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Darlington 1119 Practitioner Newsletter
Welcome It seems wholly appropriate to be publishing an edition of our practitioner
newsletter in January given that the month is named after the Roman god of
beginnings and transitions. As you will see in the following pages, despite the
challenging economic environment, our young people are engaged in a wealth of
activities that will help them to make the crucial transition from school children
to adult citizens. The commitment and endeavour of colleagues across the town
working hard to make this process enjoyable and inspiring is also very clear.
Everyone involved in education and training in Darlington should also feel some
satisfaction that their efforts have been recently recognised by Sir Michael
Wilshaw in his annual chief inspector’s report.
As usual we have brought together stories that cover the great range of
opportunities available to young people in Darlington from apprenticeships at
Darlington Borough Council to the town’s newly crowned young chef of the
year. Also included here is the news of the launch of Darlington’s Children and
Young People’s Collective, an initiative designed to ensure that young people are
fully involved at the heart of the town’s decision making processes.
Yours sincerely
Tim Fisher,
Principal, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form
College
Chair, 11—19 Partnership
In This Issue…
• DBC Apprentices
• QE Alps Adventure
• QE Back to School Day
• C: The One Stop Shop
• Education Village News
• Longfield Young Chef
• Morrison Trust Nu Traxx
• Darlington College News
• Carmel Wise Drive
• Carmel College Boxer
• Teesside Uni News
• EV Enterprising Students
• EV Prince s Trust
• SW D Training 45 years
• QE Top Student
• Carmel Fund Raising
• Young People s Collective
Issue 11 January 2013
© Darlington 11 19 Partnership
DBC Apprentices— Their thoughts Darlington Borough Council employs and trains apprentices in various roles. Here are the thoughts of two DBC apprentices:
Name: Shanice Bainbridge Job Title: Apprentice Revenue and Housing Benefits Officer
Why did you choose an Apprenticeship? Because I did not want to go back into full time education. I knew from school this is the route I wanted to take. I am more of a ‘hands on’ person and I prefer to work as I learn.
What benefits does an Apprenticeship have over other ways of learning? You learn new things every day and pick up lots of new and different skills in the workplace. Also, as you are learning, you are earning money.
What do you enjoy most about your Apprenticeship? Learning new things every day and being able to achieve new things at the training centre and at work.
What would you say to other people thinking about doing an Apprenticeship? I would definitely say it is an option that is very much worth looking into to see if it is for you!
Name: Kadima Begum Job Title: Apprentice in Human Resources
Why did you choose an Apprenticeship? Because I knew I would get the experience, skills and knowledge I need from working in a business environment and I would get the qualifications and all the training I need at the same time. With an apprenticeship, I knew that it would help me achieve my goals and lead me to a bright successful future.
What benefits does an Apprenticeship have over other ways of learning? As an apprentice you are fully employed and get treated equally as any other employee. You receive training and the support from your training provider at the same time, in my case Darlington Borough Council. This will be beneficial to you because it will help you achieve your targets and help you focus on your career.
What do you enjoy most about your Apprenticeship? Whilst working in HR as an apprentice I have met various polite people across the workforce and this helped me communicate more and build more confidence in myself. I also enjoy carrying out different tasks and learning new things about the role itself. I benefit from having the opportunity to help and support other team members in tasks when applicable. This helps me gain more knowledge about the organisation and the statistics that need to be provided in this role.
What would you say to other people thinking about doing an Apprenticeship? Have a go at it and see how it goes because the knowledge and skills they receive will help them chose which career path to take in the future. I would recommend an apprenticeship to others because it is very rewarding. Sometimes it can be demanding, however on the course you will get trained up by your employers, team members and training provider. You will gains skills needed for the job, and build up knowledge, have the best experience and receive excellent qualifications. It will also help you in your future, whether you want to go to university or continue in work.
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Queen Elizabeth 6th Form College—Alps Adventure Students studying A level Geology at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College have just returned from a week long
field trip to the European Alps.
Ed Anderson, QE’s newly appointed Head of Geology, led the trip. He explains:
‘Based in Chamonix, the students enjoyed the
opportunity to study the geology of one of the world’s
great glaciated fold mountain belts. The Alps were
created by the collision of the European and African
continental plates 8—30 million years ago and are the
highest mountains in Western Europe. Their study is an
integral part of the A Level geology course and several
questions in the examinations require students to discuss
aspects of the geology, evolution and glaciation of the
mountain ranges. The highlights of the trip included
trekking 1,000 metres up to the famous icefall on Glacier
d’ Argentiere, travelling on the Brevent cable car to enjoy
the stunning views of the Mont Blanc massif and
journeying through the Mont Blanc tunnel to visit the
Italian side of the Alps. The trip not only provided a valuable learning opportunity to study mountain belts at
first hand, but it was great fun and created many lifelong memories.’
Next year’s trip to the Alps in currently being planned.
Back to School Day
Students at QE recently held their annual ‘Back to School Day’
when students and staff put on their old school uniforms to
raise money for charity.
Student Services Coordinator, Beccy Stannard commented:
‘It was a fun day with everyone entering wholeheartedly into
the spirit of the event—even staff dug out their old school
attire! The Student Association Executive baked and sold
cakes, there was a bucket collection and, to link with the
theme of the day, students joined in games such as Giant Jenga, Kerplunk and Giant Limbo. A total of £326.35 was
raised for Age UK in Darlington.’
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C: The One Stop Shop is a town centre dropin service available to young people in
Darlington aged 11—19 (up to age 25 for those with learning difficulties / disabilities). Formerly known as the Connexions One Stop Shop, we provide free facetoface information, advice and guidance on a range of subjects including employment, education, training, housing, benefits and health. We offer a dropin service 11am—3pm Monday to Friday as well as the option of individual appointments outside of dropin times, when required.
In spite of the unprecedented reduction in funding from central government to the local authority in recent years, and during a period when many centrallybased Connexions One Stop Shop facilities are being closed around the country, Darlington Borough Council is continuing to offer an accessible, free facetoface service to some of the most vulnerable young people in the borough. Since July 2011 we have had a monthly average of 326 young people accessing the dropin service during weekday hours alone. We work with a number of services including local colleges, schools, training providers, voluntary sector agencies and other specialised services—many of which use C: The One Stop Shop as a location to engage young people through liaison with our staff. We also run a very successful Saturday evening youth dropin session which provides a friendly environment for young people to meet up and speak to staff with a view to reducing the risk of antisocial behaviour in the town centre.
Some of the recent comments from young people and parents on why they access C: The One Stop Shop include:
‘I found the advice of the adviser very helpful with my son. They made him feel very comfortable and that helped him to talk about what he wanted to do. The office is very bright and friendly.’
‘Very happy with this service and all the advice given to my son. He has been lost about his future for such a long time and I hope this advice will encourage him to follow where he really wants to go. It’s great having someone who can talk through your options but who also seems to have your best interests at heart. Thank you, it’s a load off my mind as a parent.’
‘It’s warm and the staff are always there for you if you need someone to talk to.’
C: The One Stop Shop has recently been announced as one of 30 youth centres across the country that will become a Microsoft Youth Hub as
part of an initiative between UK Youth and Microsoft. Each Microsoft Youth Hub will have the knowledge to enable them to run a peer education programme which will ensure that a wider group of young people have improved IT knowledge and access and other skills relevant to the digital workplace. This will include high quality peer education and IT training for a youth worker and three young people (IT Champions) delivered by UK and Microsoft, as well as funding for hardware to be used in C: The One Stop Shop. This will run initially from February 2013 for a 25 week period followed by a rolling programme to train more IT Champions using the skills and hardware obtained.
For further information on the C: The One Stop Shop, please contact Mark Broadbent or Mervyn Bell on (01325) 406170 or 07793 306828. You can also get uptodate information on the latest jobs, apprenticeships, training opportunities, youth events and more for young people in Darlington on our Facebook page which can be found at www.facebook.com/Ctheonestopshop.
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Education Village—Duke of Edinburgh Award A group of students who have recently left the Education Village or who have moved into Year 11 came together to celebrate the successful completion of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.
This was a night to celebrate as the students were the first students to complete the Award since the Academy became a Duke of Edinburgh Licensed Centre. The night was fully supported by families, the Mayor (elect) of Darlington, Councillor Paul Baldwin and his Mayoress, Mrs Kim Baldwin, Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator Marcia Holmes, staff and Academy Governors.
The night allowed the students to showcase what they had achieved to complete their Award which was very diverse, from singing to kayaking, from cooking to wood carving and charity work. Staff organisers Caroline Larsen, Kath Humpleby, Charlotte Dodds and the Outdoor Education Team, Brent Ardle, Neil Gargett and Stevie Bulmer are all proud of the students’ commitment and success and are now organising further expeditions for the next group.
Senior UK Maths Challenge Wesley Chow, Katie Duncan, Rebecca Drysdale and Dale Ward achieved a place at the regional heat of the senior UK Maths challenge. This is an outstanding achievement, especially when we consider the fact that they were the only Year 11 students to participate; the other 18 teams were Year 12 and 13 students from Teesside, North Yorkshire and County Durham who are studying maths and further maths at A Level! Faced with a challenging set of problems aimed at A Level students, the team from Haughton were superb; showing teamwork, organisation and flair. The team themselves did well during the earlier advanced maths rounds which involved AS Level questions, but were just beaten in the last round when it came to the more challenging A Level questions. Their efforts produced a very credible 12th place, beating many prestigious 6th Forms and Colleges along the way. Their resilience, teamwork and organisation was something to be really proud of.
Diwali Year 10 Health and Social Care students at Education Village worked alongside Year 5 Springfield students to create Rangoli patterns to learn about Diwali. The students were there to learn about the physical, intellectual , emotional and social development of 9 year olds, which will help with their Heath and Social Care coursework. The students enjoyed the experience with one student commenting on how it made her want to work with children when she left school.
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Longfield Pupil wins Darlington Young Chef of the Year Young culinary stars of the future turned up the heat as they went headtohead in the sizzling final of a Darlington cookery competition. The seven budding chefs, aged between 14 and 16, from schools across the town battled it out in the kitchens of Darlington College to be crowned Darlington Young Chef of the Year 2012.
After a cookoff, 14 year old Hayley Bowes from Longfield Academy of Sport, scooped the title with her meal of mushroom polenta grill, hoisin and sesameglazed grilled duck and an individual summer berry fruit pavlova.
The budding chef—who will now be entered into the next round of the national Rotary Young Chef of the Year competition—hopes to one day become a top chef or dietician.
‘It feels really surreal and it’s not sunk in yet,’ she said. ‘I absolutely love cooking and working towards my AS in food technology at school.’
Judge and catering tutor at Darlington College, Donna Joyce, said Miss Bowes’ food was restaurant quality and cooked to perfection.
She said: ‘All the entries were fantastic, but Hayley’s technical skills were so professional and hers was a very well balanced menu. To think she is only 14 and cooking to this standard is amazing.’
Head chef at Rockcliffe Hall, Kenny Atkinson, who was also on the judging panel said: ‘ I was really impressed and blown away by them all.
Some chefs I know would not have been able to cope with this pressure, so they should all be really proud of themselves.’
As a result of this competition, Hayley has been given the opportunity to carry out a work experience placement with Kenny Atkinson at
Rockcliffe Hall. Mr Roland Lang from Darlington Rotary presented Hayley with Young Chef of the Year trophy during morning assembly.
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Morrison Trust—Nu Traxx As part of the Youth Contract, Morrison Trust is offering a programme to support young people aged 16 to 17 who have no GCSEs grade A* C and are not in work, education or training.
The programme provides a Training and Employment Mentor who will help the young person build their confidence and learn new skills. The Mentor will help them identify apprenticeships, courses and job opportunities which will meet the young person’s interests and aspirations. For further information, please contact Morrison Trust on (01325) 387000, email: [email protected], website: www.morrisontrust.org.uk.
Darlington College—Engineering success
With a father drilling down under, mother building bridges in the North East and his granddad working in the field of wood chemicals, Connor Lishman has all things mechanical running in his blood. As a child, the 17 year old wanted to be an inventor and was crazy about Lego and as the only child in his class at Whinfield Primary School to get 100% in maths, engineering became his natural choice. Now a student at Darlington College studying an NVQ in Engineering Technical Support and an Extended Diploma in Engineering, Connor is celebrating after securing an apprenticeship at the worldrenowned Cleveland Bridge company.
He said: ‘As soon as I saw this course—that is practical experience combined with theoretical mathematics, I knew it was the one for me. I was once told that if you are designing something, you've got to be able to make it yourself, otherwise how can you expect to explain it to anyone else? Working with Cleveland Bridge has been amazing. As part of my NVQ, I've been asked to plan how to fabricate 200 bridges for a project in Sri Lanka.’
Connor landed his summer job as Cleveland Bridge through his mum, who has been working there for 23 years as a purchasing clerk. They offered him the apprenticeship on the strength of his hard work and have agreed to sponsor him through university.
The mechanical engineering degree will take five years, to be followed by a two year masters degree. Connor is no stranger to hard work. ‘I never let myself stop,’ he said ‘I have taught myself Morsecode and Spanish and I use my spare time to invent stuff. I've had a go at a steam powered car and a tap powered generator which could also be used in central heating systems to generate electricity.’ Tuesdays and Fridays are spent at College, Mondays and Wednesday at Cleveland Bridge and Thursday is project day.
Connor said his training allows him to experience everything from the shop floor to finance, management and planning. ‘It’s brilliant because even if I end up in management, I’ll be able to empathise with the shop floor engineers.’ Long term, he would like to have his own design office. He said: ‘I love problem solving; how to get from here to there when a river is in the way, for instance. And with this in mind, there no better place to start than at Cleveland Bridge, backed by the expertise and support provided by Darlington College.’
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Darlington College—Business Admin Apprenticeship
BIB Darlington has recruited its very first Business Administration Level 2 Apprentice.
BIB has always maintained a close relationship with the local colleges. In fact, several of its current insurance staff have been recruited as a direct result of a two year insurance training programme. It therefore seemed a natural progression for BIB to extend its links with Darlington College to include a Business Administration Apprenticeship, thereby giving a young person the opportunity to work within a long established local business with a strong learning and development ethos.
Carrie Taylor (19) joined BIB at the end of July 2012 and she is currently working towards her NVQ Level 2 in Business Administration with the assistance of Pat Norwood, Darlington College Professional Tutor.
The recruitment process was by no means an easy task, with a large number of young hopefuls applying for the position, each bringing something unique to the table. With the help of College, BIB was able to identify those applicants with the necessary skill set for the business.
BIB prides itself on being a very customer friendly organisation and Carrie has demonstrated her ability to deal with BIB’s clients in the way they would expect of someone with many years of experience.
Carrie is currently getting to grips with a number of projects within BIB’s Admin Support Team, each relevant to the NVQ Business Administration, and it is hoped that she will complete her technical certificate very soon.
New qualification for the digital era
Darlington College has developed a new twoyear Apprenticeship in Creative Digital Media in response to employer demand. The qualification focuses on the skills required within the creative media industries and the digital knowledge that relates directly to the modern world of business.
The deputy new media editor at the Northern Echo, Michael Atkinson, said: ‘Digital media is the future of newspapers and as the world of technology moves on, it is vitally important that we move with it. There have been many changes within our industry and we are seeing more online news than ever before. Our digital content covers numerous platforms including video, podcasts, iPad applications and websites so there are a lot more opportunities available with digital media.’
The Apprenticeship offers a choice from over 31 modules, covering the whole of the media sector, ranging from classic journalism, radio, social media and web design to animation, film making, construction set design and character makeup. The modules are tailored depending on the company's focus and we can tailor to meet their individual needs. The college has everything in place to deliver skills that the industry requires and Apprenticeships can be designed specifically for employers.
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Carmel College—Wise Drive A group of Year 11 students from Carmel College participated in the
‘Wise Drive—Drive for Life’ event at Police Headquarters, Aykley
Heads, Durham recently.
The event is an opportunity for local agencies (Police, Fire and Rescue
Service, Driving Standards Agency, Pass n Go Driving School) to
engage with young potential drivers and passengers, to help establish
good, positive attitudes and behaviour.
3,500 people are killed on Britain’s roads every year and statistically,
17—25 year old drivers are the most vulnerable group. A driver in
this age group is three times as likely to be killed in a road crash as any other group. As a passenger this rises to
six times as likely. The Wise Drive scheme aims to inform young people in all aspects of road safety.
The event began with a hard hitting first session, entitled ‘Casualty Awareness’ which used graphic material and
detailed scenarios of road traffic fatalities. Other activities on the day included a driving simulator, Pass n Go
driving instruction, vehicle safety and maintenance, motorcycle safety and drink / drug driving.
All the students who took part enjoyed their day and agreed that this was an invaluable experience.
Professional Boxer Visits Carmel A group of pupils from Carmel College recently enjoyed a day in the company of Amanda Coulson, professional
Boxer and Athlete Mentor. Amanda is a gifted and exciting fighter who has spent almost a decade at the top of the
women’s national and international boxing scene. Amanda led practical sessions in the gym using specialised
equipment and the students were inspired by her story of how she achieved success in the male dominated sport
of boxing.
‘I am honoured to be involved with an initiative as inspirational as Sky
Sports Living For Sport’ commented Amanda, ‘I want to motivate the
young people I meet in schools to become involved in sport as I know
the benefits it can reap. My story is a true example of how, with
passion and determination, you can overcome obstacles in your life to
make your dream come true.’
Further details on the visit can be found at http://
livingforsport.skysports.com/newsitems/amandacoulsonvisitsstudentscarmelcollege.
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Teesside University—Fees and Funding Sessions There are still many myths and misunderstandings surrounding the new fee structure which is potentially putting off students from applying to university who would hugely benefit from the experience. The University is therefore providing a general funding presentation, delivered by an expert member of the University’s Student Services team. The presentation is suitable for students, parents and staff, and provides accurate, timely and clear information on all aspects of student funding.
These sessions can be delivered in schools and colleges on request. For more information or to book a fees and funding talk, please contact the Student Support Unit on (01642) 342297 or email [email protected].
Supporting Progression Conference
It has never been more important to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to support our students and raise their aspirations. With this in mind, we have brought together a team of experts to provide you with the most uptodate information and advice for tackling some of today’s biggest issues in higher education.
Designed for teachers and those playing an important role in encouraging and advising students, this conference is an opportunity for you to benefit from sharing best practice in teaching and progression.
For more information, or to book a place, please visit www.tees.ac.uk/studentrecruitment or call (01642) 342275.
Working in Partnership The University supported a visit held by Darlington College recently where 150 pupils from Greenfield School in Newton Aycliffe came into the University’s Darlington Campus to take part in a range of activities designed to raise aspirations and inform about higher education. A recent university graduate provided a student life talk which gave pupils a real picture of what it’s like to be a student at university. Pupils also took part in our course Pictionary game where they learnt about the range of courses on offer at higher institutions across the country. Feedback from the event was positive and the University is looking for more ways to link with schools in and around the Darlington area through the students into schools mentoring programme.
If you would like further information about the University’s pre16 aspiration raising session, or undergraduate mentors into schools and colleges, please visit our webpages www.tees.ac.uk/student recruitment or call the Student Recruitment Team on (01642) 342275.
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Enterprising Students at Education Village: Full on Futures Year 9 and 10 students from Education Village, in addition to primary students, were off timetable for one week in November 2012, to undertake a Business Challenge, alongside a local business ambassador, to produce an innovative service or product. An impressive range of external businesses and individuals were involved in the week.
Linking to Education Village’s Applied, Arts and Technology status, the week focused on raising aspirations for students to achieve their career goals, in addition to the application of creativity, and the raising of awareness of job opportunities in the Creative, Engineering and Technology sectors.
Through participating in the challenge and associated visits to local businesses, students further developed knowledge, skills and understanding in enterprise capability, entrepreneurship, financial capability and business and economic understanding, in preparation for further and higher education, training and employment.
Secondary challenges included producing artwork to sell to local companies of the iconic landscape and buildings of Darlington, a sports coaching challenge to coach primary students in football skills in partnership with Newcastle United, and local football star, Steph Houghton, and a music production challenge at the Forum. A group of students commenced their Princes Trust Award through conservation volunteering with the Friends of Rockwell Nature Reserve. A group of students filmed the week, alongside pupils who were given the challenge to design an iphone App for the EV. Students also worked alongside STEMNET, AMEC staff and apprentices and Newcastle College’s Energy Academy, to observe the emerging Renewable Energy Sector with a
visit to the College which is the first centre of its kind in the country. A group of students also focused on the construction industry, supported by Darlington College, S & D Training and Bussey and Armstrong. A group of Beaumont Hill students worked with the Forest School and artist Susan Warlock to produce creative products. A group of students worked with local Caribbean restaurant Ochi’s and their head chef to produce a new enticing menu for the restaurant. The Drama Department worked alongside No Limits Theatre Company and Stockton Riverside College to put on a full production in a week. Our Health and Social Care Challenge involved students observing Occupational Health and First Aid. Year 9 students also worked alongside Cummins to raise awareness
and develop a marketing campaign to raise money to produce water filter to supply villages and schools in India with fresh clean water. The EV plans to adopt this as its charity for the year, and to involve the whole school community in raising funds for Cummins. Students will also work in partnership with the Darlington BME network on an Indian Cultural Evening in the spring, including cooking dance, fashion and art work to further support the charity. A group of students also worked to produce a wide range of products for the Community Christmas Fayre held on 29th November and for EV’s Market as part of the Darlington Markets.
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Education Village—Prince’s Trust xlprogramme In January 2013 Education Village will be launching the Prince’s Trust xlprogramme for pupils in Year 9 at Haughton Academy. The xlprogramme is a personal development programme for young people aged 13—19 to help them build personal and social skills and gain the confidence and motivation they need to succeed. In an xl club, young people work together in small groups on youthled projects, doing fun, practical, hands on activities. Over two years, the pupils will work towards a Prince’s Trust Certificate in Personal Development and Teamwork, with units including Personal, Interpersonal and Team Skills, Active Citizenship, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise, Preparation for Work and a variety of enrichment projects in the local community.
During Full on Futures week, ten Year 9 pupils had the opportunity to sample the kind of activities that will be on offer. They joined Prince’s Trust Adviser Susan Spencer on a community project at Rockwell Local Nature Reserve, where they completed an Environment Challenge. This involved creating an outdoor classroom to be used by pupils and families from across the Education Village. Margs Graham from the Friends of Rockwell Nature Reserve and Pippa Smalling from South Park Education Centre were really impressed with their creativity and hard work. The group brushed up on their craft skills, making some fantastic bird and bat boxes that will be put up around the nature reserve. The highlight of the challenge was planting 150 trees as part of the Jubilee Woods Project, one of which was a Royal Oak sapling from a royal estate. The pupils were a real credit to the school and a shining example of young people taking an interest in the environment and their local community. The first xl club is scheduled to start in January and will run on Monday evenings 3pm—6pm. For further information, contact Susan on (01325) 248106 or email [email protected].
SWDT—45 years of Engineering Careers Specialist training centre, South West Durham Training has been celebrating 45 years of nurturing engineering talent in the NorthEast. Comedian Vic Reeves and Stewart Wingate, the chief executive of Gatwick Airport are among the thousands of engineering apprentices who cut their teeth at SWDT on Aycliffe Business Park. The facility which specialises in courses for engineering and manufacturing sectors, held a reunion event attended by alumni such as Mike Matthews, managing director of Nifco UK, Caroline Robinson, managing director of Husqvarna and Mike McCabe, the former plant manager of Cummins Engines.
The event offered former graduates, of whom many have gone on to become leading lights in UK engineering, the chance to meet the latest crop of trainees who are helping to bolster the region’s skills base.
Charl Erasmus, former head of operations at SWDT who has become the centre’s chief executive, explained how the facility was helping safeguard the region’s proud engineering heritage. ‘The celebration event was a chance to enjoy a bit of nostalgia, while also recognising the achievements of our class of 2012.’ he said. ‘We estimate that about 10,000 trainees have benefited from the facility, so its impact both here in the NorthEast and throughout the industry has been significant. We are County Durham’s best kept secret and part of today is to remind people that we are continuing to meet the needs of companies in the 21st century.’ The centre which last year opened a £3.6m extension, produces about 100 apprentices every year and delivers short courses to hundreds of adult learners.
The event included a speech from former SWDT apprentice Gareth Berry, who is now vicepresident of Electrolux Major Appliances, and from Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF, the manufacturer’s organisation.
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QE—National Awards for Top Psychology Student In the summer, Rachael Kitching, student at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College gained fantastic A level results —A* grades in Psychology, Law and Extended Project and grade A in Biology. She was absolutely delighted but didn’t know there would be yet more to celebrate—she has now been notified that she gained the highest marks on the country for A level Psychology!
In her A Level Psychology exams, Rachael gained a remarkable total of 398 marks out of 400 and has won prizes from both the exam board, WJEC and the British Psychological Society. Chief Executive of WJEC, Gareth Pierce, wrote to QE’s Principal, Tim Fisher, congratulating him, his staff and Rachael on her magnificent achievement saying:
‘Rachael came first of all the candidates who studied Psychology with WJEC in 2012. This is an outstanding achievement and evidence of the hard work the Rachael and her teachers put into preparing for examinations.’
Rachael could hardly believe the news when she heard of the awards and took in the significance of her achievement. She said: ‘It’s amazing—I can’t quite believe it but I’m very pleased. I’d like to thanks all my teachers who helped me to do so well at QE—they were great.’
Rachael’s excellent results have taken her to Newcastle University to read law and she hopes to eventually become a solicitor. Rachael, from Great Stainton, was at Hurworth School before progressing to QE to take her A levels.
Carmel Raises Money for Cancer Charities November 2012 at Carmel College marked a month of fundraising for cancer charities. Both staff and sixth form students participated in Movember to raise money for men’s cancer charities, and student Lucy Robson was sponsored to have her extremely long hair shaved off in aid of Cancer Research. Throughout the month, male staff and students grew moustaches of various sizes, shapes and colours. They were supported by other students who also ran a number of different fundraising events including quizzes, competitions and cake sales.
Their efforts culminated in a grand finale ’shaveathon’ at the end of the month in front of a packed audience of pupils who had paid to see the staff and students finally removing the growths from their top lips. This was followed by Lucy having her head shaved. This was a very emotional experience for Lucy who was cheered on by the large crowd. The staff and students raised over £2,000 for cancer charities and Lucy donated all her hair to another charity which makes wigs for children.
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Launch of Darlington’s Young People Collective
On the 2nd October 2012, Councillor Cyndi Hughes welcomed 19 organisations and 13 young people who represented 6 Darlington based young people’s groups to a session which affirmed commitment to involve young people at the heart of shaping the design of Darlington’s children and young people services, ensuring young people participate in the decision making process of all organisations in Darlington.
Young people attending the event included DAD Young Leaders group, YMCA Young Adult Carers group, Darlo Care Crew, Top Deck, Darlington Youth Partnership and Emily O’Hara—Darlington’s Member of Youth Parliament. Young people listened to organisations outline their plans to involve young people in their organisations and in turn, young people shared their ideas and information about their groups with organisations at the event.
The organisations represented a the event included Darlington Clinical Commissioning group, Darlington Borough Council, eVOLution, County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust, Darlington College, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Durham Police Authority, Durham Constabulary, Darlington's Safeguarding Children‘s Board, Job Centre Plus, Teesside University, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust, Durham Probation Service, DAD, County Durham and Darlington PCT and Darlington secondary schools and academies.
Following the session, agencies and young people placed their hand print on a collage to illustrate their commitment to continue to work together, and the newly launched Children and Young People’s Collective will coordinate activity to ensure this is implemented.
The Children and Young People’s Collective will meet every month and commenced on 19th October 2012. Cllr Cyndi Hughes is the operational lead for the group and the group reports to the Darlington Partnership Board following a review of previous thematic groups that supported the board. Previously Aspiring Darlington was one of the five thematic groups that supported the work of Darlington Partnership. It has been agreed that Darlington’s Children and Young People’s Collective will ensure that views of children and young people are embedded in all partnership work going forward. Copies of presentations and agendas for the new Children and Young People Collectives are available at the following link:
http://www.darlington.gov.uk/children/childrenandyoungpeoplecollective
Next Issue The next issue of the 1119 Practitioner Newsletter will be published in May 2013. If you have anything you would like to be featured in the next issue, please send text (and photos if you have them) to [email protected] by 19 April 2013.
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