1st March 2007
Ninety of the UK’s
most enterprising teachers and students from 20 Rotherham
schools and colleges were guests of honour at an Awards
Ceremony and Celebration Event hosted by Leader of
the Council, Councillor Roger Stone, in the Council
Chamber at Rotherham Town Hall.
The 20 Rotherham schools
and colleges had gained the ‘Excellence in Enterprise
Education’ Award from the University of Warwick
Centre for Education & Industry, making Rotherham
one of the UK’s most enterprising towns.
Nine schools and colleges
received their Awards from Councillor Stone at the
Ceremony on March 1, following on from a reception
in 2006 hosted by John Healey at 11 Downing Street,
where the first 11 of the 20 schools and colleges received
their Awards. Amongst them were the first schools
and colleges in the UK to win the ‘Excellence
in Enterprise Education’ Award.
All 20 schools and colleges
are participants in the Rotherham Ready enterprise
education programme, which is putting Rotherham at
the forefront of enterprise education nationally. The
programme, run by the Council in conjunction with a
variety of local and regional business partners, and
funded and supported by Yorkshire Forward, has already
engaged more than 6,000 Rotherham youngsters, aged
from four to 19 years.
Enterprise entitlement
is now part of secondary education, but Rotherham’s
programme is also helping to lead the nation with new
schemes in primary schools and some of Thursday’s
award winners are from the primary sector.
Councillor Roger Stone,
a supporter of the Rotherham Ready, told the event: “It
is an honour and a privilege to celebrate with you. It
is your achievement that is paving the way for Rotherham’s
future success. People from across the country
are asking to come to Rotherham to find out about the
way we are teaching enterprise in our schools and colleges
and about the enterprising approaches we’ve developed
to building strong relationships between schools, businesses
and the wider community.”
Malcolm Hoare, Regional
Director of Warwick University Centre for Education & Industry,
said: “We are very proud to be a partner of Rotherham
Ready. We recognise quality when we see it and
we see it here in Rotherham. Quality in the way
that enterprise is embedded in the curriculum, not
just a bolt on extra, in the innovative approaches
to teaching and learning in Rotherham’s schools
and colleges, and in the strength of support from schools
and parents.”
Those attending the ceremony
included Head Teachers and Enterprise Champions together
with up to five students from each school or college. Delegates
also included representatives of the Rotherham Ready
partners: Business & Education-SY, Nord Anglia
Lifetime Development, Music Factory, Rotherham Chamber
of Commerce, Rotherham Youth Enterprise, Young Enterprise
Yorkshire & Humber, Sheffield Hallam University,
the University of Warwick Centre for Education and
Industry, and Yorkshire Forward.
As well as the Awards,
there were two information briefings for the students
and school/college staff. Terry Bingham, Senior
Town Hall Attendant, described the role of the Town
Hall in local democracy, and Clark Herron of RIDO showed
the audience a colourful presentation about enterprise
developments that are already making a significant
impact on Rotherham. Later, as the guests enjoyed
tea, the latest set of Rotherham Ready enterprise resources
was unveiled, developed jointly with Rotherham Primary
Care Trust and providing a wealth of local examples
for young people to get a better understanding of the
exciting opportunities available to them in the NHS. Yet
another example of Rotherham Ready’s ground-breaking
approach to enterprise education.
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