Port Vale hosted an awards presentation for students from the local schools who attended the Year 5 Gifted and Talented workshops last month.
All 150 children were asked to write about their experiences in the workshops, which were run by Staffordshire University and local companies Autonet, Dudson, Synectics, Staffordshire Creamware and KMF.
Each of the ten schools chose three children for their literacy ability and they attended with their teachers to receive special awards presented by the new Staffordshire University Vice-chancellor, Professor Liz Barnes, and Vale star Ben Purkiss.
Professor Barnes spoke about the value of education and how that is crucial for their career development.
“We’re trying to encourage young people to think about going to university in the future but also think about the different choices they’ve got and the jobs that they will do,” she told port-vale.co.uk.
“We’re trying to raise aspirations, make sure they enjoy their learning and make sure they know about the wider possibilities they’ve got through learning.”
Purkiss gave a talk on his qualifications at university (2:1 in Law and French), his playing career so far and the importance of footballers planning for their futures.
Deborah Sanderson, Staffordshire University’s Head of Graduate and Business Relations, commented. “The University is committed to raising literacy standards in the local area. In order to achieve this goal we have teamed up with partners Port Vale Football Club, The Sentinel and Stoke-on-Trent City Council to promote the love of reading and writing for people of all ages across Staffordshire.”
Each of the ten schools chose three children for their literacy ability and they attended with their teachers to receive special awards presented by the new Staffordshire University Vice-chancellor, Professor Liz Barnes, and Vale star Ben Purkiss.
Professor Barnes spoke about the value of education and how that is crucial for their career development.
“We’re trying to encourage young people to think about going to university in the future but also think about the different choices they’ve got and the jobs that they will do,” she told port-vale.co.uk.
“We’re trying to raise aspirations, make sure they enjoy their learning and make sure they know about the wider possibilities they’ve got through learning.”
Purkiss gave a talk on his qualifications at university (2:1 in Law and French), his playing career so far and the importance of footballers planning for their futures.
Deborah Sanderson, Staffordshire University’s Head of Graduate and Business Relations, commented. “The University is committed to raising literacy standards in the local area. In order to achieve this goal we have teamed up with partners Port Vale Football Club, The Sentinel and Stoke-on-Trent City Council to promote the love of reading and writing for people of all ages across Staffordshire.”