County Palatine Limited

An inspiring example of educational regeneration has been achieved by a partnership between three key players in the North West of England. County Palatine Ltd and the Cheshire Building Society have sponsored Rose Bridge High School in Ince, Wigan to develop an innovative project to promote educational excellence. Rose Bridge High School is committed to high educational standards. Over the years it has developed a number of initiatives to promote access to education for all its students.

Twelve months ago County Palatine Ltd approached the school as part of its regeneration work in the Wigan area. As a result the Association agreed to sponsor an initiative, which facilitates access to high quality education for all students at Rose Bridge High School. As Jack Pendlebury, Head Teacher rightly commented, "This is the first time the school has been involved in a project of this nature and we are very grateful to the Association for its financial support". By offering a number of initiatives widely used across industry, the school has seen a 5% increase in its attendance records. Achievement in English and Maths has also increased.

This educational sponsorship for Rose Bridge High School is one of many regeneration projects County Palatine Ltd has been involved in. The Association currently works with many partners including the Greater Manchester Police, Local Area Partnerships, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council and the Equal Project in Wigan, which provides training for members of the community.

On the 17th July, Dean Bell from the Wigan Rugby League presented a top prize of a holiday for a family of four to go to a destination of their choice. The sponsorship for the family holiday has had a major knock on effect on the school as a whole. There is an overall buzz about the school amongst both students and teachers. Motivation has increased and other sponsorship has been secured for a garden project, which is run and managed by students. In the garden there is a flourish of flowers and shrubs as well as amazing sunflowers. So dedicated are the students to this project that one of them actually turns up at least half an hour before class to check on the sunflowers!!! Local companies donated equipment for the garden project.

Both County Palatine Limited and Cheshire Building Society are very proud to be associated with a school, which has such dedication to the educational achievement of its students. Paul Lees, Chief Executive of County Palatine Ltd has commented, "We work with a wide range of partners as part of our commitment to community regeneration and are honoured to be involved with a school which prides itself in high educational achievement ".

This has been echoed by John Barbour from the Cheshire Building Society, who said, "Businesses recognise the value of rewarding exceptional performance and its clear from this scheme that the same principles can be successfully applied in schools. We are delighted to support such a fantastic community project".