Festival of Education 2017 is a Huge Success!

On Thursday 29th June, The Marches Academy Trust held its second national Festival of Education at The Marches School in Oswestry. And what a day it was! From Professor Robert Winston and renowned film studio Aardman Animations to a baby T-Rex called Sophie and a live operating theatre, the entire school came alive with the sound of fun and learning.

The festival brought together educators from all across the county to listen to talks from esteemed practitioners such as Christine Quinn (Regional Schools Commissioner for the West Midlands),   Professor Mick Waters (former Director of Curriculum at QCA) and Andy Buck (who led a talk on ‘Leadership’, the key theme of the festival). The day continued with outstanding presentations by David Weston, Darrell Woodman, Robert Carpenter and business people; Stephen Morales, Simon Oxenham and Robert Forrester.

However, the event was not solely for teachers. Students from across the area got to enjoy an entire day of activities, workshops and inspirational talks from the likes of Olympian Darren Cambell, who explained his motivational journey and the young Chef Luke Thomas who talked about his inspirational career. As well as careers advice and a whole host of motivational speakers, the festival offered students of all ages the opportunity to get involved in all kinds of enjoyable and educational workshops run by the Houses of Parliament, Chester Zoo and Frantic Assembly amongst many others.

The event was a huge success all round, with speakers, delegates and students alike all bowled over by the scope of the event. The aim of the festival was to give both teachers and local students chances that might otherwise be unavailable to them, providing valuable professional development for the former, and vital information and experience for the latter.

Ruth Lloyd, Deputy Headteacher at The Marches School and one of the event’s lead organisers, commented, “What an amazing day! It was filled with an impressive list of innovative and influential educators, featuring fascinating talks, from the opening address by Christine Quinn to the passionate keynote presentation by Andy Buck. Educationalists from all over the UK attended, unanimously evaluating the various speakers as excellent. One delegate remarked that we should all ‘be proud to work here’ while another commented that it was ‘wonderful to have children and adults learning alongside each other’.”

“I believe that this festival is unique and ground breaking – for the second time we moved national and international speakers away from the cities and out into a more remote, rural setting, where they received a rapturous and well-deserved response from all of the delegates. One of the speakers remarked that it was ‘a privilege to attend’ and we were commended on our venue, our hospitality and our organisation. Here’s looking forward to next year’s event!”

Posted by marchesadmin on 14th July 2017, under Events



Next Post: