It is a time of new beginnings at HTFC Study Centre as three of the four schools attending this term are new signings.
Moorlands Primary, Salendine Nook High School and Reinwood Junior School are all making their debut appearance at the centre with the last place in the squad going to longstanding partners Mount Pleasant J, I & N School. Each school has made a flying start to the term, particularly with their numeracy, as last week's test results show. However, it hasn't all been work, work, work - the pupils have also been letting off steam on the play structure at The Zone, have been on a tour of the Galpharm Stadium and have been working out in the Gym at The Zone. Many thanks to staff at the stadium and The Zone for making all this possible.
The satellite centre at Rawthorpe Amateur Boxing Club continues to go from strength to strength, with the Club holding the after school study group on Tuesday evenings again this term. The sessions take place from 3.45 to 5.00pm. Participants then enjoy a non-contact boxing training session until 6pm. The highlight of the term so far has been the study group's visit to Amir Khan's Gym in Bolton. Gloves Community Centre is one of only two boxing centres in the country to host a 'Playing for Success' classroom, the other being our very own at Rawthorpe. The visit involved a tour of the centre, a training session in Amir's Gym and a learning session in the community classroom. The pupils also met Amir's brother and manager and were all given a goody bag and a signed Amir photograph.
The centre is contributing to a number of other schemes and projects this term. The Zone is hosting a computer literacy project for over-50s in partnership with Age Concern, a Community Cohesion twinning project involving pupils from pairs of schools based in areas with different ethnic profiles and a Family Learning project involving pupils and parents from the Fartown pyramid of schools. The Study Support Centre is also again holding classes on a Saturday morning in partnership with the 'Parents of Black Children' Association.
There are lots of other developments taking place at the centre at the moment. A new website for the five Playing for Success centres in Kirklees is under construction and should be on line in a couple of weeks. Centre assistant Sam Vant has left to pursue a career as a PE teacher recently. A new member of staff should be in place by our next update. Our former satellite centre at Thornton Lodge Neighbourhood Learning Centre closed last year but the building has re-opened as the Internet Learning Café. We are hoping to have sessions with pupils from a local school up and running at the Café by the summer term. Next term is shaping up to being one of the busiest ever!
The Study Centre is 10 years old this year. We are celebrating by sponsoring the Match Ball for the game against Southend United on 4th April. Check out the match programme on the day for a summary of the centre's brief history.
