would fitaround my childcare commitments. Iattend class every Tuesday andWednesday, and having a fixed classschedule helps me to plan my timeeffectively. It also means that I am able tocarry out freelance work on a part-timebasis.

“I find the course both challenging and

rewarding. In only a short while myapproach to study has become morestructured, and I have already developedthe ability to analyse key businessconcepts from a range of perspectives,which will be invaluable for myprofessional development.

“I see this as an investment in myselfand my son’s future. I am a firm believerthat where there’s a will, there’s a way - ifstudying for an academic qualification tocomplement my professional experiencewill help boost my earning potential, thenit is most certainly worthwhile.”

Liverpool Business School, working inpartnership with the CharteredManagement Institute, offers the MBA inExecutive Leadership with CharteredManager Status. For further informationon the programme please contact ourAdmissions team on 0151 231 3999 or [email protected]

Green light for Liverpool Building for the future

Silver Bluebell What an uplifting success story,Bluebell Studios on HeathfieldRoad, Wavertree will be celebratingits Silver Jubilee this year.

The business started on 1st May1985 in the Welsh Chapel on AucklandRoad, moving across to HeathfieldRoad in 1990. The Studios now houseBluebell Dance & Drama Academy,Bluebell Nursery School, BluebellFitness Centre, Perfect Parties andseveral other small business offeringMusic, Salsa, Personal Training, Yogaand Pilates. It is a well-established,family run business that has grown andevolved over the years.

Carol Talbot (MD) said: “Throughoutour journey we have been helped alongthe way by our parents and families,their involvement with all of ourproductions and events have givenBluebell the friendly, family orientedatmosphere that we have today.

“We are thrilled to be working withthe second and in some cases, thirdgeneration of the same families here atBluebell. Without everyone who usesand supports the studios we wouldn’tbe where we are. I would like to takethis opportunity to thank everyone forall of their love and support over theyears.”

In celebration of achieving their 25year anniversary Bluebell Dance andDrama Academy will be holding anextra special production at thePhilharmonic Hall on 10th October, andare also hoping to organise a Ball earlynext year – watch this space!

A business educationSmooth transition back to study

West Derby School

p19-36:covers 13/5/10 15:42 Page 36

Page 37: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 37

We will design an individual montage for you.-

A great way to showcase and display your photographs in the home.-

See something different each time you look at the picture.-

Simply send your digital photos by email or we can scan traditional photos.-

Canvas or framed prints available in various sizes.

MEMORABLE PHOTOGRAPHSMAKE PIECES OF ART FROM YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORIES

TO PLACE YOUR ORDER OR FIND OUT MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.MEMORABLEPHOTOGRAPHS.CO.UK

Gateacre Community Comprehensive SchoolArts and Humanities Specialist College

“Specialist status has also brought about arejuvenation of the school’senrichment activities, especially in the arts,educational trips and visits.This is having a positive effecton students’levels ofmotivation.”

“Students enjoy school…”

“Specialist status is alsohelping to revitalise the after schoolenrichment activities insport to add to students’acquisition ofhealthierlifestyles.”Ofsted inspection 2007

Grange Lane, Gateacre Liverpool L25 4SD Tel: 0151 428 1569 Fax: 0151 421 1349Email: [email protected]

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 12:09 Page 37

Page 38: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils38

Meet the Deputy Headteacher Gary Evans, West Derby School

A deputy at West Derby School for the past twoyears, Gary Evans’ desire to enter the professioncharts back to the inspiration of his old Frenchteacher. He is now hoping the imminent move to abrand new school building can inspire the success ofthe pupils at West Derby.

I meet Gary at his office in theQuarry wing of the school, for whichhe oversees key stage 3 pupils.Among the typical stacks of filesand folders, the room is adornedwith Everton greats of the past andimages of his cherished GoodisonPark. For a man who started schoollife at Gwladys Street PrimarySchool, just yards from the grandold institution, it represents anobvious passion – something whichis reflected in his work.

Gary arrived at West Derby fromWigan’s Pembec High School and hasbeen a language teacher for the past 16years. Although he originally coveted acareer as a doctor, his flair for Frenchprompted him to pursue anothervocation.

“I had an inspirational Frenchteacher, who was a French native. Hewas brilliant. I was quite a shy, retiringkid in school and he gave me loads ofconfidence in this foreign language.When I went into A-Levels French wasa natural choice. I was already thinkingof going to university to study language.Really from the age of 16 onwards Iknew I wanted to do languages and I’ddecided there and then that I wanted to

be a teacher. I never wavered from thatchoice.”

With the school split into twoseparate sites, Gary’s responsibilities asa deputy head revolve around the day-to-day running of the site which housespupils through to the end of year nine, aset-up which will come to an end inSeptember when the school will beunified under one new building on WestDerby Road. Along with pastoral anddata work, one of his primary dutiesincludes monitoring the school’ssophisticated pupil trackingprogramme, which was awarded specialpraise following the latest “outstanding”Ofsted inspection.

“We just don’t let anyone get throughthe net. It’s a case of identifying themearly and making sure they do whatthey need to do. It starts as soon as theboys arrive in year seven. We have a lotof literacy and numeracy interventiongroups. One change we brought in lastyear was to take a little bit of time outof the languages curriculum in thelower set to provide more literacy time.That’s been really successful. Anotherinitiative we brought in was to haveteaching staff deliver literacy andnumeracy support periods. The main

work in terms of examination results iswith year 10 and 11 and it is literallyregular meetings, pinpointing whichboys are under-performing and draggingthem up to the standard they need to beat.”

The attention to the core subjectareas is reflected in the schools statusas a specialist in maths and computing,which the school has held for the pastfour years.

“We focus on literacy and numeracyso that the maximum number of boysachieve their C and above in Englishand Maths when they leave schoolbecause they’re the qualifications thatwill get them somewhere when theyleave. It’s not at the expense of othersubjects. I’m a linguist, so I wouldn’twant to say we downgrade othersubjects. We have an intake which is

French connection

Every room will have

state of the art ICT facilities

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 14:37 Page 38

Page 39: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 39

around about a year behind were theyshould be in terms of literacy andnumeracy. If we just didn’t do anythingwe wouldn’t get the results that we get,so as soon as they arrive in year sevenwe get baseline data so we know thereading ages, the spelling ages and soon. Anyone who needs that extra helpgets it.”

Already well equipped with ICTfacilities, the school’s reputation as anICT specialist will be further enhancedwith the move to the new site. Onschedule for a September opening, thenew school will be housed on the landadjacent to the Peter Lloyd SportsCentre, incorporating the ErnestCookson specialist school as part of a£27m development. “We struggle nowbecause we don’t have projectors inevery room, or interactive whiteboards.I think we have six in the whole school.In the new school they’ll be in everysingle classroom and staff are gettingtrained for that now. They’re reallylooking forward to it because they’veseen the potential that this equipmenthas. Even the old fuddy-duddies likeme! The ICT in the new building will bejust unbelievable. Every room will havestate of the art ICT facilities.”

The 12,000 sq m facility, which willsignal the end of the original ‘50sbuildings on Quarry Road and BankfieldRoad, will accommodate a swathe ofnew facilities, including a new publiclibrary and a state-of-the-art IT suite.Other changes will come in the form ofa re-design of the school badge anduniform. For a man who follows themantra of “nothing but the best”, Garyis already sensing the anticipation

among teachers and pupils alike. “They’re starting to get excited now.

We’ve started having assemblies werethe assistant head for Building Schoolsfor the Future has been going inshowing them photos and taking themround the building. We’ve had quite alot of boys on the student council fromall the year groups actually go and visitthe site and they’re asking a lot morequestions than they were two or threemonths ago. I’m really excited by it justbecause of the opportunities it brings tothe school.”

by Johnathan Kearney

Evans File

Born: Liverpool, 1970

Education: Gwladys Street PrimarySchool, Liverpool; Page Moss CountyPrimary School, Huyton; BowringComprehensive School, Huyton;Knowsley Central Tertiary College,Huyton; BA Hons, PGCE, Universityof Portsmouth

Career: The Bankfield School,Widnes; Pembec School, Wigan

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 14:37 Page 39

Page 40: Educate Magazine

Help and advice

If you’re going to be spending time together

at home over the summer, then outdoor

games in good weather, walks to the local

park, visiting friends and neighbours are all

good ways to keep children of different ages

busy and active. Parents are bombarded by

the media into thinking that they need to

spend a great deal of money on holidays and

days out throughout the school holidays to

keep their children entertained, but it’s simply

not true. There is a significant body of

research which now suggests that children

who see their schedules packed with

activities and who are not allowed to simply

play, often become incredibly stressed out and

don’t build up the vital life skills of being able

to entertain themselves. It can be useful to set

them constructive tasks to complete, perhaps

helping you with some gardening by doing

small and simple tasks like watering plants, or

helping to wash the car. Indoors, you could set

them the task of filling a scrapbook on a

particular theme, collecting postcards or

pictures from magazines, or drawing a series

of pictures to go in it. This could be

something all the children could work on

together. Give it a family theme, related to a

holiday or day trip you have all shared, and

the children will know that you too will value

the end result.

It’s always a little daunting for parents to know that their child is

going to be going on their first school trip. By encouraging her to

want to go in the first place you are already on the right track.

Talking about it with her as the time draws near will help her to

know that you are excited and happy for her. You could discuss what

she’ll need to pack, which case to take, and discuss the kinds of

activities on the itinerary together. In terms of the practicalities,

most schools will have a meeting for parents, so if you have any

questions or concerns about any of the arrangements raise it

with the teachers so that your mind is at rest. If there is no

meeting planned, you could meet the teachers responsible after

school to get any information you need to make sure you are well

prepared. Make sure that as she boards the coach and waves

goodbye, you are smiling and waving to her, and it will all feel

like an adventure for her - even if you are still feeling a little bit

worried inside. The first school trip is an important experience in

a child’s young life, and one you’ll both always remember, so just

remember to let her enjoy it.

Are there any activities I could do with my young children toentertain them over the summer months? I have two daughtersand a son with just a few years between them, and I need to findways of keeping them all entertained without spending a lot ofmoney.

My daughter is 10 and will be going away on her first school tripsoon. I’m happy with the teaching staff taking the children and thearrangements, but it’s the first time she’ll have been away from usfor more than just an overnight stay. What can I do to prepare herso that she has a good time?

My eight year-old sonreceived a new gamesconsole for his birthday amonth ago, and now I can’tget him to play withanything else or even toplay outside in the warmweather. He becomes veryengrossed in the game,and doesn’t seem to wantto speak to us or doanything else; he prefers tospend all of his time in hisroom in front of the TVscreen. What should I do?

The novelty of a new games console

should soon wear off, but it’s true that

many parents face a similar problem

with young boys and teenagers who

prefer to play electronic games than

games outside. I would suggest moving

the games console and TV downstairs

and out of the bedroom to put it in an

environment where he has to engage

with the rest of the family. This will also

prevent him from playing at night, when

he should be sleeping. It may also be a

good idea to restrict the amount of time

allowed on the console each day to just

half an hour or so. Try inviting some of

his friends over. Don’t directly

discourage them from playing on the

consoles, but by incorporating a

mealtime and discussion at the table

into the activities you may be able to

inspire them to want to play outdoors.

Another tactic would be to make sure he

attends a youth club or joins in the

school football team after school, or take

him swimming to distract him and show

him that there is more that they can

enjoy doing than playing on computer

games.

Dear Educate*******************************************************

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils40

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 17:45 Page 40

Page 41: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 41

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 10:57 Page 41

Page 42: Educate Magazine

The Al-Hadithi’sPort Sunlight Museum & Garden Village

1. One website has details on both the village

and museum. A quick Google search will find it.

2. Heritage in a beautiful village. Sense of plenty

to do and see.

3. Road, rail or bus. There are two stations

nearby, Bebington and Port Sunlight,

both in walking distance.

4. Leave the car at home, the trains

leave every 15 minutes from

Liverpool Central.

5. You’ll want to spend as much

time outdoors as indoors so if

it’s wet bring a brollie.

6. Designing soap packets,

as well as a dressing up box.

A vintage bus takes you

around the village on event

days.

7. Gardens are stunning

and well kept.

8. Museum could be bigger

9. With the museum, workshops, tea rooms

and the village you can easily spend a

whole afternoon.

10. £9.99 for a family ticket (based on 2+2).

11. The vintage bus was definitely a big hit!

12. It’s all about the cakes at the Edwardian

tea rooms.

13. Mix of indoor and outdoor things to do.

14. There’s enough to do so you

don’t get bored.

15. Good way of learning

about Merseyside history.

16. Bus or train is the

easiest way to get there.

17. Newly opened

Edwardian tea shop

above the Museum, plus the

village takes part in an annual

food festival

18. No gift shop in Port Sunlight

Village would be complete without

Sunlight Soap!

19. It was a great day out with plenty to do.

20. Lovely village, lots to do, easy to get to.

Wouldn’t hesitate!

The O’Brien’sMartin Mere, Burscough

1. Key information highlighted

in one colour. Easy to find out

everything you need to know

to plan your trip.

2. No frills website so could

be underwhelmed before

you visit

3. Ticks all boxes from car,

train, and bicycle to on foot!

4. Would plan to be there

for longer - it offers a true full

day out.

5. Adventure outdoor play area first and let

the kids go wild before embarking on a walk

around the centre with a promise to go back

at the end.

The Perfect Family Trip

With the six week break of summer holidays fast approaching there’s alot of free time ahead to plan for. Children should have days to simply dotheir own thing, get bored, relax and just hang out with their friendsand play, but no school holiday would be the same without the odd dayout thrown in. We tasked four families to test out local attractions andgive us their verdicts.

1. Perfect planning2. Great expectations3. Are we there yet?4. If we went again5. Top tip6. What there was to do – hands on7. 10/10 8. Could do better9. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun10. Short changed or value for money11. What the kids said12. What the parents said13. Come rain or shine 14. Smiles all round 15. Learning zone 16. Greeny points17. Food glorious food 18. Retail opportunity 19. Anti climax 20. Tell a friend

OURDAYOUT

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils42

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 11:20 Page 42

Page 43: Educate Magazine

6. Hand feed birds, pond dipping, indoor craft

activities, trail quizzes, bug hunts and during

summer holidays specially themed events.

7. Baby ducks everywhere!

8. Really can’t think of any.

9. A full day out.

10. Not the cheapest on paper but spend the

day and do everything on offer making the most

of the adventure play area and you would be

hard pushed to find better value for money.

The educational value and contribution to

conservation you are making should not

be forgotten.

11. When can we go again?

12. The original twitters are the best.

13. Always pack a kagool – but

with indoor craft activities, a really good

cafe and bird hides all around the

centre there is plenty of cover

on offer.

14. Definitely smiles

all round.

15. It would be hard to

surpass the educational

value – the centre is a hive

of wildlife activity with

interesting facts and

information provided

throughout.

16. With its close proximity to

3 railway stations and a 2 ml trail

along footpaths from Burscough Bridge

Interchange and even the signs made from

recycled plastic you would struggle to find

a greener attraction. The centre also sits

on 2 cycle routes and if the journey from home

is too far there is the option to hire bikes locally

and cycle part of the journey. Added greeny

touch reduced admissions if you travel there

without your car.

17. Homemade and healthy grub or take a picnic.

18. The shop can easily be avoided if you

don’t want to spend but it is a great place for

interesting and different gifts both for adults

and children alike and it also has a great stock

of garden feeders and bird food.

19. Lives up to its billing.

20. Highly – it is far more than a place

for the serious birdwatcher.

The Ormesher’sKnowsley Safari Park

1. Interactive with a fun zone for kids.

2. Plenty of animals to see.

3. Follow the elephant signs, couldn’t be easier

by car.

4. Would buy an annual pass it offers excellent

value for money.

5. Don’t forget to play the free audio tour as you

drive around the park.

6. From creepy crawlies

to big cats the park has

it all. The baboons

definitely like to be hands

on so watch your car!

7. Up close and personal

with the lions plus the sea lion

show is a must see.

8. Cars and baboons don’t mix so be

warned and take the safe route option.

9. Safari drive approx 1hr - 1.5hr but with

all the other attractions it’s a full day out.

10. £48 for two adults and two kids. Price

inclusive of guide, audio tour, sea lion show,

bug house and animal farm.

11. Thumbs up.

12. It’s a jungle get me out of here – whilst in

the baboon enclosure!

13. Literally you are under your

own roof so rain proof.

14. Fantastic fun for all the

family.

15. Exciting and

educational it combines

both brilliantly.

16. It is a car trip but the

park itself is a beautiful

green, open and natural

habitat for the animals.

17. Value for money cafe

or picnic near the giraffes.

18. All parks seem to come with a pricey

souvenir shop, Knowsley is no different.

19. Yes so much so we bought annual passes.

20. Go go go!

The Barnet’sWheel of Liverpool

1. Google "Wheel of Liverpool"

- the quickest way to get to

the relevant part of the site.

2. Does what it says on

the tin - great ride, great

views in prime waterfront

location.

3. Easy to reach and the

kids can see it from a

distance!

4. Twice is recommended, one

day drip and one night ride.

5. Wrap up! It can be breezy up there.

6. Just sit back and enjoy the view.

7. Reaching the top, "you can see our 'ouse

from 'ere!"

8. Only for those with vertigo.

9. Around 15 minutes.

10. £18 for two adults and two kids.

11. "That was cool!"

12. "Phew".

13. Much more to see on a bright, clear day.

14. A bonding experience

in a private gondola.

15. Good for iconic

building spotting and views

of the Welsh hills.

16. Central location easy

to reach by train to James Street

and by buses.

17. Cracking array of eateries in walking

distance of the Albert Dock and right outside

Pizza Express.

18. Snapshot of the happy riders available to buy

at the end of the ride.

19. Yes, panoramic views of Liverpool.

20. Already have.

The Lawrence’sCatalyst Science Discovery Centre,Widnes

1. Enough information on directions and what

to do when there.

2. As expected but over too soon.

3. Easy to find by car with alternative routes

provided on website.

4. Go during school holidays to see one of the

special events running.

5. Coincide the visit with something else

in the area and make a full day of it.

6. Hands on activities a plenty which

the boys loved especially using chemicals!

7. Glass elevator lift was wonderful just like

from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

8. A little dated in parts.

9. Did everything in two hours including some

things twice.

10. £15.95 for a family ticket (based on 2 + 2).

11. Can I have a chemistry kit?

12. Still using the soap the boys made.

13. Could go in any weather.

14.. Boys loved the hands

on experience which

gave Mum the chance

to enjoy panoramic views

from the observatory.

15. Laboratory setting

very like school with plenty

of learning resources for

children and adults alike.

16. Don’t have to travel by car

but not sure how easy train and bus

routes are.

17. Good basic food with a quick and

friendly service.

18. An educational one with lots of books

and science related toys and things to make.

19. Too short a visit would like to have

been there longer.

20. Visit during the holidays the events

programme sounds exciting.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 43

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 11:20 Page 43

Page 44: Educate Magazine

Schools in Merseyside recently enjoyed anegg-citing time with one of the greattraditions of Easter - the Easter BonnetParade. Pupils from Ranworth Primary, StCharles Primary, Sacred Heart Primary andGreenbank Primary had a ‘cracking’ day as they paraded their various headwearmuch to the delight of pupils, teachers and parents.“What a colourful way to celebrateeaster”, commented one of the parents, “It was great to see allthe hard work by the children and parents”.

Easter chicks!Schools ‘cracking’ Easter

Ranworth Primary School

St Charles Primary School

Greenbank Primary School

Sacred Heart Primary School

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 19:08 Page 44

Page 45: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 45

Parents urged to consider apprenticeships for their childrenHelping children plan for their future

Apprenticeship News

Parents are being urged to lookbeyond the traditional academicroutes and consider valuablevocational learning opportunities,such as Apprenticeships, whenhelping their children plan for theirfutures.

In Merseyside last year, only 11% ofyoung people who continued studyingafter the age of 16 opted for anApprenticeship, with 85% staying on atsixth form or studying at a furthereducation college.

Maureen Evans-Olsen, Learner ServiceManager at the National ApprenticeshipService, has spoken about how manyparents tend to overlook Apprenticeshipswhen advising their children about thefuture, despite their proven value andincreasing popularity with employers andyoung people.

She said: “Many parents remainfocussed on ensuring that their childrenfollow traditional academic routes suchas A-levels and university. Oftenknowledge of the possible progressionpathways may be limited and someparents may see class room basedlearning as the best spring board toforging a successful career. A lack ofunderstanding of the Apprenticeshipstructure and progression opportunitiescan hinder parents from offering the mostup to date information to their children.

“Education and training in the UK ischanging to ensure that every youngperson has a high-quality curriculum thatwill help them achieve their potential,whilst also supporting their progressionat 16 and later on into skilledemployment. The starting point is theconcept of a broad 14–19 entitlement tothe right learning opportunities, and theright support to achieve and progress.Learning for young people will lead toqualifications from one of four routes, oneof which is an Apprenticeship.”

Maureen was keen to highlight theadvantages of Apprenticeships overtraditional academic routes.

“Apprenticeships offer young peoplethe opportunity to learn on the job,building up knowledge and skills, gainingqualifications and earning money at thesame time. Apprentices do real jobs forreal employers so they earn while theylearn and as a consequence are not leftwith the burden of a high amount ofstudent debt.”

She added: “In the current climate Iknow many parents are worried aboutthe opportunities that will be available totheir children after they finish theireducation or training. An Apprenticeshipnot only trains young people in the skillsemployers want, it also opens up furthercareer and learning options. They cancarry on working, do more advancedtraining or even go on to highereducation.

“Figures show that over 50% ofapprentices remain in full timeemployment after they have completedtheir framework and many go on tofurther training and development. Thoseindividuals who opt to follow the further

education route have to begin their jobsearch once they have completed theirstudies and have no guarantee of findingsuitable employment.

There is no set rate of pay forapprentices, however all employedapprentices must receive a wage of noless than £95 per week and a recentsurvey showed that the average wageper week for an apprentice is now around£170 and in some job roles around £210per week.

As skills develop, pay will increaseaccordingly. An apprentice will receivethe same benefits as other employeessuch as pension contributions, holidayentitlement and further subsidies wherethey exist.

Maureen was keen to highlight howApprenticeships can help young peoplepursue a career in a wide range ofsubjects, and that they can be a validroute to higher education. She said:“Apprenticeships are commonlyassociated with learning trades such ashairdressing or plumbing, but there areover 190 Apprenticeship frameworksavailable including subjects that can leadto careers in jobs that many peoplebelieve are only accessible through anacademic route, such as accounting,marketing communications and teachingthrough a class room assistantApprenticeship.

After completing an Apprenticeshipindividuals are able to demonstrate toemployers that they have skills,qualifications and attributes that makethem good employees. Many employersoffer apprentices further opportunities toprogress to higher education and provideadditional help and support, whichincreases the chance of promotion andwill often be accompanied by a pay rise.

Maureen recommends that parentsvisit the National Apprenticeship websiteat www.apprenticeships.org.uk<http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk> .Through the website learners have theopportunity to search and apply forApprenticeship vacancies and onceregistered they can set up alerts forspecific vacancies which will offer aclearer picture of the opportunitiesavailable to them.

For more information aboutApprenticeships visit:www.apprenticeships.org.uk or call08000 150 600.

Mo Evans-Olsen

Apprenticeships offer young people the opportunity to learn on the job, building

up knowledge and skills, gaining qualifications and

earning money at the same time

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 11:29 Page 45

Page 46: Educate Magazine

Young Apprenticewants others to followA St Helens apprentice hasurged parents to consider Ap-prenticeships as a viable alter-native to traditional academicroutes for their son and daugh-ter.

Michael Freeman, 19, fromPrescot works as a mechanical en-gineering apprentice at PilkingtonGlass, St Helens.

Having decided not to stay in fulltime education and knowing hewanted to move into the world ofengineering, Michael decided an Ap-prenticeship would be the best wayfor him to get into his preferred pro-fession.

When he left school in 2006,Michael wanted to gain practical onthe job training and also have theopportunity to learn by attendingcollege one day a week.

He said: “When it came to meleaving school I decided that full timeeducation was not going to be forme. I wanted to do something thatwas more hands on which wouldgive me more practical experienceand grounding in the engineering in-dustry.

“It is one of the best decisions Ihave ever made as it is given me theopportunity to learn on the job,whilst gaining qualifications at col-lege, so in many ways I have hadthe best of both worlds.

“I would seriously urge anyoneconsidering an Apprenticeship to gofor it as the opportunities you get arepriceless and will benefit you foryears to come in your chosen ca-reer.”

The Pilkington Glass Group hashad a long standing commitment todeveloping apprentices and KeithArnold, a site engineering managerat Pilkington’s explains how theyhave made a valuable contributionto the organisation:

He said: “Quite simply apprenticesare the life blood of not only ourbusiness but to the industry as a

whole. Our business is full of peoplefrom top to bottom who have comethrough the Apprenticeship route asit is the perfect learning ground.

“We believe that apprentices arethe future and we invest a largeamount of time and care into our se-lection process as we want to findpeople with the enthusiasm anddrive to succeed as well as givingpeople opportunities and a platformto make something of themselves.”

Mark Donnelly, North West Em-ployer Services Manager for the Na-tional Apprenticeship Service, said:“Michael is a shining example, he

highlights the benefits of Apprentice-ships for both businesses and thedevelopment of young people.

“Apprentices receive the trainingthey need through approved trainingproviders and colleges, while theemployer gains a new member ofstaff who will grow and developalong with the business.”

For more information about Apprenticeships visit:

www.apprenticeships.org.ukor call 08000 150 600

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils46

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 11:33 Page 46

Page 47: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 47

An Open Letter to the Parents ofMerseyside’s Young People

WE VALUE OUR APPRENTICESAs major employers, with the support of trades unions, we are asking you to consider an Apprenticeship to kick-start a successful career for your son or daughter.

The future of our organisations will be greatly influenced by the quality of the new staff that we take on now. Young people deserve the very best start to their careers. This can often mean that an Apprenticeship is the right option both for us and fortalented and motivated individuals with good GCSE results.

We pay our apprentices, support and mentor them with off-the-job and work-basedtraining to gain the skills and experience that the modern world demands. Apprenticesaged 16-18 initially work towards gaining an NVQ Level 2 and a recognised technicalqualification. In many cases, they will have an opportunity to progress to a Level 3Advanced Apprenticeship, officially recognised as equivalent to two ‘A’ levels. They cango on to higher level qualifications, including University entrance, and better paid jobs.

There are over 190 Apprenticeship Frameworks in the private, public and voluntarysectors. You can get more information online from the National Apprenticeship Service,through schools or Connexions.

We urge you, as parents, to look at the hard facts based on the achievements ofthousands of Merseyside apprentices. Help your young people to earn while they learn!

For further information please visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk

This advertisement was placed by the National Apprenticeship Service with support from the European Social Fund.

Kellie RixonAlternative Hotels Group

Dean RoylesNHS North West

Neil Scales OBEMerseytravel

Dave EvaTUC unionlearn

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 11:33 Page 47

Page 48: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils48

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 13:48 Page 48

Page 49: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 49

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 11:36 Page 49

Page 50: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils50

Three members of Bosco staff are now CEOPtrained. CEOP stands for Child Exploitation andOnline Protection (CEOP). It is a multi-agencyservice dedicated to tackling the exploitation ofchildren. Three of our staff are now qualifiedAmbassadors and as such are offering ourschools the opportunity for staff and pupils inNorth Liverpool to become aware of e-safety.

The centre is currently offering free sessions forboth parents and teachers from our primary andsecondary schools. The workshop will focus one-safety. This will inform teachers, support staffand child protection officers on what they shouldlook for and how to prevent incidents.

For schools that are interested, we can run a 45minute workshop presentation, this could beincorporated into your inset days as we can visitduring school hours or after school.

The Centre is also offering schools theopportunity to bring in classes to the Centre for ahalf day session. Presently we are offeringworkshops for groups at Key Stage 2 and KeyStage 3. It is recommended that the teacherbringing the group studies the information that wewill be using at the time of booking, some of theclips may be upsetting for some students but allinformation has been approved by the childsafeguarding boards for children of this age.

The prize was a Dell Note Book. The Schoolsdid not need to attend the centre to enter thecompetition.

Choosing the winner was extremely difficult asthe standard was so high. We came to adecision that Rice Lane Juniors stood out fromthe rest.

We would like to congratulate both OliviaMackay and Sophie Goll both in Year 6 for theirwork and effort. If you would like to see thewinning entry, you can visit our website onwww.boscoclc.org.uk.

p37-54:covers 14/5/10 11:56 Page 50

Page 51: Educate Magazine

An exhibition of 71 works from talented youngpeople was on display at the Walker Art Galleryand the World Museum recently.The exhibition ‘Reclaim Your Space’ gaveemerging artists from local schools anextraordinary opportunity to exhibit alongside thelikes of Monet and Lowry.A number of styles and mediums had beenchosen by the young artists to express theiroutlooks, interests and concerns. Works inwatercolour, acrylic, photography, collage, mixedmedia and even recycled materials featured.Helen MacBryde, Communities Manager atNational Museums Liverpool, said: “Thisopportunity highlighted the talents of youngpeople from across Merseyside and reflected thecreativity, skills and diversity of the nextgeneration of artists. We’re delighted to see theirwork displayed in our venues alongside themasters and hope this will encourage them andothers to develop their creative talents.

Louis Foster of theNorth Liverpool

Academy

Pupils from Arch-bishop BlanchSchool

Bobbie Friar, Michael Holliwell,Jackie Hingira, Jack Westhead

of St Cuthberts CatholicCommunity College

Abbie Halman fromAll Saints CatholicCentre for Learning

Jodey Muller, ShannonMorris and AntoniaKelly from St Augustineof Canterbury CatholicHigh School

Rihanna Pop Art byJessica Williams(15) of North Liverpool Academy

Layers by Jodey Mullerfrom St Augustine ofCanterbury Catholic HighSchool

Pop Art Montage fromDebi Robinson of theNorth Liverpool Academy

My Journey and Liverpool bySally Carson (17) of Archbishop

Blanch School

Untitled by LewisGwynne of New-stead Centre

Untitled by AbigailHolman of All Saints

Untitled byLaurenWilliams, All SaintsCatholicHigh School

Exhibition highlights talent

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 14:46 Page 51

Page 52: Educate Magazine

You’ll be inyour element

CALDERSTONES SCHOOLA Specialist Science College

Harthill Road, Liverpool L18 3HSTel: 0151 724 2087

Calderstones Specialist Science College hasexcellent facilities including 15 ScienceLaboratories, extensive Sports provision, Art rooms and Drama facilities. Our examresults are amongst the best in Liverpool andwe always aim to offer each pupil as manyopportunities as possible both inside andoutside the classroom.

For a prospectus call 0151 724 2087 or visit www.calderstones.co.uk

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 17:50 Page 52

Page 53: Educate Magazine

Grease is thewordDazzling performancePupils from Calderstones School, Liver-pool have excelled themselves withtheir recent production of Grease.Building on the success of last yearsperformance of Bugsy Malone, theschool wanted something extremelychallenging and with its range of songsfrom romantic to boisterous, itstricky dance numbers and staging,Grease was the unanimous choice.This brought together a wide range ofpeople from the school community -pupils, teachers and support staff - intoa team with their focus ongenerating a dazzling production.The end result was a marvellous andtruly professional production that hadthe audience spellbound throughoutand finished on each night with a welldeserved, thunderous round of ap-plause.

Frenchy –Natalie Gornell

Danny Zuko –Renos GeorgiouSandy Dumbrowski– Elise Larkin

Natalie Gornell andRenos Georgiou

Niamh Mecer

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 17:50 Page 53

Page 54: Educate Magazine

Notre Dame Catholic College for the Arts.The country’s highest performing girls’ school for student progress.

Excellent performing artsopportunities

AH QU'ILEST LEBONDIEUBON

Headteacher: Miss C B McCann BA MSc | Everton Valley L4 4EZ | [email protected]

For a prospectus call 0151 263 3104 or visit www.notredameliverpool.com

• Music Scholarships (by application)• Visiting Performing Artistes• Masterclasses - RLPO, Rambert Dance

Company, Hope Street Theatre Company• Numerous performance opportunities,

local, national and international including annual three week Summer Arts Festival

• World Arts, including Gamelanand Taiko Drums

• Associated Board of the Royal Schoolsof Music examinations

• Dance showcases• Accredited National Arts Award Centre

State of the art facilities including:500 Seat Performing Arts Auditorium,Drama Studio, Mirrored Dance Studio,Recording Studio, Music TechnologySuite and Individual Practice Rooms.

p37-54:covers 13/5/10 13:48 Page 54

Page 55: Educate Magazine

Launch ofNotre DameArtsBusNew mobile arts centreThe ArtsBus, operated by Notre DameCatholic College for the Arts, waswelcomed by Liverpool’s arts, educationand business sectors at a launch event atthe Isla Gladstone Conservatory. Over 250children from Liverpool who take part inthe colleges primary Outreach programmeentertained the specially invited guests,including musicians, dancers anddramatists from the college’s MATCOMPANY. The high-tech bus, whichoperates as a mobile arts centre, willlaunch to the public at the opening ofNotre Dame’s Summer Arts Festival on 28June.

The ArtsBus outside the Isla Gladstone Conservatory in Stanley Park

Karl Smith, non-Executive Director LiverpoolPCT, Notre Dame head Christine McCann,Liverpool City Council Director for Children,Adults and Family Services Stuart Smith,Director of Arts at Notre Dame Lesley Bentley

Left: Bishop Tom Williams withNotre Dame Head ChristineMcCann

Below Left: Phil Stewart, Headof St Vincents Catholic Primarywhose pupils took part in thelaunch with ElizabethMacfarlane, National SpecialismCoordinator for Visual Arts andMedia at the Speciaiist Schoolsand Academies Trust

Below: Gordon Ross Director ofCreative Universe Ltd withJonathan Dickson Head ofLiverpool Music SupportService

The Chinese Dragonwas led around theConservatorygrounds in Stanley Park

Pupils brought 2.5 metre puppets that added tothe carnival feel of the launch event

Stuart Smith, Director for Children,Adults and Family Services atLiverpool City Council officiallylaunches the ArtsBus

Notre Dame Catholic College’sBusiness Manager Simon Holden,Assistant Headteacher Andy Rannardand Ged O’Driscoll, Head of Year

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 18:28 Page 55

Page 56: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils56

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 13:50 Page 56

Page 57: Educate Magazine

Blackmoor onthe catwalkPupils strutt their stuffPupils from Blackmoor Park JuniorSchool, West Derby recently struttedtheir stuff on the cat-walk in a fashion showto help raise fundsfor the school. Black-moor Parents andTeachers Associationorganised the show inassociation withClotheshorsekidsand helped to raiseover £370 for theschool. Thewhole eveningproved to be abig hit with every-one.Headteacher MrDavies, said: “Theevent went really welland was enjoyed byparents and childrenalike, the children reallyenjoyed being modelsfor the night”.

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 17:14 Page 57

Page 58: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils58

What’s your next step?Liverpool is committed to providing all young people with education and training opportunities that make the most of the resources and talent in the city. For you this will extend the opportunities available for your future. This will include:

Explore the three progression route areas of vocational/apprenticeship, diplomas (as they become available) and academic learning to find the best learning style at a level that suits you!

Vocational CoursesYou may want to choose a vocational course if you have an interest in a particular area of work or have a career path inmind like music, business, health and social care or sport. These courses can prepare you for work or university. Some,like NVQs or City and Guilds, are very practical but other courses like BTECs and (Applied) A levels involve more study. You can study at school, college or with a Work Based Learning provider - there will be something to suit you whatever your GCSE results.

Apprenticeships and Young ApprenticeshipsYou may think of applying for an apprenticeship if you would like to combine work and training. Apprenticeshipsare available in most jobs e.g. engineering, retail and office work. You need to speak to your Connexions Personal Advisor who can tell you about vacancies and help you to apply. If you’re not certain which job you want to do you may be interested in an e2e programme which can help you to build your confidence and gain new skills.

General Academic CoursesYou may be interested in an academic course if you want to carry on studying a broader range of subjects which will keep your options open for longer. You can choose A levels or the International Baccalaureate and will be able to studycompletely new subjects like psychology and law. You can study at school or college. The schools in Liverpool and thecollege work closely together so they can offer you the combination of subjects you choose. You will need good GCSEresults for both of these programmes.

DiplomasThe biggest innovation in the curriculum in many years is the government's flagship Diploma programme. Diplomas are aform of applied learning designed with businesses and will involve applying learning in a real working environment veryoften out of school and with a business - 'bringing learning to life'. They are available in 8 areas from this September- for a full list see the i-chooseliverpool web-site.

Money To LearnMoney matters are important to consider as you plan your future. The 14-19 Partnership is here to support learners who need additional support or who are from households on free school meals to enable them to achieve and ‘narrow the gap’ with the achievement rates of the rest of the learners.

Improving life opportunities for all our young people through improvingCurriculum opportunities • Impartial advice and guidance • The quality of provision

the what why when where how of finding your way…For more information on how the 14-19 Partnership can help you

www.i-chooseliverpool.org.uk

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 15:26 Page 58

Page 59: Educate Magazine

Calderstones School

Alsop High School

St John Bosco Arts College

Broughton Hall

All Saints High School

Shorefields High SchoolNotre Dame College

St Julie’s High School

St EdmundArrowsmith

North Liverpool Academy

Christ the King Centre for Learning

Kirkby Sports College

Young people from 22 schools inLiverpool and Knowsley recently teamedup to take part in an anti-guncrimeseven-a-side football tournamentorganised by Merseyside Police.The Matrix Challenge Shield is part of ananti-guncrime initiative put together bythe Force's specialist Matrix team.The day saw 15 boys teams and 12 girlsteams taking part in the tournament.The contest involved over 350 children,aged between 11 and 13 years, and thegames took place at the Soccer Centre onWalton Hall Avenue. The three groupwinners and the best overall runner upon each day qualify for the semi-finalsand final to be played on 21 May atEverton Football Club. All the childrenwho took part in the tournamentreceived participation medals trophieswill be awarded in May.The day saw some excellent footballingskills and entertaining football from allteams.The tournament saw Calderstones,Christ The King Centre For Learning,Broughton Hall and St Juliesprogressing through to the next roundsat Goodison.

Goodison herewe comeFootball challenge

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 17:16 Page 59

Page 60: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils60

Liverpool CollegeHMC Independent School

Girls and Boys, Ages 3-18We would be delighted to arrange an individual visit for you and your family toshow you what Liverpool College has to offer.

OUR ANNUAL YEAR 5 ACTIVITY AFTERNOON WILLTAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY 23RD JUNE

For further information please contact Sally Loveridge :

Telephone - 0151 724 4000 ext 228E-Mail – [email protected]

www.liverpoolcollege.org.uk

p55-72:covers 14/5/10 10:38 Page 60

Page 61: Educate Magazine

Round three of the Merseyside SchoolsMidweek Cross-Country League, tookplace at Sefton Park, Liverpool recentlywith James Barrington (Archbishop Beck),Daniel Jarvis and Matthew Byrne (both StAnselm’s) the individual winners in boysYear 7, 8 & 9 and 10 & 11 racesrespectively.In the two junior races, St Margaret’sfinished top in the team event, with StAnselm’s taking the honours in the senior.At the same Sefton Park meeting, ZoeTynan (Calderstones) was first in the Year7 race, with St Hilda’s taking the teamevent.Isobel Perez (King David) and Sacred Heartwere similarly successful in Year 8 & 9.St Julie’s claimed a winning double in Year10, with Rebecca Donoghue leading theWoolton school home.

Runners from NotreDame College

Some course-side coaching

Runners from GateacreComprehensive School

ArchbishopBeck runners

Ready for the off

The girls from Bellerive FCJ College

Team St Hildas

Winner of Year 7race Zoe Tynanof Calderstones

Winner of the Boysrace MatthewByrne of StAnselm’s School

School’s keepon runningTeams battle for titles

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 61

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 17:18 Page 61

Page 62: Educate Magazine

Celebrate and get behind England as they bidfor world cup victory with our pick of worldcup and football themed goodies.

1. Union jack tankiniMatalan, £6.00

2. UNION JACK CUSHIONNEXT, £12.00

3. World Cup England megaphoneHalfords, £9.99

4. Go England whistle charm necklaceAccessorize, £8.00

5. Official England phlat ballM & S, £9.50

6. World cup Englandnodding dog, Halfords, £4.99

7. England gazeboB & Q, £14.98

8. FOOTBALL BBQTESCO, £15.00

Come on

1

2

3

5

10

1112

13

4

p55-72:covers 14/5/10 07:54 Page 62

Page 63: Educate Magazine

9. England garden gnomeB & Q, £9.98

10. Union jack swim shortsMatalan, £3.50-£4.50

11. England face paint setAccessorize, £4.00

12. Pack of 2 world cup England bands,George Kids, £2.00

13. Official England 4ft football table,Next, £99.00

14. Match magazineW H Smith, £4.99

15. England inflatable chairBHS, £15.00

16. England beach towelBHS, £10.00

England

6

7

9

14

16

8

15

p55-72:covers 14/5/10 07:54 Page 63

Page 64: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils64

Archbishop Blanch CEHigh School

A Technology CollegeTraining School

Applied Learning School

Mount Vernon Road, Liverpool L7 3EAemail: [email protected] tel: 0151 709 1452 website: www.abblanch.com

Apply for a place on your daughter’s aptitude for Music or Art

OPEN EVENINGFOR YEAR 7 ADMISSION 2011

MONDAY, 5TH JULY 2010at 6.00pm

“Good transition arrangements enableyear 7 pupils to settle well”

Ofsted 2008

A VERY WARM WELCOME AWAITS YOU

“Every child has a gift or talent given to them by Godand it is our purpose to discover and develop this to the full”

Jane Griffiths, Headteacher

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 13:50 Page 64

Page 65: Educate Magazine

Viewpoint

What are your hopes for education under a new Government?

Dewi Phillips, Head Teacher Childwall Sports CollegeThe future belongs to those who are educated for it! This has beenthe watch word for all at Childwall Sports College and it has servedus well over the past few years to remind us that there is nothingmore important for the future success of our country, than for allour youngsters to be educated in readiness for what continues tobe a rapidly changing society. Our politicians must committhemselves to providing opportunities for Lifelong Learning for allour citizens to ensure that everybody plays a full and valuable partin the life in each and every community.There are still too many youngsters who do not have theopportunity to learn from opportunities provided outside the mainstream curriculum. Politicians must continue to invest in and mustensure that there are appropriate pathways for all our studentsespecially in the run up to the Raising of the Participation Age(RPA) which will affect the current year 8 students at all oursecondary schools.

Julia Shaw, School Governor The Blue Coat School, LiverpoolGiven all the uncertainties we face from the creation of thiscoalition and where budget cuts have to be made to tackle themassive deficit, we are fortunate that a clear commitment hasalready been made to invest an EXTRA £2.5bn in the education ofover one million children who currently face the greatestchallenges in their backgrounds. This will, we hope, cut class sizes,offer more one to one tuition and provide 'catch up' lessons so thatthe gap between the quality of education for rich and poor childrenis narrowed.

Avis Gilmore, Regional Secretary, North West Region NUTHaving had the mantra of Education, Education, Education lead tothe introduction of academies without any accountability to thecommunity they serve one of the hopes for education under thenew government must be that they leave education alone as itseemed an impossible hope that they will be returned to theintegrated comprehensive education system we need. Hopefully the policies can be implemented on funding schools tosupport disadvantaged pupils, slim down the curriculum testingand reform Ofsted.

Dr John Cater, Vice-Chancellor Edge Hill UniversityMy first hope would be that the incoming government sustains anddevelops what has been achieved in the past decade. Accordingto OfSTED, the current generation of teachers are the best-trainedever, school buildings have improved and, however intractable itmay appear, there have been advances in pupil attainment. Inhigher education, more and better qualified students are obtainingplaces at university and, in time, they will help improve thecompetitiveness of the UK in the global market. But the bankingcrisis has already seen threats to, and cuts in, investment ineducation. My hope is that the new government continues tovalue the importance of education to the long-term future of oureconomy and society, at a time when unemployment is rising.

With spending on education being one of the thornier issues awaiting the newgovernment we ask what are the hopes for the future of education

Have your say:To suggest or contribute toa topic for debate inViewpoint email us at: [email protected] to view our on-line poll visit: www.educatemagazine.com

Funding is going to bea recurrent problem foreducation ministersincluding staffing,buildings, equipmentand innovation.We asked our panelabout what stance thenew Governmentshould take and whatthey would like to seeas their priorities, ifany, for education.

Dewi Phillips

Julia Shaw

Avis Gilmore

Dr John Cater

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 65

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 19:13 Page 65

Page 66: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils66

Book Review by Jennifer Dobson

In association with

5-8 YearsI Believe in Unicorns by Michael Morpurgo – £4.99 This is a magical tale, beginning with a boy called Tomas who hates books andstories. Forced to visit the library he is drawn into listening to talks about unicorns setagainst the backdrop of war torn Europe. This tale explores the power of stories…

Doctor Proctors Fart Powder by Jo Nesbo – £5.99Sometimes what every reader needs is a book that will make them laughuncontrollably! Doctor Proctors Fart Powder tells of Nilly, Lisa and of course the Doctorgetting up to mischief and making, as usual! Nesbo at his finest.

Jamie and Angus Together by Anne Fine – £4.99This is a truly beautiful tale of friendship between a boy and his cat, which bothrealise that playing isn’t fun unless there doing it together. Delightfully illustrated andgently reassuring. Once best friends, always best friends…

Are you a librarian, teacher or purchasing manager? Do you buy books for your business or institution? Waterstones Liverpool offers a comprehensive account sales service. Contact Vic Brazel, Sales Department, Waterstones Liverpool, 14-16 Bold Street, Liverpool L1 4DS. Tel: 0151 707 1649

9-12 Years FictionThe Last Ghostby Helen Stringer – £8.99Belladonna’s first adventure is a well written tale of a teenager and not a normal oneat that! She can see ghosts and lives with two of them that happen to be her parents!Enchanting and fast paced. An author to watch out for.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journeyby Trenton Lee Stewart – £6.99It’s been a year since the Mysterious Benedict Society were last together but now MrBenedict has a special surprise for the children in honour of their one yearanniversary. Not that anything ever goes smoothly and soon the children beginanother great journey. Stewart returns with magical adventures once more!

Magic Under Glassby Jaclyn Dolamore – £6.99A beautiful tale set in a Victorian type setting best described as memorable, delicateand ethereal. Telling of beautiful exotic Nimra whose dream of performing has alwaysgone down the poverty path, until she meets a mysterious man, Mr Parry. Evil timesand fairytales combined. A Wonderful tale.

Teenage FictionBlood Ninjaby Nick Lake – £11.99Young Taro is living the simple life of a fisherman until his best friend is attacked byNinja’s in their humble village. Luckily he is saved by a mysterious Ninja but fatallywounded he must choose between death or becoming a vampire. Entertaining,vampire, Ninja’s and sword fighting. Could you ask for more?

Enchanted Glassby Diana Wynne Jones – £12.99When Andrew Hope’s magician grandfather dies and he is left the house, all he canremember are the stain glass windows in the kitchen door and vegetables that werecompletely inedible growing on top of the garden shed. Nothing is simple. A young boyturns up at the house looking for safety and a strong connection becomes apparentbetween the two boys. Magical and mysterious!

Luke and Jonby Robert Williams – £6.99Jon is massively strange. He wears 1950’s clothes and has a twitch. The kids at schoolpick on him but then Luke discovers his secret. A coming of age novel about familybereavement and emotionally acute. A fantastic debut!

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 14:52 Page 66

Page 67: Educate Magazine

LIVERPOOL MUSIC SUPPORT SERVICEIN PARTNERSHIP WITH NOTRE DAME CATHOLIC COLLEGE FOR THE ARTS

AH QU'ILEST LEBONDIEUBON

The Liverpool Music Support Service have beenproviding music education in the city for over 40 years.With our expert instrument and vocal tutoring, freeinstrument loans and a wide variety of excitingperformance opportunities, we encourage youngpeople to make music together and, in turn, help tonurture some of the finest young musicians in our city.

We’d love to hear from you.

To hear more contact uson 0151 264 6622 or emailmusicservice@notredame.liverpool.sch.ukwww.liverpoolmusicsupportservice.com

Let’s makesome noise

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 17:32 Page 67

Page 68: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils68

WHERE CAN WE GO?Your guide to what’s happening out & about in Merseyside

FU

TU

RE

EV

EN

TS

Saturday 29th May -Sunday 6th June Martin Mere, FishLane, Burscough01704 895181

Visit the duckling nurseryand see the cute sights ofyoung ducklings andgoslings. See the wholeegg to duckling processwatching chipping eggs,new born ducklings. Alsoplastic duck races - For£1 purchase your ownduck, customise it withfelt tips and bring it alongto the race at 3pm tothrow in.

Downy Duckling Week

Cirque Du Soleil -SaltimbancoEcho Arena Liverpool 26th-30th May 2010Tickets £40

Classic Cirque at its best, Saltimbanco is a thrillingand kaleidoscopic celebration of awe inspiringartistry and agility. It features breathtaking acrobaticsand unbelievable athleticism during solo spotlightsand epic ensembles.

From the seemingly impossible balancing, jumpingand spinning during the Chinese Poles or the RussianSwing to the gravity-defying Bungees and Trapeze,the crowd pleasing Juggling and Acrobatic Bicycle,to the celebrated and very unique Clowns. Technicalexpertise and extravagant design are woven togetherby uplifting spectacular costumes, amazing lighting,humour and enchanting music and magic.

29th-30th May Otterspool PromLiverpoolFree Event

You’re invited to the UK’sbiggest and best, awardwinning urban youth fes-tival; skaters, b-boys, b-girls and bands will takeover Otterspool Prom for abank holiday weekend ofrockin’ out to some sweetbeats, chillin’ with yourmates and having an all-round amazing time

HUB Festival 2010

Not to be

missedThe HobbitLiverpool Empire Theatre8th-12th June 2010

Enjoy the sights, sounds and excitement of the bestselling fantasy novel ever written, in this freshspectacular live theatre production with sparkling newmagical effects - perfect for Hobbit fans both young andold. Bilbo Baggins, a quiet and contented Hobbit, hashis life turned upside down when he is chosen byGandalf the Sorcerer to join Thorin Oakenshield, exiledking of the Dwarves, on his quest to reclaim theirkingdom and treasure. A frightening but magicaljourney - a journey from which they may never return.The adventurers battle through the Misty Mountains,wind, rain, hail and thunderstorms, narrowly escapingTrolls, Goblins, Wolves and Giant Spiders. Finally Bilboalone must face the guardian of the treasure, the mostfeared dragon in all Middle Earth - Smaug ... Join themas they travel "there and back again".

MustSee

Liverpool Pageant of PowerThe Strand, LiverpoolTuesday 25th May 2010Liverpool city centre willbe transformed into acelebration of all thingspowerful as The Strand isopened to the public and aselection of the world’sfinest vehicles sprint upthe 500m strip. SalthouseDock will host Jet Ski stunt displays, Power Boat &Hovercraft racing, whilst the Breitling Wing Walkerstake to the skies, unveiling their new livery andwowing the crowds with their awesome formationflying aerobatic display. Free event

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 17:32 Page 68

Page 69: Educate Magazine

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils 69

FILM REVIEW GAME REVIEW

Sunday 8th August11.00am - 5.00pmCourt Hey Park, Huyton0151 443 5619Free Event

The North West’s biggestfree flower show withmore than blooms.Includes falconry displays,guided walks, craftdemonstrations, dogobedience, arts workshopsand circus skills,fairground rides, plus theYouth Arts Friendshipfield with live music,dance and activities

Knowsley Flower Show

27th June Liverpool City CentreFree Event

Participants in the UK'snewest major triathlonswim, bike and runwhilst taking inLiverpool's WorldHeritage Sites, includingThe Liver Building,Albert Dock, and thebrand new LiverpoolEcho Arena. Swim takesplace in Queen's andWapping Dock.

Liverpool Triathlon

Until 5th September World Museum Liver-poolWilliam Brown StreetTel: 0151 478 4393Free Event

Discover the secret worldof plants in Plantastic!, aninteractive exhibition forall the family. Youngerand older visitors alikewill be entertained andastonished by a magicalrealm of giant leafycanopies, massive seedpods.

Plantastic!

5th June Liverpool City CentreFree Event

The Liverpool LordMayor’s Pageant windsits way through the citycentre each June. Themayor’s horse-drawncarriage is followed by ahost of carnival floats,marching bands,cheerleaders andhundreds more costumedperformers on foot.

Lord Mayors Pageant

2010 FIFA WorldCup South Africa

Available on PLAYSTATION® 3, PSP®,XBOX 360® and Wii

Verdict: ★★★★★By Andy Kelly

Everything fans love about the World Cup hascome to life in spectacular detail, including confettirain, streamers and fireworks—just like the officialtournament.

I felt as though I was carrying the hopes and dreamsof a nation into battle against fans from rival countries,from the group stage through the knockout rounds to thechance to be crowned 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africachampion.

You are also able to manage nations that failed toqualify for South Africa this is the chance to replay andre-write history, all 199 national teams that took part inqualification rounds are featured, plus also are all 10official stadiums that are to be used in South Africa andstadiums from each qualifying region.

The basic gameplay works similarly to FIFA 10, butwith a new penalty shootout system and new adaptedfeatures for the high altitude South African stadia, thataccurately simulate the effects of fatigue. With crowdsand fans replicated as realistically as the playersthemselves this has all the features of the regular FIFAgames with all the atmosphere of the greatest show onEarth.

Definitely a must for the serious gamer and if Englandfail to win the World Cup, at least you have a chance ofwinning it.

Great

one to

watch

Iron Man 2Rated 12A

Cast:Robert Downey Jr, ScarlettJohansson, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Samuel LJackson

Verdict: ★★★★✩By Lucy Jackson

Having recently watched Iron Man 2, I waspleasantly surprised that it has remained inkeeping with its first instalment, as some sequelstend to fall flat and disappoint.

Although I enjoyed the first film more, Robert DowneyJunior has the ability to draw you into the character ofTony Stark once again and provides another charismaticperformance.

This film is every young boy’s dream with fightingrobots, gadgets galore and bad guys you love to hate,such as Ivan Vanko aka Whiplash (Mickey Rourke),lightning-striking his way onto the screen. However, thisis also one for girls who like their comic movies andenjoy watching feisty, female characters standing theirground, even in high heels.

Iron Man 2 introduces Black Widow (ScarlettJohansson) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), as wellas Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard in the role ofTony Stark’s best friend, Jim Rhodes. This is one foreveryone; a storyline about love, friendship, trust andovercoming your inner demons, as well as fighting yourenemies. The film allows you to watch each of the maincharacters develop throughout, as well as packing in funaction sequences and special effects. Watch out for IronMan’s first appearance, entrances do not come muchbetter than this.

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 17:32 Page 69

Page 70: Educate Magazine

My SchoolI attended King DavidHigh School, Liverpoolfrom primary schoolthrough to sixth formbefore heading to theStates on a tennis scholarship at LouisianaState University (LSU).

My Favourite TeacherMy favourite teacher was Mr Johnson. He wasvery good at getting the kids to get their workcompleted as well as enjoy their time inlessons. He unfortunately passed away soonafter I left.

Were you streetwise or a bit of a geek?I felt like I was part of the trendy

groups in school but I alsohad a geeky side. I probably had the best of bothworlds.

MyFavourite

ChildhoodSinger/Band

I was a big fan of allmusic but Elton Johnwas and still is alegend!

My Favourite Extra-Curricular ActivityI didn't really have much time for extracurricular activities due to my commitment totennis. I would help tutor younger kids fromthe lower years if they needed me but thatwasn't very often. I quite liked showing themhow to do certain things because it gave mesatisfaction that they were learning.

Do you remember your first school crush?I cannot remember my first crush in school but I didhave a big enough crush onone of my teachers that Iended up taking businessstudies in sixth form to makesure I was seeing her on a dailybasis. Her name was Miss Jones.

My Favourite BookMy first book was James and theGiant Peach. I cannot remember anythingabout it but I really did enjoy reading it.

School DinnersI love my mums food and she made an awesome packed lunch.

My Ambitions at SchoolMake sure I gave my best and gain the grades I needed to go to university.

My School DaysKen Skupski – British Davis Cup Tennis Player

Tennis player, KenSkupski has beendescribed as oneof Britain’s risingtennis stars andholds thedistinction of risinghigher through therankings than anyBritish player whobegan the yearwithout an officialranking.After leaving KingDavid High School,Ken spent fouryears at LouisianaState University(LSU) in NewOrleans beforemoving back to his“beloved”Liverpool.Ken recentlyrepresented GreatBritain in the Davis Cup match partnering Colin Flemming and was described

as being a “shining light” after his winning debut against

Lithuania alsoclaiming Britain'sfirst Davis Cupdoubles win since2007.

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 17:33 Page 70

Page 71: Educate Magazine

Top of the class. Outstanding.

Taster Day for year 5 pupilsTuesday 6 July 2010

Bellerive is a popular and oversubscribed college, admitting Catholic girls from across the city. It has been nationally

recognised as a high achieving school and was graded ‘Outstanding’ in the most recent inspections. This taster day

is an opportunity for year 5 pupils to visit and experience sample lessons, activities and lunch in our dining centre.

This shortened, but highly enjoyable day, will help parents decide on their choice of school for 2011.

Please email: [email protected] or telephone 0151 727 2064 for an invitation

for your daughter to attend, giving name, age and current school.

Bellerive FCJ Catholic CollegeSpecialising in the Sciences, Maths, Computing and Applied Learning

Headteacher Sister Brigid Halligan FCJ MSc OBE, Windermere Terrace, Sefton Park, Merseyside, L8 3SB

Call 0151 727 2064 or visit www2.bellerivefcj.org

p55-72:covers 13/5/10 17:33 Page 71

Page 72: Educate Magazine

An all-roundeducation

Archbishop BeckWhere only the best will do

Open EveningThursday 23 September 6pm – 8pm

Our curriculum is designed to ensure everyone

reaches full potential. We have made outstanding

progress, being identified as ‘in the top 10 most

improved schools nationally for 5 A*-C grades with

English and Maths’.

REGNUMTUUMADVENIAT

Archbishop Beck Catholic Sports CollegeCedar Road, Liverpool, L9 9AFTelephone:0151 525 6326

www.archbishopbeck.com

p01-18:covers 13/5/10 18:05 Page 2