A city school has been rated Good by Ofsted in its first inspection since becoming an academy.

Inspectors visited Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy in March and found the school to be very well led by Principal Toni Ellis.

They said Miss Ellis is ambitious for her 830 pupils while her vision for the school as a "demanding, inquisitive and resilient community is well understood by all staff, parents and pupils". The Academy "expects pupils and staff to show a genuine interest in learning".

A "hardworking and experienced" senior leadership team share Miss Ellis’ ambitions for pupils in the school's care. They "have worked hard to improve teaching and to provide a good range of curriculum and extra-curricular activities".

Pupils are "cared for and supported very well", enjoy coming to school, are well behaved and "make good progress during their time at the school"; they are taught well and achieve outcomes in line with their starting points.

Inspectors found the "positive relationships between teaching staff and pupils" to be a strength of the school, and commended the social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of pupils and the strong Catholic ethos which is reflected in respectful relationships.

The report praised the Academy’s “… extensive extra-curricular programme that gives pupils good opportunities to experience cultural, artistic and sporting activities”.

A regular training programme supports new and more established staff well. Inspectors found that good use is being made of links with other schools within the academy trust, and the support which is commissioned from the City of Wolverhampton Council, to improve the quality of teaching still further.

The sixth form also provides "a good education". Students are "well taught and achieve good results, particularly in applied and vocational courses. Their behaviour in lessons and around the school is excellent”. The inspectors highlighted the way the school "raises aspirations for pupils. A very good programme of information, advice and guidance encourages pupils to aspire to ambitious but realistic career choices".

The governing body "discharges its responsibilities well", making effective use of management information to hold the school to account for pupils' performance. Governors have a good understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses.

Inspectors also noted that a proposed expansion of the Academy is also underway to meet the growing demand for places.

Miss Ellis said: "Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy is delighted with the inspection report. We are fortunate to be supported by some fantastic staff, parents and students.

“As a team we remain relentless in our determination to continuously drive for excellence and are ambitious and excited for the future of the Academy as we continue to grow.”

Councillor Claire Darke, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education, said: "This is a very positive inspection of Our Lady and St Chad's Catholic Academy, which is thanks to the hard work of Toni Ellis and everyone associated with the school."

The inspection on 13 and 14 March was the first since the school converted to an academy.

The third UK Employability Day will take place on Friday 29 June 2018.

Local organisations helping people into work – such as businesses, training providers, careers advisers, housing associations, charities, local authorities and community groups – have the chance to be part of the biggest Employability Day yet.

In eight weeks times, hundreds of organisations across the country will throw open their doors and celebrate their work supporting people into employment.

Last year, over 200 centres took part, with a number of high-profile visitors, including the Home Secretary and the Scottish Minister for Employability and Training, as well as local politicians, employers and jobseekers.

There’s still plenty of time to organise an event, from jobs fairs, activity mornings and street stalls, to debates and open days. Employability Day is coordinated by ERSA, the representative body for the employment support sector.

Kirsty McHugh, ERSA’s Chief Executive, says: ‘Every day, employment support helps people into work, improves lives and strengthens communities. Employability Day is the perfect opportunity for frontline organisations and employers to demonstrate the work they do to serve their local areas, from running advice sessions, delivering qualifications and connecting people to job opportunities. Now in its third year, Employability Day 2018 promises to be bigger than ever, helping to highlight the extraordinary support being delivered in communities across the UK.’

Florence Thompson, an 18 year old student at Halesowen College was announced as the winner of a challenge put to second year students by West Midlands based A Perry and Co (Hinges) Ltd.

They were tasked with designing a representative sculpture which will take pride of place at A Perry’s new base.  The 93 year old company which is independent and family-owned offered the opportunity to support the students in their final diploma assignment for the B.Tech Extended Diploma in Art & Design.

Florence‘s design captures A Perry’s heritage and expertise, as it represents vividly the strong link between the history and future of the brand through two linked hands.

Guy Perry, Managing Director of A Perry was on hand to congratulate Florence who will be awarded with a tablet for her achievement The design will be brought to life over the next few months using A Perry’s products by local artist Phil Bayliss.

Check out the full article in the June edition of The Phoenix Newspaper!

Birmingham City University has strengthened its links with the United States after forming an exclusive partnership with Kent State University.

Representatives from the Ohio-based institution’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering visited Birmingham City University’s City Centre Campus to discuss collaboration opportunities going forward.

Benefits will be widespread for both institutions, not only as a result of increased global clout from joint research but also via the improved mobility and transatlantic opportunities for respective staff and student bodies.

The strategic alliance is also a statement for the growing global ambition of both the universities, and will initially focus upon the disciplines of engineering, architecture and fashion – of which both institutions are internationally known for.

The visitors from Kent State University were shown around the University’s Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Built Environment, which has gained a reputation as the West Midlands’ chief hub of knowledge, technology and skills-transfer into industry. This visit followed a series of meetings between the two universities in both Chicago and Birmingham last year to discuss potential areas of collaboration and explore the mutual benefits of forming such a partnership.

On Thursday 26 April Birmingham City University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Julian Beer and Dr Blake Stringer, Assistant Professor from the College of Aeronautics and Engineering at Kent State University signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions – the only one which the Ohio institution has agreed with a UK higher education partner.

Dr Blake Stringer, Assistant Professor, College of Aeronautics and Engineering, Kent State University, said: “We were excited to connect with Birmingham City University last year and now to establish this exclusive Memorandum of Understanding. During our visit to determine the paths forward, we were even more excited by the multiple ways in which we can engage each other through several disciplines.

“It’s going to be an exciting partnership, and we’re very eager to get started.”

Also present from Kent State University was lecturer Kimberley Holizna and Tom Southards, Outreach Programme Manager.

Since its founding as a teacher-training school in 1910, Kent State University has become an engine for economic, cultural and workforce development in the region and beyond as a premiere university in Ohio. Today, the university is home to almost 40,000 students across eight campuses, as well as additional facilities in Cleveland; New York City; Florence, Italy; and Shanghai, China.

In particular, Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Built Environment and Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering share similar cultures, student base and educational opportunities.

Julian Beer, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Birmingham City University, said: “Birmingham City University is delighted to enter into an exclusive partnership with Kent State University and feel that this will play to the strengths of both institutions – principally around the disciplines of engineering, architecture and fashion.

“We are very much looking forward to exploring the possibilities around innovation, research, joint course offerings and student exchange when we meet again in the next few months.”

Professor Beer is also President of the British American Business Council (BABC) Midlands Chapter, who will be hosting the BABC Annual Transatlantic Conference in Birmingham this year.

The conference will welcome 300 senior executives from the BABC’s 23 Chapters in the US and UK, including directors from some of the largest manufacturers, exporters and professional services companies from both countries.

A University of Wolverhampton student has had a degree of success in a national furniture design competition.

Megan Broome, 21 from Wombourne, is studying for a degree in Product Design at the Wolverhampton School of Art and came second in the national Furniture Makers’ Company’s ‘Axminster Design and Make Competition’.

The Furniture Makers’ Company is the British furnishing industry’s charity which fosters and supports the industry by supporting those in need. Axminster is the number one supplier of tools and machinery to trade, industry, education and students.

The competition called for students to create a piece of innovative wooden furniture. Students from 20 Universities submitted designs and the long-listed final ten created their concept, with the materials being paid for by Axminster.

The final round of judging took place in April by industry experts including the Chairman of the Education Committee and the Editor of Furniture and Cabinetmaking Magazine.

Megan said: “Looking back at the Furniture Makers Company Competition project, I am pleased that I had this great opportunity and experience to be able to develop my design through to realisation.

“The project has helped me to apply the skills acquired on my degree course including CAD development, full scale technical drawing and wood lamination, which I have learnt over the years on my Product Design course at the University of Wolverhampton.

“Having opportunities like this has helped greatly towards my ambitions of becoming a designer. Being able to apply my skills and knowledge to this enjoyable project has given a great platform for me to be able to grow as a furniture designer.”

Megan won a £500 runner-up prize for her design.

The winning chair design will be on display at the Wolverhampton School of Art which opens in the George Wallis Building on Friday 8^th June 2018.

For the first time in four years, multi-awarding international icon Enrique Iglesias will be returning to the UK and Ireland this October to perform all the hits live.

Enrique Iglesias has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, released ten studio albums plus two greatest hits compilations, and is a multiplatinum artist in almost every country around the world. He has headlined ten world tours to more than 10 million fans throughout his career having performed in literally every corner of the world from New York to Sydney to Cape Town to Minsk to London to Belgrade to Santiago to Mexico among many more.

Undeniably the biggest Latin recording artist in music history, Enrique has 31 #1 singles on the Billboard Latin Songs Chart as well as having multiple #1's across all the Billboard charts with a combined total of 105. On 2017, "Duele El Corazon" got him his 14th #1 Billboard Dance track making him the king of the chart beating out Michael Jackson for the most #1's in Billboard history.

Enrique Iglesias continues to be one of the most successful artists in modern music and has been celebrated with just about every award an artist can receive including multiple Grammys, Billboard Awards, World Music Awards, American Music Awards, Premios Juventud, ASCAP honours and BMI honors and many more totaling over 200.