Primary pupils from Chetwynde School were put through their paces in a national maths challenge.

The children successfully completed the Primary Mathematics Challenge 2024, which is held nationwide for pupils aged 9 to 11.

They tested their skills in exam-style conditions answering 25 questions in a 45-minute paper, which gets gradually more difficult.

Year 6 teacher at Chetwynde Beckie Ripley said the challenge had offered a departure from traditional school maths, presenting scenarios with intriguing ‘real-life’ problems for them to solve.

“The paper sparked genuine enthusiasm and confidence in our young mathematicians,” she said. “This experience has truly ignited their passion for mathematics and I can’t wait to see them tackle future challenges with the same zeal and confidence.”

The pupils, including one from Year 4, received certificates in assembly and said they had found the challenge fun and enjoyed getting their brains thinking in a different way.

Head of Maths at Chetwynde School Stefan Olphert said the primary maths challenge formed part of a range of initiatives designed to encourage higher level skills in maths.

“We want to encourage pupils to be problem solvers and find the same enjoyment in maths that we have teaching it.

“For many of our pupils, this event will mark the beginning of an exciting journey into the world of competitive maths, paving the way for their involvement in prestigious contests like the UKMT maths challenges and other global competitions.

“This term we are also organising a Merry Mathsmas with our Year 6 pupils with a virtual masterclass exploring maths on a festive theme, a programme for our gifted and talented senior pupils, Axiom Maths, and running an after-school GCSE in Statistics, which pupils can sit in Year 10.”

Chetwynde School is part of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.

Pupils at Chetwynde are enjoying the great outdoors under a new pop-up shelter in the school’s woodland grounds.

The impressive shelter was funded by the Sue Peaple Trust and installed by Stuart Barratt, of Just Grow Forest School, with help from the school’s site manager.

Senior Teaching Assistant at Chetwynde Janet Brown, who holds the Forest School Leader qualification, said it was a major development that would greatly enhance the pupils’ experience.

“Forest schools have many benefits for children including improving physical and mental health, hands-on experiences to help develop problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking skills, confidence and environmental awareness,” she said.

“With limited time to set up provision before sessions, it can be a challenge to get outside but the new shelter can be put up and down by one person in minutes, giving great flexibility in use of our forest space and meaning we can enjoy learning rain or shine,” she said.

“Our grounds are spectacular and we recognise the value of children of all ages spending time outdoors which enables practical learning to occur in a different way outside the classroom.”

She said seating will be installed soon and the children are already enjoying classes outside in their wellies and waterproofs while the shelter will provide additional shade on hot summer days.

The school, which is part of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust, has focused on developing its Forest School provision this term, zoning an area for tool use and woodland craft. It also runs the John Muir award for senior students.

Volunteers have built and sited a new mud kitchen and helped Mrs Brown clear space for another. Storage crates have been put in containing tyres, planks, crates and pipes so the children can construct and create on a large scale.

“We have many people and companies to thank for their generous ongoing support and donation of either time and skills and materials to allow us to continue to improve our area,” said Mrs Brown.

“We are delighted to receive this second very generous donation from the Sue Peaple Trust, who also supported us last year with equipment for use in sessions and funding for more training.

“In addition, we’ve had support from South Lakes Tree Surgeons, Forth Engineering, donations from James Thornton and Geoff Cruse and Nathan Brown, our PTA and school staff including Gaye Collings and our site team and wonderful volunteers.

“Without us working together, the long-term plan of developing forest school on the site would not be possible,” she said.

“Next year we aim to get a proper fire pit area established and make improvements to the area surrounding the outdoor classroom as part of our development plan.”

Chetwynde PTA has pledged funding for upcoming projects such as a climbing structure, willow structure and allotment regeneration.

Pupils across the Trust have been taking part in activities to learning about the political landscape as part of UK Parliament Week.

Children at Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School elected their own school MPs after hearing policies and pledges and putting a cross in the box for their top candidate on polling day.

The election was led by the current school parliament members and new representatives were announced in the afternoon assembly. The new recruits will take office in January to put their manifestos into action and will be presented with their badges by MP for Barrow and Furness Michelle Scrogham when she visits next week.

Ormsgill School Assistant Headteacher Laura Reid said: “It’s was a great opportunity for our pupils to see democracy in action and get a glimpse into how political processes work and how we elect people to represent our views.

“The children have all been excited to take part in voting and we hope it instils in them the importance of having a vote and having their voices heard to bring about positive change.”

Meanwhile the Senior School Council at Chetwynde School enjoyed an afternoon at the Westmorland and Furness Young People’s Question Time event.

Chetwynde School Head of Humanities Sian Huck accompanied them on the trip.

She said it had been a brilliant way to bring politics to life and inspire future leaders.

“A panel of experts were asked questions by students ranging from jobs, derelict buildings in Barrow, crime and healthcare for young people,” she said. “You could see that the topics were very relevant to their lives.”

Earlier this term, Year 6 pupils at South Walney Junior School enjoyed a visit from Rachael Dodgson from UK Parliament learning about the House of Commons and honing their debate skills.

The Chief Executive of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust will go head-to-head with the Barrow and Furness MP in a battle of culinary skills this week.
SCMAT CEO Professor Andrew Wren will take on Michelle Scrogham MP in a cook off challenge at Chetwynde as part of the school’s Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food project.
They will compete to see who can make the best dish from one of the recipes that the Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils are following for the 10-week programme.
Pupils are taking part in Jamie Oliver 10 Skills programme, which teaches young people how to cook from scratch. The school’s Head Girl and Head Boy will decide the winner.
Professor Wren, who leads the six-school Trust and is based at Chetwynde, said he was looking forward to putting his skills into practice at the event tomorrow. (November 15th)
“There are some fantastic new kitchen facilities at Chetwynde funded by the PTA in the design and technology block,” he said.
“The children have been enjoying learning how to prepare and cook meals and, just as importantly, about how diet affects health.
“I am sure they will be scrutinising my cooking as well as quizzing me on all aspects of nutrition and the importance of eating well. I’m ready for the challenge.”
Rosanna Bluett, Head of Food Education at Jamie’s Oliver’s, said: “’It’s fantastic to see schools and young people engaged in our Jamie Oliver 10 Skills programme. We truly believe that food education is just as important as learning maths and English. What could be more important than teaching the next generation the skills and knowledge they need to nourish themselves now and in the future?
“We are thrilled that MP Michelle Scrogham is going to see first-hand the incredible impact good food education can have in her local school. Good luck to all those involved in the cook off!”
Chetwynde teacher Hayley Halliwell, who is Phase 3 lead at the school, said the Ministry of Food pilot, which is backed by the University of Leeds, was going really well.
“It has been fantastic to see pupils from across our school developing a love of cooking and taking a real interest in what goes into our food. It has also opened up discussions around a range of future career opportunities in catering and hospitality.”
The PTA donated £3,000 for the fit-out of the new facility in time for the launch of the Ministry of Food project, which includes recipe sheets, videos and lesson plans as well as information on sustainability and where food comes from.

Pupils from across South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust will this week join together to celebrate World Nursery Rhyme Week.

Members of the Trust’s Early Years professional network group have organised events to support pupils’ vocabulary, language and love of music.

World Nursery Rhyme Week is an international celebration promoting the importance of nursery rhymes in early childhood development.

Children from Chetwynde, Newbarns, Vickerstown, Ormsgill, Cambridge, South Walney Infants, Victoria and Ramsden Schools are taking part.

Pupils will explore a different nursery rhyme each day, including learning and performing the poem to bring it to life and creating artwork activities based on the themes.

Ruth Squires, Assistant Headteacher at South Walney Infant and Nursery School, said nursery rhymes provide a fun way to support literacy and numeracy skills and help children to develop social, physical and emotional skills.

“We use rhymes to build attention and a love of language that our children can share with their friends and families. It helps us to create an environment where we can show language really is celebrated and valued,” she said.

“Nursery rhymes can easily be incorporated into all aspects of the school day and across the curriculum, they are often a familiar link with home and they are a perfect gateway into early reading skills. 

“For our families sharing nursery rhymes from their own childhoods is a fun and easily accessible way in which parents and carers can support their child’s learning as well as developing their sense of belonging and identity.”

Chetwynde Primary School reception teacher and phase 1 lead Katie Stepanian, who is part of the network, said the group wanted to do something impactful to share good practice based around a theme across the schools and there were lots of ideas.

“It is great that all the early years classes across the Trust will join to celebrate the same events and are sharing the planning,” she said.

“Suggestions came from across the group as we aim to give our pupils the best possible experience in their early education. We hope parents will engage with the events at home as well to support what happens in school.”

Following this, the group is organising events for World Book Day on March 6 and an outdoor family fun event in the summer term.

A leading educator has been elected to a national forum to bring the voice of school staff and pupils across South Cumbria to the government.

Professor Andrew Wren is one of 36 trust leaders across the country to join the new policy advisory group established by the Confederation of School Trusts (CST).

He was among 125 nominees put forward for election to the group and was voted in by members of CST.

Professor Wren, who is CEO of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust in Barrow, said he was delighted to be selected as one of the north-west region representatives.

“This new forum will be a vital voice for educators to help shape policy that can influence the direction of our sector,” he said.

“It is so important that the decision makers get a frontline view of what is happening in our schools to bring about impactful and positive change and I am determined to get the best deal for schools in the area.”

The group’s role will be to develop policy positions for the sector to share with policymakers and ministers. This week Professor Wren met with others representatives at the CST national conference where Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson gave the keynote speech.

“With a new government in place there will be a fresh perspective and a new set of priorities,” said Professor Wren. “Listening to the education secretary today, her priorities are SEND, attendance and investment in teachers’ pay and school buildings. We are looking forward to hearing more detail and playing a role in how improvements will be delivered.”

South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust has six schools across Barrow and aims to drive up standards in education. Its member schools are Chetwynde, Ormsgill, Vickerstown, South Walney Juniors, Cambridge Primary and Newbarns Primary and Nursery School.

Victoria Infant and Nursery School, South Walney Infant and Nursery School, Ramsden Infant and Nursery School and Greengate Junior School are associate members.

The Confederation of School Trusts is the sector body for school trusts and represents over 75 per cent of all academies. It works with governments, civil servants, agencies and other organisations.