The pupils at Heatherbrook Primary Academy have reached new heights in maths, writing and reading.

By Sophie Sandberg

Heatherbrook Primary Academy in Leicester is one of the top three most improved schools in the city, it was announced by Leicester City Council on Friday(NOV16).

The academy has been praised by the Head of Service for Education Performance in Leicester for its improvements in reading, writing and mathematics compared to last year’s results.

Through extensive efforts put into focusing on extra maths, reading and writing, the school was announced to be among the most improved schools in the city in these fields.

Miss Jen Mitchell, Principal of Heatherbrook Primary Academy, said: “This is truly a testament to the outstanding work of everybody involved in our school community.

“At Heatherbrook we promote a supportive and caring environment that fosters good working relationships and promotes a calm and positive atmosphere.

“Our academy is a place where people matter and we are very proud of the tradition the school has for taking care of and supporting children as they learn and develop.

“We aim for parents, carers, teachers and children to work together to make this a happy and successful school,” she concluded.

Heatherbrook Primary Academy is described as a thriving school where the Governors and staff are dedicated to providing a high standard of education for all of its pupils.

The academy is in the top three schools in the city for its improvements in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths combined, improved by 15.9 per cent compared to last year’s results.

“These results are the culmination of a lot of hard work undertaken by the whole school team over time and I would like to congratulate everyone who has been involved in making this possible,” said Sandra Roberts, Interim Head of Service for Education Performance in Leicester.

By Alex Murray

Art fans from across Leicestershire visited the Leicester Print Workshop last weekend for the second annual Leicester Print Festival.

The event for all ages saw various activities take place.

Visitors were invited to take part in various activities suitable for all ages, listen to talks and to engage with other lovers of print.

All the activities on offer over the entire weekend were free, as Leicester celebrated Leicester Art Week.

There was a range of activities going on  at the event.  

Elizabeth Hawley-Lingham, a volunteer at the event, said: “We’ve got the Print Festival on yesterday and today where we’re showcasing printmaking and artist’s practice.

“We’ve got a new exhibition of different artists working in print that’s just opened so we’re promoting that.

“We’re also just allowing people to get involved in all sorts of print making activities.”

People were encouraged to take part in various printmaking activities, such as making their own prints.

A number of talks were also taking place by various artists, talking about their work and other things associated with the art of print.

Stone lithography, linocut prints and how to get into printing were only some of the topics that were discussed over the weekend.

There was also an exhibition of work by two fellows of the Leicester Print Workshop, Nína Óskarsdóttir and Mandy Payne, whose work was on display for visitors to view.

Mrs Hawley-Lingham, who also volunteers at the print workshop, added: “It’s also been quite busy.

“We’ve had a steady flow of people, today and yesterday we had about 220 people so we’re hoping to match that today if possible.”

The people who visited the event were treated with their own print they could take home, and also had the opportunity to look around the studios of various artists working at the print studios.

Artwork was also on sale, with various cards posters and prints available to buy.