School: St. Paul's C.E. Primary School
    Bolton, Lancashire, England

214 students, ages 4-11 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on August 3, 2007. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 0

Classes and Teachers: reception,Y1,Y2,Y3,Y4,Y5,Y6

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://

1. Description of Our Community

Our school philosophy is centred around developing the whole child and creating thinking, independent, caring and successful citizens for the future, able to make informed choices and valued contributions to society. With this in mind, we decided that our community would include Bolton and its neighbouring towns and cities, because we wanted to focus on our school locality, and showcase “home produced” leaders, who have not only had a significant impact upon our community at a local level, but who have also had a wider impact nationally, and in some cases, internationally. We want to instil pride and inspire them to strive towards achieving their aspirations and ambitions, showing them that great leaders help to create a rich tapestry of life but often come from humble backgrounds.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our project is about key leaders who have originated from our local community, and provided evidence, produced by our pupils, which shows why they are leaders in their field. Younger children focused upon our own school leader- the head teacher, Mrs. Bramwell, whilst other classes chose Samuel Crompton (a historical leader), Nick Park ( a leader in film animation), and the Warburton family ( bakers born and bred in Bolton). Children examined aspects of their lived and work, determining how they had become leaders in their particular field. Year 4( 8-9 years old) went on to try out Nick Park’s animation techniques for themselves, and created short animation films with great results. Year 5(9-10 years old) experienced bread making when Warburton’s staff came into school. They made bread hedgehogs. Our younger pupils(5-6 years old) visited a manor house- Hall-ith-Wood- which was once the home of Samuel Crompton and is reported to be haunted. They got to dress up in costumes, and learned that the loom, the spinning mule, invented by Samuel Crompton, was used to make material, just like the materials their costumes were made from.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:21-50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:1

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:2-3

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

School has an ICT suite with 15 computers, a printer and a server, plus 2 mini suites each housing 5 computers, one with its own printer. Each class has an interactive whiteboard and wireless connections to the server, and all staff have a teacher laptop to use in class

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

We have recently developed a school website, which is under continuous review and improvement. Most staff wanted to contribute towards the website, but lack of expertise and time meant that only two staff updated it regularly, and the rest avoided it. This presented a problem, as only two staff declared having enough knowledge to attempt to create a project website for the “Empower and Unite” theme, so we engaged the expertise of our ICT technician, who visits weekly to back up data and troubleshoot in our ICT suite. He helped us to create our Cyberfair website entry. Classes carried out research, and the technician and Deputy head teacher began to create the web pages with the children, based on the children’s’ ideas.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Participation in the Cyberfair has allowed our pupils to learn about a variety of leaders and given them opportunities to develop their understanding of sharing and working together as a team to achieve a common goal. They have been empowered through their recognition that success, in any field, is an achievable possibility.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

Completing our entry met a lot of the ICT curriculum strands for using the internet and a range of technologies(cameras, voice recorders etc.)It also supported and met objectives in literacy, Design technology, speaking and listening, History and citizenship, developing a range of communication skills across the age range.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

We used computers available in school to word process information and write letters, telephones to arrange visits and invite guests into school, digital cameras to document trips and visits and record all the activity taking place in school, word movie maker for the animations, voice recorders for interviews of the head teacher, and the internet for research.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

Our children became town criers, broadcasting events to family and friends. They behaved in a respectful and polite manner welcoming visitors into school,and informing them about the project, and remained enthusiastic throughout.Warburtons did not charge for their services.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

The project is the tip of a huge iceberg for St. Paul's school and its community. We don't view it as complete and finished but as chapter 1 of a long story to be continued, a story that will map out a rich tapestry that is Lancashire life, and that will be there to be enjoyed and added to by everyone who wishes to participate.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

The project could not have been completed without the support of Mo the ICT technician, whose expertise in creating web pages was invaluable. Also the ladies from Warburtons who not only made bread with our Y5 class but answered their numerous questions about the history of Warburtons. The local staff at Hall-ith-Wood made our Y1 class trip a memorable occasion, and parent volunteers helped to walk the children up to the museum, helping to keep costs to a minimum.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Year 2 discovered that Bolton Wanderers Football Club and their manager Sam Allardyce were quick to respond to their letters, and very helpful,much to their delight. Y4 class teacher was thrilled to discover that her class rose to the challenge of making animations and far exceeded her initial expectations. And we discovered that our tiniest pupils,aged 4-5, quickly developed questioning and interview skills when faced with interviewing our head teacher.They were amazed at how many different jobs she had to do.