Schools/colleges

A TUITION service, which teaches pupils who are unable to attend school, is celebrating
receiving a 'good' rating in its latest Ofsted inspection.
Brent Educational Tuition Service (BETS), which teaches youngsters not at school because
of medical, social, behavioural or attendance-related issues, was inspected by the
education watchdog in November and was found to be providing 'exemplary care' and 'good
teaching'.
BETS has provided short and long-term education for 116 pupils in all 4 key stages over the last academic year.
An additional 157 youngsters were taught as in-patients at Northwick Park Hospital.
Pupils are each given an individual teaching plan and taught using a mixture of home tuition and classroom-based lessons at the three BETS sites.
The effectiveness of the school's engagement with parents and carers was judged by Ofsted
to be 'outstanding' and the report stated "staff work hard to cultivate supportive relationships and maintain effective communication channels with parents and carers."
The relationship between staff and pupils was described as providing "the bedrock of the
success of the service."
The report goes on to say BETS "is very successful in providing a safe haven for its pupils" who "rightly feel safe in this exceptionally caring environment where the staff give their undivided attention."
John Dowling, headteacher, said: "The report is very gratifying and a reflection of the hard work the staff have put into the last few years. We're very proud of the care and teaching we provide to our pupils."
Rik Boxer, assistant director for achievement and inclusion, said: "For some youngsters BETS is the last chance to get back on track and I'm delighted so many are making such good progress. Staff continually go the extra mile to meet the needs of pupils."

A DIGITAL art assistant won a prestigious photography award with pictures of humans formed of flowers - which will become part of a transatlantic exhibition.
Catlin Harrison, 37, who works at the College of North West London in Dudden Hill, Willesden, scanned in various plants, leaves, reeds and stalks into her computer and used image editing software to combine the resulting pictures to create colourful characters which she has named 'The Flora Gods'.

The Roundwood Park firework display is taking place on Thursday 5th November from 8pm. gates open at 6.45pm. The event is free.

YOUNGSTERS from the borough will create a museum collection, a book, and a film based on their and others' lives over the past 100 years.
They will capture elements of what it is to be young growing up in South Kilburn today while explore the idea of life in the area in 1910 through learning about South Kilburn's history.
They will then share their work with local people, community groups, schools and partnership organisations to promote the local community, its history, values, buildings and culture.
The project, called Kilburn Kultures, is aimed at 11-25-year-olds and is run by Granville Plus Youth Arts Centre, the Brent Youth Service's youth arts and training centre. It is supported by Brent Museum and funded by Heritage Lottery Fund. The project will take 12 months to complete.

The deadline is fast approaching for people to give their views on Brent Council's draft Children and Young People's Plan for the next two years.
The plan has been developed with the help of NHS Brent and the borough's schools.
People have until April 24 to give their feedback on the plan, which sets out how public agencies will work together over the coming years to provide services for children and young people so they can make the most of life and achieve their full potential.
Members of Brent Youth Parliament were closely involved in its development to ensure that issues important to young people were given a high priority.
Download the Children and Young People's Plan 2009 - 2011 from the council's website by logging on to www.brent.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies where you will also find a simple questionnaire to give feedback.
The final policy document will be published by the middle of May 2009 alongside a plain English version for younger residents.

Former professional footballer, Garth Crooks OBE, has joined the board of trustees at a Brent school.

The Capital City Academy in Willesden is delighted to have recruited the sportsman who played for Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United between 1980-85.

Having been a successful footballer, Garth has also enjoyed a high profile radio and television broadcasting career with the BBC, during which he has covered four World Cups, two Olympic Games and four European Championships.

Speaking about his new appointment, he said: "I am delighted to be joining such a committed group of trustees."

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Capital City Academy makes a positive difference to the lives of its students, according to Ofsted inspectors.

The school, in Doyle Gardens, Willesden, was also commended for its work in the community, the quality of teaching and the personal development of its youngsters, in a recent visit from the government officials.

A top business expert is visiting secondary school pupils to explain the credit crunch and its effect on the global economy.

Hector Sants, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Authority, is taking a break from the City to visit sixth form students from Queen's Park Community School and give a lecture outlining the causes of the economic downturn.

The Queen's Park Community School Jazz Band took their mellow music all the way to Taiwan over the festive period to perform at the prestigious Taichung Jazz Festival.

The 14-strong ensemble got their chance to perform at the event in western Taiwan, after receiving a special invitation by the Taichung Culture Bureau.

By Tom Parnell

A Brent college is encouraging students to fly out to an island for the latest extension to its campus.
The College of North West London's new facility includes an outdoor amphitheatre, business park and relaxing garden and waterfall.
However, visitors will not need to move from their classrooms to explore the extensive grounds, as it is all online.
The further education college, which has campuses in Wembley, Willesden and Kilburn, has become the first in the country to have its own operational island on the worldwide web.
Gas and heating lecturer Martin Biron rented 4,000 square metres of space in virtual world Second Life to explore the possibilities ofrunning an online 3D classroom.
He then persuaded the college to support a programme of exploration anddevelopment, which led to it renting 65,000 square metres of land in the the programme and attracting as many as 15,000 visitors in a month.
Visitors can fly through the air using an avatar or humanoid figure of their own choice to represent them inside the virtual world creating a game-style virtual reality environment for educational use.
Second Life opened in 2003 with properties entirely built and owned by its residents, who range from IBM and the NHS to Honda and lighting manufacturer Osram.
The virtual 3D environment is designed mainly for social and entertainment purposes, and has 11 million registered users worldwide who can do anything from watch a rock concert, shop or just have a chat with friends.
Visitors to the college's island can play chess, visit the garden and waterfall, check out the outdoor amphitheatre or enter the public sandbox to build their own 3-D objects.
There is also a business park where companies with college links can set up exhibitions to support students.
Mr Biron has installed a veritable giants house with an interactive central heating system that plumbing, gas, and heating and ventilation students can access and study.
Visitors can fly round the virtual central heating and hot water system, turn on taps and follow the movement of water through the pipes.
The house also features a U6 diaphragm meter to allow students to take a gas reading from a virtual appliance and get instant feedback on whether they are right.
Mr Biron said: The technology is so refined, its amazing - you can create anything you like. Second Life offers an excellent platform as a distance learning tool to support a blended learning approach.
It can be instantly accessed by students in a classroom or anywhere on the planet to undertake learning and assessment in their chosen field.
"Additionally, it supports their individual develop of IT and design skills.
We have set up a picture gallery from the Colleges recent Industry and Competitions Day, where visitors can walk through as though they were in a real gallery, and we are talking to other areas of the College, especially Art & Design, with a view to displaying their work.
Second Life can be accessed free on www.secondlife.com.