Overcoming the myths of clearing
As of September 20th, 2018, the academic intake year seen a total of 60,100 hopeful students accepted through the UCAS clearing process. Not only was this figure 150 higher than the previous year, it broke a new record for the number of students in total who had been taken in through clearing. Unfortunately, despite the incredible number of success stories which have generated from the clearing process, in 2019, there still exists a major stigma around it. In this article, we set out to quash the myths and provide you with a factual realisation of the benefits of clearing. What is clearing? Clearing takes place between July and September. It is designed to help students who need another opportunity to apply, regardless of the reason. Much of the confusion regarding the clearing process is based around who can apply. If you fall within any of the following categories, then you can apply: • Your application was not received by UCAS until after the 30th June, as by this stage they will not have been able to submit it to higher education institutions on your behalf • You didn’t receive any offer(s) • You had paid the full application fee for a course which has either been declined or unsuccessful • You either didn’t respond by the due date or declined your offer(s) • You didn’t receive the grades, therefore your offer was not confirmed • You declined a changed entry point, a changed course of study, or a changed start date A-Level aftermath The first major point regarding the clearing process, which is misinterpreted, is that it is only for people who failed their A-Levels. Not only is this untrue, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, clearing does offer an alternative route into further education for those who failed to meet preestablished grade requirements, however, this is one very small dimension to the process. It is a sad reality that many students will beat themselves up if they don’t get their predicted grades at A-Level. However, once you arrive at university, everyone starts off from the same place. Teaching is designed and geared to ensure that everyone is in the same boat, regardless of your previous experience or learning. Similarly, don’t think because you’ve come through clearing that the rest of the class will be more intelligent — they could have gone through the exact same experience! Once you’re in, you’re in, and there is no looking back. For students carrying out their A-Levels, there is no denying that you have a lot on your plate. Yes, of course you will receive copious amounts of help from your career advisor at school or college, but, quite frankly, you might not know what you want to do. Often this can lead to jumping into a university course that you didn’t actually want to do. This is where clearing can show its true worth. Rather than devoting the next three or four years of your life to a degree which you are unsure about, reapply once you have had a summer to weigh up your options. ‘But it’s only the courses that nobody wants to do…’ If you listen to the word on the grapevine, you might think that the only courses available through clearing are the ones which nobody wants to do. This, however, is little more than a rumour. Of course, there are a number of subjects which are incredibly oversubscribed from the off-set. However, even for those courses, the grade boundaries will usually be higher, and if the candidates don’t meet the requirements, unfilled places will remain. All clearing does is match students to courses which are not filled. The credibility of the course isn’t diminished in anyway because it features in the clearing process — you could literally find anything on there, even the course you had initially applied for. Don’t think that because you’ve had one knock back from that course that you are inappropriate for a second shot. Many students find that they miss the cut the first time around, however, they can enter on the second intake. Edward Brooks is a recent graduate of Northumbria University. After completing his first year at Teesside University in Middlesbrough, Edward began to look at alternative locations for the remainder of his studies. He wanted to be closer to his family in Newcastle. Unfortunately, because he had missed the cut off for UCAS applications, he would have had to wait for another year if he was going to apply using the standard procedure. Thanks to the university clearing process, Edward was able to apply to Northumbria. He details how his process was utterly seamless: “I was a bit stressed at first. I’d heard that clearing can be really confusing and time-consuming, but, I got in touch and everything was pretty simplistic — I was on the right course for me, in the right location in a few weeks”. What else? The clearing process isn’t difficult, but, we do admit, come results day, things might be a bit haphazard. However, there are walkthrough guides online detailing how to make the most out of the process. Don’t be fooled into thinking people will think less of you if you go through clearing. Clearing is somewhat of a Pandora’s box, or Narnia style cupboard, in that it can lead you into endless opportunity. Sources ucas.com bbc.co.uk
Cornerstones Education launches ‘Curriculum Maestro’
Cornerstones Education launches ‘Curriculum Maestro’, a new online curriculum management platform for primary schools, to meet changes to the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework. South Yorkshire based Cornerstones Education has launched a new online platform, Curriculum Maestro, designed specifically to meet the curriculum challenges faced by primary schools ahead of the new Ofsted Education Inspection Framework (EIF) which launches on 1 September 2019. Curriculum Maestro has been created after extensive qualitative research with more than 150 primary headteachers, senior leaders, The Department for Education and Ofsted. The research included face-to-face interviews, focus groups and online surveys. When asked what their main challenges are when faced with the new EIF this autumn, the key issues raised were: Workload: Reducing teacher workload whilst still providing a broad, balanced and connected curriculum. Delivery against the new EIF: Teachers want to make sure their curriculum delivers everything the new EIF says it should. Subject coverage: Providing good coverage for all subjects through sequenced lessons, progressing covering both knowledge and skills. National curriculum coverage: Being able to track intended and actual national curriculum coverage across the whole school. Planning, teaching and assessment: Being able to link live planning, teaching and assessment across the whole curriculum. It was concluded from in-depth interviews with the Department for Education, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Amanda Spielman, and Deputy Director for Schools, Matthew Purves, that primary schools often have the harder job when it comes to providing a broad, balanced and connected curriculum. With 10 years’ experience of primary curriculum design, Cornerstones Education has developed Curriculum Maestro as a solution to these challenges. It provides a mix of pre-populated and editable options to help leaders quickly define their curriculum intent and measure whole-school and individual coverage and progression. Teachers can design or choose projects, activities and lesson resources that meet the needs of their classes and make instant, purposeful assessments. Simon Hickton, Managing Director of Cornerstones Education said: “With a renewed inspection focus on the curriculum and its “connectedness”, we know there are even more leaders looking to refresh or redesign their curriculum. Some schools have tried to do this alone, but for primary schools, in particular, the task can be a mammoth undertaking and has a significant impact on people’s workload. Creating a whole-school, coherent and connected curriculum is hard work and takes up a lot of time. I am all too aware of the pressure primary school teachers face with such high expectations on the levels of planning, marking and data management required. Maestro will revolutionise the way that schools can define and measure their curriculum intent, implementation and impact by giving them the tools to create a curriculum with appropriate coverage, content, structure and sequencing.” Curriculum Maestro has undergone extensive piloting as well as been showcased to more than 300 primary schools across the country who currently use the Cornerstones Curriculum. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive: Christian Hilton, Executive Headteacher at Shipston-on-Stour Primary School, has been trialling Cornerstones Maestro and said: “It’s a real game-changer for curriculum design, leadership at all levels, planning and assessment, all while improving workload and the quality of teaching and learning. The balance of strategic leadership and operational use at the chalk face is brilliant.” Lyn McNamara, Executive Principal, Probus Primary School, said: “It’s fantastic. For assessment of all subjects, including the foundation, to be integral and for us to be able to do it while we teach is a real answer for me. I also love the fact you can assess for impact and coverage. In terms of senior leadership being able to make use of it, I think it’s a fantastic tool to have.” Cornerstones Education was founded by Simon Hickton and Melanie Moore 10 years ago, both of whom have over 20 years of primary teaching and leadership experience. The foundation of the Cornerstones Curriculum is to provide a primary school curriculum that develops the skills and knowledge required by the national curriculum, as well as being creatively stimulating and allowing children to explore their own interests. It is currently taught in over 2000 schools to 500,000 children. A Cornerstones Curriculum yearly license gives access to over 80 themed projects and 1000s of lesson ideas mapped to the national curriculum. https://cornerstoneseducation.co.uk
Rolls-Royce and Discovery Education bring STEM to primary schools
An exciting new partnership to inspire the next generation of scientists was launched at Rolls-Royce HQ in Derby recently. Teachers from local primary schools visited the Rolls-Royce Learning and Development Centre to celebrate the start of the new initiative, which sees the company joining forces with Discovery Education to support STEM learning. Developed to spark children’s interest in future STEM careers, the pioneering collaboration will provide classroom resources to 40 primary schools across the UK – including 25 in Derbyshire, supported by Rolls-Royce. These schools will be given access to Discovery Education STEM Connect, a new service blending dynamic, digital content with hands-on activities which will help teachers to bring science, maths and design & technology to life for young learners. The Derbyshire teachers attending thrlaunch event explored the new resources and activities which will boost STEM learning in their primary schools. With a focus on bringing real-world STEM challenges into the classroom, the STEM Connect resources will also encourage children to think about sustainable futures, inspired by The United Nations Sustainability Goals. Friday’s event was the first in a series of STEM teacher professional learning celebrations also taking place in Birmingham, Sheffield and Bristol as part of this programme. Disadvantaged areas will benefit from STEM partnership Paul Broadhead, Head of Community at Rolls-Royce said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Discovery Education to provide pioneering STEM learning in primary schools across the UK, particularly in areas of disadvantage. Through this collaboration hundreds of children will experience the power of STEM and learn how engineering & technology can be used to better look after our planet.” Christine Major, Director of Educational Partnerships said: “Discovery Education is delighted to be partnering with Rolls-Royce to bring STEM learning to hundreds of school children across Derbyshire and beyond. Our future-focused classroom resources will bring real-world context to STEM learning, inspiring the next generation of innovators while educating children about sustainability and the challenges facing our planet.” The primary schools that attended Friday’s event were: Beaufort Primary School, Wren Park Primary School, Shelton Junior School, Griffe Field Primary School and Bonsall CE VA Primary School. These schools are among the first in the UK to access the new Discovery Education STEM Connect platform, which will be launched to schools nationwide later this month. To request more information about Discovery Education STEM Connect please visit discoveryeducation.co.uk.
Five reasons to teach entrepreneurship to teenagers
Catherine Whitaker, CEO & Head of Learning of EtonX, discusses how to teach entrepreneurship skills to the next generation of business leaders… Entrepreneurship has gained mass appeal on our TV screens, through the naked ambition of the Apprentice or the trenchant verdicts of the Dragon’s Den judges. But are we missing the opportunity to communicate entrepreneurship’s wider value in preparing for our schoolchildren for the future? Having developed an online entrepreneurship course for teenagers around the world, I know there are many transferable skills children can develop from entrepreneurship training. Here are five of the key ones. The first is creativity. Entrepreneurship requires students to use idea generation techniques both to come up with new business opportunities and to deal with the hurdles they might meet putting their idea into practice. Analytical thinking is the second benefit. Children will come up on day one with ideas such as a music-sharing app but guiding them to carry out research and find out if there is actual demand for it develops analytical skills. Entrepreneurs are quick to test ideas (often with a Minimum Viable Product), learn from test results and decide either to iterate or to start again. This, too, requires analysis but also, adaptability – the third key skill. Students learn to be flexible, to embrace different perspectives and respond to feedback. The fourth skill is persuasion. Gaining support for a product or service from potential collaborators, investors and customers requires persuasive skills. Students need to think hard about what will motivate any of these people to support them, what messages will appeal and how to present their calls to action. Finally, teenage entrepreneurs rarely work alone so the skill of collaboration is also developed through entrepreneurship experiences. Putting students in groups to develop a concept and pitch it to their peers creates an engaging way to gain build their confidence and ability to work with others. Generation Z need to develop core skills like entrepreneurship These transferable skills – creativity, analytical thinking, adaptability, persuasion and collaboration ‒ are critical for rounding out Generation Z’s education. As jobs worldwide are being automated away by technology, our students need to develop the core human skills that allow them to adapt to change with new ideas and ways of working. The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den provide a gripping view of entrepreneurship. For my money though, the true benefits of teaching this subject lie in its fostering of children’s ability to come up new ideas, analyse success or failure and work collaboratively in a team, all of which equip them with crucial soft skills for a fast-changing world. See www.etonx.com for more information on entrepreneurship courses.
Simple quick tips to impress as an NQT
Robert Aitken, ex-teacher and education technology specialist at ONVU Learning, has some advice for the NQT in your school… Step one is complete; you’ve found an NQT job for next year. It’s only natural to feel a little scared by the prospect. You’ve spent the last year training and now it’s just you at the front of the class, and there are 30 students staring back. There’s no need to panic though. Here are eight ways to build confidence as an NQT and to be your best self. 1. Get to know your new school before your first day Once you know you have a job with a school try to visit several times and learn as much information from the team. Gather as many resources as possible. If you’re based a long way away, try to visit at least once and then follow-up with some probing questions. That will allow you to spend your time over the summer holidays planning effectively and gaining confidence in your approach. 2. Learn and follow school policies from the outset Each school has its own way procedures and it is vital that you follow them wholeheartedly as an NQT. Reading them carefully is the task number one, but if you can spend time shadowing a class or a student before the summer break you’ll get to know how such policies and approaches are delivered by teachers in the classroom in practice. That will make all the difference in your ability to assimilate and thrive in the new environment. 3. Look for respect, not to be liked There’s a saying: “You shouldn’t smile until Christmas”. That’s a pretty big challenge. A smarter version is to look for respect. Don’t fret about telling students off when needed, but at the same time you can laugh when the situation comes up. Just remember who is in charge and the goals everyone is there to achieve. 4. Stick to the basics of teaching – explain, model, question Alex Quigley’s book ‘The Confident Teacher’ has a tip: Don’t think of trying to deliver overly complex ‘wow’ lessons every lesson every day. Just ensure that you have a core process of explaining new ideas, showing how they work in practice, and then using effective questioning to assess the learning delivered and if it has translated into understanding. 5. Look after your voice A study by Greenwich University found that 50 per cent of NQTs suffer from voice loss during the year. What a problem to have! The NUT2 advises teachers to take a range of steps to avoid this, from warming up the voice at the start of the day to finding a comfortable range of pitch to drinking enough water. It’s a real problem, so take steps to address it so that the risk is minimised. If it should happen, do the right thing right away so the episode passes as fast as possible. 6. Don’t agree to do too much too soon – even under pressure It’s easy as a new member of staff in a school to want to throw yourself into a wide range of new activities. Everyone wants to be respected and relied on. But everyone needs time to prepare lessons, do their household chores, sleep, AND have a life beyond teaching. As you become more experienced, teaching and preparation will take up less time and you can take on new roles. A teaching career can last over 40 years! Don’t try to conquer the task at the expensive of your life. 7. Use networks for help and support early and often As an NQT you’ll have a network of people within your school to help you – usually a mentor and an induction tutor as well as a peer network of NQTs and RQTs (2nd year teachers). You may also be part of a wider network through a multi-academy trust or local authority – and you’ll probably be in touch with fellow students from your initial teacher training programme. It’s important to use them – and to remember that no question is too silly to ask! Ask the question before you run into the problem. 8. Take time to reflect on your lessons in a positive way Take a moment out of each day and reflect on your lessons. Notice the critical incidents within them, and use reflection and external coaching to continually improve. Some schools make this easy with technology and structured techniques that improve the effectiveness of such self-reflection. Certainly think back after each lesson and ask ‘what would I do again?’ – identifying the key things that you did right. If anything could be better, think about what happened to drive that outcome, the internal and external factors. It’s an exciting time, and as in all aspects of life, proper planning prevents poor performance. Every student deserves a great learning experience and every NQT is able to deliver one, with the right attitude, training, and support. Self-reflection and a growth mind-set focused on continuous professional development will get a committed NQT through day one, week one, and year one, and onwards for a rich career.
Three tips to enhance maths in your school
Alexandra Riley is author of the Power of Maths report and Senior Publisher in the Primary Maths team at Pearson. She leads the team behind Power Maths, a whole-class mastery programme developed in partnership with White Rose Maths. Here, she highlights how schools can not only boost results but improve perceptions about how maths is used in everyday life… Maths can unlock doors by giving children and young people the tools needed to access new learning or pursue a career that increases their future earning power. And yet, only 36% of males and 23% of females at Key Stage Four feel that mathematics is most likely to lead to a job in the future [1]. Meanwhile, myths about mathematics continue to perpetuate, from the belief that some people just can’t do maths to the perception that this isn’t a creative subject. Following the release of Pearson’s Power of Maths report, shaped by leading thinkers across education and business, here are some ways you can improve both the perceptions and teaching of mathematics in your school: 1. Bust myths Maths is relevant and important in our lives beyond the school gates. In your school, talk openly about the utility and creativity of maths. Maths is not about getting “the right answer”. Instead, show pupils that debate, discovery and creativity are an integral part of maths, rather than characteristics confined to humanities, and this makes maths fascinating and exciting. You can do this in practice, by regularly integrating problems with more than one solution into maths lessons, and debating the strategies used and solutions. Pupils will become engaged in their learning by thinking creatively and participating in rich mathematical discussion. 2. Build resilience If an adult is under-confident in maths, they can unknowingly pass on their anxieties to children and young people, leading to many arriving in their lessons ready to hate it. Building mathematical confidence among parents can be key to tackling maths anxiety in your school. At a primary level, teachers can give parents simple suggestions for engaging their child in learning at home, whether it is working on a puzzle book at bedtime, creating a maths picture storybook or talking about shape while they play together. You can run workshops to communicate this or draw on Pearson’s Handy Parent Factsheet, which explains the importance of a growth mindset and how parents can encourage their children to be confident mathematicians. 3. Never underestimate the power of professional development Teachers are one of the biggest influencers on our young people yet many maths teachers are not subject specialists (particularly at primary) and feel under-confident in teaching the subject. High-quality resources, such as textbooks and teacher guides, can help teachers to consistently implement what they have learnt in the classroom. You can also encourage teachers to observe, or even film, lessons and reflect on them with a colleague or as a team. This gives an opportunity to reflect on best practice, build subject knowledge and share new ideas. The future of mathematics is ultimately one where people from diverse backgrounds and interests come together to collaborate and drive change. By harnessing a passion for mathematics in schools and classrooms, we can all inspire young people with its power one step at a time. To read the Power of Maths report and its recommendations, please visit: pearsonprimary.co.uk
We must encourage young people’s curiosity in science and history
Beth Stone, Head of Learning and Audiences at the Natural History Museum, discusses with QA Education editor Victoria Galligan how the iconic venue inspires the next generation of STEM experts… Q&A with the Natural History Museum Can you give an example of a lesson/visit where a school surprised you? We’re constantly surprised by the students that attend our workshops. Recently we had KS1 students attend our Super Stegosaurus workshop, who had only recently transitioned from nursery. We were delighted to see how engaged they were on the concept of fossils and palaeontology and their use of the complex vocabulary at such a young age. This means the workshop experience often doubles as a summary of the unit they’ve just been taught, or it is used as a springboard to introduce a new unit. Similarly, the creation of pre and post-visit resources are hugely beneficial to students as it means our workshops can be used to support student’s project or as a knowledge testing exercise. What should schools be doing to ensure the scientists of the future are being challenged? Scientists of the future face numerous challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, food and water security and how to supply our global energy needs – all of which have been exacerbated by climate change and our growing populations. It’s therefore paramount that we encourage young people’s curiosity and interest in science and natural history as they’ll be the ones continuing to tackle these challenges in the future. Schools therefore have a huge role to play here and this is why we’re passionate about working with educators to instil what we call ‘scientific habits of mind’. This idea is about encouraging curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, visualising and modelling – skills that are essential in science but also crucial skills for the world of work. We see it as our job as a museum to empower educators and students to develop these behaviours and skills and broaden their understanding of science and the natural world. One of the ways in which schools can maintain this curiosity for science in their students, is through technology. For example, our partnership with Dell allows us to support and inspire younger generations with technology-supported learning. Our Dippy’s Naturenauts app helps spark curiosity about the past, present and future by setting them various explorative tasks that encourage them to explore the natural world. We hope that through our workshops, museum experience and through our technology partnership, we can attract a wider diversity of students to STEM subjects and highlight just how many careers the world of science supports. After all, we don’t have a lot of time in which to make a difference, so there’s a real sense of urgency in tackling this now. Do you feel primary science should be tested at Years 2 and 6 like maths and English? The most important thing for us is that science, remains as important as key subjects such as English and maths. We want to help support all teachers, especially those that perhaps don’t have a specialism in science and are therefore less confident, so they can encourage their students to develop scientific habitats of mind and go on to be scientifically literate adults. By encouraging students to develop a healthy scepticism, and by giving them the ability to understand evidence and analyse its value, we can help them develop useful life skills. In order to do this, we’ve found that enquiry-based learning is great at building students’ confidence. However, students are still being put off science due to out of date stereotypes. Recent research from King’s College found that students can be put off by the brainy image of scientists as they don’t think they are clever enough to excel. We therefore need to challenge this typecast at a much earlier stage of development – as if we wait until secondary school, we’ll have already lost a great many potential scientists, researchers and experts. For more information on booking a trip to the Natural History Museum, see nhm.ac.uk
Career advice for pupils interested in animal care
Offering career advice in diverse subjects is not an easy task – particularly in a field as specialised as animal care. We all know you have to be a big animal lover to do the job but this isn’t the only factor – there are many fields of knowledge which pupils may not have considered that are integral to the role. Learning the scientific details of animal care will take a lot of study, but the rewards will be great. Whether students approach this field through a university degree or learn on the job, they will need to consider the technological and biological side to providing the best possible care for animals, so need to prepare themselves for a lot of hard work! Read on so you can gen up on zooology career advice and help pupils learn about some different elements to working with animals that they may have not yet considered… What should I study? Some important areas of study that will help prepare you for your career are: • Habitat and acute temperature and humidity control • Food and medication preparation • Animal psychological and physical health Because of this, at school and college you should be prepared the study subjects outside the realms of zoology, such as: • Biology • Anatomy • Physiology • Areas that may help with presentation and confidence in public speaking, such as drama, can be a useful secondary subject as you will need to present information and lecture on topics, not to mention communicate well with colleagues and animal owners if you work in the veterinary arena. Regulating the temperature of habitats Animals can be extremely picky about the temperature of their home. Without a comfortable temperature, they could have their growth stunted, or worse, could die. One of the many tasks a zookeeper must be able to do is observing animals for signs of heat stress. As hard as you might try to replicate the outside world, an enclosure in a zoo is never going to perfectly mirror an animal’s natural habitat. The enclosure must therefore be adapted to suit a number of needs, such as humidity, ventilation, and temperature control. Keeping an eye on health and happiness Some of the animals that come under your care will inevitably be unwell and unhappy. Sometimes, you will need to care for animals who are in poor health, be it physically or psychologically. This can be one of the more trying aspects of this career, and certainly something you will want to back up with plenty of knowledge and studying. • Being able to spot symptoms — like with heat stress, a zookeeper must know what warning signs to look out for and report them to the necessary veterinarians. At higher levels, zookeepers and animal carers are expected to be able to spot trends in poor health and create a treatment plan. • Administering medication and treatment — adding medication to food may be simple, but there are also much more complex treatments that higher-level zookeepers may need to perform. • More complicated medical procedures — assisting during medical procedures may also be required, such as observing vital signs and handling the animal. Caring considerations for mammals Temperature can affect different animal groups in different ways. For mammals, signs of heat stress can be different than with reptiles: they share the panting, but can also become anxious or start to drool. It can become difficult to regulate temperature when shelter houses have a door open at all times to allow the animals out into their paddocks for fresh air and more space. As well as making heating the house difficult, this can also make it inefficient, as the building will often have the heating running when no animal is indoors to need it. These heaters would therefore be left running 24 hours a day in the winter, regardless of the animal being present to require it. Movement sensors do not help, as the heaters would turn off when the animal settles down to sleep or stops moving to rest during the day. A more efficient way of regulating the temperature is by using smart-sensor temperature control technology, which senses the presence of body heat from the animal. If the animal leaves the enclosure to head outside, the heating turns off. If it returns in, even if it isn’t moving during rest, the heater will stay on. The physical and mental wellbeing will be the most important part of your job and understanding how temperature can affect these things I essential. You’ll want to knuckle down on your science studies to achieve this! Caring considerations for reptiles Temperature regulation is also incredibly important for the wellbeing of reptiles. Despite loving the sun, reptiles are still susceptible to heat-stress. Symptoms in reptiles include lethargy, lack of appetite, and rapid breathing. Reptiles are very attuned and reliant upon the temperature of their environment. Prevention of heat stress is an important consideration, the installation of a suitable air conditioning unit is a great place to start. New technology around temperature regulation is being tested all the time in zoos. For example, at Paignton Zoo, they welcomed the public-vote named Khaleesi, a Komodo dragon at the end of 2018. As the largest species of lizard in the world, its temperature and basking needs are a little different. With this in mind, the zoo is using a new heating and lighting system that deploys multiple heat sources and lighting spots with different heat levels emitted. The system allows staff to control the temperature at different spots within the enclosure, encouraging Khaleesi to move around the space throughout the day to gain exercise. The importance of diet and nutrition Different food types have varying effects on animals. For example, did you know that while bearded dragons need dark, leafy greens as part of a healthy diet, they shouldn’t be fed spinach — one of the most well-known dark, leafy greens! The wide range of nutritional knowledge,
Dorset School Wins Countrywide Gardening Competition
Hazelbury Bryan Primary School in Dorset, are the winners of this year’s Wilkinson Sword and Town & Country Gardening for Schools Campaign. The competition invited schools from across the nation to design a fruit and vegetable garden for a prize of £150 to spend on Wilkinson Sword tools and £150 on Town & Country gloves. More than 50 garden designs were entered from all around the country. This fantastic school in Dorset runs a weekly after school gardening club every Tuesday with the help of volunteer Samantha Sedgbeer. The club is attended by pupils of all ages and the winning design for the garden takes pride of place in the school hall for all to enjoy. Samantha Sedgbeer said; “It has been a privilege watching the children so engaged with the garden. It promotes well-being and self-esteem and it helps with literacy and maths, not to mention encouraging patience, resilience, team working and nurturing qualities”. Representatives from Wilkinson Sword and Town & Country visited the club on their last day of term to see the results of their efforts. The judges were impressed by the school’s design which highlighted the importance of wildlife, the environment and the benefits of gardening. Samantha expressed her excitement for winning the competition; “We were thrilled to win the competition, proving that although we are a small rural school, we are mighty! The tools and gloves have encouraged the children with their project and helped to make it all possible. We are so proud of each and every one of them and what they have achieved, and we very much look forward to continuing with the project in the new term”. Abbie Warner, marketing executive for Wilkinson Sword and Town & Country said: “We had no idea how popular this competition would be, but we were so impressed with the standard of design that the Hazelbury Bryan Primary School children came up with. They impressed all of the judges with their imaginative and competent design which made them the natural winners of this competition.” On the day of the visit the pupils demonstrated an enthusiasm for growing their own fruit and vegetables including potatoes, peas and strawberries. They took great delight in digging up their produce and sharing out among themselves to enjoy later at home. Further information about Wilkinson Sword’s and Town & Country’s range can be found at www.wilkinsonsword-tools.co.uk & https://www.townandco.com/