A group of Samworth Church Academy students are busy raising cash to fund a charity trip to Africa this summer.
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The Year 12 students, who are currently studying for their AS Levels at the Mansfield school, will be embarking on the once-in-a-lifetime trip on 28th June.
They will be staying and working at an orphanage in the village of Hope in Morocco during the seven-day expedition where they will carry out a variety of work like building fences and decorating.
But before the group can get to work in Africa they need to raise £3,000 to fund the trip, which is part of the students' ASDAN award that will earn them UCAS points towards their chosen university place.
So far the youngsters have raised nearly £1,000 by holding a 'Samworth's Got Talent' competition and Christmas Fayre, while events planned for the future include a disco for younger students, a 24-hour triathlon and a sports and leisure auction.
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Teacher, Morag Rogers, will be joining the group on the trip and she told Chad: "Obviously this is an exciting venture for the new academy and if it is a success, it is something that we would like to build on in the future."
Any businesses or individuals who would like to sponsor or support the Samworth Church Academy students on their charity trip should visit www.myspace.com/africachallenge.
TALENTED Samworth Church Academy pupils perform a musical production of Oliver!
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The 11-18 year-olds rehearsed for eight weeks for three evening performances and also performed a version for primary school children from a number of Mansfield schools.
Mr Hancock, Head of Performing Arts, said their version of the musical based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, had gone very well.
"We had three evening performances and they all sold out. We were very pleased. The feedback we have had has been excellent."
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Samworth Church Academy student, Jessica Adams, has received a Courage Award at a Rotary Club luncheon.
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The Courage Awards are presented annually to local young people, nominated by their school, who have shown exceptional courage in dealing with difficult circumstances. This year is the 18th Courage Award and twelve young people received the accolade.
Jessica was chosen because of her courage in facing a diagnosis of Leukaemia two years ago and because of her unflinching optimism in overcoming all the obstacles associated with the illness. This included maintaining an excellent attendance record despite her plight.
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Jessica has attended school whilst in a wheelchair and during extensive chemotherapy. She has often returned to school far earlier than was expected. Mrs Price said "No matter what, Jessica will always try to come into school. Often she's had to miss lessons in order to receive treatment and she is always straight back in the classroom catching up with what she has missed".
Samworth Church Academy is proud of Jessica's achievement and continue to wish her the best in her recovery. She is an inspiration to both students and staff.
Samworth students in visit to professional newsroom to make their own headlines.
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BUDDDING young journalists from the Samworth Church Academy in Mansfield visited the Worksop Guardian to get a taste of a newspaper office.
The eight pupils are reporters for their own school newspaper SHINE.
They have been working on their own newspaper for six months and the aim of the visit was to see how a professional newspaper is run.
One of the young reporters, 11 year old Owen Wood, said the visit was 'very interesting'.
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PUPILS at a Notts school became prisoners for the day as part of a scheme to learn about crime and anti-social behaviour.
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Prison officers from the 'Prison! Me! No Way!' charity spoke to pupils from Samworth Church Academy, in Mansfield, about the effects of crime to try and reduce anti-social behaviour.
Sniffer dogs were used during the day and firefighters from Notts Fire and Rescue Service spoke about fire hazards.
Jane Thompson of Samworth Church Academy said: "This was a raw and real experience that will have a positive impact on the students."
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A group of charitable students from Mansfield's Samworth Church Academy prepare to jet out on a charitable mission to Africa.
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The ten young people headed to Morocco recently as part of the ASDAN awards scheme and arrived at the Moroccan village of Hope on Saturday.
Group member Holly Papper, who is Mansfield's assistant youth mayor, said: "We are going to the village of Hope and will be helping out at an orphanage, teaching the children and also helping them to maintain and build while we are there".
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Former trade Minister Lord Digby Jones has joined forces with a Notts academy to launch a new diploma to help students develop competitive business instincts.
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The so-called "Digby Diploma" will see students from Samworth Church Academy in Mansfield developing business ideas.
It is in the trial stage at the business-led academy, but Lord Jones says he would like to see more Notts schools give it a go as it develops.
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Taking a swipe at the education system, he said: "I passionately believe that we have got to get young people to be more competitive, more innovative and to take responsibility for their own actions.
"One of the problems with the last scholastic generations - the last 11 years - is that they are taught that government look after you cradle-to-grave, government will pay.
"They are not brought up in a way that winning matters, they are not taught to think for themselves, they are not taught to think outside the box – they even have sports days where there are no winners.
"That is why I am launching the Digby Diploma. It will be a competition and there will be winners."
The initiative will see students in subjects such as business studies encouraged to identify a product or service and come up with original, innovative ideas on how it can be made better.
Lord Jones will not judge the competition, but he will take the winners to the House of Lords to celebrate.
Lord Jones said: "If people think it is a good idea then I would like to see it develop, with kids maybe spending time in a business and being asked how they think things could be developed. I would also love to think that in four or five years' time we could have a system of competition between schools and a county final."
Lord Jones says he chose to launch the initiative at the Samworth Church Academy because of long-standing links with two of the academy's backers – David Samworth, one of the founders of food giant Samworth Brothers, and Nick Linney, chairman of Mansfield print management, design and multimedia business Linney Group.
He added: "I also chose to do it here because I think the East Midlands is going to come out of recession more quickly and more strongly because it has got more globally-based businesses – people like Rolls-Royce, Toyota, Bombardier and JCB."
Lord Jones says that as the country comes out of recession it will become clear that people have to work longer and employ innovation and skills more than ever before.
"In business, we will be living in a world where India wants your lunch, China wants your dinner and where there will be more competition from more parts of the world, all of whom want a bigger slice of the action."
And the former minister insisted: "If we don't equip our young people with the right skills and an attitude that allows them to compete then we won't generate the wealth we need to pay off our debts, never mind the wealth to grow."
Three Southwell runners have been given a £500 boost by Lord Digby Jones in their bid to raise £10,000 for charity.
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Martin Brook, Shaun Stocks and Noel Gie are running the New York Marathon on Sunday, November 1, for the Alzheimer's Society. This follows the £3,000 raised by running the London Marathon in April.
Mr Brook, a vice principal of Samworth Church Academy in Mansfield, chose the cause after his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 17 years ago.
He said: "I know that dad would have been very proud of our efforts."
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Lord Jones, of Birmingham, visited Samworth Church Academy at the beginning of October and pledged to give £500 to the cause if all three men cross the line.
PUPILS at a secondary school surprised elderly neighbours by delivering cookies.
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The children from The Samworth Church Academy, Mansfield, delivered the cookies and a card on Friday 14th February.
The gifts were inspired by an age awareness assembly when Shirley Chamberlain delivered a speech giving her viewpoint on life as you get older. As a result many pupils wanted to become more involved with the older residents around the Academy.
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