Education News July 2009
A chance to shine
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Animation and circus skills are not part of the usual school curriculum, but young people across Hackney recently got a chance to show off their particular talents to peers, parents and tutors. As part of the second annual Shine Week from 6 to 10 July, Jubilee, Lauriston, William Patten and Kingsmead primaries, and Skinners’ Company’s School for Girls held events showcasing and celebrating young people’s talents. |
Amateur film shows, science demonstrations, music and talent performances and art creations – including a giant playground umbrella created by all of the children at Kingsmead Primary – all highlighted the students’ achievements and positive activities.
This year 5,000 schools and 1,000 youth groups across the UK signed up for the national week, organised by the Department for Children Schools and Families.
Nick Cannon, deputy headteacher and arts co-ordinator at Jubilee, said: “The children got to see a side of the others that they may not have known otherwise. Some may be experts in yoga, or can play the violin.
“We even had nominations for nonacademic pursuits such as ‘the perfect friend’ or who they would most like to go on holiday with, indicating important social skills for later life.
“It was also a chance for those who sometimes get overlooked in a traditional learning environment to show off exactly what they can do.”
More information
For more info visit: www.shineweek.co.uk
Praises for park team
Triple jump world record holder Jonathan Edwards praised a group of young London 2012 ambassadors after their year of work with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
Children from primary schools Jubilee and Brook Community were nominated to represent Hackney, alongside pupils from the four other host boroughs. The children have had a chance to talk about the 2012 Games with key figures, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, and ODA chief executive David Higgins.
The project aims to help year six pupils learn more about sustainability, the history of the park, archaeology, and the employment opportunities created by the Games.
Pupil Hamzah Bharuchi, 10, said: “I am more confident now and I have really enjoyed the visits to the park and the workshops.”
In September, Gainsborough and Daubeney will join the current two Hackney participating schools taking the total number of Construction Crew children involved across the five boroughs to 40.
New school is 'back on track'
A new company is to take over building the new Hackney Free and Parochial School after the original contractor, William Verry, went into administration.
McLaren Construction Limited will now continue the project. Hackney Free headteacher, Richard Brown, said:
“We are delighted that our new building is back on track. It’s fantastic news for our students, who are looking forward to making use of the new facilities.”
Cllr Rita Krishna, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “The Council is confident McLaren will work hard to minimise disruption and deliver a new high quality facility of which we can all be proud.”
Around £17million has been earmarked to the school for rebuilding and refurbishments on its current E9 site as part of Hackney’s £167million building schools for the future programme, which aims to create schools with facilities and services for the whole community. For more info, visit the Building Schools for the Future page.
Animal fun on the Isle of Dogs
Pupils from Downsfield Special School, E8, encountered llamas, geese, horses, ducks and goats on the Isle of Dogs, during a recent visit to Mudchute Park.
As part of a trip organised by charity The Lady Taverners, the children, all of whom have various forms of autistic spectrum disorder, were given the chance to learn first hand about various farmyard animals.
Carole Overton, chairman of The Lady Taverners City Region, and her colleague, Tenneh Silla, welcomed the children and carers to the park and farm as part of the fun day.
The Lady Taverners is part of cricket charity The Lord’s Taverners. It focuses on sport, recreation and provides minibuses for young people with special needs. For more info, visit: www.lordstaverners.org.
Workplaces offer Inspire!-ation
A construction firm and a nursery are among the seven workplaces in the borough being praised by education business partnership Inspire! for helping students boost their employability.
One young man who had let his studies drift was so enthused by a ‘taster’ placement with Stamford Hill-based Division Five Builders, that he is now doing an apprenticeship with the company.
St Michael’s Nursery in Clapton was praised for responding positively to last minute requests when other placements fall through.
The Car Hospital, E5, Mears, E8, Matalan, E8, Homerton Hospital, E9, and St Scholastica’s Primary School, E5, also received awards on 16 June for accepting young people, with varying needs and abilities, on work placements and giving them worthwhile learning opportunities.
Keynote speaker Jennette Arnold, deputy chair of the London Assembly and representative for Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest, said: “Work placements increase young people’s employability and they make sure Hackney’s young people can be a force in the labour market.”
You can dance
Pupils put on their dancing shoes for a festival at Bridge Academy.
Hackney Celebrates Dance was organised by Hackney School Sports Partnership (HSSP). The event saw students from six primary and four secondary schools showcase routines created with help from teachers and dance instructors.
Samba, waltz, flamenco and hip-hop were all given a whirl, and the festival included a surprise performance from Hackney Free and Parochial School’s steel drum band Youth United, as well as a body-popping routine from Chris Stein of Dynamic Groove.
Arianna Evans, a pupil at Haggerston School for Girls, said: “It was amazing to perform our dance on such a great stage. We worked so hard, and to be able to do it again for the primary schools was fantastic. We loved watching the primary schools perform – they were so sweet”
Taking part in the festival along with Haggerston were students from Clapton Girls’Technology College, Jubilee Primary, Holmleigh Primary, Gayhurst Community School, William Patten Primary, Princess May Primary, Rushmore Primary and All stories The Bridge Academy.
Cornering the global market
A group of Hackney students have been showing off their flair and initiative at the London Stock Exchange.
Skinners’ Company’s School for Girls is the first to be involved in a new project that highlights the importance of thinking and acting globally when setting up a business.
Skinners’ pupils set up a stall selling goods exported by a school in Berlin, starting with German snack products.
They plan to corner the market on items that UK customers are unfamiliar with.
A partnership between Skinners’ and the Berlin school was set up by Achievers’ International, an online enterprise project where groups of students form a company and import and export goods with a partner school overseas.
The aim of the project is to help young people learn about global trading and form bonds with their peers overseas.
Children brave the Dragon's Den
Students from Berger Primary School faced the fire of criticism in a Dragons’ Den-style competition, presided by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of London.
As part of his campaign to promote financial literacy in schools, Lord Mayor Ian Luder visited the event, in which year six students presented product ideas, marketing plans and budget forecasts.
The Lord Mayor told the pupils he has a particular interest in Hackney as his father used to teach “just down the road”. The event was arranged by Inspire!; the education business partnership for Hackney.
Cultivating sporting excellence
England Basketball has rewarded Hackney Community College’s (HCC) seven years of success with a licence to offer a certified programme to talented players.
The Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) status allows the Shoreditch-based academy to cultivate the sporting careers of promising 16-18-year-old basketball players, who are also working towards other qualifications, such as A-levels. Students will also achieve coaching badges and experience to help them in the sport.
Academy Director Chris Morris was delighted with gaining AASE status, making the academy one of only 12 colleges and schools in England that can deliver the programme, and the only one in inner London. Players aged 16-18 who aspire to play at the highest level and wish to continue their education should call Chris on: 020 7613 9170 or: 07786 485 223; or email: academies@hackney.ac.uk
Kevin is head of the heads
A Headteacher has described receiving a prestigious commendation as a “gold medal for all the hard work carried out by the school staff and governors”.
Kevin McDonnell of Stormont House School was named Secondary Headteacher of the Year at the London Teaching Awards 2009.
Kevin’s nomination came from The Learning Trust and was seconded by Stormont Deputy Head, Beryl Grosvenor.
The head of the E5 school for complex special educational needs said: “It’s a privilege to be honoured and an equal privilege to lead such a high level of staff and governors – and to work with children who have so many talents.”
Page updated: 15 Jun 2010
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