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Hello,
Remember the ‘Oxbridge deserts’ I told you about a couple of weeks ago? They are the two Greater Manchester boroughs - Rochdale and Salford - where absolutely no state school pupils got into Oxford or Cambridge in 2020/21.
After reading the piece, Chris Dobbs from Hollingworth Academy got in touch to tell me what’s being done in Rochdale to level the playing field.
Chris, an experienced teacher of more than 20 years, is the head of Academic Enrichment at the college, in Milnrow, and also coordinates the ‘youth scholars’ at Pembroke College at the University of Oxford.
He says a partnership has been formed between Pembroke and Rochdale, Middleton, Heywood and Bury to tackle education inequality.
“If you will, this is our version of ‘levelling up’.” he says.
We’ll be discussing that story in today’s newsletter, as well as the opening of the Christmas Markets, changes on Deansgate and two Manchester icons. Let’s begin.
Brain drain? Quite the opposite in Atom Valley
“We’re not here to recruit for Oxford and Cambridge. If in time there is an opportunity to apply then great, but by developing academic confidence there are much greater opportunities for all of them.”
That’s how Chris Dobbs describes a new partnership between Rochdale Development Agency and Pembroke College, Oxford. They are providing a programme of ‘academic engagement’ for the most able pupils across Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton.
The project, Chris says, is about developing critical thinking and opening young minds to the possibility of winning a place at an elite university. It is not about ‘hollow’ buzzwords like ‘gifted’ and ‘aspirations’, he insists.
“We are trying to develop academic confidence and critical thinking, because if you go for an interview at Oxford or Cambridge they don’t want to see what you know, they want to see how you think,” he tells The Mancunian Way .
The partnership, hosted at Hollingworth Academy, will initially offer a pilot programme of academic enrichment to support pupils from a range of schools across Rochdale. Pupils will be able to join seminars, lectures, study skills activities, summer schools, and university-style learning.
It’s closely tied in with Atom Valley - the mayoral development zone encompassing Rochdale, Bury and Oldham which will accommodate 1.6m sqm of new employment space, create around 20,000 jobs, deliver 7,000 new homes and create a hub for innovation in advanced materials, green technologies and manufacturing.
It’s critical to Atom Valley’s success that it attracts and retains the best talent from across the region and the UK.
The notion of ‘brain drain’ - where skilled people leave an area due to lack of opportunity in their own region - is anathema to Chris. That’s why he is so delighted to be leading the education scheme in Rochdale.
He says it’s vital that housing, infrastructure and jobs are attractive enough in Atom Valley, an ‘amazing area’, to draw the most talented people back home.
But with children from Rochdale still under-represented at Oxbridge, he wants to encourage young people to ‘think of the best future they can imagine for themselves’.
“We want to break the cycle. Oxbridge is not for ‘gifted’ people - it’s for clever people.
“The whole thrust of the enterprise is to identify young people in these areas that are under-represented,” he says.
Children as young as 12 will be invited to join the scheme as it’s believed the earlier they are given help, the better.
“We need to start this conversation with young people at a much earlier age. It’s too late at sixth form to say ‘have you thought about Oxford or Cambridge?’
“I run groups where we have conversations with purpose. It’s about expanding their thinking. I’m here to elaborate on future options,” says Chris - who runs Pembroke Youth Scholars, part of OxNet - an organisation with an extensive network of link schools and sixth form colleges.
Sir Ernest Ryder, Master of Pembroke College Oxford, is confident the programme in Rochdale will be a great success. “Everyone involved has the determination and enthusiasm necessary to give those in schools and colleges across the Borough of Rochdale a fabulous opportunity for the future. I look forward to a very successful and innovative future,” he says.
Hollingworth Academy headteacher, Robert McGinty, says he is ‘incredibly proud’ to be part of the initiative. “It is a privilege to be collaborating with Pembroke College and OxNet and one that the children of Rochdale will benefit from immensely,” he says.
Councillor John Blundell, Rochdale Council’s economy and regeneration lead, adds: “If we are to realise the true benefits and value which developments such as Atom Valley can bring to the Borough, then it is absolutely essential that we give young people the best chance to develop their full potential and the skills needed to support ventures such as this.”
Gluhwein, scrambled pancakes and plenty of sausages
They’re back! Manchester’s Christmas markets kicked off again today with stalls opening across the city centre first thing this morning.
Jenna Campbell, Dianne Bourne and Bethan Shufflebotham have been exploring the maze of huts and stalls all day and are bringing you all the updates here.
They’ve got all the info including how much beer, sausages and gluhwein are across all the stalls, the full list of traders in each location and how to get there.
If you are going down over the next few weeks, enjoy yourself.
All change as usual
It’s all change in the city centre - again. There doesn’t seem to have been a moment in recent history when central Manchester has stopped being developed, even during the pandemic.
Now, Manchester City Council is set to hand over a multi-storey car park and close a row of shops, including a Greggs and a barbers, in the hope of driving huge development on Deansgate.
As Lyell Tweed reports, the multi-storey car park on King Street West, behind the iconic Kendals building, is set to be demolished to make way for an office block if plans are passed by the council's executive committee.
It’s hoped demolition would pave the way for the refurbishment of the adjacent Grade-II listed Kendals building.
Elsewhere in town, property firm Avison Young hopes to build a 15-storey office block where the Golden Tandoori takeaway currently sits.
As Ethan Davies reports, the modern-looking offices will be one element in the scheme, which will retain some of the original facades and footprint of existing buildings. That includes the Bem Brasil restaurant, on the corner of Great Ancoats Street and Lever Street.
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Weather etc
- Friday: Overcast. 16C.
- Trams: Revised service on Manchester Metrolink due to over running engineering works at Piccadilly Gardens. Some Metrolink services are operating with changes until the end of November when the works can be finished. Bury and Altrincham services are not operating into Piccadilly station. Ashton services are operating to Crumpsall via Victoria. Eccles services are only operating to Deansgate. Until November 30.
- Trains: Special timetable operating on Transpennine Express due to shortage of train crews. Passengers are advised to check their journey if travelling with Transpennine Express. Trains that do run are expected to be very busy.
- Trivia question: In which year did Afflecks Palace open?
Manchester headlines
Crescent Innovation North: This image shows how the area around Salford University's Peel Park campus could be transformed under new proposals to build 950 homes. Swathes of shops, industrial units and education space could also be built on a site around the size of 15 football pitches to the north and south of Frederick Road, which has been earmarked for the huge new development. Dubbed 'Crescent Innovation North', the project is the brainchild of the University of Salford, Salford City Council, and The English Cities Fund. More here.
Bugbear: Metrolink extension plans into Wigan, Bolton and Stockport remain on the cards but are still not in progress despite the Greater Manchester Mayor’s best intentions, he says. Almost four years on from when Andy Burnham claimed these extensions could come in the next three years - little has changed. Mr Burnham claimed back in January 2019 it was ‘a bugbear’ for those in the three boroughs without a tram. But currently there is only a feasibility study underway looking into a Metrolink extension towards Bolton. More here.
Repairs: A runway at Manchester Airport has been closed for emergency repairs. It's thought the closure has been caused by a pothole on runway 23R. At the time of writing the repairs had led to several flights being delayed or diverted, as all planes currently have to use the other runway. A spokesperson for the airport said safety is the top priority, so as a precaution, all flights are being operated from Runway Two.
No manbags: A bar in Stockport has introduced a strict new dress code. Bask will be launching a smart casual dress code on Fridays and Saturdays and has issued an update to its house rules for those days. The speakeasy-style bar and music venue says that from 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays the bar won't be admitting anyone with trackies, hoodies, caps, sportswear, or manbags. Full story here.
Feel like pure crepe, just want her back
Hands up if you miss the Dutch Pancake House.
The setting for many a children's party, work outing and date, the restaurant stood on the corner of St Peter's Square and Oxford Street for many years.
Serving pancakes the size of hubcaps with a variety of different toppings - from bacon and syrup to cheese and tomato - it was the place Mancs headed for a treat in the days before dirty burger joints and chicken and waffle shops.
If you miss it, take a look at Phoebe Barton's look back at one of the city's most loved and lost eateries.
Worth a read
Afflecks is 40 this year. Can you believe it?
I think we all remember our first visits to the emporium of cool. And our first purchase (a luminous plastic bracelet from the bead shop for me).
The first thing Miki Christie bought there was a pair of fishnet tights, sticky black lipstick and a box of nag champa - a heady sandalwood-scented incense.
Fast forward 32 years, and while the stalls may have changed, and even the soundtrack, these items are still on Miki’s shopping list. Except now she runs The Manchester Shop, which sits at the Oldham Street entrance of the alternative shopping mecca.
What’s On editor Jenna Campbell has been speaking to Miki and the other people who make Afflecks special for this lovely feature.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: 1982.
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