Vexed Gaming’s Chief Gaming Officer Mark Weller will be an industry expert panellists taking part in the BBC’s upcoming winter Bitesize Schools Tour, which aims to encourage young people to explore careers in the creative industries.

Manchester-based Vexed Gaming is the only esports organisation to be involved in the initiative, reflecting the team’s efforts to broaden the appeal of competitive gaming beyond its core base.

Established in 2015, Vexed Gaming was the first UK organisation to field an all-female team, with a second on the way; the first to open a dedicated training facility; and the first team in Europe to launch a Varsity programme in conjunction with Manchester University.

Furthermore, Vexed Gaming’s parent organisation, Cooldown Ventures, is helping to evolve the UK’s esports industry via the consultancy services it offers to teams, events and broadcasters, to give the sport greater prominence on the world stage – and encouraging the next generation of talent is a key element of that process.

Bitesize is the BBC’s study support service for students, covering GCSE, KS3, KS1 and 2, Scottish Highers, Scottish Standard Grade, Scottish 1st and 2nd Level, National 4 and 5 Naiseanta 4 and 5, and Welsh TGAU.

The BBC’s Bitesize Schools Tour is an inspirational project that will see the Bitesize team take to the road to deliver a series of one-hour career sessions to secondary school children in the North during December 2019.

The aim is to ensure school-aged pupils are aware of the different creative roles available to them, including marketing, media, press and advertising. The spring Bitesize Schools Tour earlier this year was a huge success, with the autumn series bigger in both scope and scale, comprising Question Time-style panels featuring professionals from the worlds of TV, radio, journalism, games, PR, music and events.

Vexed Gaming’s Mark Weller will provide insight into the world of esports and shine a light on routes into, and opportunities within, the sector that many of the audience will not have considered.

Among the initial confirmed BBC Bitesize Schools Tour dates & locations are:-

Friday December 13^th, 2019 at Smithills School, Manchester

Tuesday December 17^th, 2019 at Health Academy, Manchester

“It’s a huge honour to be asked to participate in this year’s BBC Bitesize Schools Tour,” said Mark Weller, Chief Gaming Officer at Vexed Gaming. “It’s crucial for both the creative industries and esports that we educate children on the career paths available to them. Esports itself is an extremely inclusive community, with roles that extend beyond playing games and into event organisation, marketing, HR, business development, administration, logistics and more – it’s going to be a great series of events.”

It’s time for schools across the UK to take part in the Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Awards with a chance of winning £1,000.

One club from each region of England, as well as one club from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, could be crowned the best breakfast club of the year and bag a cash prize. Winners will also be invited to attend an awards ceremony at the prestigious Houses of Parliament.

From inspiring volunteers to themed breakfast days and creating kitchen gardens for the school canteen, each and every element of breakfast clubs will be celebrated at the awards.

Kate Prince, corporate social responsibility manager for Kellogg’s, said “The Breakfast Club Awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the wonderful and inspiring work that goes on in schools up and down the country.

“Kellogg’s has supported breakfast clubs for 21 years because we believe that every child deserves the best start to their day. Clubs offer so many benefits for the school such as improved attendance and behaviour in the classroom. The children love them too as they get a chance to wake up in a fun way before lessons begin.”

The Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Awards are just one part of Kellogg’s support for school breakfast clubs. This year the cereal company announced that in 2019 it is doubling the funding for breakfast clubs in communities that need it the most and will donate a minimum of £600,000 to schools across the UK.

People in Sandwell, in the West Midlands, are to get the chance to take part in a ‘Talk English Programme’ and sign up to classes in Smethwick and West Bromwich.

The programme, which is being run by Fircroft College and supported by Sandwell Council will run free beginner classes to provide lessons for speakers of other languages.

The course, which will run over a period of 8-12 weeks with a certificate of achievement for successful attendees, covers English speaking, reading, writing and listening development. The Talk English Programme is a volunteer-powered and community based project which has been run successfully in Birmingham for some time.

Councillor Steve Melia, town chair for West Bromwich, said that the programme would be able to make a big impact in the borough where there were many people seeking to learn how to speak English.

“It is a great scheme because it is supported by local volunteers anxious to help people to be able to speak English,” he said.

“I would urge people who know others to would benefit from this project to encourage them to make contact with the team.

“It is something that can completely change people’s lives and enable them to engage with the local community far easier.”

Since 2017 Fircroft have run more than 30 courses, with more than 50 volunteers, which include teachers and classroom support assistants, and have engaged with over 400 learners from 49 different countries.

Mel Lenehan, Principal of Fircroft says “We are very proud of the success the Talk English programme is having across Birmingham and that it is now expanding into Sandwell.

Classes in Sandwell will be run at:

* Dorothy Parkes Centre, Church Road, Smethwick, B67 6EH - Mondays from 10am- 12.30pm * Oak House Museum, Oak Road, West Bromwich, B70 8HJ - Tuesdays from 10am- 12.30pm

Parents and/or guardians of pupils currently in Year 6 are being urged to think now about which secondary school they would like their child to attend from next September – with the window for applications for places now open.

Each of Wolverhampton’s 20 secondary schools – including from this year the city’s University Technical College – provided parents and children with numerous opportunities to see what’s on offer before they make their choice.

A series of open days and open evenings were held, with details available at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/opendays or by contacting secondary schools directly.

It may be possible to make an appointment with headteachers for parents or guardians to visit at a mutually convenient time.

Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “If your child has recently started their final year at primary or junior school, now is the time to start thinking about their secondary school place for September 2020.

“That may seem a long way off, but the closing date for applications for secondary school places is 31 October, 2019.

“All Wolverhampton’s secondary schools are holding open days and open evenings over the coming weeks, and I’d urge parents to see for themselves the facilities on offer and choose their preferred schools before the application deadline.”

Councillor Dr Hardacre added: “This is one of the most important decisions you can make for your child, so please don't miss the deadline.

Ensuring applications are made by the end of October will increase the chances of securing a place at a preferred school.”

Some 84% of schools in Wolverhampton are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

With 91 additions to Cambridge University this year, it meant that for the first time, Black students made up more than 3% of new undergraduates.

And one particular reason for the increase is down to the ‘Stormzy effect’, as the internationally renowned grime artist is responsible for that,

The multi-award winning star has pledged to fund the tuition fees and living costs of two students each year.

With the figure up by about 50% from the 61 who started courses in autumn 2018, the university said that it was more reflective of the wider UK society.

Reacting on tweet, Stormzy said: "This is amazing - there's no way that this is because of me alone."

He thanked the University for their efforts in recruit more Black students, as well as giving praise to the Cambridge University African Caribbean Society.

"Big up CambridgeACS for the incredible work they do”, he said. “They would have played a massive part in this. And, ‘big up’ Cambridge (University) for their continued efforts”.

Cambridge's figures showed that 26.8% of its undergraduate students this year were UK residents from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Professor Graham Virgo, Cambridge's senior pro-vice-chancellor for education, said: "This record rise in the number of Black students is a credit to their hard work and ability. We have not lowered entry standards."

President of the university's African-Caribbean Society (ACS), Wanipa Ndhlovu, said: “The rise is testament to the hard work that we (ACS), as well as Cambridge (University) itself, has been putting in to breaking down perceptions".

"This should send out a signal to other Black students that they can find their place at Cambridge and succeed."

Birmingham’s Poet Laureate and Young Poet Laureate along with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, will be amongst those joining pupils as Birmingham’s oldest education institution takes over one of the city’s newer schools.

The landmark event on Thursday October 10th – DAY ONE – will see Balaam Wood School in Frankley become part of one of the UK’s most highly respected academy trusts in England and part of the renowned The Schools of King Edward VI Foundation in Birmingham which dates back to the 16^th century.

Renamed King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy, the co-educational secondary school is located in what has been described as a ‘forgotten corner’ of Birmingham. It opened in 1980, part of a municipal housing development of more than 3,000 homes built by the city in the 1970s.

The school’s latest Ofsted inspection said the proportion of disadvantaged pupils at the school is well above average and the school’s deprivation indicator is twice the national average.

Now, the governors, staff and Trust are setting their sights on continuing and rapidly accelerating Balaam Wood’s journey of school improvement through an ambitious programme that will see it extend its partnerships with the local community and widening its links with the rest of Birmingham to provide greater opportunities for pupils.

“Our intention is to better serve the community of Frankley and neighbouring areas and to significantly improve the prospects of pupils at the school. We are adopting an approach that will see us developing the excellent links that have already been made with the local community, working with local primary schools to ensure their children can progress to a school with a reputation for academic and extra-curricular development,” said Heath Monk, Executive Director of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham.

“Our vision is to enable Birmingham to become the best place to be educated in the country. Our support for schools such as Balaam Wood will bring additional opportunities to communities that face employment and economic challenges and is a demonstration of our commitment to supporting children from all backgrounds in Birmingham to reach their full potential. All our schools provide a caring environment that enables each child to develop and thrive. The staff and pupils at Balaam Wood are so enthusiastic and we very much look forward to working with them.”

DAY ONE is a celebration of the admittance of King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy to the Trust. It included performances by the school’s own pupils, visiting groups, a specially commissioned poem by Birmingham’s Poet Laureate Richard O’Brien, a performance by Birmingham’s Young Poet Laureate, 15 years-old Aliyah Begum (who attends King Edward VI High School) and the official re-naming by West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street – a former pupil of King Edward’s School.

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy is the ninth school to join the Trust that already includes Aston, Camp Hill Boys, Camp Hill Girls, Five Ways, Handsworth School for Girls, Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, Handsworth Wood Girls’ Academy and Sheldon Heath.

Damian McGarvey, Headteacher at King Edward VI Balaam Wood, who was previously deputy-head and knows the community well, said: “I am very excited to start our journey with King Edward VI Academy Trust. Our school wants all our pupils to develop a ‘can do’ attitude, to be confident, adaptable, resilient and independent. Each pupil should be able to reach their learning potential in a healthy, safe environment through an enjoyable, stimulating and challenging curriculum.”

Amongst the initiatives being developed for Balaam Wood Academy are cross-school collaboration and engagement with the other schools in the Foundation to enable pupils at King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy to participate and see life in other parts of Birmingham. In addition to the close partnership with King Edward VI Five Ways in Bartley Green, located just a few miles from Balaam Wood, pupils will also participate in academic, sports, artistic and cultural programmes across the Trust.

In addition, The Schools of King Edward VI Foundation’s patronage of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce is to be used to forge relationships with business, the professional community and employers.   Birmingham-based charity Services For Education, whose music service is one of the largest in the UK and which already teaches music to 36,000 Birmingham youngsters, has also been commissioned to deliver a programme to enable pupils and the local community to learn to play music and sing in community and school choirs.