Schools & Young People News from April 2008

Dover Kids Sing with Passion for Olympic Games

The idea of the 2012 Olympic torch relay entering the UK through Dover was the focus for 120 young people from primary and secondary schools from the area when they took part in a day packed with activities.

The event, organised by Kent County Council working with Future Creative and local headteachers, was part of the Kent Campaign for the 2012 Games and included choosing a campaign name around the bid for the Olympic Torch, writing the campaign song, designing its website and learning about the last time the Torch was welcomed to the UK through Dover, when Britain hosted the 1948 Games.

The children, working in groups also decided what they would like to achieve in the next four years and their ideas ranged from ‘going places by myself’ and ‘making new friends’ to ‘being rich’, ‘starting a new school’ and even ‘being in the Olympics’.

The Pass the Passion campaign name was suggested by St Martin’s School and chosen by the children along with a winning design by Edward Bodiam from Temple Ewell School which will be produced into badges and sent to local schools.

Here is a sample of the badges created by young people on the day (click on the thumbnails to see larger images):

Winning Badge design (Edward Bodium)	Badge Design (Gemma Whitfield)	Badge Design (Mitchell Depster)

Here is a sample of young people's pledges for 2012 (click on the thumbnails to see larger images):

I'm going to greet the Olympic Torch when it arrives at Dover	I promise to try to be an F1 driver	I promise to try to help make people better

Here is a sample of the 2012 postcards to be sent to Lord Coe (click on the thumbnails to see larger images):

Dear Lord Coe, Please allow the Olympic torch to come through Dover because it would make 2012 a special time for the community of Dover. Dover is also the gatewayto England. Yours sincerely Amy.	I would like the Olympic torch to come through Dover because we have a lot of history here and I would like teh Olympic torch to be a part of history!	I think it should come to Dover again because the last time it came was 60 years and that is a long time ago.

 

The Kent Campaign for the 2012 Games led and managed by KCC is working in partnership with a range of organisations regarding the torch, including Dover District Council, Dover Town Council and Dover Pride with support from MPs Hugh Robertson, Derek Wyatt and Gwyn Prosser for the torch to again enter Britain at Dover.

KCC Lead Member for Community Services Elizabeth Tweed said:

“It was a very exciting atmosphere and the children have plenty of ideas about the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will be a major event for their lifetime and I hope their enthusiasm ‘passes the passion’ onto the whole of Kent to get us all excited for 2012.”

Future Creative’s Creative Designer for the event Imogen Noble added:

“The goal was to develop young people to think imaginatively about the Olympic Torch Relay, and to begin developing their own campaign to get it into the UK through Dover in 2012. Through taking part in different activities, the young people produced some really superb creative work that Kent will now send on to London 2012 organisers.”

The decision of which town will welcome the torch is expected to be decided by the London Organising Committee in 2009

To see the Lyrics to ' Pass The Passion - A Torch song for Dover!' follow this link (pdf)

Folow this link for the audio of the song on Invictafm website.

For more information about Kent’s involvement in the 2012 Games and the Kent Campaign, call 01622 605054 or check this website regularly.

London 2012’s Learning Programme launched

On 6 December 2007, London 2012 launched their ideas for a national learning plan, looking to use the Games to engage children and young people both here and abroad. The plan offers every school and college in the UK the chance to become part of 2012, and will work both with and outside the curriculum. The national learning plan is based around the three Olympic Values of Respect, Friendship and Excellence, and the four Paralympic Values of Determination, Courage, Equity and Inspiration.

Further details will be announced in September 2008, but visits, school trips to the Olympic site, tickets to the Games and mentoring programmes are all being considered for inclusion. Schools and colleges will be permitted to use some of the 2012 branding on signage (peer assessed!), and watch out for the launch of a competition to design a logo for the 2012 learning programme coming soon!

More details of the London 2102 Education programme can be found at www.london2012.com/...

20 in 12 – using the 2012 Games to inspire learning across the curriculum for children and young people in Kent

To respond to London 2012’s plans to inspire young people across the county, Kent 2012’s Schools and Young People’s Group, in consultation with Head Teachers and Local Education Officers, have been working up a programme – ’20 in 12’.

The aim?

To use the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire learning across the curriculum for children and young people in Kent.

The ambitions?

• For schools and settings to work collaboratively, using education and learning to maximise children and young people’s engagement with the London 2012 Games, helping them to fulfil their potential
• To create a range of opportunities and challenges across the curriculum which inspire and capture the imagination of children and young people
• To enable children and young people to take the lead in the development of creative and innovative learning activities linked to the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Olympic and Paralympic Values?

• Personal Excellence
• Respect and Friendship
• Inspiration
• Determination and Courage
• Equality
  

The delivery?

Each academic year ‘5 Themes’ related to the Olympic and Paralympic values will be selected by a County 2012 Planning Group, consisting of representatives from each of the newly formed 23 Local Children’s Services Partnerships (presently known as Educational Clusters). All schools and settings across a Partnership will be invited to develop learning experiences for their children and young people in any of the selected ‘5 Themes’, which will change every year to keep the programme fresh and topical.

Schools/settings can put forward, at any time in the year, learning activities that have taken place around the ‘5 Themes’ and these will be showcased on their Partnership WebPages to encourage sharing ideas and good practice.

During the sixth term of each year, each Partnership will select the best 20 activities of the past 12 months which will be showcased on the Kent 2012 website.

Hence 20 Activities in 12 months (‘20 in 12’).

Special Awards will be made to individuals, schools, settings and Partnerships. These will be for the most creative and innovative projects within each of the ‘5 Themes’.

’20 in 12’ will support schools/settings in successfully achieving national recognition from London 2012.

What happens next?

The selection of a 2012 Representative for each of the Partnerships needs to take place by the end of May 2008.

Details of the role of a ‘2012 Rep’ will be distributed in April to aid this process.

A Planning Forum will take place in June to select the ‘5 Themes’ for 2008/09 and this will be communicated to schools/settings in July.

The 20 in 12 Learning Programme will be officially launched on 17 September to coincide with the ‘Signing up to the Values Day’ and the Handover from the Beijing Paralympic Games to the London Paralympic Games.

For more information please contact danny.o’donovan@kent.gov.uk