Leeds Schools Win At Silverstone. Pete Thurlow, Area Manager South, sent me this update...

"Whilst British racing drivers lead the way in F1, Leeds drivers win at Silverstone! Bruntcliffe High School and Woodkirk High School were the first Leeds schools to participate in the national ‘Formula Schools’ design engineering competition held last week at the Northamptonshire circuit- and they came away with trophies.

In partnership with South Leeds City Learning Centre, Y10 students from the two schools have been working for the last two months to design, test and build scale radio controlled cars for the competition. They have had to run design competitions in school, attract sponsors from local businesses, pass pre-race scrutineering and prepare for the race with specialist manufacturing techniques, mirroring the requirements of real F1 teams. This all culminated in a tense race day last Thursday where the Leeds ‘rookies’ were up against experienced teams from all over the country.

Both Bruntcliffe and Woodkirk won in different categories. Woodkirk benefited from safe, reliable driving to win the second of their two heats. Bruntcliffe’s success was through their engineering and communication skills, taking the pit display prize and the body/aerodynamics trophy- the latter being sponsored and presented by Williams F1. Both teams succeeded beyond expectation, working to achieve for themselves as schools but also representing Leeds as a city- a big feature of the day was the mutual support and shared resources between the teams."

Well done to everyone involved for a brilliant project which once again has put Leeds on the map. Pet says that we’ll be back next year and that hopefully he’ll take a few more schools!
Chris

One of our local councillors sent me this...

"Hello Chris, I thought the attached may be of interest to you.

The Royal Bank of Scotland run a programme called Face2Face with Finance, which is free of charge to Schools. I thought that it might be of interest to those of use who work with the High Schools in our wards. The Face2Face with Finance Scheme is aimed at 11 to 18 year olds and introduces them to financial literacy via a paper format and web based training package. It can involve running an enterprise day in school and the Royal Bank makes no charge for delivering this service. Both RBS and Natwest have a dedicated website for Face2Face with Finance, these can be found at the following links http://www.rbsf2f.com and http://www.natwestf2f.com/

Face2Face with Finance for Schools is a programme from RBS that aims to support young people in learning how to manage their personal finances. The programme is provided to teachers free of charge. Regards Cllr Terry Grashon"

Financial literacy is a hugely important aspect of the provision we should be making for young people here in Leeds and this looks very interesting. If you are interested in learning more about Face2Face with finance contact Margaret Hudson at the Royal Bank of Scotland margaret.hudson@rbs.co.uk who will be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Chris

I started the day at the Derek Fatchett CLC...

We had a Leadership Forum but my colleague Joan Haines had invited the brilliant 'Leeds Schools Percussion Ensemble' to play at the start of the day. Joan had seen the ensemble perform at the Wharfdale Festival of Performing Arts where they swept the board and were recognised as outstanding. Michael, Alex, Jennifer, Joseph, Jacob and Tom, led by our colleague Ray Payne from Artforms, showed us real talent, great teamwork and the importance of high quality coaching... it was a remarkable performance.
Chris

I read another article by Oliver James over the weekend...

Oliver James wrote Affluenza - How to be successsful and stay sane. The article I read was about the old chestnut nurture versus nature and Oliver argues that it's not really a bit of both. The research is very clear that it is mostly nuture and that many aspects of our make-up have no heritability at all. More good news for those of us who believe that we can change the world for the better!
Chris

I read some interesting research over the weekend...

The research is from the Manchester Institute of Sport and Physical Activity. It suggests that children who engage in large amounts of physical activity are up to eigth times more likely to succeed at their examinations. Dr Gillian Burgess believes that being physically active is a contributory factor; with higher physical self-worth and self-esteem leading to greater levels of self-confidence. This makes young people more likely to succeeed! The research is currently being published at http://www.mmu.ac.uk/academic/mispa
Worth a look.
Chris

We went to see Les Miserables...

It was fantastic; great music, great songs, great singers. I just can't get the tunes out of my head. If you haven't seen it you should go.
Chris

The weather is incredible but who cares! I am in London for the weekend...

Chris

As many of you know it was my Mum's funeral on Wednesday and I am deeply grateful for the cards, letters and messages of support I received. It was wonderful to know that so many people cared. THANK YOU
Chris

I went on to another amazing primary school...

Greenmount Primary School is a great school doing brilliant things. Jenny Wilde and her team are doing something very special... you only have to read the OfSTED Inspection Report to know that this is a wonderful little primary school. Jenny had arranged a tour of the school with Jordan, Kenal and Kamar; three of her fantastic young people from Year 6. I was entertained by the new choir who had apparently performed brilliantly last weekend at the Beeston Festival and Mela... they sang one of my favourites, 'Drop in the Ocean'. I also had tea and biscuits the School Council who told me everything I ever wanted to know about their school... from buddies to school dinners, from sport to literacy. It was a great afternoon...

What makes Greenmount Primary School such a brilliant school?

• Jenny's strong, focused, committed and passionate leadership;
• a hugely talented learning team;
• clear vision, values and beliefs driving all aspects of the work of the school;
• great teaching within a wonderful learning environment;
• strong, positive and dynamic relationships;
• high expectations of every child and the whole learning team; and
• some talented, brilliant, gorgeous and wonderful young people!

Jenny and her learning team are doing a brilliant job and have created a fantastic learning environment for the children in a really great school.

Chris

I went on to 'The Store' at the West Park Centre. This was another example of Leeds at its best....

Clare Biggs, Paul Kaiserman and colleagues had organised a major showcase for the arts in schools. We all know that there is a wealth of high quality arts practice on offer to our schools and extended services. 'The Store' offered a market place providing a unique opportunity for colleagues to meet a huge variety of talented colleagues from were available to bring drama, dance, story telling, visual arts, sculpture and media into schools to enrich and enhance the offer we make to children and young people. This was an amazing event and Clare had also organised a series of short performances, taster workshops and seminars.

The arts and creativity lie at the heart of what we are doing in schools. They enrich and develop us in ways that little else can, and just walking around 'The Store' gave you so many brilliant ideas. If you missed it you missed something really special. It was fantastic!
Chris