Samantha Lauren King | Schools Week

Kids will run the equivalent of four marathons in new charity programme

A programme by charity Kids Run Free aims to get primary pupils running the equivalent of four marathons a year – and has the thumbs-up from Olympians Emily Diamond and James Dasaolu, recently returned from Rio. Both attended the recent launch of Marathon Kids in east London and ran a celebratory lap of the Newham […]

A national competition is getting students to invest thousands in the stockmarket

A national competition that encourages students to invest in the stockmarket is now accepting applications. The Shares4Schools challenge invites year 12 students to invest £1,500 into stocks, shares and funds of their choice. The winning team will bethe one that makes the greatest profit by May next year – with schools keeping anything they’ve earned. […]

Bede Community Primary School reports increased attainment through the use of technology in the classroom

The use of technology in the classroom has boosted pupils’ performance at Bede Community primary school in Gateshead, say teachers and pupils at the school. Bede was part of a three-year programme backed by Samsung that involved equipping 15 primary schools in disadvantaged areas with tablets, interactive whiteboards and laptops, alongside technical support and training for […]

Unique aviation programme launched at Bristol academy by an astronaut and Olympian

An Olympian and an astronaut walk into a school… It sounds like the start of a bad joke, but it was a reality for Bristol Metropolitan academy students who were joined by Olympian Kriss Akabusi and astronaut Claudie Haigneré for the launch of a programme from aviation giant Airbus. Flying Challenge will offer 13 and […]

‘War Horse’ author claims school testing kills the joy of reading

Author and former children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo says schools should allow 30 minutes of story time every day to boost children’s enjoyment of reading. In the inaugural annual lecture hosted by the charity BookTrust, the author of War Horse and Kensuke’s Kingdom claimed that a focus on testing had killed the pleasure children got from […]

Benenden’s new business course gets ‘The Apprentice’ seal of approval

A new course dedicated to teaching girls essential workplace skills has been given the seal of approval by Margaret Mountford, a former star of The Apprentice. Benenden school in Kent, an independent boarding school for girls aged 11-18, is one of the first schools in the UK to offer the course, which covers developing business […]

Weston Favell Academy received a visit from US Ambassador Matthew Barzun

US ambassador Matthew Barzun invited students at Weston Favell academy in Northampton to discuss world affairs when he visited recently. Such visits are usually restricted to a small number of schools, including the likes of Harrow and Eton, but 200 of the academy’s sixth formers and a selection of year 11 pupils joined the ambassador […]

Chair of education honours committee calls for more nominations from schools

Sir Daniel Moynihan, the chair of the education honours committee, is encouraging more schools to nominate their unsung heroes for awards. Subject leaders, long-serving teachers, support staff and lollipop ladies are among those the committee wants to see put up for a nomination. Honours are awarded biannually through the New Year’s honours list, which is […]

Stamford Hill primary has a playground you can eat

Stamford Hill primary school in Tottenham, north London, has installed an edible playground as part of a countrywide initiative to combat childhood obesity. Raised beds will be installed for salads and root vegetables, fruit trees established and compost areas set up. The aim is to educate children about where their food comes from, with planting […]