AN Ellesmere Port business has shown its support for an after-school club in the town.

Urenco UK has sponsored a year of after-school Enrichment Club sessions for Our Lady Star of the Sea Primary School.

The club is provided by Passion for Learning, a local volunteer organisation, free of charge to the children attending and aimed at providing fun learning experiences to build their knowledge of the wider world.

The link with Urenco UK means that the club has a particular focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) which gives the children plenty of opportunities to take part in hands-on activities to ignite their passion for these subjects.

One particular activity involves the children pedalling a paint-spinner bike to create unique pieces of art with the help of centrifugal force.

Passion for Learning’s volunteer team is always on hand to help the children with the activities on offer, from creating rocket-ships with straws, to flying an elastic-band powered aeroplane and creating balloon-powered mini hovercrafts.

Viv Couche, development manager at Passion for Learning, said of the project: "Our partnership with URENCO is a really exciting one, given our ongoing focus on helping the children we work with to identify the topics they enjoy and begin to develop their aspirations for future careers.

"Earlier this year we organised a huge Careers Palace with a number of the organisations with whom we partner, aimed at giving as many children as possible the opportunity to learn about the vast potential range of jobs and industries open to them.

"Sarah Jackson from Our Lady Star told us that the children all had an amazing time and haven't stopped talking about it, which is exactly the sort of reaction we were hoping for.”

Louise Finlay, headteacher at Our Lady Star of the Sea, added: “It is always wonderful to see our pupils engaging in STEM activities. We have high ambitions for all our pupils and are delighted to partner with Passion for Learning to help many children as possible achieve their full potential.”

  • For more information, email viv.couche@passion-for-learning.com or call 0151 356 8717