A top hotel and secondary school in Hyndburn have joined forces to boost prospects for staff, students and parents.
The Dunkenhalgh Hotel in Clayton-le-Moors and Hollins Technology College in Accrington have teamed up as part of a Business Class nationwide programme from the charity Business in the Community.
Bosses at the charity said the long-term partnership ‘is one of the most effective ways to support young people’ and ‘develop the workforce for the future’.
The school will work with the four-star hotel in the New Year on a range of initiatives including work experience and taster programmes.
Ivan Lynch, general manager at the Mercure Dunkenhalgh, said they are ‘delighted’ to be entering into a ‘new and beneficial partnership’ with the school.
He said: “The Mercure Dunkenhalgh has been extremely impressed with the vision and dedication of the senior team at The Hollins.
“The school thinks ‘out of the box’ to further develop all aspects of the school’s provision.
“This is refreshing and something the Mercure Dunkenhalgh are happy to be involved with.
“The senior team at the Mercure Dunkenhalgh is looking forward to participating in staff learning forums with the school over the coming months and they are excited about what that might add to their personal development.”
Hollins headteacher Steve Campbell said everyone connected with the school would ‘benefit greatly’ from the partnership.
He said: “The Mercure Dunkenhalgh had already assisted in adapting the school’s parental questionnaire which helps to evaluate the views of parents.
“The analysed data will assist the school in addressing the areas they feel are currently priorities.”
Julie Turner, deputy headteacher and responsible for developing the partnership, said great progress has already ben made and the link will go from ‘strength to strength’.
She said: “The Hollins have organised a full year of activities to involve parents in the life of the school and to strengthen already positive relationships between the school and community.”
Activites lined up for January include IT practical sessions, how to write job applications and creative workshops in art, music and drama.
February’s activites include helping parents to familiarise themselves with how children are taught maths so they can help at home, understanding the school.
This will be followed by a ‘girls sports week’ in March and a ‘beginners guide to camping’ in April. Anyone with other suggestions of parental activities can email Julie at jturner@thehollins.com.
