Marine Academy Primary in Plymouth, part of the Ted Wragg Trust, welcomed local Member of Parliament The Rt Hon Johnny Mercer into the school on Friday the 1st of December to talk about road safety.

His visit followed on from Road Safety Week, which ran from the 19th to the 25th of November and centred around raising awareness of the dangers of excess or inappropriate speed and helping people understand why safe speeds are so vital for safe and healthy journeys.

The school invited Mr Mercer to come along for himself and see some of the traffic issues caused by the public turning right during pick up and drop off times.  He also spoke to some pupil members of the Academy Parliament to hear their ideas.

Mr Mercer has been the MP for Plymouth Moor View since 2015 and he currently holds the Government post of Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs).

Nicola Keeler and Georgina Reid Co Headteachers at Marine Academy Primary said:

“We are really grateful to Mr Mercer for taking the time to visit us and meet with representatives of our Academy Parliament.  It was great for them to be able to share their concerns about road safety in person and for them to hear about how to affect change on issues they care about.”

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust said:

“It was brilliant to hear that Mr Mercer went along to Marine Academy Primary to meet with pupils.  It’s so important for local members of parliament to hear from those in the community about what matters to them, and I am proud of our Academy Parliament pupils for articulating themselves to him so well.”

Some Year 9 female students from St Luke’s Church of England School, Isca Academy and St James School, part of the Ted Wragg Trust, joined students from other schools around Exeter for a special workplace event at law firm Michelmores this month, which aimed to introduce them to career opportunities within professional services.

The girls took part in a workshop on communication skills and confidence run by Judy Salmon, a professional business coach and personal development consultant.  They also listened to a talk on early careers opportunities at Michelmores.  The day concluded with an office tour by the firm’s trainee solicitors, apprentices and placement year students.

The firm hopes that sessions like these will help to make a career in law more accessible and they have introduced various initiatives which focus on social mobility and inclusion.  The event was coordinated with the support of Empowering Girls Exeter which links Year 9 girls from local secondary schools with professional women in the city for a programme of mentoring. 

Harrison Littler, Headteacher at St Luke’s Church of England School said:

“I want to say a big thank you to Michelmore for giving our students the opportunity to spend some time with their fantastic employees hearing about a career in law.  I know the students took a huge amount away from the session and that it got them all thinking hard about their futures.”

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Trust said:

“It’s great to hear about the work Michelmores are doing with local young people to make sure that they consider careers in professions like law.  At the Ted Wragg Trust, we want children to reach high and fulfil their full potential and partnerships like this are a brilliant way of inspiring that.”

Children and staff at Marine Academy Primary school in Plymouth, part of the Ted Wragg Trust, have had a brilliant day fundraising for Children in Need, raising over £6,000. 

Primary Open Events will be taking place across our family of schools. This is an opportunity for all preschool families to come and see what our ambitious and inclusive schools have to offer. Please see information below for individual schools. 

Students and staff at Queen Elizabeth’s School are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Award.

Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports them to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education across the whole curriculum, bringing learning to life for children and young people.

In order to achieve their Artsmark Award, QE had to develop their arts and culture provision to embed a broad and balanced curriculum. This was achieved by creating an overall plan that was committed to and delivered across the whole school.

QE was supported by Real Ideas in planning and developing their objectives. Real Ideas worked alongside the school at various stages to support their Artsmark Award achievement.

The Artsmark assessor commended QE, noting that the school ‘remained steadfast in its provision of discrete arts teaching at Key Stage 3 and has sustained its range of arts qualifications. Results have been strong at GCSE and A level and pupils go on to study arts subjects in higher education. You have restored and sustained your performance opportunities, with your Jazz Band performing in the wider community and with primary schools being welcomed to your musical theatre productions. Primary schools have also been involved in Drama and Music workshops and your transition events have a strong arts base. You have enhanced your extra-curricular provision, with the QE Theatre Academy being a particular strength. The Carnegie Competition where students work in small groups to present a short performance, telling the story of their chosen book from those on the Carnegie shortlist, gives pupils ownership of their arts learning. You have done well to sustain and strengthen the arts through difficult times and we look forward greatly to hearing how you build on this as your journey continues.’

On receiving the award, Paula Smith, Acting Headteacher said: “We’re extremely proud of achieving our Artsmark Silver Award. We are committed to delivering a high-quality arts and cultural education and we look forward to continue to grow with Artsmark.”

Dr Darren Henley OBE, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, said: “I would like to congratulate Queen Elizabeth’s School on their Artsmark Award. Becoming an Artsmark school demonstrates that through offering a broad, balanced and creative curriculum, young people have the opportunity to develop character and resilience, increasing their knowledge, curiosity and skills that will remain with them through to adult life.”

DfE data release shows Exeter students bucking national trends to achieve excellent results in core subjects