My colleague Matt Shillito who is Deputy Head Teacher at Shire Oak CE (VC) Primary School sent me this wonderful story...

"Dear Chris, I just thought contact you to let you know about the great day out pupils from Shire Oak Primary and Morley Newlands Primary had today. Both schools got to the final of the 'Design My Learning Space' Competition along with a school from Tyneside. We were invited to the BSEC Building Schools for the Future Conference at the G-MEX conference centre in Manchester. We shared a coach and were greeted by conference staff who handed our pupils their own delegate lanyards and a conference satchel to carry around with them. The children's work had been professionally produced on canvas and a special display in the conference hall had been set up. Before we visited our stand, we were invited into the main auditorium to find out who had won the main prize of a £25,000 makeover for their learning space. It was then that the pupils found out that their entries had been chosen from over 120 individual entries from schools in the north of England. Each school in turn were invited on stage (in front of over 200 conference delegates) and interviewed. Every pupil without exception spoke very eloquently and in detail about their project and how they had worked as a team.

Morley Newlands were the eventual winners- you'll see on the photo how excited they were!

We finished the afternoon by having lunch together in a local hotel before heading home- a great experience for the Y5s and 6s involved. Regards, Matt."

It is fantastic to see Leeds schools doing great things in competitions like this. Congratulations to everyone involved at Shire Oak.
Chris