Children from St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School in Oldbury have been treated to a special performance to mark Roald Dahl Day on 13 September.

Roald Dahl day has been celebrated across Sandwell libraries with readings from his books, craft activities and special Roald Dahl inspired performances.

Councillor Simon Hackett, cabinet member for children's services visited Oldbury Library to see the staff perform a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired play to children from St Francis Xavier. He said: "It's hard to think that some of these books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, are more than 50 years old. The books are still inspiring to children and still manage to capture their imagination.

"Roald Dahl books are as popular as ever and it's great to mark Roald Dahl Day with these events."

Figures from 2017 show of the top ten books borrowed most often from Sandwell libraries of all genres, nine were Roald Dahl classics.

Applications are now being taken for secondary school places for students due to start in Year 7 in 2019, and education providers in Wolverhampton are inviting prospective pupils and parents to see what they have to offer.

Parents or guardians of pupils who are currently in Year 6 and are due to start secondary education next year have until 31 October 2018 to apply for a place at their preferred school.

To apply, please log on to www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/admissions and complete the short application process as soon as possible.

To help parents and pupils make their decision, all secondary schools in Wolverhampton will be holding open days to give them the opportunity to see what’s on offer. Further details are available at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/admissions or by contacting individual secondary schools directly.

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

“That may seem a long way off, but the closing date for applications for secondary school places is 31 October 2018.

“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.”

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

Birmingham City University has launched a list of 175 inspirational Brummies as the institution enters a season of celebrations to mark 175 years since its foundation as the Birmingham Government School of Design in October 1843.

The 175 people on the list either hail from Birmingham or have made a major contribution to city life. Members of the public will be able to vote for their favourite Birmingham personalities from Wednesday 12 September, leading to the naming of the city’s top ten most inspiring individuals.

Names on the ‘Brummies who Inspire’ list include actress Dame Julie Walters, rock star Ozzy Osbourne, TV presenter Emma Willis, international cricketer Moeen Ali, activist Malala Yousafzai and Alfred Bird, the inventor of custard powder.

Professor Philip Plowden, Vice-Chancellor at Birmingham City University, said: “I am delighted that we are celebrating 175 years at the heart of Birmingham life. To mark this momentous occasion, we’re running a number of events and activities this autumn to celebrate the University’s history and the city around us.

“The list of 175 ‘Brummies who inspire’ recognises those individuals who have made a significant contribution to Birmingham, and put the city on the map across arts and entertainment, business, politics, sports, science, health and education.”

Birmingham City University’s roots date back to the foundation of Birmingham Government School of Design in 1843, the forerunner to the present day schools of Art and Visual Communication. In 1884 the School evolved into Birmingham College of Art, moving to a purpose-built Venetian Gothic building on Margaret Street designed by John Chamberlain. Today, Margaret Street still houses the University’s School of Art and is a Grade I Listed Building.

Key figures in the city and region will join an exclusive celebration event at the School of Art building on Wednesday 12 September to mark the official start of the BCU 175 celebrations.

The public’s favourite ‘Brummies who Inspire’ will be announced ahead of a celebratory concert at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Thursday 15 November, spanning 175 years of musical history. Other names on the ‘Brummies who Inspire’ list include Cluedo inventor Anthony E. Pratt, singer-songwriter Laura Mvula and John Sumner, the founder of Typhoo Tea.

Birmingham City University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire has been shortlisted in the prestigious ‘Times Higher Education’ Awards 2018.

The new £57 million music college has been recognised in the Excellence and Innovation in the Arts category, with all nominations announced on Thursday 6 September.

Known as the ‘Oscars of higher education’, the national ‘THE’ Awards offer recognition across 18 categories which cover the full range of university activity.

The historic Conservatoire’s new state-of-the-art home is the first purpose-built music college to be constructed in the UK since 1987 and the only one in the country which has been specifically designed to cater for the demands of the digital age.

Granted a Royal title by Her Majesty The Queen following its opening in September 2017, the bestowment follows the HRH The Earl of Wessex becoming the Conservatoire’s first Royal Patron in March 2016.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Principal, Professor Lloyd Webber, a world renowned cellist who oversaw the move to the new home, said the building delivered on every level:

“It gives students the best possible learning environment, it is open to the public as a peerless performance venue, adds hugely to the cultural landscape of the city and accelerates our reputation as a ‘university without walls’.”

“I have said before that I believe our new conservatoire will be the last of its kind in the UK and it comes at just the time when it is most needed by the musicians of the future in a challenging landscape for arts education. To be recognised by the ‘THE’, therefore, is not only a huge honour for the Conservatoire and Birmingham City University, but recognises the efforts we are making to ensure classical music is open to everyone and that we are inspiring the next generation of world-class performers.”

The building features five public performance spaces including the 500-seat Bradshaw Hall – capable of staging a full symphony orchestra and chorus, and with acoustics that make a quiet conversation easily audible from 30 metres away.

Staff at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire will find out if they have won at the ceremony for the 14th annual ‘THE’ Awards which will take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in London on Thursday 29 November.

‘THE’ Editor, John Gill, said: “‘Times Higher Education’ is extremely proud to host these awards once again. In yet another record year for entries, and with over 70 institutions represented on the shortlist, it’s a genuine privilege for the ‘THE’ team and our judges to read through these many and varied tales of excellence from all corners of the UK.

“It’s a significant achievement to make this shortlist, and we look forward to honouring all the finalists at the Grosvenor in November.”

Earlier this year, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire was crowned West Midlands Project of the Year by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the West Midlands’ Building of the Year 2018 by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). As a result of the latter, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is now being considered for a RIBA National Award, from which the shortlist for the coveted Stirling Prize will be drawn.

Launched to celebrate 2018’s ‘Year of the Engineer’, the Digital Engineering Skills Centre includes the latest equipment to meet the needs of the engineering and construction industries.

The centre, based at 21 Portland Street, will include 3D printing technologies, robotics, industry 4.0 technologies, programmable logic controllers, CNC machines and high specification computers for industrial design processes, upskilling and learning.

The building is also home to advanced construction facilities, including those that assist with the planning, design, construction and maintenance of buildings.

The Digital Engineering Skills Centre is expected to meet the year on year growth in demand for training in the engineering and construction sectors.

The opening of the new centre has also enabled the College to expand its construction offer at its Green Lane campus, which includes new skills training facilities.

Walsall College currently offer a range of apprenticeships in both sectors, including a Higher Apprenticeship in Construction Management.

The Level 4 programme is for supervisors and assistant site managers who are looking to gain an NVQ qualification.

Jatinder Sharma OBE, Walsall College’s Principal and Chief Executive, said: “We are thrilled to launch our latest centre, which will complement the state-of-the-art facilities we currently have across our other campuses.

The centre will enable the expansion of Walsall College’s provision of full time, part time and apprenticeships within engineering and construction to meet industry needs across the region.

Engineering, manufacturing and technology offer real tangible long-term opportunities to people, especially in the West Midlands. Hundreds of apprenticeships and jobs are vacant in the sector and businesses continue to report skills gaps that are key barriers to efficient productivity.

This project will connect our students with new career opportunities, providing them with the education, training and employability skills they need to succeed in the engineering and construction industries.”

Even more free courses will be on offer through Adult Education Wolverhampton this autumn.

Support from the Education and Skills Funding Agency means that, for the first time, employed people on a gross annual salary of £15,736 or less can study on almost all Adult Education Wolverhampton courses for free.

In addition, fully subsidised courses continue to be available to people who are unemployed and have a low household income or are on certain benefits, while English and maths courses up to and including GCSE level are free to everyone, irrespective of their financial position.

Prospective learners can find out about the courses on offer by dropping in to one of Adult Education Wolverhampton’s information and enrolment days over the next few days – and whether people are looking to take a new direction, gain a new qualification, improve their existing skills or simply take up a new hobby, there are a wide variety of subjects to choose from.

Experts will be on hand to offer information, advice and guidance about the various options and to discuss fees and any financial which may be available.

Councillor Lynne Moran, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: "Adult Education Wolverhampton offers a great range of high quality academic and informal courses.

“Enrolling on one is an excellent way for people to develop new skills or simply learn for the pleasure of it, and it’s great that this year even more courses will be fully subsidised for people on low incomes – alongside the existing English and maths courses which are already free to all.

"Adult Education Wolverhampton is only one of four adult education providers in the country to have been judged as Outstanding by Ofsted. Inspectors commended it for its exceptionally high achievement rates, high quality teaching, excellent resources, good levels of support and for making learning enjoyable, so there couldn’t be a better time to enrol.”