Schools/colleges

A TEACHING assistant is aiming for the highest possible grade- a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.

Kevin Sempers, 24, has been helping students at Uxbridge High School, in The Greenway, since January, in his spare time as an international athlete.

He has already competed for Great Britain in both the Heptathlon and Decathlon, and is this year targeting qualification for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

A FORMER Cowley primary schoolteacher has been tragically found dead at his home.

Owain Richards, who began his teaching career at Cowley St Laurence Primary School in Worcester Road, Uxbridge, was discovered dead at his home in Ipswich this weekend.

He had been a headteacher at Cliff Lane Primary School in Ipswich, and leaves behind two children, a daughter aged 12 and a son aged seven.

.

LUCKY students got a tour of the 2012 Olympic site from by 1984 javelin gold medallist Tessa Sanderson.

Cedella Marshall, 13, of Uxbridge High, was one of only six pupils from across London to ask the former champion a question.

They were part of the 100 Group, made up of 50 state schools and 50 independent schools, who got to visit the site in Stratford.

Cedella, who attends the school in The Greenway, Uxbridge, was fortunate enough to speak to Tessa Sanderson about her involvement in Olympics in days gone by.

TWO of Uxbridge's political leaders have spoken of their excitement that the Chinese Olympic squad could be coming to the town in 2012.

The Gazette revealed this week that delegates from the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) had toured the sports facilities at Brunel University and the soon to be opened Uxbridge Lido swimming pool.

MP John Randall, (Con) who represents Uxbridge and South Ruislip, said: "I think it would be extremely good news for the area.

THE hard work and determination of students with autism and Asperger's syndrome was recognised at a special awards ceremony last week.

Pupils at West London Community College, in Longbridge Way, Uxbridge, were rewarded for their achievements and progress in their chosen subjects, from first aid and life skills to assertiveness and emotional literacy.

PUPILS from Uxbridge College who took part in a national business competition have been recognised for their financial skills.

The team of four students on the BTEC National Diploma in Business competed against nine teams from across the capital in the London regional finals of the Make Your Mark Challenge.

They were given the Financial Whizz Award at a ceremony in London last Thursday (26), after coming up with an idea for a talent agency called Talent 'iN' Town (TNT) which would showcase local talent in and around Hillingdon.

STUDENTS at an international school got the chance to become film stars, directors and writers, all in one day.

Pupils at ACS Hillingdon International School, in Vine Lane, Uxbridge, took part in a one-day film school workshop provided by the Young Film Academy (YFA) on Thursday (15).

The day began with an overview of a career in the film business before students launched straight in to a fight choreography workshop.

This provided an opportunity for the students to see how sound, deign and camera angles can create particular effects on screen.

The day also included screenwriting and camera workshops to help the students develop a story-line to 'pitch' to their peers - who were each allotted an imaginary £10,000 investment for the project of their choice.

Once students completed a camera workshop to familiarise themselves with the more technical side of filmmaking, they were split into groups to shoot their films in preparation for a mini film festival at the end of the workshop session.

Those with the best short films received an award in an Oscar-style awards ceremony at the end of the day.

Alison Aurnhammer, English teacher at the school, said: "It is always a great experience for the students to take part in an interactive workshop with industry professionals because it allows them to acquire new skills and explore new opportunities."

The students, aged 14 and 15, completed the workshop as part of the English element of their International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP).

A GROUP of intrepid students are fundraising to help pay for a trip to Uganda where they will be renovating and refurbishing a school.

The team of 12 boys from Abbotsfield School, in Clifton Gardens, Hillingdon, are planning to head to the African country in October next year.

For the majority of the 14 day expedition they will be staying in a village taking part in a project to help the community renovate and refurbish the local school.

This is the first time such a challenge has been set and undertaken by the school.

Louise Richards, the lead teacher for the trip, was very keen for the boys to be involved in both expedition activities and a community project.

She said: "Travelling can be a life changing experience and the only way you truly get to know the country you are travelling in is by meeting the local people and getting involved".

At the end of the trip the boys are planning to take time out to do white water rafting on the river Nile.

The boys are now fundraising for the trip with events being run both in and out of school.

One of the students, Manraj Virdee, has already demonstrated an entrepreneurial and enterprising spirit by raising £400 at his own snooker tournament .

William Hill, said: "The trip is going to be an amazing experience. I have never had the opportunity to do something like this before."

Caleb Kent said: "It is one of those things that you only get to do once in your life and I want to be part of it."

The trip is being organised by World Challenge, a company which specialises in organising trips in the developing world which teach life skills and expand minds outside the classroom.

A NEWLY extended and refurbished school library was officially opened by Gazette columnist Barbara Fisher last week.

The library, at Uxbridge High School, in The Greenway, Uxbridge is double the size of its previous form, and was opened on National Poetry Day on Thursday.

VOLUNTEERS are being sought to build what could be the world's largest Lego brick building in Uxbridge.

Architects have designed a building with the help of children at Cowley St Laurence Primary School, in Worcester Road, Cowley.