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Holly Lodge High School 85th BIRTHDAY
HOLLY Lodge
Girls’ College (originally Holly Lodge High School for Girls) is
blessed with a rich history and on 27 April 2007 we will be
celebrating our 85th Birthday. We aim to celebrate in style with the
aid of a recently awarded Heritage Lottery grant. All ex-Holly
Lodgers are invited to drop in to meet up with old friends and take
a trip down Memory Lane during the hours of 10 am and 2 pm.
Preparations have been under way for some time and pupils and staff
are working hard on performances, exhibitions and other events in
order to make this day a success. Events will include educational,
fun-filled and interesting activities – ranging from a Gospel Choir
to demonstrations (Victorian style!) and, of course, a Refreshment
Marquee will be set out on the lawn.
In addition, there will be a Celebration Concert, performed by four
members of the Scottish Opera, in the school hall from 7.30 pm.
Music will include arias from well-known operas, as well as songs
from operettas, musicals and more popular music. Applications for
this concert will be on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis as seating
is limited.
Our well-developed archive collection is stored in boxes and, due to
its fragile nature, there is limited access to it. However, we have
started to digitise this material and bring it to life through
display, oral histories and the birthday festival.
If you would like to attend, please contact either Jackie Ley or
Marianne Corlett and you will be sent an invitation attached to
which will be a Schedule of Events and map showing entrance to the
car park. Of course, attendance during the day is NOT dependent upon
an invitation but it would help us to cater more efficiently if we
know how many will be attending.
Marianne Corlett:-
email.
Jackie Ley:-
email.
Telephone number for both: 0151 228 3772
STATE OF THE ART
HEARING CENTRE OPENS IN HEART OF SOUTHPORT
On 5 March 2007 Councillor Jean Lilley,
Mayor of Sefton officially opened the Hidden Hearing’s state of the art
hearing centre in the heart of the town centre. The Hearing
Centre located at 625/627 Lord Street, Southport, will enable local
residents to benefit from the expertise of Hidden Hearing, one of
the UK’s leading providers of hearing aids.
The impact of hearing loss is ever more worrying as highlighted in a
recent study which revealed that over half the baby-boomer
population (i.e. people between the ages of 41-60) admitted to some
degree of hearing loss. Of these, a quarter said the hearing loss
not only affected their work performance but also impacted on their
earning potential.
The Hearing Centre will be operated by Carol Atherton RHAD, who has
many years experience of helping the hard of hearing. When referring
to the study Carol said:- “people would normally expect to
reach their maximum earning power in their 40’s and 50’s. However,
it is a sad fact that many talented people will disadvantage
themselves by not admitting that their hearing is not what it once
was and that they are experiencing some difficulties. The
Hidden Hearing team here is dedicated to providing a convenient and
quality service of the highest standard that our customers expect.
Early detection of hearing loss is important, and so are regular
hearing checks, which we encourage everyone to have at least once a
year. Following their hearing test and hearing aid fitting,
customers can always call in for batteries or parts as the company
carries them in stock, and we can carry out simple repairs on the
spot if necessary. ” |
Older people more likely to be out of work
ALMOST a 3rd
of older people living in the Northwest of England are unemployed,
compared with only a quarter of those living in the South, according
to a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research North (ippr
north). The Sand Timer: Skills and Employment in the North
West shows that 32% of people aged over 50 in the Northwest are
out of work (just over 1 million people), compared to 24% of those
living in the South (just over 3.8 million people). The report
shows that lone parents, people with no qualifications and disabled
people are most likely to be unemployed. There is also significant
crossover between these groups. A list of the 10 areas of the
Northwest with the highest concentration of older people out-of-work
is below.
ippr north’s report says getting people aged over 50 back into the
job market is increasingly important because of Britain’s ageing
population. ippr’s Population Politics report showed how Britain’s
economy will need a higher proportion of older workers. But ippr
north argues that the jobs need not necessarily be created within
the most disadvantaged areas, just within travelling distance of
them. The report argues that action needs to be taken to
remove the barriers that obstruct people from accessing jobs. The
report recommends a package of measures to bring people across the
Northwest into the job market:-
· Ensuring people aged over 50 are given greater support to access
the training they require: provision currently is targeted according
to age, but the focus instead should be on those most in need.
· Ensuring the Pathways to Work pilot scheme is properly resourced
as it is rolled out nationally and that those already claiming
Incapacity Benefit are able to participate in the scheme.
· Switching entitlement for financial support with childcare costs
from the Working Tax Credit to the Child Tax Credit so that parents
who are out of work would also qualify. Forty eight per cent of
non-working parents across the UK say that they would consider
employment if they could arrange good quality, affordable and
flexible childcare. Nearly 1.8 million children in the UK live in
families where no one works and around half of children in poverty
live in workless households.
· Everyone without a level 2 qualification (equivalent of 5 good
GCSEs) should be allowed free access to the training of their choice
(including at entry level, level 1, a partial level 2 or level 3 for
those who are able to jump a level). At the moment, the Government
only funds full level 2 courses.
· Policy to tackle skills and employment must be aligned so that the
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Department for Education
and Skills (DfES) understand their contribution to tackling
worklessness and promoting sustainable employment. The Departments
should share a common and binding agreement, known as a Public
Service Agreement, to this effect.
· Agencies should not become pre-occupied with trying to locate new
jobs in the most deprived areas. Instead, more attention should be
focused on improving links, for example transport links, between
deprived areas and buoyant commercial centres.
Sue Stirling, Director of ippr north, said:- “While there has
been considerable progress in recent years, significant pockets of
unemployment still exist and particular groups of people are still
far more likely to suffer wordlessness. Nationally, unemployment
rates fell last month, but full employment in every region is still
some way off and is proving very difficult to achieve. Our
research shows people aged over 50 who live in the North are being
left behind. The barriers they face need to be recognised and
addressed. We also need the Government to focus on the other
obstacles preventing a variety of disadvantaged groups from entering
work, and we would urge them to localise understanding of labour
markets to provide the most effective remedies.” |
