Hugh Baird College Alevel Students Win National Competition

ALEVEL Psychology students, studying at Hugh Baird College's South Sefton Campus, are in celebratory mood after beating off stiff competition from 27 other Schools and Colleges to be named top in a project based psychology competition, run by Royal Holloway University of London.

The question given to students participating in the competition was:- 'How can Psychology improve the world for future generations?' The group had to create a 3 minute video and a poster to answer the question. The group decided to focus their project and research on the psychological theory behind the various stages that lead to social change. In order to make their project relevant and hard hitting, the group applied their research and theory to the issue of plastic polluting our oceans.

In order to secure top prize:- Krystal Ford Murray, Olivia Chadwick and Anna Gaskell created a video that explained what social change is and how it has helped to drastically change society's awareness of the plastic pollution problem threatening the Earth's oceans and sea life.

Olivia Chadwick from Litherland spoke about her experience:- "The competition gave us a great chance to gain some new experience in managing a project. I feel this will have really helped us to prepare for university. Being able to take part in a national competition was such a wonderful experience, but to win was an achievement that we are all really proud of."

Hugh Baird College Psychology lecturer, Lisa Randall, added:- "We are all incredibly proud of the group, they have worked hard to achieve amazing results throughout their time with us and we wish them the best of luck in their university journeys. We are confident that they're destined to be great achievers."

A look inside Birtenshaw – Liverpool's newest School is a class act

THE 25 metre pool glows with iridescent colour Courtesy of calming underwater lighting… The corridors are high and bright with natural light, autism friendly lightbulbs and wide open spaces. The therapy room is an interactive wonderland where the walls and floor become an underwater landscape that whisks children away on a journey of the imagination.

This is Liverpool's newest School and it's already being hailed as the best of its kind in the country for children with special educational needs. Birtenshaw School in Fazakerley is the latest to be completed as part of the Council's Liverpool Schools Investment Programme (LSIP). The ₤5M building on the site of the former Dyson Hall School was completed recently.

Run by the Birtenshaw Charitable Group, the School caters for up to 50 children aged between 3 and 19, with a range of special educational needs and disabilities. Birtenshaw boasts a number of impressive facilities including the 25 metre hydrotherapy pool with multi sensory surround sound and lighting system, a therapy room and a number of multi sensory spaces that include cutting edge immersive technology.

The School is 1 of 22 across Liverpool that have either been built from scratch or completely transformed as part of the LSIP.

The ₤180M project was Liverpool City Council's response to the scrapping on the national Building Schools for the Future programme in 2010. The Government's decision to call time on the programme meant thousands of Liverpool children faced the prospect of completing their education in tired old buildings that were no longer fit for purpose. LSIP, spearheaded by Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, has created 16 new Schools, with others receiving significant new builds, extensions and new blocks.

Staff at Birtenshaw are currently preparing the pristine new building for its first intake of students in September. They took time out from their schedule recently to host a special visit from the Mayor. And the Mayor liked what he saw: "What an amazing School!" he said. "This is 1 of the jewels in the crown of our School building programme and it has delivered what has to be 1 of the best facilities of its kind for children with special educational needs anywhere in the country. Our School building programme was born out of a commitment to give our children and young people the modern learning environments they deserve. It's fantastic to see it coming to fruition with buildings, such as Birtenshaw."

Not only will the facilities at Birtenshaw benefit the pupils, they will also be available for use by the wider community.

Julie Barnes, who is the deputy chief executive of the Birtenshaw Trust said:- "We have an existing School in Bolton and we get a lot of referrals for children in Liverpool, so it made perfect sense to create a new School here. It has been a privilege to work with the Council. It's been fabulous from start to end. They have understood what we are able to provide for the children of the City and we have understood what the needs are. In terms of a partnership arrangement, it's been absolutely brilliant."

You can watch our video tour of the new Birtenshaw School online now.

Schools out in the North West, '#summerjobs' in

AS Schools across the North West break up for the hottest holiday in 350 years, a new campaign is being launched to highlight how local summer jobs can help set young people on the path to a brighter future.

The Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey is highlighting the value of summer jobs to help young people get a foot in the door, gain experience for a CV and stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs in the future.

The campaign comes at a time when Saturday and part time employment rates amongst young people have been falling. In 1997, 42% of 16 to 17 year old and 39% of 18 to 24 year old students combined work and study, which had fallen to 18% and 33% in 2014 respectively.

As part of the campaign, a dedicated portal for summer job applications has been launched on the free Government jobs site Find a Job to make it easier than ever to find the perfect role. The campaign will connect young people with the portal so they can find the right match for them, and more employers are being urged to get on board.

Work and Pensions Secretary of State Esther McVey said:- "Getting your foot in the door with a summer job is the perfect way to build the skills needed to build a thriving career. Saturday jobs and part time employment for students has dropped drastically in the past 20 years. This represents a missed opportunity for young people to really impress when they get their 1st permanent job. Employers tell me it makes all the difference when young people are work ready; and we want to support them to do just that. By getting even short term work, young people can build those all important practical skills to help them 'stand out from the crowd' and the job might even get them in front of their future boss."

Chris Pritchard, from Jobcentre Plus the North West said:- "I'd encourage any young person to consider doing a part time job that fits around their education. It's a great way to develop their skills, get some experience in the work place and also looks good on their CV when they are applying for roles in the future. There are lots of opportunities being advertised on the Summer Jobs portal in the North West varying from hospitality, to retail and office work; and you never know what a summer role could lead on to."

As part of the:- '#summerjobs' campaign, a dedicated portal for summer job applications has been launched on the free Government jobs site Find a Job to make it easier than ever to find the perfect role. The campaign will connect young people with the portal so they can find the right match for them.

You can search the site yourself by clicking HERE this is the summer jobs feed, both categories and location are listed down the left hand side; please note that this data will be different every time you click the link.