Netherhall School, Maryport

Netherhall School in Maryport has improved its GCSE results by 19 per cent.

Headteacher David Sibbit, said he was “absolutely thrilled” by the results which saw 54 per cent of students gain five A* to C results, including maths and English.

“It is the best results the school has ever had," he said. "Overall, 67 per cent of students gained five A* to C results, again the best the school has ever achieved. We are 16 per cent over our target.”

Mr Sibbit said the real success story was that boys and girls had done almost equally as well with 59 per cent of girls achieving five A* to Cs and 50 per cent of boys.

“It is a real triumph,” he said, “and a testimony to the way this year’s group have worked. We knew they had potential but they had to turn that into results and they have.

"Well done to them and their teachers. This is a great result for the school and hopefully will be followed by great A level results in two years.” 

Lydia Jackson, of Netherton, was thrilled with her two A*s in history and RE, seven As, three Bs and distinction in ICT. “I’ve done a lot better than I thought. I am very pleased,” he said.

Greg Mounsey, of The Beeches, was “chuffed” with five Bs and five Cs. He said: “It’s a lot better than the Ds I thought I would get. I got the Bs in maths, PE, history and RE.”

Emily Eve, 16, of Netherton, got one A* for guidance, four As, six Bs and one C. She said: “I have done better than I thought and I’m really pleased with my As for maths and English.”

James Roberts, of High Street, did better than expected with five As, five Bs and two Cs. He said: “I got As in maths and history. I was pleased with that.”

David McCallig, of Kirkby Street, was also delighted with an A in maths. He had a second A for RE along with seven Bs and three Cs

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Held at the Hunday Manor Hotel, near Workington, more than 100 pupils put their glad rags on for the prom.

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The Maryport school has taken first place in the make-up section for what judges described as “bold, strong, original designs” that “jumped off the stage with great execution.” The school was also nominated for a national award for hair design.

Drama teacher Krista Davies said she was delighted with the result because the pupils had worked so hard.

“It is a fantastic result,” she added.

Netherhall’s entry told the story of students who found it difficult to concentrate in class, under the title “Can Dreams Come True?”

Sixth former Sophie Joseph said: “We all pulled together. The cast and crew were an amazing team.”

Drama teaching assistant Lisa-Marie Ellwood said the pupils made it a highlight of the school year.

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But education leaders have pledged to continue their call for better facilities.

Schools Secretary Michael Gove announced on Monday that £61.5m for West Cumbrian schools, promised under the Building Schools for the Future programme, was being withdrawn.

The scheme would have seen the redevelopment of Netherhall, a new school in Workington and work to other schools.

A second phase would have included work at other secondary schools, including Beacon Hill in Aspatria and Solway Community School in Silloth.

Netherhall headteacher David Sibbit said the news had been a huge blow and was an attack on front line education.

“We are talking about the space our children learn in,” he said.

“We achieve things in our buildings but they are failing. They certainly do not help us to work efficiently.

“Our school was built in the 1950s. Classrooms have changed a lot since then, especially in practical areas such as IT.”

He said the West Cumbrian schools affected had vowed to fight on and the Government had not ruled out all necessary capital works.

He added: “We will also be looking at where capital spending needs to take place in our school and will be applying for funding.

“It will not be what we had hoped for but we will try for what we can get.”

Mr Sibbit added: “We had already been planning on how we would cope with a cut of 10 to 20 per cent in our funding. I don’t think we expected it all to be taken away.”

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Among them is deputy head Pauline Hardie, with nine years service, and assistant head Mary Stevenson, who has been there 23 years.

The others include Peter Copley, 35 years, Jeff Dixon, 36 years and Fran Benstead, 22 years.

Mrs Hardie, 56, joined Netherhall nine years ago as assistant head in charge of student development. She became deputy head three years ago.

She said she had enjoyed the pastoral care and the changing emphasis that saw the wellbeing of children linked to their academic success.

She added: “I had intended to come back for two days a week to develop plans for a £20 million revamp of the school. That will not be happening now but I will come back and look at what capital expenditure we can apply for and what is needed.”

Assistant head, Mrs Stevenson, 57, joined 23 years ago from Wigton’s Nelson Thomlinson school as a food and technology teacher before being appointed assistant head. She said she lived in Maryport and loved the community.

“A lot of teachers do not like to work where they live. I go up the street and students always say hello. They are a good bunch of kids,” she added.

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It comes after the news that a £61.5 million bid to rebuild and revamp schools in west Cumbria is being scrapped as Education Secretary Michael Gove halts the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The programme, under the previous Labour government, aimed to rebuild and refurbish every secondary school in the country.

In west Cumbria the money was earmarked to create one new school in Workington to replace Southfield and Stainburn schools; a £20m transformation of Netherhall School in Maryport and major revamps of Mayfield, Millom and Whitehaven schools and the West Cumbria Learning Centre at Distington.

Instead, Mr Gove announced a review of all capital investment in schools to help get the best value for money, cut red tape and tackle urgent demand from rising birth-rates. The view is to target schools in the worst condition over the next five years.

The review of capital investment for all schools, early years settings, colleges and sixth forms will be led by Sebastian James, group operations director of European electrical retail giant DSG international, which operates UK chains such as PC World, Dixons and Currys.

West Cumbria’s headteachers met yesterday morning.

David Sibbitt, head at Netherhall School in Maryport, said: “I was very disappointed with the announcement because it was something we’d all worked on for 18 months to two years and we’d all put in a lot of drive, enthusiasm and commitment into what we want to achieve for the west of the county.

“But it is heartening to hear that it was more about the bureaucracy rather than putting a stop to capital investment altogether.” cont'd...

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Darren, 36, visited three secondary schools yesterday – Solway Community School in Silloth, Beacon Hill in Aspatria and Netherhall in Maryport – to motivate and inspire teenagers.

His day kicked off in Silloth, where he met scores of pupils at morning assembly. He told them never to give up on their dreams and be the best they could be.

Darren, who won a gold medal as part of the victorious Great Britain 4x100m relay team in Athens in 2004, described how he transformed his life. He was born and raised on Manchester’s Moss Side estate but moved to South Wales following the murder of a friend when he was 19.

He said: “I grew up on a council estate in Manchester in a single parent family. For a while, I was a product of my environment where there were gangs, violence, car crime – but there was something inside of me that wanted to be different. I don’t know what it was but I knew there was going to be more to life than running around on a council estate.”

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The £61.5 million revamp to transform six west Cumbrian schools has been axed by the Government..

Schools Secretary Michael Gove last night confirmed cash promised to fast-track projects such as a £20m redevelopment of Netherhall in Maryport; extensive revamps at Millom, Whitehaven, Mayfield, the West Cumbria Learning Centre pupil referral unit at Distington; and a new school in Workington would not be honoured.

No details of what work would have been carried out have never been revealed as the education authority was awaiting the outcome of the bid before proceeding with definite schemes.

This morning school and community leaders were angry and upset by the announcement.

The cash was promised in April by the then-Labour Government after lobbying from Copeland and Workington MPs Jamie Reed and Tony Cunningham. It would have been the biggest single investment in the county’s education system.

Mr Reed slammed the decision as “disgraceful” and urged the Prime Minister and Mr Gove to come to his constituency and explain their actions which will impact on children’s lives for years to come.

He said: “The announcement is frankly a scandal. I hope David Cameron and Michael Gove have the courage and the decency to come and explain their decisions to the school governors, teachers, parents and pupils affected by their decisions in my constituency.

“I want them to be accountable and, as comparatively wealthy individuals, I want them to understand what they have done.”

“It really is disgraceful. This isn’t about buildings, but about children’s hopes and dreams. In turn, it is about the future of our local economy too. Labour’s investment into west Cumbria’s secondary schools has now been taken away by the Tory-Liberal Government and it raises the questions of what else our community has to fear from this Government.

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While the youngsters in the accident were all Keswick School pupils, other schools have been shocked by what happened.

David Sibbit, headteacher of Maryport’s Netherhall School, said: “We were deeply saddened and shocked to hear the unfolding news of the tragic accident on Monday evening, and the loss of two young lives.

“Keswick School, Netherhall School and all the other schools of West Cumbria are used to working closely together, and we therefore share the sense of loss.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of Kieran and Chloe, to the other injured students and their families, and to Keswick School as a whole.”

Mr Sibbit said that if Keswick School was to plan any fund raising in the future for the emergency services who helped then Netherhall School would support them.

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The 16-year-old is a budding young writer and has recently had one of her novels published which is flying off the shelves.

But having her own work published is not enough for the Maryport sixth form student: she is one of a team of six students at the centre to run their own publishing house called Teenage Scribbles.

The successful company, headed by Fiona, her twin sister Anne, Sarah Hill, Joshua Brinicombe, Laura Miller and Liam Graham, has meant an award for the group and they were recently named company of the year in the 2010 Cumbria Young Enterprise finals.

“I’ve always loved writing my own stuff,” Fiona said. “By the age of about 10 or 11 I was writing short stories and then longer stories at 14.

“I don’t know what it is about writing that interests me so much, but the satisfaction of creating your own work and letting your imagination run wild is definitely one of the benefits. Also, it comes so easily for me.

“Most of my work is in the fantasy genre because I love its flexibility – I can create my own creatures or have my characters living in an environment I’ve created myself.

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They launched their own publishing house in a venture which this week landed them a top county award for young entrepreneurs.

Fiona, her twin sister Anne and four fellow sixth form students at Netherhall School in Maryport, working as the company Teenage Scribbles, were named company of the year in the 2010 Cumbrian Young Enterprise finals.

The company is a team effort headed up by 17-year-old Fiona, her twin sister Anne and friends Sarah Hill, Joshua Brinicombe, Laura Miller and Liam Graham.

They are guided by teacher Melanie Wright and receive business support by their adviser David Davidson, who works for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Teacher Melanie Wright said: “Fiona is very much into her writing. She was sending her stuff off to publishers and being rejected, not because of the quality of the work but because she is under 18.

“When they were deciding what to do as a company they had a couple of ideas to develop. One was to do a jigsaw, the other was to run with Fiona’s book and get it published.

“It was a big risk because they used all their share money. If it failed they had nothing to fall back on. But they went for it and Firebreather was published.”

A short print run of 100 copies was initially ordered with a follow-up order for 50 more when demand grew after the book was officially launched.

Because Firebreather, a fantasy novel, did not have an ISBN reference number, larger high street chains would not stock it.

The teenagers have now secured a reference number and are hoping to reopen talks with large chains.

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WHEN Netherhall School in Maryport ran out of rugby shirts, two teenagers decided to do something about it.

Pupils Jordan Tinkler, 16, and Matthew Graham, 17, were both involved in voluntary rugby coaching as part of a citizenship course, and decided that getting a new strip would add to that.

They approached businesses in Maryport for help and raised nearly £800 from four firms. They also secured help from Netherhall Community Sports Centre and Netherhall School and were able to buy 20 new shirts.

Paul McGlennon, of Sportzone in Wood Street, Maryport, organised to get the kit at a reduced price.

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WORK to significantly rebuild Maryport’s Netherhall School is likely to start in 2012..

Keith Little, chairman of the secondary school’s board of governors, said it was delighted at the announcement this week that £61.5 million was to be spent on seven schools in West Cumbria, including a substantial rebuild and remodelling of Netherhall and a new secondary school in Workington.

Mr Little said: “This will take education into the future on the west coast of Cumbria,”

Brenda Wile, county council head of service for education, confirmed that substantial parts of Netherhall School needed to be rebuilt, as it had been added to several times in the last 30 years and had become a “mish mash” of buildings.

She added: “Certainly a large proportion of the school will be completely rebuilt. Some areas such as the community areas which have been recently developed are likely to be kept.

“We won’t know the details until we do further surveys.”

She added that the work would be done in stages to minimise disruption to pupils and staff

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Nearly £62 million will be ploughed into transforming west Cumbria’s secondary schools in the biggest-ever single investment in the county’s education system.

The cash will be used to fast-track redevelopments at seven schools and could lead to the creation of a new school in Workington.

It was hailed today as a once-in-a-lifetime investment by the two local MPs who have lobbied hard for the Government cash.

Intensive work has been continuing in the Houses of Parliament to secure funds since Cumbria County Council’s bid to the Government’s Building Schools for the Future scheme narrowly missed out in early March.

The BSF scheme aims to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in England. Schools Secretary Ed Balls said more work needed to be done on Cumbria’s bid.

But Copeland MP Jamie Reed and Workington MP Tony Cunningham lobbied Mr Balls and schools minister Vernon Coaker, urging them to help the county council tighten its case.

West Cumbria’s MPs then secured the extra cash by setting out Cumbria’s case to Treasury minister Liam Byrne. There is now £61.5m available to spend on seven schools – Netherhall in Maryport, Millom, Whitehaven, Mayfield, Southfield, Stainburn and a new school in Workington. The rest of Allerdale and Copeland’s schools will join the BSF programme later.

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The 2006 winner and 2008 runner-up took the honours on Sunday in 57 minutes 42 seconds.

Eighty-five runners from throughout the north of England and southern Scotland took part in the Cumberland AC event.

Taylor was closely followed by Blengdale Runner Paul Curtis in 57.54 and Carlisle Triathlon Club’s Jason Holmes finished third just under the hour.

Paul Jackson won the Malcolm McDougall Trophy for being the first Cumberland AC member to finish. He clocked 62.25.

Fresh faces picked up the women’s prizes as Jo Zakrzewski, of Dumfries RC, won the ladies’ race in 65.14.

Denise Graham, representing Blengdale Runners, was second in 66.35 and Erika Johnson, of Swaledale, third, in 68.32.

The race started and finished at Maryport’s Netherhall School and followed an undulating route through Dearham, Bulgill and Crosby.

Conditions were dry despite a poor forecast but temperatures remained low throughout the race.

Facilities for the event were kindly provided by Netherhall Community Sports Centre and the race was supported by New Balance.

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Youngsters from across Allerdale will be managing a sports festival this summer.

The Allerdale Leadership Academy sees pupils from schools throughout the borough volunteering to stage and manage the school festival.

The festival, which will be held on July 2 at Netherhall School, Maryport, is expected to attract children from across the region to get involved in all kinds of sport.

The event will be planned, organised and hosted by students taking part in the Allerdale Leadership Academy.

The academy aims to help youngsters who want to volunteer in the school and community.

Students will be attending workshops to learn about event management, first aid, media, marketing and coaching.

Jeff Dixon, technician at Netherhall School in Maryport, has celebrated 35 years of service.

Mr Dixon, 56, joined the school in 1974 and spent his first 10 years working between the rural science and PE departments.

He then spent about 20 years working full-time in the science department and continued to help with PE coaching.

He then moved back to the PE department full-time five years ago. Mr Dixon, of Netherton, Maryport, grew up in the town and was a pupil at the school. He has worked under four headteachers - Trevor Hibbard, Ken Thurn, John Hudson and David Sibbit.

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A MAJOR development programme for Allerdale’s most promising athletes has been launched at Netherhall Community Sports Centre.

And it’s hoped the programme can be extended to nurtured young talent in other sports.

The new programme aims to find and support talented athletes through physical education, school/club competition and an extended coaching programme.

Providing athletes meet the required criteria they will be eligible to join the training group regardless of which club or school they attend.

Centre manager Brian Taylor, himself a leading runner with Ellenborough Athletic Club, said: “We will try to ensure that opportunities are available to talented middle or long distance athletes who are aged 11 plus and perform at district standard or above.

THE last fell race of the season took place last Saturday from Nether Wasdale to the top of Illgill Head and back covering 5.5 miles including 1,600 feet of ascent.

Nick Fish, of Borrowdale Fellrunners, was first although the poor weather conditions ensured Ricky Lightfoot’s course record was never under threat.

Ellenborough Athletic Club came away with the team prize with Brian Taylor in fourth, Jacky Winn eighth, the fast improving Nick Rea 10th and Andy Reed clinching a very creditable 15th.

The third race in the County Cross Country League takes place on November 7.

Registration will be at Netherhall Community Sports Centre, Maryport.

 MORE than 120 awards were due to be given out at Netherhall School in Maryport last night in recognition of pupils’ achievements.

They were rewarded for performance in all academic subjects, as well as extra-curricular activities and service to the community.

David Sibbitt, head teacher, said: “It is a whole range, not just about the top performing students but those who have contributed to the school as well.”

Pupils who were winners or runners-up in a category were told before the evening, but did not know which prize they would be receiving until it was announced.

 TEENAGERS across West Cumbria received their GCSE results today, with youngsters celebrating with some record results.

Netherhall School in Maryport celebrated its best ever GCSE results with 51 per cent of students getting five A*-C grades - up four per cent on last year.

Ninety four per cent of students got five or more A*-G grades and 97 per cent received at least one GCSE.

Headteacher David Sibbit said: “This year’s results are a tribute to a really hard-working group.

"They were unassuming students who just knuckled down and worked.”

Sarah Hill, 16, of Maryport, came top of the school with 10 A*s and four As in a range of subjects including geography, science, maths, PE and citizenship.

Sarah, who said she did better than expected, will stay on at Netherhall next year and hopes eventually to work in something that will combine sport and health.

Anne Money, 16, of Maryport, gained nine A*s, two As and a B for subjects including science, music and French.

Scott Telford, 16, of Camp Road, Maryport, was delighted with two A*s, eight As and a B.

He said: “I was really pleased with my As in French and geography. They were the hardest exams.

 TEACHER from Maryport’s Netherhall School is leaving after 37 years as a former pupil takes up her job.

Sarah Bedford, 59, of Dearham, has worked at the school since 1972 but for 20 years she was head of sixth form.

She stood down last year to make way for Claire Atkinson, 33, who was taught by Mrs Bedford and who joined the staff 11 years ago teaching RE and philosophy.

“I called her Miss for the first 18 months I was here,” said Mrs Atkinson

STUDENTS from Netherhall School in Maryport were at the BroughtonCraggs Hotel for the year 11 prom.

Youngsters arrived at the hotel in all manner of vehicles - from motorbikes, horse-drawn carriages and even a jeep.