News

Why is white chocolate white, but milk chocolate brown? How do your shoes link to the rainforest? What are the stigma, stamen and style? From which plant can both houses and clothing be made? Why do cactus plants look so strange? How do bananas and pineapples grow? What is a tenrec?

At Birmingham Botanical Gardens, discover the answers to these questions and many more, as you explore our 4 spectacular glasshouses and 15 acres of flourishing gardens.

You can experience an authentic rainforest adventure and then, walk straight from experiencing hot and humid tropical conditions, into a desert climate and observe the changes to plants due to the seasons. Then, wander down to the Alpine Yard and Rock Garden to marvel at the beautiful flora found on the tundra.

St. John’s School & Sixth Form College in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, is focused on upskilling its staff and has been working with technology-based learning solution provider Rosetta Stone to help its teachers develop and build language skills for the past 14 months. The training forms part of the teacher subject specialism training (TSST) initiative, which aims to improve the knowledge of specialist, non-specialist and returning teachers in a range of subjects. Over one hundred teachers, across six schools in County Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne, seized the opportunity to learn a range of languages including Spanish, French and German, and the number of participants is set to increase in the programme’s coming years. 

Dyslexia Awareness Week will run from Monday 1 to Sunday 7 October and this year, will focus on 21st century dyslexia. The week, organised by the British Dyslexia Association, will include activities in classrooms, workplaces and online (using the hashtag #21stcenturydyslexia), competitions and much more. 

Lord Addington, President of the British Dyslexia Association, said: “With modern support and assistive technology, being dyslexic is a major advantage. We dyslexics are all great problem solvers, can get to the crux of the matter and see the bigger picture, and make the connections to bring together successful projects. I hope our focus on 21st century dyslexia for this year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week will mean more people see dyslexia as the ability it is.” 

On Wednesday 12th September, Shaw Education Trust held a CREST Awards Ceremony to celebrate students’ achievements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Over the past academic year, students across the Trust have participated in a variety of British Science Association’s flagship programmes, helping to improve their understanding of, and develop a passion for, STEM subjects. 

Organiser of the event and Director of Science for the Trust, Dawn Platt, said: “We believe that learning through investigation and exploring is a key way in which all our students can enjoy, achieve and learn through science. 

“As a result we are here to celebrate the unique talents of all our students across all our schools with equal importance.” 

With children across Stockport now back at school for over a week, the chances are that many parents are already dealing with new-term bugs, sniffles and germs.

And even though it is simple advice, one of the easiest ways to reduce the chances of your child and family picking up any germs is for everyone to practice good hand hygiene.

Councillor Tom McGee, Stockport Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, said: “As your children start school for the first time, or return to school, they’ll come into contact with new children, and therefore new germs.

Redway Networks popular “Win Big” competition is back for 2018 and is bigger and better than ever! They have teamed up with Aerohive to bring you their new 802.11ax wireless technology for your education institution. This fantastic 802.11ax wireless solution is worth over £20,000! And will ensure that you are one of the first institutions with this solution, providing the very best in connectivity and mobility for your students.

Half of people wish they could take up their favorite hobby as a full time job, according to new research.  

A survey of 1,000 people, carried out by Europe’s number one sports retailer, Decathlon, found that 50% of workers would like to turn their hobby into a career, with 23% more passionate about their hobby than their current profession.

The majority of people (30%) would want to turn their passion of caring for animals or children into a paying career. Sports is another popular choice with 27% wanting to pursue a career in an outdoor pursuit like camping, 25% a team sport like football, cricket or rugby and 24% an individual sport like tennis, golf, cycling or swimming. 

Children and young people with strong online access do better at school than those with a poor internet connection, research suggests. 

Findings from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) revealed a 25% increase in GCSE grades among students with regular internet access, while Learning Foundation research estimated that a million children in the UK with poor internet connection are expected to score a grade lower on their exam results than peers with a better connection. 

Adding to an impressive suite of products, Dremel has launched its latest 3D printer: the 3D45. 

This innovative printer is easy to use, with the help of an intuitive full colour touch screen, and will be a beneficial new asset to professionals and semi-pro makers when creating engineering and design prototypes.