Heritage Day at Keighley Library

Visitors to Keighley can discover more about the town’s heritage at Keighley Library this coming weekend. The annual Heritage Day at Keighley Library will take place on Saturday, 9 September. There will be local, family, schools and military stands and this year the event will take on a musical theme reflecting Keighley’s musical heritage. People can meet local and family history groups including Keighley Local History Society, Keighley Family History Society, Men of Worth, Keighley Schools Heritage and Airedale and Haworth writers. At 11am there will be a special Rhymetime for children of all ages with guest presenters ‘Little Notes’.  The sing-along will feature woodwind instruments and fun and games. From 11am until 4pm there will be music from local musicians Foxes Faux, Dayner Sim and Niamh Mirfield and Keighley group The Presidents. There will be displays of Keighley’s musical heritage since the 1950s from the local studies library collections. At 1pm musician and historian Gary Cavanagh author of ‘Noise of the Valleys’ will give a talk with musical clips from the CD that accompanies the book. Coun Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Sport and Culture, said:  “People can drop in throughout the day and discover more about the heritage of the local area.” Admission to the event is free and everyone is welcome.

Guinness World Record to wish Hockney a Happy 80th Birthday

As part of this year’s celebrations for the world famous artist David Hockney’s 80th birthday, Bradford is attempting an official Guinness World Record for the most signatures on a greetings card.

Bradford-born David Hockney, who is considered one of Britain’s most influential artists of the 20th century, celebrated his 80th birthday on July 9.

Officers from the newly opened permanent David Hockney Gallery at Bradford Council’s Cartwright Hall have got together with Bradford greetings card company Hallmark Cards plc, to produce an enormous birthday card with space for over 22,000 signatures.

The Official Guinness World Record for the most signatures on a greetings card is currently held by the Dubai Police force with 13,288 signatures; however an attempt by Staffordshire County Council with around 21,500 signatures is still to be ratified, so Bradford needs at least 22,000 signatures to make it count.

The giant card which is around 180cm tall and 120cm wide, has been designed by Hallmark Cards using inspiration from Hockney’s famous artworks to create the number 80 as a collage, will be available to sign at various events across the summer.

There will be a special signing event at Cartwright Hall on Thursday 10 August from 10am to 4pm.

The card will be at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery on Sunday 13 August between 11am and 3pm for people to sign as part of the gallery’s Martin House 30th birthday celebrations. Children from Martin House hospice and schools across the district will have their Hockney inspired artwork on display as part of the Young Open 2017 exhibition.

Bingley Music Live festival goers will also be able to sign the card in Myrtle Park, on 1, 2 and 3 September.

Pupils at Bradford Grammar School will get the chance to sign the card on their way into lunch on Thursday 7 September.

People will be able to sign the card at The Broadway Shopping Centre Saturday 9 September between 9am and 6pm.

People not able to go to the events can also take part in this amazing record attempt and wish David Hockney a happy 80th birthday by signing the card on-line at https://goo.gl/HFiD92

Coun Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s executive member for environment, sport and culture, said: “We thought that this would be a really fun way to get lots of people involved in celebrating David Hockney’s special 80th birthday.

“The easiest way for people to sign the card is online, but they can also sign in person at one of our events.

“We want as many people from across the district to sign the card and can arrange for groups of people to visit or we can take the card out to groups, work places, sports teams, art clubs or communities for people to sign.”

Kate Van Spall,  Art Director Trends, Hallmark UK said: “As a Bradford based company we were thrilled to be asked to be involved in the creation of a card for Hockney’s birthday. The card is made up of numerous postcard size images reflective of the style of David Hockney that our in-house design team created during a ‘Hockney Power Hour’. It’s been amazing to see all the different designs come together and be part of a World Record attempt whilst contributing to the celebrations of the Bradford artist’s birthday.”

Look out for dates of other events at www.bradfordmuseums.org and follow the museums’ Facebook and Twitter pages @bradfordmuseums

Partnership is the secret to success for group of inner-city Bradford schools

A partnership of neighbouring Bradford schools say joining forces is helping to drive up standards for the thousands of pupils across their postcode area. The BD3 Achievement 4 All consists of ten primary schools, a special school, a secondary school and two children’s centres.All of the primary schools which have been inspected by Ofsted in the group have now been rated as being good .And the school leaders in the partnership say they are committed to driving further improvements with a major focus on improving pupils’ reading in key stage two as they reach the end of primary school. The BD3 schools work together on a range of areas including reading, science, moderating each other’s marking and work, supporting newly qualified teachers and developing early years teaching. For the past two years the partnership has been chaired by former Bradford headteacher Sara Rawnsley. She said: “There is a deep commitment to work together for the benefit of everyone in the partnership. “There are academies and council maintained schools, we have children’s centres, primaries, a special school and a secondary but everyone is open to working together and sharing what we do to drive improvement.” The schools in BD3 Achievement 4 All are Peel Park Primary, Westminster CE Primary, Barkerend Primary, Byron Primary, Lapage Primary, Dixons Marchbank Primary, Killinghall Primary, Thornbury Primary, St Mary’s and St Peter’s Roman Catholic Primary, Feversham Primary, Delius Special School, Carlton Bolling College, Barkerend Children’s Centre and Mortimer House Children’s Centre.Peel Park Primary School, in Undercliffe, is one of the latest schools in the area to celebrate Ofsted success after it moved from Requires Improvement to Good in the inspection report published in May which praises all areas of its work.Byron Primary and Dixons Marchbank Primary also enjoyed success with good Ofsted reports this year while  Lapage Primary, St Mary’s & St Peter’s Roman Catholic Primary, Feversham Primary and Delius Special School are all rated as good as well. Peel Park Headteacher Lloyd Mason Edwards said: “BD3 schools have worked in partnership for a long time but in recent years there has been a real focus on improving teaching and learning and improving attainment. “There is a shared ethos across our schools and everyone is open to sharing what we do. I do think a lot of our success is down to the partnership. It has helped to improve our teaching and learning. We work together in lots of different areas. “We have worked on professional development of our staff, special educational needs teaching and working on support for pupils who are new to English.”Gill Edge, the headteacher at Killinghall Primary School said another benefit of the partnership had been the way in which it allowed schools to to support new teachers starting their careers. “Sara Rawnsley who chairs the partnership has developed school courses for newly qualified teachers and recently qualified teachers to support them in their first years in the job. This makes a real difference for the schools as it has meant we are retaining more of the teachers who start their careers in BD3. Retaining and developing teachers allows schools to develop a stable and established workforce which makes a real difference for us.” Mrs Rawnsley added: “The courses provide mentoring and support to teachers starting their careers and it helps to improve their resilience and their ability to develop their practice. The partnership has meant that each year NQTs are part of a network of teachers who are starting together across BD3 schools. They are not on their own and feel a part of something bigger. “By coming together with a shared focus for raising standards all of the schools and settings in our BD3 partnership are having a real impact on the lives of our young people.” Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, Employment and Skills said: “This shows what can be achieved when schools work in partnership. We know that across the Bradford district our school staff share the same passion and commitment to achieving the best outcomes for our young people. “The BD3 Achievement 4 All partnership shows what can be achieved and as both executive member for education and as a local ward councillor I look forward to their future successes.”

Bingley Music Live Day Tickets Now On Sale

Single day tickets for Bingley Music Live are now on sale!

With just eight weeks to go until the late summer Bradford Council-run festival, it is time for people to start planning their weekend, as who plays what day is revealed.

Day tickets are priced at £35 for adults and £30 for children plus booking fee and available via: www.bingleymusiclive.com

The stellar three day line-up at Bingley’s Myrtle Park on 1-3 September, includes:

• Friday – Manic Street Preachers; Maximo Park; Cabbage and Twin Atlantic.

• Saturday – Kaiser Chiefs; Pete Doherty; Milburn; Sundara Karma and British Sea Power

• Sunday – The Wombats; Feeder; Soul II Soul; Badly Drawn Boy and Little Comets

The entire line up, day by day and stage by stage can be found on the BML website – www.bingleymusiclive.com

Coun Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Sport and Culture, said:  “With such a packed line up of big names it is a difficult choice for anyone who would prefer to just come for one day. But now they know when each act will play, they can make an informed decision.”

Full weekend tickets are still available, priced at £70 plus booking fee for adults and £35 plus booking fee for children (aged 3-15).

Further details of how to purchase these tickets and information on camping and accommodation are available on the festival website.

Follow BML2017 on Twitter: @BingleyFestival

Facebook: @bingleymusiclive

 

 

Flamboyant street theatre programme headed for Bradford Festival

Bradford Council is set to stage a host of colourful and creative street theatre acts at this year’s Bradford Festival.

In late July, City Park will burst into life with top quality acts from across the UK.

Innovating street theatre company, Highly Sprung will stage a piece offering a glimpse of a possible future  Urban Astronaut.

Problems surrounding air pollution have grown to a crisis point and the work askes audiences if there is ‘a way back?’ 

Combining stunning design and a unique travelling flying machine with simple storytelling and a moving dance performance, Urban Astronaut searches for a solution to the environmental disaster which Highly Sprung believes is in our near future.

Award-winning international performance company, Markmark Productions will stage HMS Punafore, a hilarious musical comedy where the crew makes disastrous attempts to perform Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic operetta.

Meet the Funnels by Artemis Productions is a comical interactive act featuring three chimneys which dance, toot their horns and play ‘follow the leader’.

When the time is right, the characters will surprise festival-goers by popping out like jack-in-the-boxes and invite people to join in with their games, fun and frivolity.

An amphibious pedalo has been cleverly adapted to take Reckless Invention characters, Mfanwy and Gfanwy, to places where normal pedalos cannot reach. 

Pedalo is a two person peddle-about with an oceanic theme where the comical characters will attempt to impress City Park visitors with their sporting prowess and dreadful stunts.

Comical seafaring clichés from Treasure Island to Moby Dick will be played played out in Lifeboat, by Derbyshire-based street arts organisation, Artizani.

Audiences will be asked to ‘batten down the hatches’ as the shipwrecked Captain and Boatswain’s mate relive their comical tales of life on the seven seas.

Giant child-friendly fowl, the Puddle Ducks by Cirq Delight, will investigate every situation in Bradford’s City Park by curiously pecking at people’s bags and coats whilst quacking their way out of tricky situations. 

Bradford’s master puppet makers, Cecil Green Arts, returns to City Park bringing some of their best larger than life paper mâché creations in the Big Welcome.

Internationally acclaimed theatre company Mind the Gap will perform the premier of Mirror Mirror, a thought-provoking collaborative piece developed with cutting-edge Liverpool theatre company The Kazimier.

Through ‘absurd performance’, technology and playful imitation, Mirror Mirror explores the experiences of people who are considered ‘different’ in today’s society and prompts the audience to ask themselves: who’s in front of the mirror?

Award-winning local interactive performance company, Same Difference, will stage, Sense-O-Matic which features a Victorian-inspired ‘fantastical object’ which ‘documents sights, sounds, smells and all other sensations’.

People will be encouraged to help Sense-O-Matic’s madcap lab-rats complete their ‘very important research’ and discover everyday details which are often overlooked.

Formerly known as the Bradford Playhouse, Fused Imagination will stage a light-hearted children’s show, Red Bill’s Air Race.

Budding ‘scientists, aviation experts and paper folding champions’ will work with larger-than-life engineers, ground crew and flight attendants to build, test-pilot and race paper planes around the festival.

Shipley-based arts company Q20 are set to show Elephant Gigante, an act which gives visitors the chance to experience ‘the majesty and serenity of the Serengeti’.

Moving through the crowds like cruise-liners through the mist, enormous, fully-animated puppets will ‘amaze and entrance’ visitors to the Bradford Festival.

The elephants will pause to meet people as they make their way to City Park’s ‘watering hole’ where they restore old friendships, tussle for dominance, groom each other and play.

Celebrated women’s street theatre company, Circo Rum Ba Ba, brings The Crow House, a silent movie-inspired show using acrobatics, silks trapeze artistry, hat juggling, musical saw and harp playing, puppetry, audience participation and slap-stick comedy.

One of Cardiff’s most exciting, original and eclectic companies and pioneers of all things retro, vintage and the wonderfully absurd, Kitsch & Sync Collective will stage, Bedraggled.

Three ‘bedraggled beauties’ are swept up on City Park’s ‘shores’, serenading shipwrecked sailors with their sublime, sultry sounds.

Audiences can expect ‘underwater warblings, mermaid mambo manoeuvres, fish maracas, octopus opera’ and much more!

Innovative British street theatre company, Acrojou will show, All at Sea, a theatrical installation set in a boat.

All at Sea combines melancholic humour, striking design  and visual poetry, in a moving and atmospheric ‘row-about installation’.

Bristol-based artistes, Cake Ladies, bring their flamboyant stilt-walking show by the same name.

With lashings of charisma and oozing with charm, the Cake Ladies are a saucy roaming tea party which dishes up sweet treats with a touch of glamour.

In 2016, the Bradford Festival attracted over 150,000 people into Bradford city centre.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Sport and Culture, said: “This year’s festival is packed with lots of colourful and entertaining things to see and do.

“The street theatre programme will be lots of fun with lots of opportunities to interact with the performers.

“Admission is free and everyone is welcome.”

For further information and updates, visit www.bradfordfestival.org.uk or follow Bradford Festival on Twitter: @BfdFestival and Facebook.

Summer Holiday Activities at Doe Park Water Activities Centre in Denholme

The Summer holidays are just around the corner and Doe Park Water Activities Centre in Denholme is just the place to take the kids!

Here at the Bradford Council Adventure Activities and Doe Park we specialise in outdoor activities. The outdoors provides an exhilarating place to learn new skills, make new friends, build confidence and have FUN!

Kids enjoying the High Ropes at Doe Park!

For children nine years and above, why not start the Adventure with a mix of land based activities, make a Splash with a Water Adventure or get the best of both with a Multi Adventure.

For those wanting to scale new heights have a day of High Ropes Adventure and not to forget the younger ones (5yrs-8yrs) why not try our Mini Adventure.

We have one day, two day and full week courses running during the Summer holidays.

You can book online at www.bradford.gov.uk/adventure or call us for more information on 01274 435497 quoting reference: Bradford Parents on the Go Blog

Follow Doe Park on Twitter: @DoeParkWAC ‏

Bush Craft Camp at Doe Park

Winners revealed at the Bradford School Awards

Hundreds of teachers, support staff and representatives of the district’s schools attended the Telegraph & Argus School Awards Ceremony to celebrate the stars of Bradford education and the good work being done in Bradford’s schools.

The Leadership Award went to the late Gareth Dawkins, who passed away last year. Mr Dawkins had worked as principal of Bradford Academy since 2007 and previously led Challenge College in the city. The award was presented to his two sons and Bradford Academy’s current principal Tehmina Hashmi who paid tribute to him.

 The Secondary Teacher of the Year was awarded to Zaheer Jaffary, a PE teacher at Carlton Bolling College.  Zaheer was nominated for his work with its girls’ cricket team in the school. Since he set up the team three years ago, it has achieved numerous awards, as well as breaking cultural stereotypes.

The Primary Teacher of the Year was awarded to Elizabeta Butkovic, of St John’s CE Primary in Bierley.  Mrs Butkovic fled her home during the Balkan crisis in the 1980s, ending up in Bradford. A teacher in her home country, she dreamed of once again teaching, and learned English, gaining qualifications and securing a job at St John’s 18 years ago.

Elizabeta Butkovic, who fled Balkan crisis in the 1980s, wins Primary school teacher award

The Community Involvement Award, which recognises the work schools do to create stronger links with the wider community was awarded to  The Syrian Action Team, pupils and staff at Dixons City Academy who organised events for refugees living in Bradford.

The School Improvement Award went to Farnham Primary School, an inner city school where many pupils start not being able to speak English, after being ranked as “outstanding” by Ofsted inspectors last year.

The Achievement Award went to Horton Park Primary School, which has become one of the best performing primary schools in the district for the progress its pupils make.

Horton Park Primary wins achievement award at #bfdschoolawards

The Newcomer of the Year Award went to Naomi Simpson, who works at Hazelbeck Special School in Bingley and is in her first year of teaching.

The Support Staff Member of the Year was awarded to Lynne Dobson, who has been teaching the children of Peel Park Primary School art for years.

The Voluntary Contribution Award went to Lesley Matthews, a Beanstalk reading volunteer at Atlas Primary School.  Lesley said she hoped to encourage other people to become volunteers.

The Business in Schools Category was awarded to The Business Friends of Haworth Primary School, a project that sees the school working with local businesses to give children real world business experience at an early age.

The Science and Technology Award went to Joe Ryan and Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College for the work being done to boost Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths at the school

Finally, the Governor of the Year Award went to Jackie Walters, who has been on the governing body at Newby Primary School for over 25 years.

#bfdschoolawards

Children set to celebrate their love of reading books

[Pictured above: Pupils from Dixons Marchbank Primary School celebrating World Book Day]

Children from schools across the District will be celebrating their love of reading and books by taking part in World Book Day today.

Whether you grew up with Charlotte’s Web and the friendship that grows between Wilbur, a runty pig, and Charlotte, a heroic spider,  the Famous Five or Harry Potter; there is nothing quite like delving into a good book.

And for many it blossoms into a love that lasts a lifetime. This is why World Book Day has become the annual celebration of books and reading and the time to encourage children to discover the magic inside the pages.

The event was first marked in the UK in 1997 amid concerns over reading and writing standards in schools.

World Book Day marks its 20th anniversary this year and organisers say the event is ‘a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and, most importantly, reading’. The main aim of World Book Day is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

Schools and nurseries are sent packs of Book Tokens and age-ranged World Book Day Resource Packs full of ideas and activities, display material and more information about how to get involved in World Book Day.

Thanks to the generosity of National Book Tokens Ltd some 15 million book tokens will be distributed. Children can take their voucher to a local bookseller and use it to pick one of ten exclusive, new and completely free books. Or, if they’d rather, they can use it to get £1 off any book or audio book costing over £2.99 at a participating bookshop or book club.

Since the campaign began, around 13 million £1 books have ended up in the hands of eager young readers.

This year’s 10 offerings cater for all ages from pre-school through to young adults in a bid to give as many as possible the chance to join in the fun. The titles for the nation’s youngest book lovers feature beloved characters Peppa Pig and extra-terrestrials from the Aliens Love Underpants series.

For readers at Key Stage 1, Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks has contributed a new Princess Mirror-Belle title and Martin Handford has made one of his Where’s Wally? adventures available.

They can also pick up some tips from Horrid Henry or catch up with the Famous Five, whereas Key Stage 2 readers are able to enjoy something new from beloved British authors David Walliams or Dame Jacqueline Wilson. Young Adult titles will come from Michael Grant and David Almond.

Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, Employment and Skills said:

“We hope that World Book Day celebrated in schools creates readers for the future by igniting a love of books and reading in children and young people.  Bradford Council’s

Libraries are hosting a number of events which can be found here:  www.bradford.gov.uk/libraries.”

Tag us on Twitter: @bradfordmdc  #WorldBookDay 

Send your photos to: fiona.binns@bradford.gov.uk

Pupils at Worthinghead Primary School dressed up as their favourite book characters

 

Bradford Dragonboat Festival 2017 launch – 28 February

The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Geoff Reid will be launching the Bradford Dragonboat Festival for 2017 at a special event in the Mirror Pool of Bradford’s multi-award winning City Park on Tuesday 28 February at 12 noon.

He will be joined by representatives from last year’s winning team, Red Phoenix, paddlers from teams who already signed up to take part, as well as council staff who have volunteered to support the festival in their own time.

There will be three full-size Dragonboats on display in the Mirror Pool for people to get an idea of what the festival will be like.

The festival raises money for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal which this year is raising funds for YoungMinds.

YoungMinds helps children, young people and their parents to find out about the mental health and wellbeing services that are available to them. They also run a helpline for parents worried about the mental health of their children and HeadMeds which is a website about mental health medication for young people.

The Festival which is now in its 3rd year is set to become even bigger and better as it moves to a three day format run over the weekend of 5, 6 and 7 May.

Friday will be specifically for young people and schools and it will be the first of its kind in the UK. The competition will be open to teams of young people aged 11 to 17 (or 25 for people with disabilities). This competition has particular links to the Lord Mayor’s charity YoungMinds, which focuses on support with mental health issues for young people.

Saturday is the main charity day for community teams. Last year 900 people in 45 teams came from across the Bradford district to race in the largest event of its type in the UK. It raised over £43,000 for last year’s Lord Mayor’s Appeal.

Sunday will be a day for corporate teams with the aim of getting teams from large organisations from across the UK to come to Bradford and race.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Geoff Reid, said: “The Bradford Dragonboat Festival is a fantastic event. It is delivered by volunteers and is a whole community festival, planned, designed and delivered by the community, for the community, involving the community and raising funds for the community. We still need teams to take part as well as a vast army of volunteers. Anyone interested should please visit the website and register their interest.”

For more information visit www.bradforddragonboatfestival.co.uk

 

Pupils raise money for life-saving Defibrillator

Pupils at Thackley Primary School hosted ‘Save a Heart Day’ on Valentine’s Day in order to raise money for a life-saving Defibrillator.  The school hopes to raise enough money to buy a defibrillator to be kept outside the school grounds and available to the public 24 hours a day, meaning residents and anyone at school can get the help they need in an emergency.

The school took part in the ‘Save a Heart Day’ with a series of fundraising activities which included all the children coming to school wearing red or pink, a fantastic Valentine’s bun sale and a raffle for a teddy bear and Valentine’s hamper!

The school has also received generous donations from the local community & businesses of which they are very thankful, Jigsaw Out of School and Holiday Playscheme, The White Bear Public House, and parent Tracey Hall who made & sold heart shaped cakes.

Kate Bainbridge who is a KS2 teacher at Thackley Primary School and leading on the fundraising said:

“Thackley Primary School hopes to raise enough money to buy a life-saving defibrillator for the school and wider community.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the UK’s biggest killer, killing 100,000 every year, and 15 young people every week.  Having a defibrillator at the school for us and the local community increases a person’s chances of survival to between 70 and 90 per cent.”

Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, Employment and Skills said:

“Congratulations to the staff, pupils and parents at Thackley Primary School on raising funds to go towards this life-saving equipment.  We hope they reach their goal to fund the defibrillator.

Hopefully this will not need to be used but it is reassuring for the school and the community that the defibrillator is available if required”.

To make a donation, please contact:  Mrs. Annette Patterson, Head of School T 01274 414437.

Follow Thackley Primary School on Twitter: @ThackleyPrimary