Last week, Birches Head Academy received a huge donation from the staff and suppliers of JPR Solutions (UK) Ltd. The items donated include food, household items and toiletries – and lots of them!
The items donated will form the basis for Birches Head’s very own Food Bank, which a team of Year 7 students will be launching and leading in the future. More details on how to request a parcel will be available shortly on the Academy’s website.
As you will be aware, the National Lockdown will mean that schools will – unfortunately – be closed to the majority of pupils with immediate effect and the majority of children will be learning remotely until further notice.
Thankfully, we are very well prepared for the possibility of school closure and resources and training have already been provided to enable children to access teaching and learning remotely.
This year’s Remembrance Service will be like no other we have experienced at The Ellesmere Port C of E College. We can all express our gratitude individually, by wearing poppies, but how can we come together to honour those who made such sacrifices during this time.
On the morning of the 7th October our Year 7 students, accompanied by their form tutors were invited to gather for a virtual Welcome Service led by the Canon Rev Gordon McGuinness on the theme of ‘Taking Charge Not Being In Charge’. Students took part in an interactive live session as well as engaging in a multi-media service delivered remotely from St Thomas and All Saints Church.
The Frank Field Education Trust has launched England’s first resource base within a secondary school to promote the sharing good practice, between primary and secondary colleagues, through joint observation and collaboration.
The Primary Teaching & Learning Hub, located within The Ellesmere Port Church of England College (EPC), encapsulates the Trust's vision of 'Social Justice through Excellence in Education' and promotes the Trust's unique womb-to-work 0-19 Hub model.
A group of young historians from The Ellesmere Port Church of England College (EPC) recently returned from an emotional and fascinating trip to the Western Front.
The students visited Ypres in Belgium to pay their respects to the fallen as part of the school’s remembrance commemorations and to find out more about the Great War.
Despite there being nearly 5,500 miles between the two schools, The Ellesmere Port Church of England College (EPC) and The Qingdao Middle School No. 31, which is in the Shandong province on the shores of the Yellow Sea, have become sister schools to help students immerse themselves in different cultures.
A group of budding young entrepreneurs from The Ellesmere Port Church of England College (EPC) are celebrating after successfully reaching the finals with the National Enterprise Challenge.
The success comes after a group of facilitators from the National Enterprise Challenge visited the school earlier this month to run a series of workshops and activities encouraging Year 7 & 8 students to come up with business ideas that focus on sustainability and recycling.
The Ellesmere Port Church of England College (EPC) students have raised the bar by securing an impressive set of GCSE results.
The College, which became part of the Frank Field Education Trust earlier this year, is celebrating the fact that across every measure there has been a notable improvement in GCSE outcomes.
Students presented their project on the development of a soap to reduce water usage when washing hands. Both students have been working on and developing this project since the Unilever Bright Sparks Programme starting in November 2018, they have attended two lunchtime sessions and one night after school per week to research and investigate their idea.
Monday 13 May was a special day for students Sean Walker, Emille Scott, Josh Richards, Matthew Skillen and Shania Jones who were invited to attend a special Duke of Edinburgh ceremony at Buckingham Palace to collect their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
The students, who recently graduated from the College, were presented with their certificates by Rudolph Walker OBE, before being joined by the Princess Royal who took the time to speak with all of the participants.
Students at The Ellesmere Port Church of England College, in partnership with the University of Chester, are celebrating after being named the winner of the ‘Social Mobility Award’ at the Educate North Awards.
The most-recent award builds upon the College’s success and is further recognition of the partnership team’s outstanding achievements – having previously won the prestigious Class of the Year Award at the Cheshire Schools Awards Ceremony in June 2018.
On Wednesday 24 April, young entrepreneurs from the Ellesmere Port Church of England College took part in The National Enterprise Challenge at The Storyhouse Theatre in Chester.
The students from Year 9 and 10 were tasked to create a new event or competition that will help get more women participating in Football. The event was in partnership with the University Degrees in the Football and Sports Industry (UCFB).
The Technology Department at the Ellesmere Port C of E College are delighted to announce the school has been nominated and shortlisted for the University Sector Award in Social Mobility at the Educate North Awards Ceremony next month.
The nomination builds upon the group’s outstanding success of last year after winning the prestigious ‘Class of the Year Award 2018’ at the Cheshire Schools Awards Ceremony.
Handforth Grange Primary School were awarded the title of ‘Cheshire Primary Choir of the Year’ at the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe on Tuesday 19 March.
The Outstanding school qualified for the final four by winning a regional heat at Wilmslow High in February and then beat off stiff competition from three other leading Cheshire Choirs in the competition organised by the Love Music Trust.
On Thursday 7 March, students and staff from the new Ellesmere Port Church of England College were honoured to welcome respected Member of Parliament, Frank Field.
The new college unveiled its name in December last year and was the first school to join the Frank Field Education Trust (FFET). The MP was given a tour of the college’s spectacular 25 million pound campus where he met with the new Principal Mrs Cath Green, before addressing students in assembly. During his visit, students discussed the changes they had already experienced at the college and spoke about the future vision and direction.
Staff from schools across the Frank Field Education Trust (FFET) embarked on an incredible trip to New Delhi, India, marking the beginning of a new international partnership with PRATYeK - a charity dedicated to supporting and educating street-connected children.
As part of this inspiring collaboration, a group of teachers from across the Trust travelled to New Delhi in November for a week-long visit.
During their stay, they explored PRATYeK’s community projects, worked alongside local educators, and gained first-hand insight into The National Inclusive Children’s Parliament and the charity’s approaches to children’s rights and education.
We are delighted to publish the FFET Autumn Term 1 Newsletter, showcasing some of the incredible work taking place across the Trust.
This edition highlights a term full of inspiring moments, including pupils meeting the Prime Minister, a Trust-wide conference, Be More events, international partnerships, and the everyday achievements happening across our classrooms, schools, and communities.
As part of its Handforth Experience theme, ‘Earth Conscious’, Handforth Primary School proudly participated in the first-ever live assembly broadcast from Antarctica.
The assembly featured Robert Swan OBE, the first person in history to walk to both the North and South Poles, who engaged with students about environmental stewardship and polar exploration. Jenny Cooke from the 2041 Schools charity also joined the session to launch their new education program, encouraging children worldwide to become Antarctica Champions.
Staff from across the Frank Field Education Trust (FFET) recently travelled to Sweden to partner with two schools within the Internationella Engelska Skolan (IES) Trust — in Kista (Stockholm) and Eskilstuna.
The partnership aimed to explore how schools in socially vulnerable areas have achieved remarkable success. The visit centred on the theme:
From Special Measures to Success in a Socially Vulnerable Area – The Swedish Free School Context.
Over three days, staff from the Trust, Ellesmere Port C of E College, Birches Head Academy and Handforth Grange Primary School
In November 2025, pupils from across the Frank Field Education Trust (FFET) gathered at Manchester Central Library for the second annual Trust-wide Poetry Festival—a celebration of creativity, talent, and core values. This year’s festival showcased an impressive collection of poems, all reflecting the FFET Core Value of Justice.
The event brought together talented young poets from Birches Head Academy, Ellesmere Port C of E College, and Handforth Grange Primary School. Pupils not only performed their original poetry but were also featured in the 2025 Poetry Anthology.
The Frank Field Education Trust proudly held its 2025 Art Challenge & Exhibition at Chester Town Hall this November, showcasing the incredible creativity and talent of young artists across the Trust.
This year’s theme was “Compassion”, encouraging participants to explore and express this important value through their artwork. Students were invited to submit entries across a variety of mediums, including photography, drawing, sculpture, digital art, and mixed media.
