Last week the PfS students completed their Club Challenge by displaying all their hard work on a poster.  The results were fantastic with all the students completing the challenge.  Well done to you all!

 A year 5 Club Challenge Poster by Finedon Mulso.

A Club Challenge Poster by year 8 students from Huxlow Science College.

This week PfS students will complete a Premier Places map and take part in a Player Maths activity.

Tonight at the Diamonds Study Centre we welcomed students from across Northamptonshire for the start of their 9 week Kic.in2.Study programme.  The students worked extremely hard to produce creative designs for their name badges and learned the skill of making origami football shirts which they also artistically coloured in to make their very own football strip. 

The students were set a challenge to complete a Kaleidoscope puzzle and amazed staff at the speed at which they solved the puzzle. Val said “I thought it was absolutely stunning to see how quickly they completed the puzzles.  All of them showed persistence and some of them were amazing at how quickly they could visualise the puzzles.  It was also great to see them helping each other.”

The young learners also started their learning logs to record their time here at the Centre and participated in circle time activities.

A great time was had by all!

It has been another action packed week at the Study Centre this week with our four primary and three secondary schools from the Rushden area continuing with the Playing for Success programme. 

Students were set a challenge to produce their dream sports team complete with a stadium design, a sponsor, a manager and a mascot.  They also put their art skills to the test by producing creative designs for their sports kit.  Pupils learnt many new skills on the computer such as using search engines to find images of the players for their teams and year 8 pupils designed club badges incorporating the theme for their sports team using the computer.

Some comments from the students:

” It’s very educational and I liked it!” Shannon.

” It’s great and good fun!” Lizzie.

 ”I had a great lesson and really liked the origami!” Anna.

Next week:  Continue with the club challenge and make a poster display of the dream teams!

What a fun packed week we’ve had at The Study Centre.  Four primary schools and three secondary schools from the local area started on their nine week Playing for Success course and what a lot they managed to do!  Having completed a health and safety tour of the Sports Centre the students started their Diamonds diary to capture their thoughts during the programme.  The students then put their computer design skills to the test and made name badges before learning the art of origmai and making football shirts out of paper.  All the schools worked extremely hard and the Centre staff are looking forward to next week!

Next week: Club Challenge - Manage your own new football club by designing a stadium, create your dream team, pick your club manager and sponsor and much more!

The new term starts on Monday 15th September and we welcome all the students who are taking part this term. 

On Monday evenings we will be working from 4pm til 6pm with year 7 students involved in the Kic.in2.study project.

On Tuesday evenings we will be working with year 5 students from Higham Ferrers Juniors from 3pm til 5pm followed by year 8 students from Ferrers Arts College from 5.30pm til 7.30pm.

On Wednesday evenings we will be working with year 5 students from Great Addington and Finedon Mulso from 3pm til 5pm follwed by year 8 students from Huxlow Science College from 5.30pm til 7.30pm.

On Thursday evenings we will be working with year 5 students from Irthlingborough Junior School from 3pm til 5pm followed by year 8 students from Manor Sports College from 5.30pm til 7.30pm.

Transport as usual will be provided by Carters and will be escorted by Sara (Study Centre Co-ordinator).

May we take this opportunity to remind those of you who are picked up from school that it is important that you are collected on time as the bus needs to collect students from other schools.  We understand that on occassion there may be an unavoidable delay and we ask that you contact the centre to inform us of the situation.

If you have any questions regarding the PfS programme please contact us at the Study Centre.

Email: diamonds@studycentres.northants.sch.uk

Phone: 07771 523422

 We look forward to meeting you all soon!

Towards the end of the course of the “Playing for Success” term at the Diamonds Study Centre a week was set aside for Year 8 students, from Latimer, Montagu and Southfield Secondary schools as well as Year 5 pupils from Grange, Avondale and Millbrook Junior schools and a group of looked after children, from the Northamptonshire County Council “Kicin2study” project, to interview the Diamonds first team players. 

Grange with Lee and Jon

Latimer with Michael and Curtis

 Millbrook with Andy and Phil

Avondale with Martyn and Lawrence

They all had a great time interviewing first team players Phil Gulliver, Curtis Osano, Marcus Kelly, Tom Shaw, Lee Phillips, Michael Jon Challinor, Michael Rankine, Martyn Margarson and Lawrence Lambley as well as some of the clubs prospective future stars in Adam Sharpe and Sean Calcutt
The “Playing for Success” project is part of a national initiative which involves a partnership between the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families) Northamptonshire County Council and the football club itself and one of its major objectives is to raise standards in literacy.

Montagu with Adam and Sean

Southfield with Marcus and Tom

The interview activity and the follow up work proved to be an extremely worthwhile exercise in the improvement of their speaking, listening and writing skills in a very enjoyable way. The stimulus of being enabled to interview professional footballers and to write about the experience proved to be invaluable in that the students were motivated to record what they had been told during the course of the interview.

The Diamonds Study Centre held its Presentation Evening on Tuesday July 22nd to celebrate the end of the Summer Term of “Playing for Success” sessions at the centre. The sessions have been run in the evenings, at the Study Centre based at Rushden and Diamonds Football Club, as part of a national government initiative with the aims being to improve the children’s standards in Numeracy, Literacy and Information Technology as well as to boost their confidence and self-esteem through the medium of “sports related” activities. The scheme involves a partnership between the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Northamptonshire County Council and the football club and is geared towards Year 5 and Year 8 students in the year before their end of key stage tests.

The Presentation Evening for the Diamonds Study Centre was held in the Kimberley Suite at Rushden and Diamonds Football Club and the room was full as relatives and teachers watched the youngsters, aged between 9 and 14 years, being presented with their certificates by Rushden& Diamonds first team players Sam Smith and Jake Beecroft . 

The schools involved in the scheme this term have all come from the Kettering area namely from Latimer, Montagu and Southfield Secondary Schools in addition to the younger students from Grange, Avondale and Millbrook Jumior Schools.

Sam Smith with Latimer Arts College

Jake Beecroft with Grange Community School                 

Diamonds Study Centre Manager Rob Jones said, “The Presentation Evening was a superb occasion for all concerned and it was pleasing to hear some of the young people talking both to their teachers and their families about their achievements during the course of the term and it was particularly pleasing to see Kettering born player Sam Smith present certificates to students from his old school Latimer Arts College.The youngsters have been a credit to their families and their schools and the tremendous turnout reflected the high regard shown for the Playing for Success initiative. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank their teachers and parents for their assistance this term and to commend Rushden and Diamonds Football Club for its involvement with the local community and the support it has given to the Study Centre during this academic term.”  

Speaking on behalf of Rushden & Diamonds Football Club, Rachel Roberts added, “It was really nice to see so many parents come to the Presentation Evening, and from the displays and comments made on the night, the children really enjoy the work they do. This scheme is so important, its nice to think that Rushden & Diamonds FC had a part in helping the children improve their education in a fun way.”

 The Diamonds Study Centre held its Presentation Evening on Tuesday April 1st to celebrate the end of the Spring Term of “Playing for Success” sessions at the centre. The sessions have been run in the evenings at the Study Centre as part of a national government initiative with the aims being to improve the children’s standards in Numeracy, Literacy and Information Technology as well as to boost their confidence and self-esteem through the medium of “sports related” activities. The scheme involves a partnership between the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Northamptonshire County Council and Rushden and Diamonds F.C and is geared towards Year 5 and Year 8 students in the year before their end of key stage tests.

The Presentation Evening for the Diamonds Study Centre was held in the Kimberley Suite at Rushden and Diamonds Football Club and the room was full as relatives and teachers witnessed the youngsters, aged between 9 and 14 years, being presented with their certificates by Rushden& Diamonds players Dale Roberts and Michael Corcoran. 

Michael Corcoran with Wollaston School

Dale Roberts with Hardwick Junior School

The schools involved in the scheme this term have all come from the Wellingborough area namely from Wrenn, Weavers and Wollaston Secondary Schools plus Hardwick, Victoria and Oakway Junior Schools.

Study Centre Manager Rob Jones said, “The Presentation Evening was a lovely occasion for all concerned and it was pleasing to hear some of the young people talking to a large audience about their achievements during the course of the term.

The youngsters have been a credit to their families and their schools and the tremendous turnout reflected the high regard shown for the Playing for Success initiative. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank their teachers and parents for their assistance this term and to commend Rushden and Diamonds Football Club for its involvement with the local community and the support it has given to the Study Centre during this academic term.”     

 Diamonds Study Centre Player Interviews March 2008

During the course of the “Playing for Success” term at the Diamonds Study Centre a week was set aside for Year 8 students, from Weavers, Wrenn and Wollaston Secondary schools as well as Year 5  pupils, from Oakway, Victoria and Hardwick  Junior schools and a group of looked after children from the Northamptonshire County Council “Kicin2study” project, to interview the Diamonds players.  

They all had a great time interviewing first team players Chris Hope, Curtis Osano, Marcus Kelly, Tom Shaw, Lee Tomlin, Michael Corcoran and Alex Bolt as well as some of the clubs prospective future stars in Jake Beecroft and Sam Smith.

The “Playing for Success” project is part of a national initiative which involves a partnership between the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families) the County Council and the football club itself and one of its major objectives is to raise standards in literacy. The interview activity and the follow up work proved to be an invaluable exercise in the improvement of the students speaking, listening and writing skills in a very enjoyable way. 

 Montsaye on tour at Rushden and Diamonds Football Club

On Friday 29^th February, Year 9 “Double Club” students from Montsaye Community College,  Rothwell visited Rushden and Diamonds Football Club and the Diamonds Study Centre. This visit is part of the Double Club programme, based on a model created at Arsenal FC, which has been running at the school where disengaged students receive study support sessions in order to improve their literacy, numeracy and ICT skills through sport. These classes also aim to boost self-confidence and self esteem. Usually, Double Club teacher from the Northants Study Centres Anna Letts visits the school for one day each week but this week the class are on the move.

Thirteen students, along with their Montsaye teacher Mr Brotherstone, spent the day at the Nene Park Stadium and undertook a range of educational and practical activities, led by Study Centre manager Rob Jones. First they made a name badge using their ICT skills and the Diamonds Study Centre’s brand new computers to incorporate digital photos, backgrounds and RDFC logos. Then they used PowerPoint and their Internet research skills to construct two player profiles of well-known footballers. One was from the current RDFC squad and one was their favourite player who plays in the same position from a team of their choice, usually from a Premiership team. Students used the RDFC website as well as wikipedia and football sites to write a short biography and summary of the players’ careers. This enabled students to learn more about RDFC players and the club.

Meanwhile, outside the Sports Centre where the Study Centre is housed, on the two training pitches nearby, the Rushden and Diamonds first team and reserve team were practising with their coaches. Rob told the group who all the players were and gave some information about them and pointed out a few famous faces. The reserve team and academy players often use the ICT equipment in the study centre as well as the tactics board and with their players’ restaurant next door, it was great for the students to see what the players do when they are not playing matches.   

Rushden and Diamonds community coach Gary Lant took the students for a practical football session on the Astroturf where the emphasis was on shooting skills. This follows a series of sessions held at Montsaye each week by Diamonds coach Mark Smith, making the Double Club project a ‘Double Experience’, both practical and educational. The game was certainly competitive with the students showing an aptitude for the sport as well as good teamwork, communication and co-operation skills. They encouraged each other to join in and the lads got the girls to play an equal part in the game, some of them taking on a starring shooting role. 

After lunch, Rob led a stadium tour around Nene Park where the Montsaye students saw behind the scenes of this ‘no-expense spared’ sporting complex. They visited the Kimberley Conference Suite, the players’ dressing rooms and photo-covered wall of fame, the players tunnel, four stands, home and away dugouts, press room and directors box. Many photos showed the students ‘in action’ as fans, coaches, managers, players and stewards.

Back in the study centre, the pupils completed a stadium tour postcard using photos taken on the tour, accompanied by some information they had learnt. This could be facts and figures about the stadium, what certain aspects/rooms were used for and what they thought of it. They used text boxes and speech bubbles as well as experimenting with backgrounds, formats and humorous commentary.   

A great day was had by all and the students told staff how much they had enjoyed the day. They realised they had been learning all the time despite enjoying themselves and didn’t class these activities as ‘real schoolwork’. However, now they know different! It’s about getting the right ‘hook’ to interest pupils and then harnessing this motivation for learning. Their behaviour was excellent and they worked hard. It was great to see the students in a different environment and they all got something out of the day. These pastoral aspects will transfer back into school when the final Double Club lessons are held this week using the stadium visit as a stimulus for learning