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A prestigious chess challenge for UK schools has won the support of a leading businessman and author. 

Lord Mark Price, Minister of State for International Trade, made the decision to support and sponsor the Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Challenge (the UK’s leading junior chess competition) in a bid to raise awareness of the importance of chess to young children. 

The Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Challenge, owned by previous UK Chess Champion, Sarah Hegarty, has been running for 21 years and has seen over 1,100 schools sign up to the challenge this year.  

As an avid chess player himself, Mark - who is also the former deputy chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and managing director of Waitrose - understands the importance of learning while young.

A Northumberland first school has commissioned a pottery painting expert to ensure that their values and ethos will be on display to pupils, staff and visitors.

Lorna Watkinson from Warkworth set up her business, Rainbow Pottery Painting in 2012 after taking her redundancy from the corporate world of advertising. Her business has gone from strength to strength after seeing success across schools in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

Almost a third of all primary school leavers lack basic water safety skills, a new report reveals. 

The Swim Group’s Curriculum Swimming and Water Safety Review Group has issued a stark warning after uncovering startling statistics in their recent survey. 

As curriculum pressures increase, swimming in primary schools is being placed on the back burner, but the Group warns that children will continue getting into difficulty in the water if improvements are not made. 

Almost a third of all primary school leavers lack basic water safety skills, a new report reveals. 

The Swim Group’s Curriculum Swimming and Water Safety Review Group has issued a stark warning after uncovering startling statistics in their recent survey. 

As curriculum pressures increase, swimming in primary schools is being placed on the back burner, but the Group warns that children will continue getting into difficulty in the water if improvements are not made. 

It’s very hard to imagine a world without technology. It impacts every aspect of our daily lives. From ensuring quick and easy communication across the globe to giving us access to almost limitless amounts of information at our fingertips – technology is fundamental to how we interact, connect, and learn.

What’s more, we now have a generation who have grown up with technology, that doesn’t know a world without wi-fi, iPhones and Skype. Children learn how to use a smartphone and tablet before their times tables or even how to write their own name. Across all age groups, they are by far the most engaged with tech.

Starting in 2018, more funding is going to be allocated to schools for PE, extra-curricular activities and healthy eating. The money is coming from the sugary drinks levy. All state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and sixth forms will receive some of the money.

Now more than ever, education establishments are faced with replacing and updating equipment on greatly reduced budgets across all departments. IT infrastructure, in particular, is one area that is increasingly central to the provision of modern, high quality teaching and, consequently, requires consistent renewal - something which is beyond the average school or college IT budget.

One solution to this challenge that most education providers are unaware of is the role of refurbished IT hardware and supporting materials. By opting to buy reconditioned PCs, monitors and laptops, schools and colleges can save thousands of pounds.