Chesterfield Football Club’s first Christmas Toy Appeal has been launched this week – aiming to put smiles on the faces of underprivileged children and families in the local area on Christmas Day.
Fans are being encouraged to drop gifts off at the club during the lead up to Christmas.
An appeal has gone out to all Spireites fans, the general public and businesses to pick up an extra children’s present while Christmas shopping and donate it to the appeal.
The players visit various hospitals and charities every Christmas and the presents donated will be handed out during those trips.
Kevin Fitzgerald, the club’s head of commercial and marketing, said: “We are very much the hub of the local community and we want to do all we can to help local children and families this Christmas.
“We are hoping that the kindness of our fantastic supporters will enable the club to give more to charities and children than ever before.
“With the help of the Chesterfield community and local businesses, we want to ensure the children of struggling families have presents to open on Christmas Day.”
Donations can be dropped off at the Proact Stadium reception during normal office hours and on match days.
More than 700 young people from schools throughout north east Derbyshire got involved with Chesterfield’s month-long festival celebrating the town’s manufacturing and engineering sector during November.
Made in Chesterfield was designed to introduce youngsters to training, careers and jobs in engineering and manufacturing through a series of visits to companies in the sector, business events and exhibitions.
The festival was coordinated by Destination Chesterfield in partnership with MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar, NatWest, Derbyshire Education Business Partnership, Chesterfield College, Derbyshire County Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, Placing Futures, NLT Training Services, UKTI, East Midlands Chamber, Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Positive 4 Young People.
Councillor Amanda Serjeant, vice chair of Destination Chesterfield and cabinet member for town centre and visitor economy at Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Engineering has always played a major part in Chesterfield’s economy and the events showed that this heritage is continuing today.
“Engineering companies are also at the forefront of work in the town to create apprentices to give young people high quality job opportunities.
“This festival was an opportunity to showcase all they do and raise awareness of the many different types of products being manufactured in the town.”
Chesterfield Champions MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar and Weightron Bilanciai all hosted student visits to their premises with a number of students keen to follow apprenticeships in the sector following the visits. Catherine Swain of Whittington Green School said: “They were fantastic events which all our students loved getting involved in experiments and talking to the apprentices they had on site. MSE Hiller was one of the best places we have been to.”
Flynn Dodsworth a sixth form student at Shirebrook Academy who visited MSE Hiller said: ““I am interested in engineering and looking at doing mechanical engineering or computational fluid dynamics at University.” Fellow student Matt is considering an engineering apprenticeship when he leaves school. Of the visit to MSE Hiller, he said: “I wanted to experience engineering and what it’s about. It’s also good to add to my personal statement for when I’m applying to engineering companies for jobs.”
MSE Hiller also sponsored and hosted MANTRA (The Manufacturing Technology Transporter), a specially customised 14m HGV trailer, packed with the latest machinery and simulators, designed to give aspiring young engineers a hands-on experience with real cutting-edge technologies.
Designed to give students a taste of modern manufacturing, advanced modelling and assembly line technology to help inspire young people to take up careers in engineering, MANTRA worked its magic on 10 students from Parkside School who visited it.
Year 11 student Ashley Macefield (15) from Parkside School said: “I want to do engineering when I leave school and going to MANTRA helped me see all the different kinds of jobs and roles there are. It showed me that we can build anything if we put our mind to it.”
During the visit the boys were introduced to technology currently in use and that which is being developed, including 3D glasses similar to state-of-the-art ‘Occulus Rift’ equipment which is worn by gamers playing virtual reality games, which they are all fans of.
Parkside School Deputy Headteacher Rachel Hammond, who accompanied the students on their visit said: “It was a very successful visit. I could see that the youngsters really enjoyed it. In fact they were blown away by it. What was made evident is that these are very people the industry needs to employ because they are already familiar with and using modern technologies in video gaming.
“What was amazing to learn during the visit was how much of a major player Chesterfield is in engineering and manufacturing and it showed the boys the job and career opportunities that exist locally, which is hugely important to young people who do not want to move away from home.”
A highlight of the week, for both young people and the business community, was the arrival of Bloodhound, the vehicle which is Britain’s latest attempt to break the world land speed record, travelling at a speed of 1,000mph.
A replica of the vehicle was displayed at Chesterfield College. With only 6% of engineers in the UK being women, a wider aim of the £70million privately funded project is to raise awareness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers.
One such woman is Casey Allen (17), an engineering apprentice at Foxwood Diesel in Old Whittington, who recently narrowly missed out on being named the overall winner of the prestigious Group Training Association (GTA) England Apprentice of the Year Award.
Casey, who is about to complete level 2 of her apprenticeship and start level 3, was put forward for the award by NLT Training Services, a specialist training and provider of apprentices in welding, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering based in Brimington, which also supported Made in Chesterfield hosting a number of school visits.
Principal of Chesterfield College, Stuart Cutforth, said “One hundred and fifty students from schools throughout Derbyshire visited Bloodhound while it was here. The presence of Bloodhound at the College has put the STEM agenda on the radar for Chesterfield.”
The arrival of Bloodhound in Chesterfield also had special significance for both the town and a local manufacturing company, industrial weighing specialists Weightron Bilanciai Ltd, who have supplied the weighing systems that have been use throughout the build of the project. The company is also supplying a system to measure the weight distribution through the wheels of the car, to allow the balancing of the vehicle.
The record attempt will take place in South Africa in October 2016 on 12 mile strip of land where Bloodhound travel faster than bullet and the speed of sound, covering a mile in 3.6 seconds.
As well as school events and Bloodhound’s arrival, there was also a special exhibition running at Chesterfield Museum showcasing the town’s manufacturing and engineering heritage.
And it was the museum and exhibition which hosted the Made in Chesterfield launch event to the business community. As well as the launch event, there was also a packed programme of business events held during Made in Chesterfield, including a manufacturing conference, business masterclasses and networking events.
During Made, UKTI hosted one of 11 business events – ‘UKTI Export Week: Made in Chesterfield……sold to the World,’ which was aimed at encouraging businesses to take up the overseas selling challenge and highlighting the wealth of support and knowledge available to help them grow.
Speakers at the event included representatives from Chesterfield drinks manufacturer Global Brands which currently exports to over 30 countries worldwide, and also Paul Wade, Managing Director of Northern Lights, based in Holmewood, exports to five continents.
The UKT event was also timed to coincide with the launch of the Government’s new Exporting is GREAT Campaign (www.exportingisgreat.gov.uk), which seeks to inspire 100,000 new exporters.
Ian Harrison, UKTI Regional Director in the East Midlands, said he was delighted to be involved in Made in Chesterfield.
He said: “Our breakfast event included an in-depth look at the exciting opportunities for local companies to trade internationally, showing businesses that whatever their size, we can help them take their goods and services worldwide.”
“Made in Chesterfield was a complete success thanks to the support of businesses and organisations which enabled us to engage more young people in the sector than ever before showing them the number of jobs and careers and within it and right on their doorstep. Manufacturing engineering is the lifeblood of the economy and it’s important we engage its future workers now to ensure its continued success.
“Thank you to all of the local businesses, training providers and organisations that got behind the week by hosting their own events and attending others. We can’t wait to bring it back again next year to more young people.”
If you’re interested in getting involved in next year’s Made in Chesterfield Week, please contact dom.stevens@chesterfield.co.uk
Pupils from Brampton Primary School have brought a touch of colour to the town’s coach station.
The students helped put the final touches to the Pocket Park project on Markham Road, at the entrance to the coach station by planting 3,000 purple, yellow and white crocus corms.
The project, which started last year, is a collaboration between Chesterfield Civic Society, Franke Sissons and Chesterfield Borough Council, with support from Destination Chesterfield and Killingley Landscapes.
It aims to provide a welcoming green space for those who travel by coach and for shoppers passing by.
Chesterfield Civic Society suggested the planting scheme and paid for the bulbs. Chesterfield Borough Council staff provided spades for the project and helped with digging and preparing the ground for the bulbs to be planted by the children.
Amanda Chalke, Civic Society executive member, said: “We are delighted to work with Brampton Primary School and Chesterfield Borough Council. It now means the project has involved primary and secondary pupils and a talented young designer who attended Chesterfield College.
“Projects such as this are statements of pride in our town by all age groups. We hope to see more.”
Councillor Chris Ludlow, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “This individual project is part of the wider Chesterfield in Bloom project work, which aims to involve the community in making our town a greener and brighter space.
“The work of the children and all the partners will help improve the welcome that coach visitors to the town get, as well as benefit residents.”
Nine local schools are set to perform at the Secondary Dance Festival taking place on 2nd December at the Winding Wheel in Chesterfield. Now in its tenth year, the 2015 event will give more students than ever the opportunity to take part in all types of dance – from contemporary to classical. With the help of their dance teachers, the students have put together a show that would wow any audience.
Taking part are: Anthony Gell School, Brookfield Community School, Hasland Hall Community School, Lady Manners School, Netherthorpe School, Outwood Academy Newbold, Springwell Community College, St. Mary’s Catholic High School and Tupton Hall School.
Mark Tournier, Partnership and Development Manager at the Chesterfield School Sport Partnership, said: “The dance platform is organised by Chesterfield School Sport Partnership, bringing together a range of outstanding dance performances form across Chesterfield. It’s a celebration of dance and all the hard work and effort that goes into the performance. It’s not just about the talent on display, the performers show real courage and determination to make it happen.”
The performing schools will be joined by Déda Derby and Crystal Cheer and Dance who will showcase elements of Street Dance as well as professional choreography and storytelling.
Clare Limb, Head of Dance Development and Learning at Déda, said: “Déda is proud to be a partner organisation of Chesterfield SSP and is delighted to be involved in this event, which enables young people in the Chesterfield District and beyond to take part in an annual professional level performance.”
Mark Tournier added: “The event always has a great atmosphere and the performers leave the stage full of confidence. We are excited to be working with 9 schools and two community groups including the Derbyshire Youth Dance Company performing an inspired Dance–Theatre piece titled ‘Get in Line’.”
Tickets are available now priced at £5 for adults and £3 for juniors/concessions for family and friends of performers. This year’s event is expected to be a sell-out, with tickets already selling quickly. To book please contact the Chesterfield Visitor Centre on 01246 345777.
The 16ft tree will be displayed outside the front of the entrance of the hospital from Monday 7 – Saturday 19 December, where volunteers will be fundraising for the Chesterfield Royal Hospital Charity and Macmillan Cancer Support’s Appeal to raise £2.5 million towards the new Cancer Centre which is expected to open in 2016.
The Chesterfield Royal Macmillan Cancer Centre is an exciting new development that will mean that people with cancer in North and North East Derbyshire will be able to receive vital treatment, care and support in one purpose-built centre providing joined up services closer to home.
More than 20,000 people are expected to see the spectacular tree at the hospital which will be accompanied by carol singers on some days, mince pies and other festive treats to ensure everyone gets into the Christmas spirit.
Rob Turner, senior fundraising manager for Macmillan in Chesterfield said, “If you’re visiting the hospital why not pop over to the Christmas tree and our marquee to see us? We’ve got all sorts of exciting activities planned over the two weeks including carol singing, chocolate tombola, Christmas cards and mince pies for a donation. You’ll also get the chance to have your picture taken using our star-shaped prop and to write a message in memory of a loved one to remember at Christmas.”
Richard Trueman, managing partner of Mitchells said: “We’re delighted to be involved with the Macmillan Shining Stars Christmas Appeal. Cancer affects so many people including a Mitchells’ member of staff. This is a great way for us to show support to our colleague as well as the 1,500 people in North and North East Derbyshire diagnosed with cancer each year.”
Rob Woodhead, director and Head of Wills and Probate at BRM said, “The new Macmillan Centre will bring very welcome advances in the standard of cancer treatment services available to our local community. My colleagues and I are very proud to be able to support a project that will have a positive, tangible impact on the lives of people suffering with cancer, and their families.”
Volunteer event assistants are required Monday – Saturday from 9am – 12.30pm and 12.30pm – 4pm throughout the two week period the tree will be on display. If you’re interested in volunteering, please specify which day(s) and shift(s) you can do and contact Rob Turner on 07545 419 725 or email rturner@macmillan.org.uk
Brockwell Junior School in Chesterfield has received a national award for encouraging pupils to enjoy a more active, safer and greener commute.
The Modeshift STARS bronze accreditation recognises the school’s efforts in getting more children to travel to school on foot or using another sustainable means of transport.
Far surpassing any targets, Brockwell has recorded 82% of pupils walking, cycling or scooting to school on a daily basis during the 2014/15 academic year.
Miss Lenthall, of Brockwell Junior School, said: “It’s a fantastic and well organised scheme to be a part of, which really highlights the benefits of active travel. Through the scheme, we found that not only the children, but also their entire families were becoming more involved with travelling actively.
“The children loved being able to travel to school on bikes as well as scooters and couldn’t wait to record their achievements and track their progress against their pledges.”
Following the successful bronze initiatives, the school is continuing the Modeshift STARS scheme and hopes to expand their initiatives in order to achieve the Silver award in 2016.
The national Modeshift STARS scheme is delivered locally by the Chesterfield School Sport Partnership and supported by Derbyshire County Council and Sustrans, a national charity.
Every school in England can participate in the Modeshift STARS scheme for free, and achieve bronze, silver or gold level awards. It is supported by 52 local authorities and more than 11,000 schools nationally.
Chatsworth has once again taken inspiration from a children’s classic for its much anticipated festive season. Christmas at Chatsworth with Mr Toad takes visitors through the adventures of those best of animal friends; Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toad as they get ready to celebrate Christmas.
With the lower floors of the house transformed into scenes loosely based on Kenneth Grahame’s much-loved classic Wind in the Willows, the Painted Hall serves beautifully as the Baronial Toad Hall dressed with sumptuous garlands and a magnificent Christmas tree while the house itself is generously decorated with festive flowers and giant Christmas trees throughout.
The enchantment continues with scenes of the riverside folk getting ready to celebrate Christmas at Toad Hall before they come in for a shock. Visitors will discover Mole helping to dress Ratty’s Christmas tree before loading up his little boat with gifts to take to Toad Hall. With many charming scenes unfolding on the journey through the house, this year’s festive celebration is sure to enchant all that come under its magical spell.
This year, Chatsworth is also transforming the Great Chamber and the Guest Bedrooms into the scenes from the evergreen story to extend the festive route throughout more of the house.
Children will enjoy discovering the hiding places of the little mice all along the route, placing their wish on the Wishes Trees and dressing up in the costumes made especially for Christmas with Mr Toad by the in house textiles team.
Once again, it’s been a huge effort from the talented Chatsworth in house team with staff from Textiles; Housekeeping; Joinery and Gardening coming together to create the costumes for characters and guides; painting backdrops; making scene-setting items such as Ratty’s jetty and Badger’s house and putting together the garlands and other festive flower displays.
Tickets for visits at Christmas now offer timed entry into the house to reduce queuing times. Visitors planning to make a trip to the house this festive season are advised to book in advance to secure their time slot and make the most of their visit. Free parking is included with all online bookings.
Christmas at Chatsworth with Mr Toad continues until 3rd January 2016. For more information visit http://www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/christmas-at-chatsworth
Over 100 local secondary school students came together last week to train as sporting ambassadors ready to plan and deliver their own sporting events in Chesterfield.
Organised and delivered by the Chesterfield School Sport Partnership, the all-day conference took place at the Institute of Sport in Sheffield and was an opportunity to gain a range of new skills and experience.
The day was delivered by experts in the field of journalism, photography and media as well as former Team GB Olympic volleyball players, Ben Pipes and Dami Bakare.
Students learned how to run how to run a variety of sporting activities; many which are different to the usual sports played in school – for example boccia and new age kurling.
Activities also included a mock press conference with a former top-level athlete, writing a feature, taking and selecting expert photos and deciding how to publicise any completed work.
Sarah Evans, Leadership and Physical Activity Officer at the Chesterfield School Sport Partnership, said: “It’s great to see so many young leaders here today developing their skills and taking on the role as a Young Ambassador.
“I can’t wait to see how they embrace this role to be inspirational and make a change within their schools.”
The media officer from the Brookfield Community School SSOC said: “I enjoyed the media workshop as we got involved in speaking to an Olympian, taking photos and videos of the other activities and writing a sports blog.”
The Silver Young Ambassadors are now preparing to deliver a School Sport Club in Chesterfield, a Level 1 School Games (Intra) competition and two Get Set for Community Action projects.
A replica of Bloodhound, the British-built and designed 1000 mph jet and rocket powered car, which will attempt the land speed record next year, is at Chesterfield College for two days to inspire the next generation of scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians.
120 pupils from schools across Derbyshire and more than 200 students from college are amongst some of the 100,000 young people in the UK who will get the chance to see the replica and find out how the best of the best in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) world have created this feat of engineering.
The young engineers have also built their own jet powered car, taken part in special science workshops and heard from key employers in the region like Rolls Royce, about the careers they could have if they studied STEM subjects.
In the East Midlands, between 2010 and 2020 more than two thirds of jobs will need engineering skills. That is 158,400 jobs that will need qualified engineers. However, over the last 7 years there has been a decline of 20.8% of students choosing STEM subjects. Almost two in five firms (39%) that require STEM-skilled employees report current difficulties in recruitment.
Stuart Cutforth, Principal of Chesterfield College said:
“Having such a high profile and exciting project in college is a fantastic opportunity to excite young people about where studying STEM subjects can lead. We know that STEM related jobs are on the increase but the number of students choosing to study the subjects that will get them the right qualifications to get these jobs has been in decline for some time now. As a college working in an area that is home to a host of key employers we know how important it is to inspire the next generation.”
To find out more about tonight’s Bloodhound event being held for local businesses please click here.
Bloodhound is in Chesterfield as part of the Made in Chesterfield Festival; a month-long celebration of the town’s manufacturing and engineering industry. More information is available at www.chesterfield.co.uk/made.
Photography by Les Wilcockson Photography and Chesterfield College.
Adventurous cyclists can now enjoy a new purpose-built off-road cycling facility just off the Five Pits Trail.
The new trail, which is just under a mile long, runs from the western side of Williamthorpe Nature Reserve near Holmewood, and is suitable for cyclists of all ages with basic off-road skills.
The Five Pits Trail is a five-and-a-half mile off-road surfaced route which runs from Grassmoor Country Park to Tibshelf Ponds.
Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure Councillor Dean Collins said:
“We’re delighted to announce that the adventurous bike trail has been completed.
“This is a great new trail for keen cyclists or mountain bikers looking for a new adventure. I’d like to thank our countryside team and volunteers who’ve logged an impressive 300 hours to build the new trail. They’ve all done a great job and should be proud of what they’ve achieved.”
Men in Chesterfield and Derbyshire can win prizes by signing up to a new two-week Workplace Challenge taking place from 16th to 29th November.
Linking to the month of ‘Movember,’ which raises awareness of men’s health, the competition is designed to promote the benefits that physical activity has in helping to prevent cancer.
The Movember Workplace Challenge is free and easy to join with men simply asked to log their activity online over a two week period and there is a prize on offer for the best ‘Active Moustache’. All participants need to do to be in with the chance of winning is send in a photo of themselves sporting a ‘mo’ (moustache) and taking part in sport or physical activity to Derbyshire Sport.
The Chief Medical Officer (department for health 2011) recommends 150 minutes moderate intensity activity each week for adults. With this in mind, any men who successfully complete and log 150 minutes of activity before midnight on 29th November will automatically be entered into a prize draw.
This will be the final challenge in 2015 and will be followed by a brand new challenge in January 2016 to kick-start the new year.
For more information and to sign up visit www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/derbyshire.
