Another week and another blog – I think it shows my age when Friday seems to come around too quickly.

The young people at the school site have settled so well.

I have seen an enormous draft list for our buds and buddies (the young people who are trained to support others). It is brilliant that so many of our children want to help and support others.

A number of our children were off school and the Learning Centre for their Eid celebrations and I am certain they had a great time.

Hollinwood Academy held an open afternoon on Wednesday. There is still a lot of interest and we are presently working with the Local Authority to release some more places; I will keep families informed. We have another open evening from 4.00pm-7.00pm on Wednesday next week.

Our Horizons base at the Learning Centre looks brilliant and the young people are really enjoying their new surroundings. Can I thank the staff for ensuring their learning environment is so beautiful and comfortable. No more news on Medtia Square yet, I’m afraid, but I will keep you updated.

John Holland, our lead at Horizons, will not be there for a few weeks – Daniel Wood will be substituting for John until he returns.

Jenny Richardson, our Director of Training and Development, has started some preliminary discussions with a (secret!) Southern University. They came to visit this week and we are hopeful that this could lead to the Group being able to offer foundation and full degrees in the future.

There have been some notable achievements from our young people this week:

• 2 students are now part of the Oldham Youth Council
• Stefan received a National Award for his cricketing skills

Congratulations to all of them!

As we no longer have a Welsh deputy, I can safely say ‘Come on, England!!’ in tomorrow’s match……..

As always, thank you for your continued support,

Graham