We have all been made aware recently on the news of the fatal effects of mephedrone.  I hope the following information will be of use to you.

Mephedrone is also known as MCAT, 4MMC, meow meow and bubbles.  The drug has similar effects to amphetamines and ecstasy.  It typically comes in the form of a white powder.  Whilst it is considered to be illegal to sell, supply or advertise it for human consumption, it is not currently classified as an illegal drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Parents can access the latest information via the Talk to FRANK website – (www.talktofrank.com)

If we can support further, please contact us in school.

Typically the role of a teaching assistant is to support teachers/senior staff with their everyday work/care and support our pupils in the classroom, so that they can concentrate on teaching.  Overtime you would also progress to supporting children with particular individual needs, working one-to-one or in small groups.

Applicants must be committed to working in the school for a minimum of 5 hours per week, over 6 months.  During this time you will work with Mercia Partnerships (training providers) to gain NVQ modules and achieve a Teaching Assistant Level 2 qualification.  You will also study the Skills for Life qualifications (literacy, numeracy and ICT).

As a Specialist Sports College, FGHS is committed to promoting health and social well-being throughout the local community.  As another element of the scheme you will train to achieve a Level 2 Award in Community Sports Leadership - a nationally recognised qualification that enables successful candidates to independently lead small groups of people in sport and recreational activities.

To be eligible for the scheme you must live locally, have under 5 GCSEs (A-C) and not already have a Level 2 qualification.  You will also need to undergo an enhanced CRB check.

There is no guarantee of employment at FGHS as a Teaching Assistant / Sports Coach at the end of the schemes, although should a position become available applicants who have passed the scheme would be considered.  The skills and qualifications you learn can of course be transferred to another school if a position arose.

Interested?  Then contact Mrs Critchley or Mrs Whalley on 0161 912 2949 to arrange a time to come into school for an informal chat about the scheme.

The craze of Bollywood Dancing that is sweeping the nation is here at FGHS!

Thursdays 7-8pm in our Dance Studio

We would like to invite our parents to take part in a programme of physical activity themselves through FREE spinning (indoor cycling) classes.  Spinning

can be a great way to get in a vigorous workout - burning calories and keeping your muscles in shape.

The sessions will run on a Friday, at Urmston Leisure Centre from 7am to 7.45am.  They are totally free of charge to our parents and will be taken by our very own qualified spinning instructor – Mrs Austin, Director of Specialism (Sport).

The first session will start on Friday 7^th May.

If you would like to take part please book your place by contacting Mrs Critchley on 0161 912 2949 or 07800 589508.

Places are limited so please don’t delay in booking your space!

As a Specialist Sports College we are always looking of creative, fun ways in which to engage our girls into physical activity - but why just aim it our girls?

We would like to invite our parents to take part in a programme of physical

activity themselves through FREE spinning (indoor cycling) classes.  Spinning

can be a great way to get in a vigorous workout - burning calories and keeping

your muscles in shape.

The sessions will run on a Friday, at Urmston Leisure Centre from 7am to 7.45am. 

They are totally free of charge to our parents and will be taken by our very own

qualified spinning instructor – Mrs Austin, Director of Specialism (Sport).

The first session will start on Friday 7^th May.

If you would like to take part please book your place by contacting Mrs Critchley on 0161 912 2949 or 07800 589508.

Places are limited so please don’t delay in booking your space!

Double Commonwealth champion swimmer Chris Cook to visit Flixton Girls High School’s top performers

Athlete visits a Manchester sports college driving whole school attainment through national award-winning physical education programme.

Double Commonwealth champion swimmer Chris Cook is to visit pupils from Flixton Girls High School in Urmston, Manchester, on Wednesday 10 March as part of their involvement in the Youth Sport Trust’s Sky Sports Living for Sport programme– an initiative that uses the power of sport to motivate and inspire young people.

A group of pupils at Flixton Girls High School will spend the day with Chris Cook as he mentors and leads the day’s activities, including a classroom session discussing stories and experiences with Chris referring to his own inspiring struggle through sport.

The visit is the next step in the work Flixton School has been undertaking with a group of girls formerly at risk of exclusion. Through the scheme, the girls were introduced to a range of activities, such as kayaking, orienteering and horse riding, designed to encourage them to step out of their comfort zone, try new things and develop confidence and a ‘can do’ attitude.

Involvement in the scheme has seen pupils’ attainment across all core academic subjects increase, with 87 per cent showing a marked improvement in Maths. The groundbreaking nature and success of the scheme recently saw the school pick up a highly commended at the National Innovation Awards, held by the Youth Sport Trust.

The school were rewarded for their approach to learning with an invitation for one of their dance groups to perform a “Football Freestylers” routine – football with an urban twist – to over 2,000 PE teachers at the National Sports College Conference, held at the Telford International Centre in February.

Lisa Austin, Director of Specialism (Sport) at Flixton Girls High School, comments: “It’s very exciting to have such an inspiring figure as Chris Cook give up his time for us like this. The pupils have been looking forward to the visit and have really worked hard to make the day a success.

“Performing at the conference was a huge privilege for the school and the girls involved.  Part of the highlight was listening to, and meeting, Alistair Campbell who was hugely motivating.  He spoke from the heart about how sport can help to shape a better future and mould more active people, and the resulting impact this can have on society. Sky Sports Living for Sport is a great example of how we, as a school, are putting this into practice.

“At Flixton, we wholeheartedly agree with this ethos. We continually strive to use sport as a platform to help young people unlock their potential, teaching them to embody the power and values that involvement promotes.” 

In his second year as a Sky Sports Living for Sport Athlete mentor, Chris Cook will be using his own story of struggle and success through sport to support the staff at Flixton Girls High School in their efforts to help pupils realise their potential. “I’m looking forward to visiting the school and seeing the young people there get involved with Sky Sports Living for Sport, giving them the encouragement to be the best they can be,” he said.

Sky Sports Living for Sport is a free online tool (www.skysports.com/livingforsport) delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, that has been designed for young people aged 11 to 16, encouraging them to take on different activities and learn new sports to help them reach their potential. 

Schools, community centres and organisations in Manchester who would like to learn more about how to become involved in Sky Sports Living for Sport are invited to register their school at www.skysports.com/livingforsport.com.

-ends-

For further information, to arrange an interview or receive images please contact:

• Collette Yates or Paul Sargent

Midnight Communications

Tel: 01273 666 200

Email: SkySportsLfS@midnight.co.uk 

• Lisa Austin Director of Specialism

 laustin@flixtongirls.trafforcd.sch.uk

Tel: 07789518968

Notes to Editors:

Youth Sport Trust is a registered charity established in 1994 to build a brighter future for young people through sport. Its mission is to support the education and development of all young people through PE and sport.

Sky Sports Living for Sport forms part of Sky's wider commitment to the community through The Bigger Picture. To find out more about Sky’s The Bigger Picture initiatives go to: www.sky.com/thebiggerpicture.

Independent figures published in September 2008 by the Institute of Youth Sport at Loughborough University found 68.7% of teachers reported the project had a positive impact on reducing bullying in their schools and 80% of pupils sustained positive impact at 12 and 24 months after the end of the project.

For more information about Sky Sports Living for Sport, please visit www.skysports.com/livingforsport.com or www.youthsporttrust.org

Chris Cook biography:

Chris represented Great Britain for almost 10 years, reaching Olympic, World and European finals. His defining moment came in 2006 at the Commonwealth Games, in Melbourne Australia, as Chris defied the odds and swam his way to becoming Double Commonwealth Champion.

Chris started his swimming career late in life having demonstrated few signs of success as a teenager.

Born and raised in South Shields, Chris grew up enjoying school friend life but always struggled to apply himself to the academic work. School reports would often state ‘Could apply himself more’, ‘Chris is easily distracted’ and ‘Average to poor’.

Recently retired from International Swimming, his dedication and determination to succeed paid off with a career, which has enriched him with international medals, national records, personal pride and a degree.

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Flixton Girls High School’s BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy) organisational membership application has been accepted. 

As an organisational member of BACP, we are bound by its Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy, the Ethical Guidelines for Researching Counselling and Psychotherapy (where organisations undertake research) and subject to the Professional Conduct Procedure for the time being in force.  

Further to this, we have been welcomed to the CCYP (Counselling Children and Young People Division) of the BACP.  CCYP aims to support practitioners and other professionals who are interested in the complex world of counselling and psychotherapy.  The division covers best practice guidance, innovative ideas, ethical issues and questions about counselling and psychotherapy for children and young people.  FGHS looks forward to becoming greatly involved with the CCYP division.

Our school counselling service has now been in operation since September and fully adheres to the BACP Ethical Framework.  The FGHS counselling service currently has access to four counsellors and enjoys a working relationship with RELATE.  The counselling service primarily offers Person Centred Therapy but also offers an integrated approach when required which utilises other forms of therapy such as Cognitive Behaviour and Solution Focussed.  Added to this, we are very proud of the fact that we can offer long-term relationships as well as short-term which means we can usually meet the emotional needs of our students.  When a students’ needs are felt to outweigh our service we look to our excellent working relationship with Trafford CAMHS who we can refer out to via the school nurse, alternatively families can access this service through their GP. 

FGHS is looking forward to a lasting relationship with the BACP and the benefits of organisational membership.

Mr Stones MBACP, himself a counselling psychotherapist and full member of the BACP, is acting as the membership coordinator.  Please do not hesitate to contact Mr Stones via school should you have any queries regarding emotional health and well-being.

The Outward Bound Trust will celebrate its 70th anniversary by asking former students to share their experiences. Jonathan Brown took his own journey into the unknown

Saturday, 27 February 2010

It had been a challenging night for the girls of Flixton High School long before they were to set off on the snowcapped fells and ice-crusted lakes.

The sighting of a ghost wandering the long corridors of the spooky former hotel where they were staying on the banks of Ullswater had sent frissons of excitement and terror through the dormitories. Restful sleep had proved elusive. At least one girl had passed the evening tearfully battling homesickness.

But despite the allure, or otherwise, of the Hogwarts-style setting, the real adventure was yet to begin. I joined a team of 12-year-olds from the Manchester comprehensive for a day's character-building as they lined up in the morning chill. The Outward Bound instructor, Liz Farthing, was busy telling them that despite the thrills of the night before, the way they had left their dormitories was a disgrace. Failure to clean them would result in the withholding of the evening meal, a threat greeted with mumbles of shocked disbelief from the youngsters.

With that chore looming, our mission, one we had no choice but to accept, was to canoe across the lake, then ascend the mist-shrouded summit of Hallin Fell brooding menacingly on the distant shore and then returning by rowing-boat, hopefully before nightfall. For a group more intimately acquainted with the retail delights of the Trafford Centre than the windswept Cumbrian hillsides, it was truly a journey into the unknown.

More than one million young people have passed through The Outward Bound Trust since the first centre was established in 1941. To mark its 70th anniversary next year, the chief executive, Nick Barrett, is launching a campaign for former students to share their experiences, to tell a "million stories of personal growth, adventure and fulfillment".

The trust was founded by the educationalist Kurt Hahn and shipping-line owner Lawrence Holt during the Second World War to help young seamen cope with the trauma of shipwreck. The first senior warden was Capt JF "Freddy" Fuller, a veteran of two torpedo attacks and 35 days aboard a life-raft in the Atlantic.

Hahn's theories have drifted in and out of fashion since but today many believe they are more relevant than ever. The former private secretary to the last Imperial Chancellor of Germany – and headmaster of Prince Philip's alma mater, the Schule Schloss Salem – left Nazi Germany to found Gordonstoun school in Scotland where three generations of the British Royal Family, including the Prince of Wales, have been educated.

The Outward Bound (motto: To Serve, To Strive and Not To Yield) shares many of the same muscular Platonic principles, as well as a Spartan belief in the powers of cold water and exercise. Today's youth, of course, face challenges not in the shape of Nazi U-boats but in a burgeoning obesity epidemic brought on by a sedentary lifestyle and a fear of the outdoors.

Flixton art teacher Natalie Cole was impressed. "At school, the girls have to be very competitive for the teacher's time but here they have time and space to appreciate things," she said. "To survive they have to rely on each other, and the environment allows them to work together and be kind to each other. It is really bringing the quieter ones out of themselves."

As we pushed out onto the frigid lake, it seemed our combined boating experience amounted to little more than a spin on a pedalo at a Haven holiday park. At first, our course was unsteady but soon a rhythm of sorts emerged and we made it to the shore to the strains of "Nelly the Elephant" lustily sung. But the slopes of Hallin Fell were to present a challenge of a different order. The melting snow had made the grass extremely slippery and after a few metres' climb the girls in their red waterproofs were going down like nine-pins. Although we worried we were only inching forward at an almost imperceptible rate, we eventually reached flatter terrain. Pausing over a healthy lunch – five pieces of fruit a day ranking alongside the joys of making a bivouac – the girls were treated to a short environmental talk on the threat of invasive bracken.

Catherine Sturrock, who gave up a job at investment bank Schroders two years ago to work for the trust, said youngsters could undergo profound changes in their new setting. "You get inner-city kids with their mobile phones, their make-up and their 'whatever' attitudes," she said. "They will say, 'I don't want to do this' but three days later they don't want to go home."

Memories of Outward Bound adventures can last a lifetime. Take Andy Pedrick, who attended an Outward Bound course in 1978 as a 21-year-old Barclays bank clerk. "It was the worst March in 40 years: it rained and snowed constantly," he recalled with glee. "But it was also the best thing that I have ever done. I can still remember the bust-ups that we had in out team and an argument we had about tent poles. But I enjoyed the teamwork and leadership."

For us in 2010, the coldest winter in 30-odd years, by the time we had reached the summit and weaved our way back down to the lake-shore, our small party if not quite a well-oiled fighting machine was certainly a team. As we relaxed over hot chocolate brewed on environmentally sound wood-burning kettles the girls seemed impressed by the experience, albeit in a suitably pre-teenage way.

"I think I'd rather go abroad on holiday because it is hotter," said Sally Dulson. "And the jog and dip when we had to get into the lake was evil; it was pure pain. But I'd rather be in the lake and freezing cold than doing maths at school."

For Ellie Rowe making new friends had been the highlight, and chatting until 2 o'clock the previous morning. "We are closer now because of the team-building," she said. "If I had kids I'd make them do it. It's good not to be scared.". Instructor Julie Paquette, a former youth worker from Montreal, encouraging and cajoling her "ladies" with unflappable patience throughout the day, was pleased.

"They have done brilliantly," she said. "There was no whining and they could have got demotivated very early on but didn't. They put their heads down and kept their spirits up throughout the day. It is about giving them a challenge but pitching it at a level they can achieve."

The girls returned in fading light with rain driving hard off Helvellyn. Activities, including compulsory room-tidying, were to continue until 8.30pm. Only then could the ghost stories begin again.

For more information on Sport Relief click here (take through to www.sportrelief.com)

Watch this space for more information on how FGHS will be rising to the challenge this year !

To find out more information and how to take part in the consultation please click here.

For more information on Trust and Foundations Schools visit the Trust & Foundation Schools website: www.trustandfoundationschools.org.uk