Wolverhampton City council have today released a press release with the details of forthcoming school closures due to strike action this coming Wednesday 30th November 2011.

We’ve listed all the schools we’ve been supplied details for across the city – not just in Wednesfield. If your school is not listed please contact the school directly for information

The following schools will definitely be closed.

Aldersley High
Ashmore Park Nursery
Bantock Primary
Berrybrook Primary
Braybrook Centre
Bushbury Hill Primary
Castlecroft Primary
Christ Church C of E Infant
Colton Hills
Coppice High School
Corpus Christi Catholic Primary
Deansfield High
D’Eyncourt Primary
Dunstall Hill Primary
East Park Primary
Eastfield Primary
Edward the Elder Primary
Elston Hall Primary
Fallings Park Primary
Field View Primary
Graiseley Primary
Green Park
Heath Park High School
Highfields
Hill Avenue Primary
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary
Kings Church of England
Kingston Centre
Lanesfield Primary
Long Knowle Primary
Low Hill Nursery
Loxdale Primary
Moreton Community
Moseley Park,
New Park
Northwood Park,
Oak Meadow Primary
Oxley Primary
Palmers Cross Primary
Parkfield Primary
Penn Fields Special
Penn Hall Special
Rakegate Primary
Smestow
SS Mary& John’s Catholic Primary
St Anthony’s Catholic Primary
St Bartholomew’s C of E Primary
St Edmunds Catholic,
St Jude’s Church of England Primary
St Luke’s Church of England Primary,
St Martin’s Church of England Primary
St Mary’s Catholic Primary
St Michael’s Catholic Primary
St Patrick’s Catholic Primary
St Paul’s Church of England Primary
St Peter’s Collegiate
St Teresa’s Catholic Primary
Stow Heath Infant
Stow Heath Junior
Stowlawn Primary,
Tettenhall Wood
Trinity Church of England Primary
Uplands Junior
Warstones
Wednesfield High
West Park Primary
Westacre Infant
Westcroft
Whitgreave Infant
Whitgreave Junior
Wodensfield Primary
Wood End Primary
Woodfield Infant
Woodthorne Primary
Star & Crescent Children’s Centres.

The following schools have indicated will either be open as normal, or partially open (please note the situation is liable to change):

Berrybrook Children’s Centre
Bilston Nursery (closed for Year 3)
Bilston Church of England Primary
Broadmeadow Nursery Special
Bushbury Nursery
Claregate Primary (open to Year 3, Year 5 and nursery only)
Dove Childrens Centre
Dovecotes Primary (open for Nursery, Reception, Year 3 and Year 5)
Eastfield Nursery
Giffard Catholic Primary
Goldthorn Park Primary (partially open)
Grove Primary (closed for Key Stage 2 pupils)
Holy Rosary Catholic Primary
Manor Primary
Midpoint Centre (open to small groups only)
Our Lady & St Chad’s Catholic (open to Years 10, 11, 12 and 13, closed to Year 7, 8 and 9)
Perry Hall Primary
Phoenix Nursery
Spring Vale Primary
Springdale Infant (Infant open, Nursery closed)
St Michael’s Church of England Primary
St Stephen’s Church of England Primary
Villiers Primary
Wilkinson Primary
Windsor Nursery/Centre for Children (Nursery closed, Centre for Children open)
Woden Primary (partially open)
Dove Children’s Centre.

 The following schools have not yet announced a decision:

Christ Church C of E Junior
Merridale Primary
Orchard Centre
Springdale Junior
St Alban’s Church of England Primary
St Andrew’s Church of England Primary
St Thomas’s Church of England Primary (may be open to some pupil groups)
Wolverhampton Girls High
Woodfield Junior.

Schools will be contacting parents to notify them of the school’s position; if parents are unclear of the situation they are advised to contact the school directly as they may need to make alternative childcare arrangements as necessary.

Work is well underway on the £17.5m transformation of Coppice Performing Arts School

The school is undergoing a major makeover as part of Wolverhampton City Council’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which is transforming education for secondary age pupils in the city.

Carillion, the Wolverhampton-based support services and construction company which is the lead contractor for the BSF programme, has completed the first phase of the work, with more than 120 people busy on site at any one time.

As a result, students are already able to enjoy a new Discovery Zone which includes state-of-the-art Science labs and Maths classrooms and which opened for the first time at the start of term.

Brickwork and cladding has been completed on the school’s new sports hall with work now underway to fit out the interior, including the changing rooms. It should be ready for use this autumn.

The next phase of the build includes the creation of a new Performance Zone to include an iconic elliptical theatre block and a three-storey Communications Zone which will bring together Business, English, Humanities, Modern Foreign Languages and Social Sciences.

Headteacher Janice Fletcher said: “Coppice Performing Arts School is already benefitting from an amazing Discovery Zone which is providing the state-of-the-art learning environments we were promised.

“The new learning environments truly enhance the educational experiences of our students, and the brand new Coppice Theatre will also significantly enhance the school and community performance opportunities that will be available in the future.”

The complete refurbishment is due to be completed by February 2013. Overall, Wolverhampton’s £270m BSF programme will see the rebuilding or refurbishment of 25 schools and academies in four phases between now and 2014.

Members of Wolverhampton City Council’s Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel inspected the work at Coppice Performing Arts School yesterday. Pictured in the new facilities are pupils Ryan Downing and Alyce Russell with (standing, left to right): Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel Councillor Julie Hodgkiss, Headteacher Janice Fletcher, Vice Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel Councillor Pat Patten, Building Schools for the Future Programme Director Gerard Stone and Carillion Project Manager Sam Hudson.

Pupils from St Alban’s Church of England Primary School in Ashmore Park, Wednesfield will be amongst youngsters who will once again be able to use the latest technology to help them learn when they are out and about this summer.

Last year more than 1,000 pupils from 34 Wolverhampton schools used the latest smartphone technology as part of a nationwide project to track the spread of the Harlequin Ladybird.

It was the first time smartphones had been used by pupils city-wide – and it proved so successful that plans are already underway for an even bigger event this year.

Dr David Whyley, Wolverhampton City Council’s Headteacher Consultant for Learning Technologies, said: “Staff and pupils were given a working understanding of the use of the smartphones, with even nursery children showing how adept youngsters are with this technology.

“The pupils then went out into the field and searched for ladybirds and other beetles and, using GPS-based technology, either recorded them on the smartphone or took their ‘finds’ back to the classroom to input via their laptops. This information was fed into the National Harlequin Ladybird Survey and entire classes were able to look at their results on screen and find their locations using Google Maps.

“Our schools were really enthusiastic about the challenge, with 34 taking part. For some this was their first taste of using smartphones for learning.”

The results of last year’s project have now been published online at www.learning2go.org, while the data has been included on the National Harlequin Ladybird Survey website, www.harlequin-survey.org.

Councillor Phil Page, Wolverhampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Schools, said: “This was a really significant milestone in using technology such as smartphones, which young children are increasingly used to in their everyday lives, to enhance their learning. It gave them a greater understanding of the use of technology to record their learning and the chance to contribute to a real life environmental issue.

“We are delighted that, following the success of last year’s trial, pupils will once again be able to take part in this really innovative form of learning this year. It will be based on a similar outdoor theme as last year, which will give youngsters the chance to carry out research in the natural environment.”

Source: Wolverhampton City Council

Work will begin soon on the next stage of the multi-million-pound transformation of several secondary schools in Wednesfield after the Government approved plans for the latest phase of work.

City Councillors last month approved the Final Business Case for Phase One of the £270million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which will see a £59.8m investment to build an academy and refurbish three schools in the city.

Phase One of the programme includes the refurbishment of Coppice Performing Arts School (costing around £17.5m), Wednesfield High School (£14.6m) and the Braybrook Centre (£1.5m), all of which should be completed by February 2013.

Councillor Phil Page, Wolverhampton City Council‘s Cabinet Member for Schools, said: “I am delighted that final contracts have now been signed and we are now able to progress with the exciting developments for the Phase One schools which make up the latest stage of our Building Schools for the Future programme.”

Plans for Wednesfield High School include a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths block showcasing the school’s Engineering specialism, as well as outdoor classrooms, a four court sports hall and a lecture theatre. There will also be out-of-hours access to fitness suites, drama studios and dining areas.

Coppice Performing Arts School will get an iconic, state-of-the-art theatre and performance space to showcase the talents of its pupils to parents and the wider community, as well as a new sports hall with a dedicated community entrance and a courtyard which will improve access to different parts of the school.

The Braybrook Centre will have a brand new sports hall and additional green space, also available for community use, which will mean pupils no longer have to go to elsewhere to enjoy sport.

Source: Wolverhampton City Council

The former Danesmore Park Primary School on Russell Close, Ashmore Park is currently ablaze with Fire crews, Police and Ambulances in attendance. Smoke can be seen pouring from the blaze  as far away as Ecclestone Road and Russell Close is completely inaccessible due to the number of emergency vehicles at the scene.

For up to the minute reports see our Facebook page where we will endeavour to keep you updated from the scene as we find out more!!!

UPDATE: Our full report is now online.

**On a personal note as an ex-pupil and as a parent whose son’s education was disrupted by the closure of this wonderful school I am devastated by this! We fought hard to keep the school open and when everything stacked against us and it closed anyway the council assured the parents and local residents that the school would not be left to run into disrepair so something like this could happen! – Steph.

Music Bugs is an award winning company which offers pre-school music sessions.

Music Bugs is now coming to Wednesfield and sessions will take place at the new Community Library on Wednesdays from 10:10am, starting 3rd November, 2010.

Young children love to sing simple songs and rhymes, dance and move and play percussion instruments, and that is what Music Bugs is all about!

Come along for a FREE taster session. Contact Claire on 0844 578 1049 or e-mail clairejones@musicbugs.co.uk.

In a structured class full of excitement, we sing counting songs, nursery rhymes, action songs, finger play songs and much more. Add to this puppets, instruments, hobby horses, scarves, pom-poms and even bubbles and parachutes and you have the recipe for a lot of fun.

Music Bugs helps to develop a wide range of skills to prepare children for nursery/school, including language, concentration, mathematical concepts, creativity, confidence, fine and gross motor skills and social skills to name but a few!

Our emphasis is on learning through play, and most of all having fun in an informal atmosphere.

The developments are being funded through the Primary Capital Programme, which is investing a total of £16.6m in the modernisation of schools around Wolverhampton.

The new building is being constructed alongside the existing school to minimise any disruption, with the old buildings being demolished once the new facilities are completed. The site of the former school will then be re-developed to create new playing fields.

A new pedestrian access will be created to link Oak Meadow with the nearby Coppice Performing Arts School, which will also be redeveloped through the Building Schools for the Future programme, and allow for closer working between the two schools.

Oak Meadow will get state-of-the-art ICT facilities which will link in with the infrastructure being provided at Coppice.

The new school will have places for up to 420 pupils and will be ready to receive students in time for the Autumn term, 2011.

This work follows a summer makeover at nearby St Alban’s Church of England primary school in Ashmore Park.

Councillor Christine Mills, Wolverhampton City Council‘s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People and Schools said: “Improving our school buildings is an essential element in our strategy in improving educational attainment among our young people.

“We are investing more than £300m in a transformation of our secondary schools through the Building Schools for the Future programme, and the Primary Capital Programme is ensuring that our primary schools are of a similarly high quality.”

At the moment the Library’s events page lists two events, read on for details…

Leading Lights

Celebrated author and performer, Debjani Chaterjee OBE will be running a writing workshop and telling us tales. With a graphics workshop, face painting, mendhi, competitions and more. Come and join the family fun and celebrate Divali.

Thursday 4 November
4pm – 7pm
Wednesfield Library, Well Lane, Wednesfield WV11 1XT
FREE
For further information call 01902 556278

A Christmas Offa

Offa’s Press poets Emma Purshouse and Win Saha entertain at the Wednesfield Library Readers’ Group meeting. All welcome!

Monday 13 December
2pm – 3pm
Wednesfield Library, Well Lane, Wednesfield WV11 1XT
FREE
For further information call 01902 552061

It was smiles all round as Wolverhampton’s newest library was officially opened this week.

The new Wednesfield Library was unveiled by Wolverhampton’s Mayor, Councillor Malcolm Gwinnett, who praised library staff for the welcoming atmosphere at the ‘striking’ building.

Staff were joined by members of the public, local businesspeople and religious leaders as well as the project’s architects, builders and representatives from the Big Lottery Fund as the ribbon was cut.

The eye-catching library, on the corner of Well Lane and Rookery Street, cost £2.2million to build and was funded jointly by Wolverhampton City Council and the Big Lottery Fund’s Community Library Fund.

Branch librarian Carol Howarth said: “We are so excited to have officially opened to the public. The building is fantastic and welcoming and we’ve had so many people say how much they like the new library.

“It is not only bigger, giving us more space for activities for children, but also has an increased number of PCs for people to use, free of charge. We are very pleased to be so busy in our new home, which is right in the heart of the community of Wednesfield.”

Construction Director Phil Walker from G F Tomlinson added, “We are delighted to have worked with Wolverhampton City Council once again. G F Tomlinson has built a library and community facilities that I am sure will provide an excellent learning and education source as well as an area focal point for the local community for many years to come.

“We are happy to be able to use our extensive expertise on this truly iconic project.”

The new library is open from Monday to Saturday with late night opening until 7pm on Mondays and Thursdays. For more information, please visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/libraries or call the library on 01902 556278.

Photo courtesy of Wolverhampton City Council.

Read our previous post for information on the celebrations.