Thursday 19th January at 6pm – Friday 20th January at 4pm
Thank you to everyone who has registered their attendance at our open evenings to look round our exciting new school building.
Both evenings will be busy so the bus park will be open for parking.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Tuesday 31 January 2023
We were delighted that one of our exhibitors was a former student of our school.
“I attended Mortimer Wilson School between 1991 – 1996 and stayed on to study A-levels between 1996 – 1998. I think that if it wasn’t for the positive influence of a couple of teachers at the end of my GCSE’s talking me into doing my A-Levels, my career path would have been quite different. My results weren’t sparkling to say the least as I struggled academically unless it was a subject that interested me.
After time out following A-Levels to travel, I wasn’t quite ready for university so I applied for a job as an office junior at Caunton’s which led to being sponsoring through my University Degree at Sheffield Hallam University. Studying for a Construction Management BSc which I graduated from in 2001 with a 2:1, I was probably the guinea pig for the degree apprenticeship scheme we offer today.
Once I completed my degree, Caunton put me on a training plan to become a Contracts Manager which I did for a number of years gaining experience until more recently being given the opportunity to become Contracts Director of the business.”
Gareth Skelton (Contracts Director at Caunton)
Caunton
Caunton’s is one of the UK’s leading steelwork contractors in the Construction Industry, fabricating in excess of 50,000 tonnes per annum with a turnover in the region of £100m. Caunton specialises in the design, fabrication and erection of structural and secondary steelwork, operating across all sectors of the construction industry in the UK.
Please see below details of their Apprenticeship programmes:
Caunton Academy Apprenticeships
Caunton Engineering is passionate about recruiting apprentices and graduates, offering young people an opportunity to take the first step towards a career in the Engineering and Construction industries.
The Caunton Academy was established in 2004, with the aim to address the industry’s skills shortage in fabrication and welding.
From its inception, the Caunton Academy proved to be highly successful in the delivery of apprenticeships in fabrication and welding, which led to its recognition, in August 2008, as an accredited EAL Training Centre. Continued investment in the development and training of the Caunton Academy teaching team, led to the Caunton Academy gaining Employer Provider Status in May 2017.
Their facility provides a model production line aimed to simulate and map the processes of an actual working production line and industrial environment, together with a classroom where the Extended Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering is delivered. Within this environment, their Apprentices work towards achieving the Metal Fabricator Standard, which is delivered by their in-house, qualified teaching team, over a period of 42 months.
Entry requirements
In order to optimise success, applicants will typically have 4 GCSEs at Grade C/4 or equivalent, including Mathematics, English and Science.
Apprentice destinations
The company currently employs seventeen apprentices across four academic years in the Caunton Academy and five Degree apprentices in multi disciplines across the business. Annually they aim to recruit five/six apprentices for their business. Successful apprentices then have the opportunity, by means of an individual development plan, to spend time in various departments across the business giving them an opportunity to gain a broader knowledge of the business prior to joining a full fabrication team or moving to develop more desk-based skills, such as with their technical, estimating or commercial teams.
Professional Recognition
The Metal Fabricator Standard aligns with the following professional recognition:
For further information on academy opportunities please contact Jacquie Swinn at Jacquie.swinn@caunton.co.uk.
Degree Apprenticeships
Working in conjunction with universities, they offer degree apprenticeships.
Who is this route suitable for?
Why choose a Degree Apprenticeship?
Entry requirements
Applicants for the NTU Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship course must meet the published entry requirements below:
and
Applicants applying without A-levels will have their qualifications assessed for subject compatibility.
Apprenticeships can be found on the Caunton Engineering Ltd website at http://www.caunton.co.uk/.
For further information on degree apprenticeship opportunities please contact Jacquie Swinn at Jacquie.swinn@caunton.co.uk.
David Nieper Academy proudly held their sixth annual careers fair, which was open to all year groups at the academy.
The students were able to talk with a wide variety of employers and education training providers to discuss future possibilities and career plans. There were 30 exhibitors including a range of universities, colleges, employers and alumni for the students and parents to visit.
Students thought and asked many relevant questions to find out lots of valuable information about a variety of careers and courses from which, David Nieper Academy received a lot of very positive feedback from the exhibitors about the conversations that had taken place.
Students had the chance to win golden tickets and a total of 89 tickets were given out. They were later handed in to be entered into a prize draw, which took place on Tuesday 7th February. The three overall winners – Kaitlyn Bentley-Richards (Year 9), Erin Smithhurst (Year 10) and Cameron Hayward (Year 11) received a £20 Amazon voucher, and for all other students who received Golden Tickets, chocolate was given out.
David Nieper Academy said students provided constructive feedback about the types of industries that they would like to see next year, and they will be working hard to make the next event even bigger.
“We would like to thank all the exhibitors for attending and making it an excellent day for our students. We really appreciate the time and efforts of these employers to support our students and academy”
Mrs Fawcett
The academy was delighted to begin a busy summer term by welcoming Ruth Sunderland, an experienced journalist working for the Daily Mail, as well as a content provider for Sky News, the BBC, and radio documentaries.
With a comprehensive Employability Programme built into the curriculum, David Nieper Academy were thrilled with the Group Business Editor’s interest in their employability work.
Year 8 Enterprise pupils, Jayden, Roxanne, Martha, and Macey-Lu had been working on a project with the NHS, aptly named Step into the NHS. As part of the project, pupils researched the 350 different jobs within the NHS and used their findings to create a fun, lively advert for an NHS job of their choice.
The pupils prepared excellent presentations which they delivered confidently, along with displaying their video advertisements. The videos were creative and fun, with details on which working hours would be required within the roles, the different related duties, and even what can be found on a children’s ward.
Afterwards, Year 10 English and Media pupils were pleased to join Ruth in the academy library to hear about her background, growing up in a similarly small community to Alfreton, and the career pathway she followed to become a journalist. It was an inspirational message about looking for all opportunities and aspiring to achieve. Ruth spoke passionately about the importance of studying English and how the language can enrich everyone’s lives by enabling us to communicate effectively.
The Daily Mail columnist then invited pupils’ questions, with one Year 10 asking, “What is the most rewarding part of your job?” and Ruth answered, “Things like this”, it is “incredibly fascinating” being able to meet people from all over the world. This was a fantastic experience for the group, it being the first time most had met with a journalist, and with many of them looking towards future careers in the media.
The session gave pupils a captivating insight into understanding the role of a journalist and working in the media industry, whilst Ruth was also a great advocate for studying English. The academy is very grateful to her for her time and efforts.
Read more about this event here: The Spirt of Alfreton
We were delighted to, once again, host the annual Joint Concert with our local cluster schools, with over 250 children performing over Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 March. Last year’s concert was not able to take place due to COVID-19 restrictions and it was wonderful to welcome local schools and families back into the academy.
Rehearsals took place in the afternoon, and it was clear to see that the children had been practising hard during the weeks in the run up to the concert as the performances were all amazing. It was an exciting opportunity for all and the first chance for many of the children to be on the main stage with full lights and sound. Between rehearsals, children took part in a variety of activities led by academy staff and pupils including Art, Dance, Sport, French and Duke of Edinburgh, and even had time for tea before the performances began at 5.30pm, when family and friends were invited to attend.
On night one Copthorne Infant School, Leys Junior School, Stonebroom Primary School and Shirland Primary School joined pupils from the academy, with each school performing individual musical items, which included Boomwhackers, beautiful contemporary dance, and uplifting songs.
Croft Infant School, South Wingfield Primary School and Woodbridge Junior School took to the stage on night two, and again it was a delight to see a display of such local talent. At the end of each evening, all children from all schools joined on the stage to sing ‘Raise My Voice’, ‘The Rainbow Connection’ and a lovely rendition of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’. This year’s rainbow theme was in recognition of the NHS and their fantastic work throughout the pandemic.
All the staff who supported the event were very impressed with the talent and enthusiasm from the local schools and we do look forward to welcoming the children and staff back again next year. Both evenings were absolutely delightful.
A big thank you to Miss Pell and Miss Rennie for their hard work and for putting on this concert for everyone to enjoy, as well as to all the children who performed and made this fantastic event possible.
You can read more about this event here:
On Friday 4 February, David Nieper Academy was delighted to receive a visit from Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest Group, along with Paul Thwaite, CEO of Commercial Banking at NatWest Group.
During the morning, Entrepreneurial Leaders from NatWest, Sean and Faye, held an inspiring Dream Bigger workshop with the academy’s Sixth Form students. The programme is tailored to equip 16–18-year-olds with entrepreneurial skills and aims to increase the number of young people, particularly females, starting their own businesses.
Demonstrating how a growth mindset can help them delve into things which they may normally avoid, students took part in various activities throughout the morning. The facilitators, Sean and Faye, were both very engaging with the students, inspiring many to think more about becoming entrepreneurs and using a growth mindset.
The academy was then joined by Alison Rose and Paul Thwaite who gave a captivating talk on their careers to Year 10 and Sixth Form students. Encouraging students to grasp opportunities, both in the academy and in their future careers, our visitors explained how their choices had led them to work in different sectors in banking and finance all over the world.
Students thoroughly enjoyed learning more about both guests and were honoured to have the opportunity to discuss matters such as the effect of climate change on investing in businesses.
Our visitors also conveyed the importance of teamwork, good leadership and finding a company to work for which supports growth and training. Students were thrilled at the opportunity to pose questions to them both and the session allowed for interesting discussions.
David Nieper Academy was delighted to have welcomed Alison and Paul with other members of NatWest staff and local business leaders for the day; the inspiring visit complemented the academy’s emphasis on developing employability skills in their students and the benefits of the visit will continue to be seen throughout the curriculum.
You can read more about this event at:
