News Roundup 20th – 27th April 2020

We have been sharing so many good news stories over the past week or more, so here’s a quick round-up in case you missed any of them!

Following on from James Howling’s amazing story, Ratcliffe College would like to extend thanks to Mr Roger Cheetham and the Provincial Grand Lodge Charity Fund Trustees for donating a further 3D printer to James’ efforts, the machine will no doubt increase his output significantly and then be donated to the Ratcliffe’s Design and Technology department.

Also, we were pleased to hear that the 116 visors produced by Mr Seth over Easter were gratefully received, along with 58 pairs of safety goggles to Nottingham City Hospital.

Debbie Raynor, Ward Manager at the Nottingham City Hospital Burns Unit extended her thanks, saying: “The donations were so welcomed and very much appreciated, the team have been informed and would also like to send their thanks for delivering this equipment to us. Donations such as this help us get through the day knowing that members of the public support us in our work.”

Many more Ratcliffe College staff and pupils have been doing their bit to contribute towards helping local key workers and front line staff in the NHS during lockdown.

Firstly, the Linnett family are producing PPE together; George (Year 13) and Sam (Year 11) are in charge of 3D printing while Grace (Year 8) and Anna (Year 5) are attaching the sheeting to make the visors. Their first batch has been delivered to their uncle, Ben O’Connor (Old Ratcliffian from 1998) who works as a GP in Leicestershire with more supplies going to Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester General Hospitals.

Alex Davison (Year 12) has also been manufacturing visors at home using his own very 3D printer. He has already made around 30 Visors and they have been forwarded to Mr Dzmienako, who is donating them to his mother’s nursing home.

Zara (Year 7) and Tilly Etty (Year 4) have been making fabric headbands for nurses, which attach to their masks and make them much more comfortable to wear for long shifts. They are also making fabric bags for nurses to wash their uniform in and have sent them to Glenfield hospital.

Ratcliffe’s Penny Smith has also been doing her bit by making headbands for nurses. These were sent to Leicester General Hospital this week. Members of the local community have donated the fabric, buttons and elastic.

Headmaster Jon Reddin said: “I am so very grateful to everyone who has been working flat out to produce PPE for local hospitals and care homes, as have many members of the public and companies at this vital time in this pandemic. The work they are doing is phenomenal, and I shall show my appreciation for the NHS and all key workers once more on Thursday evening.”

It’s not only the current students who are doing their part to help. After setting up a Just Giving page, Old Ratcliffians far and wide have been donating to fund the entire Ratcliffe Community’s efforts towards helping vital Key Workers during this terrible time.

Meanwhile, our students have enjoyed the shift to digital learning during these strange times:

Over the Easter holidays many budding photographers took part in the House Photography Competition, with students submitting their interpretations of weekly themes such as ‘lockdown’, ‘family’ and ‘hope’. With Lily Stevenson’s ‘Swans’ image winning the overall competition.

Ratcliffe also launched an extensive Remote Co-curricular Programme this week which comprises a wide range of activities including a weekly film and TV quiz, a ‘make your own puppet show’ competition for drama, remote music rehearsals, stained glass windows competition, book clubs, design and manufacture at home challenge, maths puzzle of the week, creative writing club, dance sessions and weekly thinking challenges.

Over the coming weeks our wonderful students will no doubt get more comfortable with this new way of learning and we look forward to seeing the fruits of our their labour!

If you have any similar stories regarding the Ratcliffe community, please let us know by contacting marketing@ratcliffecollege.com and be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates on these stories and more.