Fascinating objects found during St George’s Hall refurbishment

Some fascinating objects have been found during the refurbishment of St George’s Hall in Bradford.

Workers carrying out the £8.5 million refurbishment of the Grade II listed building have found several interesting objects tucked away including a handbill from 1871 promoting a programme of Saturday Night Entertainment, which was printed by J Clegg Printer by Steam Power, Infirmary Street, Bradford.

The programme for the evening included Madam Tonnelier performing songs in character from the Grand Duchess, as well as a line-up of music and sketches including Irish and Scottish songs and stories by Mr and Mrs Forster O’Neill accompanied on the piano by their daughter Flora.

An account of the same performance by the Forster family can be found in the newspaper The Waterford News, from Friday 5 June 1868, when they appeared at the Assembly Rooms, City Hall.

The article says “Mr and Mrs J.F. O’Neill, the justly celebrated delineators of Irish character in its true form, accompanied by their young and interesting daughter, Miss Flora O’Neill, an accomplished pianist, have been nightly drawing fashionable and crowded audiences to the Assembly Room, City Hall, to see them in their famed and laughter-creating comic and musical entertainment.”

The article goes on to say that Mr O’Neill, “as an Irish comedian, is, perhaps, unrivalled, certainly not excelled, at the present day” and a performance given by Mrs O’Neill “is one of the best Irish delineations we have ever seen” and “her song, “My Love Dan,” is hit off in such a true Irish nature that the house each night is in raptures and, as a matter of course, it has to be repeated.”

Workers have also found the front page of the Daily Express newspaper from 10 January 1928. The front page contains an article about plans to build a barrage in the wake of the Great Flood of London, which had taken place only a few days earlier, on 7 January 1928. The flood claimed 14 lives and left thousands of Londoners homeless.

Other items found when the old seats were removed from the Dress Circle, include a wrapper from a Cadbury’s Flake when they only cost 6d, an old Galaxy Milk Chocolate wrapper and several cigarette packets, including a Black Cat Cigarettes tin lid possibly from the 1930’s, a Wild Woodbine cigarette packet, an Ogden’s Robin cigarette packet and Craven A cigarette packet.

There were also two concert tickets one for a Bradford Subscription Concert and one for the 31st Annual Speech Night for The Priestman School held at the venue on Wednesday 14 March 1956, with Ernest Cummins giving a speech and Mrs Cummins presenting the prizes.

The items found will form part of the permanent archive display held by Bradford Theatres.

St George’s Hall which is located in Bradford city centre is currently undergoing major refurbishment which has been made possible by funding from Bradford Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The refurbishment of St George’s Hall, one of the oldest remaining concert halls in the UK, will ensure that this heritage building is maintained and brought up to standard as a top class venue adding to the fantastic cultural offer in Bradford.

Coun Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Sport and Culture, said: “These are fascinating finds that give us a glimpse into the history of this wonderful venue and the types of entertainment that was popular at the time. It’s amazing to think that the theatre was only 18 years old when the handbill was dropped between the seats in the rear gallery.

“Work on St George’s Hall is progressing well and I’m sure once complete will secure the building for future generations of audiences.”

For information on the progress of the refurbishment of St George’s Hall visit www.bradford-theatres.co.uk

Follow Bradford Theatres on Twitter: @BradfordTheatre

 

 

 

Bradford headteacher puts city’s education on the world stage at major Chinese conference

A headteacher from a Bradford primary school has helped to put the city on the global education map as she appeared as a keynote speaker at a major education conference held in China.

Gill Edge, co- headteacher of Killinghall Primary School, was invited by the Chinese National Institute of Education Sciences to speak at their fourth China Future Schools Conference.

She spoke about how technology is used to assess, support and improve teaching at her school in Bradford, which has recently been rated as Good by Ofsted inspectors.

She told the conference in China how software is used to provide feedback and assessment to her staff to help with their professional development and to raise standards at the school.

The conference was attended by more than 1,000 delegates from across China and other international speakers who were attending as members of the Future School Laboratory.

Membership is based on meeting entry criteria and then being regularly re-assessed and only the best performing schools in China qualify. The Future School Laboratory was established by the Chinese Government to identify how to improve curriculum, learning spaces, educational technology and assessment. Its role is to support the government in its decision making and provide practical solutions for schools in China.
Gill gave her perspective as head of Killinghall Primary to demonstrate how the effective use of education technology in the UK has helped to identify strengths and weaknesses in the teaching in school and how working together with her staff they have been able to make rapid improvements.
She said: “It was a massive event and I was talking to an audience of more than 1,000 people. I was very proud to represent Bradford as I feel we are often not recognised for the excellent work that goes on in our schools across the district.

“There are currently no established teaching standards in China. I was able to explain how teaching standards are used nationally in the UK and how supporting and challenging teachers through appraisal has improved the quality of teaching and learning in our schools.”

She also took part in a roundtable discussion with leading educators from Finland, Hong Kong and China to discuss individualised learning and how it was implemented in each of their countries. She said that “individualised learning is well developed in Bradford where education is about the whole child – we aim to build resilience and empathy as well as ensuring children are competent in basic skills. Being ready for the world of work and prepared for future employment we may not yet be able to imagine is our aim.”

She was accompanied at the conference by James de Bass, chief executive officer and founder of Educate, the UK company that produces the Standards Tracker software which Killinghall Primary School use.

Parents reminded to apply for primary school place

Parents and carers of children in Bradford who are set to start primary school in September this year are being reminded to ensure they apply for a school place before the deadline.

People whose children were born between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014 have until midnight on Monday 15 January to submit an application for their child’s primary school place.

Bradford Council has written to all parents whose children are on their database with information on how to apply online. However, parents do not need anything from the Local Authority to register their child and apply online at www.bradford.gov.uk/admissions

Parents and carers can log onto the online system, register their details and make their child’s application. They will not require any further information to apply online but may need to send the local authority address proof of address or additional information if they have recently moved house.

Applying online is safe and makes the application quicker and easier. All parents who applied online will be emailed about their child’s place on the National Offer Day on April 16.

To make the application process as simple as possible and give parents and carers the best chance of sending their child to a preferred school, Bradford Council suggests five key steps to take:

1. Make sure you check the criteria that your preferred schools set for admissions. You can do this by visiting each schools website or reading the Guide for Parents, available online at www.bradford.gov.uk/admissions

2. Read the guidelines set out in the Applying for Primary School booklet sent to parents in November 2017.

3. Complete the on-line application form using all five preferences and fill in any required Supplementary Information Forms, by the deadline.

4. Make sure that you submit your application before the end of January 15 2018.

5. Only submit one application – do not apply online from multiple email addresses.

Coun Imran Khan Executive Member for Education, Skills and Culture, said: “Starting primary school is a big step for every family. We make the application process as simple as it can be. The easiest way of applying is to do so online.

“To give your child the best chance of getting a place at a school you have chosen we strongly recommend parents choose five preferences. If you only apply for one school, you will only be considered for that school and will be wasting the opportunity to be considered for any others if that one does not have a place available.

“Its also important that parents read the admissions policies of the schools they are applying for so that they understand their child’s chances of getting a place there. We do our best to accommodate all applications but parents should not assume they will definitely be given one of their five preferences.”

Parents who do not have an email address and are unable to apply online can contact Bradford Council’s Admissions Team on 01274 439200. If parents have an email address but are experiencing issues, they can contact the team to make an online application at Margaret McMillan Tower with an officer.

If parents and carers have any queries, they can visit the Council’s website: www.bradford.gov.uk/admissions or contact the Admissions Team in the following ways:

• Email primaryadmissions@bradford.gov.uk
• Call the School Admissions Team on 01274 439200