One in a Million, the Bradford-based charity that will open Bradford’s newest school in September 2012, announces a number of high profile ambassadors including well-known celebrities from the worlds of sports, arts and enterprise.

The ambassadors, all of whom have a close connection with Bradford, will support the new One in a Million Free School as it develops in the coming years. The school, a community partner of Bradford City FC with plans to be based at Valley Parade, is the first of its type in the UK and will offer an innovative curriculum based around vocational and academic study.

The ambassadors include singer Gareth Gates, Sky Sports pundit Peter Beagrie, Tanya Arnold of BBC Look North, Tim Thornton of Pulse Radio, Derm Tanner of BBC Radio Leeds and Waterloo Road actor Tom Milner.

Rugby league legend and ex-Bradford Bulls hero Brian Noble is also taking an ambassador role. He said: “It’s a very humbling experience to be asked to represent One in a Million, which I am delighted to do. I remember being helped as a young man growing up in Manningham and that inspired me to become the man I am today. I am very proud to be involved”

Other ambassadors from the world of sport include Bradford-born Yorkshire and England cricketer Anthony McGrath and ex-Premier League footballers Stuart McCall and David Wetherall, both previously with Bradford City FC. Yorkshire- born Olympic medalist Peter Elliott will also be among the ambassadors.

Wayne Jacobs, co-founder of One in a Million and former Bradford City star is delighted with the support the charity and the school is attracting. He said: “The ambassadors will not only be figureheads for the school, many of them will be actively involved in the coming years with all that the school is planning. This is an exciting time in our development and we are delighted to welcome all of our ambassadors to the One in a Million family’.

Hi,

You may be aware that I was appointed as Principal Designate of One in a Million Free School and that I took up my full time post on Monday 16th April.  I’m tremendously excited not least because of the opportunity that very few educationists get - setting up a new school.

Since my appointment I have been working hard with the media to promote the school and with the ‘Meet the Head’ meetings that we have taken around the city.  As a result we now have 23 students who have signed up to join us in September. In the near future we will be inviting these to a meeting where we will present some architect’s impressions to show how the school building will look and talk about the curriculum development work I have been doing.

Keep your eye on our website and social media to see when it will be – you are very welcome to join us.

In the short term I have 4 key priorities:

1 – ensure that our school design delivers an innovative learning environment

2 – get to know the local primary schools and build a strong relationship with them

3 – continue to push forward our student recruitment process

4 – begin to recruit some key teaching staff

With regard to the last point I would encourage any of our supporters who know of colleagues who are able to work as a vice principal or lead on key areas: English, maths, science (+arts; enterprise; sport) to contact us as we would like to hear from them.

If you have any questions I would love to hear from you.  You can call me on 01274 723439 or email jez.stockill@oneinamillion.org.uk

Best Regards

–

Jez Stockill

“In sport a winning team has to operate at 85% of its capacity to be successful. UK businesses operate at an average of between 45-60%” – Brian Noble

What percentage do you and your business operate at?

Brian Noble, the former Bradford Bulls and Great Britain coach who led the most successful Rugby League club for five years, will be talking about key ingredients for success and you can be there.

Brian is a renowned business speaker whose clients include Mercedes, BMW, Fujitsu Siemens and Morrisons.

Book now to hear Brian’s key ingredients for success on leadership, motivation, accountability & responsibility and adversity.

The event will take place at the Midland Hotel, Bradford from 12pm on Thursday 5 July 2012. The cost is £40 per head (or £370 per table of 10) and will also include a two-course lunch followed by an interactive question and answer session.

All proceeds go to Bradford children’s charity One in a Million, who help to improve the lives of children and young people across Bradford through sport, art, social education and enterprise programmes.

To book your place or for further information please contact Craig McHugh on 01274 723439 or email craig.mchugh@oneinamillion.org.uk.

Three members of One in a Million’s athletics programme represented Yorkshire at the UK Championships.

Ambah Thompson, Megan Ascough (Under 13 Girls) and Tobi Adeniji (Under 13 Boys) all took part at the UK Championships at the NEC in Birmingham.

Ambah jumped a personal best 7.27m in the Triple Jump, finishing second. She made it to the final of the individual Two-laps finishing fourth, before combining with the winner of the two-lap event to claim gold in the eight lap Paarlauf.

Megan was taking part in her first UK championships and was part of the Obstacle Relay team that missed the bronze medal by 0.1 seconds. She was also part of the 4×1 Relay that finished ninth. She also jumped 6.28m in the triple jump finishing 16th.

Tobi was part of the Obstacle Relay team that claimed bronze and the 4×1 Relay team that finished fourth. He also competed in the High Jump where he came seventh with a jump of 1.45m.

The trio were selected for the West Yorkshire teams at the West Yorkshire Trials in January, before they won the Yorkshire competition in February and the right to represent Yorkshire at the UK Championships.

There were 10 English Counties at the UK Championships and one each from Wales and Northern Ireland. Overall the Girls team finished sixth and the Boys team finished fifth out of twelve.

Lucy Tattersfield was selected for the West Yorkshire Under 11 Girls team where they came second.

Imahl Williamson and Benjamin Adeniji were both selected for the Boys team and the boys won the Yorkshire competition.

There are no national finals at Under 11 level.

One in a Million is offering the opportunity for you to meet the new principal designate of their new Free School.

Jez Stockill will be coming to a location near you where you will have the opportunity to find out about our exciting new school and to have any questions answered.

You can still meet our new principal on these dates:

• Fri 16th March 7-9pm.  Goals Soccer Centre, Kings Road, BD2 1NR
• Mon 19th March 7-9pm. Bantams Business Centre, Bradford City AFC, BD8 7DY
• Wed 21st March 7-9pm.  Karmand Community Centre, Barkerend Road, BD3 9EP
• Mon 26th March 7-9pm.  Lower Grange Community Centre, 10 Chaffinch Road, BD8 0RF

One in a Million is once again running its Celeb/Am Charity Golf Tournament.

The tournament returns to the exclusive Bradford Golf Club on the 28 May 2012 and will see celebrities and amateurs take to the fairways.

The event costs £80 per person which will include 18 holes of golf, food and refreshments before the golf and a meal afterwards. There will be a number of prizes handed out and a charity auction after the golf and Leeds United legend Eddie Gray will be the speaker.

Registration will be at 11:15am for a 12 noon stat and will include a free basket of practice balls.

For further information or to book your place please contact Craig McHugh by emailing craig.mchugh@oneinamillion.org.uk or calling 01274 723 439.

The One in a Million Free School has announced its Principal Designate and its plans to open at Bradford City Football Club in 2012 subject to property purchase contract.

Jez Stockill, currently Deputy Head at Bradford’s Hanson Academy, will join the One in a Million Free School board as Principal Designate on 16^th April, just five months ahead of the school’s official opening in September.

Billed as one of the UK’s most innovative Free School partnerships owing to its collaboration between the One in a Million charity, the Department for Education and Bradford City Football Club, the Government-funded, independently run school is offering its first 50 places to 11-year-old pupils when the doors open this autumn.

Working Together

“One in a Million is working together with the Department for Education and Bradford City Football Club to finalise the contract with a view to opening the school at the Bantams Business Centre and sports facility, adjacent to the Valley Parade stadium,” said One in a Million Chief Executive Matthew Band.

“We are getting closer to fully realising our dream of opening the One in a Million Free School which will offer exceptional facilities to support children in sports, arts and enterprise with a vocational and academic mix and continue our charity’s journey of being at the leading edge of education delivery – an objective we have been working towards for over seven years of programme delivery in the community.”

He added: “Appointing Jez Stockill as our Principal Designate is a significant landmark in our free school journey and we’re scheduling the first “meet the principal” event on Monday 5 March, followed by two events every week throughout March. February and March are also significant in our final preparations as this is the start of the last six-week consultation process. We are expecting a huge demand for school places and are urging parents to register their interest now to help secure their child’s place at this most innovative of schools.”

The One in a Million Free School will educate up to 350 11 to 18 year-olds with an initial 50 places for the 2012 year seven intake. With individual learning records and ICT-based learning, the school’s management team is developing a holistic educational programme to support the needs and strengths of each child.

Another Choice

Parents of year six (age 10 – 11) children in Bradford currently have to make five choices for secondary education from 27 schools in the district and next week, on March 1, thousands of families will learn whether they have secured a place in the school of their choice.

Former Bradford City player and Assistant Manager Wayne Jacobs who co-founded the One in a Million charity with Matthew Band in 2005 said: “Every year hundreds of parents and children are disappointed not to be getting the place they’d hoped for at their chosen school – but this year there is another choice.

“Ten per cent of children from Bradford go out of the district for schooling  – there’s 3,000 extra places needed this year and we feel incredibly privileged to offer an alternative – a Free School with an exceptional environment for interactive learning that is designed for the children here who need it most.

“One in a Million has always been about making a tangible difference to Bradford’s children and working in partnership with parents is vital for the future success of our unique school. Our message today is simple – talk to us, tell us your views and register your interest during this crucial six week consultation period.”

Matthew added: “With an unprecedented leadership team from the sport, business and education communities, our facility-rich location and seven years of intense groundwork delivering youth learning and development programmes in Bradford, we are confident that One in a Million will propel our Free School to the leading edge of education delivery.”

Meet The Principal

The first “meet the principal” event will take place at the Bantams Business Centre at Valley Parade on Monday 5 March between 7pm and 9pm. Two events every week will be held throughout March and are scheduled for:

For more information on this or to put your child’s name forward for the One in a Million Free School, to receive an information pack, ask questions or offer your views before Monday April 2, email freeschool@oneinamillion.org.uk, call 01274 723439, log onto www.oneinamillion.org.uk/freeschool or write to One in A Million Chief Executive Matthew Band at One in A Million, Bantams Business Centre, Bradford City AFC, Valley Parade, Bradford BD8 7DY.

One in a Million has released a final copy of the Admissions Policy for their Free School.

The One in a Million Free School Admissions Policy is written in accordance with the School Admissions Code as published by the Department for Education. The School will work with parents and carers to ensure they understand the arrangements and are able to make informed decisions about applying to our school.

The school has a Planned Admission Number of 50 pupils for entry in year 7. The school is open to anyone and is non selective.

The document can be found by following the link: Admissions Policy

See our Free School Brochure here.

One in a Million is establishing a new secondary Free School offering a mix of vocational and academic learning for 11 – 18 year olds themed across sport, the arts and enterprise.

We are committed to raising educational standards within the City of Bradford, working with students who come from some of the most deprived communities and ensuring they have the skills and opportunities to improve themselves, their families and their communities. The One In A Million Free School will provide a purposeful and progressive educational experience.

We will open with a year seven intake of 50 pupils in September 2012. The school will be small, with small class sizes and a culture of excellent teaching and strong discipline.

Our passion is to engage children and young people through innovative education, personalised to allow them to develop their unique gifts and talents. Our aim is to provide the best environment and opportunities for every pupil to improve themselves, their families and their communities.

Our overall aim is to make a difference to young people by engendering respect, self-esteem, motivation and engagement. The ethos of our school will be rooted in the name of our charity, where every young person is recognised as being unique and valued as ‘one in a million.’

Click on the links below for more information about the One in a Million Free School.

Vision | Values | Curriculum

CALL us on 01274 723439 or EMAIL freeschool@oneinamillion.org.uk to REGISTER your child.

One in a Million is privileged to offer for auction 2 EXECUTIVE tickets, CLUB WEMBLEY SEATS to see one of the great English derbies LIVERPOOL v EVERTON at the magnificent WEMBLEY STADIUM.

Saturday 14th April 2012. Kick Off at 12.30pm

Your chance to see one of FOOTBALL’S GREATEST RIVALRIES whilst helping underprivileged Children & Young people in the community through the work of the One in a Million charity.

Please submit your bids to Craig McHugh or telephone 01274 723439.

Closing dates for bids is Friday 13th April 2012.

**Offer does not include travel or dinner.