Working in partnership and serving the community are natural and very important values at Trent College. From partnerships that create electric racing cars, through to professional development hubs for local teachers – Trent College and The Elms continue to create strong community links and forge partnerships that create very real results.
STEM Partnership
Our Infant and Junior school, The Elms, launched a partnership project with two local schools, designed to ignite pupils’ interest in STEM subjects and encourage children to pursue studies and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
Funded by a grant from the Department for Education, and match funded by Trent College, the project has involved 120 children from Firfield Primary School in Breaston and Harrington Junior School in Long Eaton, taking part in a series of eight-week workshops at The Elms, entitled Movies and Magic.
During the course of the project, children learned about the science behind magic tricks and Hollywood films, including magnetic levitation, perspective, and green screen cinematography. They then worked to storyboard their own short film using these techniques, and then created it with plasticine figures and stop motion cameras.
The partnership culminated in a celebration event, where the children’s films were viewed by their peers, parents, and aerospace engineer and TV presenter Andrew Smyth.
Alongside the project, pupils from Firfield Primary School took part in after-school clubs at The Elms, where they designed and built their own full-sized Green Power Goblin electric kit car. Pupils then had the opportunity to test the car themselves in an exciting time trial race against pupils from The Elms.
Jacqui Rhodes, External School Liaison Manager for Trent College said, “The STEM Partnership’ has been a hugely successful example of schools working together to create something very special. All of the children involved have learnt a great deal, had new experiences, and grown to really love STEM subjects.”
Sharing our facilities and specialist staff
We work with a large number of local schools to increase local pupils’ opportunities and aspirations, and to share the school’s excellent grounds, facilities, and specialist staff.
Each year we welcome around 500 local secondary students from Friesland School, in Sandiacre, and Wilsthorpe School, Long Eaton, to a Careers Fair hosted at Trent College. Representatives from universities, colleges, gap year providers and employers populate a market hall style event, where students can ask questions and gather information about chosen careers options.
A number of pupils from Friesland School are then invited to work with our dedicated Careers specialists in the Careers Hub, where they can gain advice and undertake pre-interview practices for Early Applicants to the Oxbridge programme and those applying to study medicine, dentistry and veterinary science.
Our wonderful grounds and facilities provide a welcome venue for events such as:
- Autumn Watch, where 75 children in Year 1 and Year 2 from English Martyrs Catholic Voluntary Academy visit to explore our grounds freely looking for natural signs of Autumn;
- The Great Trent Bake Off where 40 children from Sawley Junior School and Risley Primary School work with our Food and Nutrition specialists in designing and baking cupcakes in our modern Food and Nutrition suite;
- Celebration Story Evening where over 200 local Year 5 and Year 6 school children enter our short story competition, with the top 20 writers invited to an event in our Devonshire Library, working with a published author and Trent College drama scholars to bring their stories to life.
Sports mentoring
With exceptional sporting facilities and coaching, Trent College can provide a range of activities and events for local primary school pupils to enjoy.
Each year we welcome pupils to take part in sports coaching sessions. These sessions give children the opportunity to try new sports or learn and improve their skills with practical advice and support from Trent College coaching staff and professional sports people.
Last year over 480 children from eight local primary schools benefitted from free cricket coaching sessions at their own school, provided by Trent College staff and coaches. These newly acquired skills were then tested, as representatives of all eight schools were invited to Trent College for our annual Festival of Cricket.
A Year 5 teacher from Heymann Primary School in West Bridgford said, “Our Year 5 team thought the coach was amazing. They were really impressed with his sessions and his manner with the children. One even said it was the best P.E CPD he has had.”
Working in partnership with Loughborough Lightning, the East Midlands No.1 Super League side, Trent College invited eight local schools to attend a netball coaching session with Beth Cobden, England netball player and Commonwealth Gold Medallist.
Children from The Elms and local primary schools then went on to play in an U10s Bee Netball Festival where individual medals were awarded for super shooting, midcourt magnificence and dynamic defence.
Giving Service
Each year, all Year 11 and 12 students undertake a service activity such as charity fundraising, mentoring others and volunteering in the community.
This year, six pupils in Year 11 have chosen to make weekly visits to two local primary schools, Firfield Primary School in Breaston and English Martyrs Voluntary Academy in Long Eaton, where they offer their support with the after-school clubs.
Pupils organise activities ranging from arts and crafts to sports. Year 11 pupil Jasmine visits Firfield Primary School and takes great pride and enjoyment in seeing the children so happy when they join in with her activities.
For Ibrahim the experience has been nostalgic. “I enjoy giving back to the community and helping the younger children. When socialising with the children, I remember what it is like to be their age, and this helps to do activities that they will like.”
Our links with local schools go far beyond assisting with pupils, and our innovative hub programme is helping local teachers and practitioners to develop their knowledge, skills and networks.
Learning Hubs
Our Infant and Junior School, The Elms, host two Early Years Foundation Stage Learning Hubs, where teachers and professionals from over 30 schools and childcare settings come together to network, share ideas and learn best practice.
The Elms host six meetings each year and provide an opportunity for continuous professional development by engaging external speakers to focus on specialist subject areas such as outdoor play provision. The Hub meetings provide teachers with an environment for sharing knowledge and insight through networking and Continuous Professional Development.
A teacher from Plumtree School said, “The Hub training was great and my nursery teacher and I have been buzzing all day thinking about how to put it into action in our setting.”
A bright future
Trent College and The Elms take great pride in the school’s strong community links and partnership work and look forward to the new and exciting paths that this will take over the years ahead.
Find out more about Trent College’s Vision, Ethos and Aims.
