A sports-based programme is being delivered by the Chesterfield FC Community Trust to help former substance abusers with their recovery.
Called ‘A Spire Right’, the project is being held in The HUB at the Proact Stadium three times a week, from 9.30am to 1pm, over eight weeks. It is completely free and participants also receive a free bus pass to cover their travel, together with a Chesterfield FC tracksuit.
The sessions are a mixture of theory and sports and are aimed at boosting former addicts’ mental and physical wellbeing while providing them with new coping strategies.
The Community Trust’s Keith Jackson is delighted with the way the programme is shaping up. He said: “I have never been part of something so structured and so involved. It addresses the daily battle of former addicts and creates a realistic routine for people, providing them with a support network and decreasing that chance of relapsing.
“They have a classroom in the stadium, which they clean and look after and they make cups of tea in the morning. It is giving them a routine, a responsibility and something to be proud of. Coaching and participants wear the same club tracksuit, so we are all in this together. It gives them a sense of pride; they are proud of the classroom and proud to wear the club badge.
“The sessions also include aftercare, a gym membership that continues for three months after the programme finishes and opportunities to work around the club, whether it is gardening or gaining the qualifications to become a steward on match days.”
Shane, 47, who is one of the participants, praised the initiative. “It is about finding new escapes once you have recovered,” he said. “Four or five years ago there was nothing like this. Everywhere would work on the beginning part but then there would be no aftercare and that is where the recovery really starts. Here we get those opportunities.
“What is amazing for me is that I can finally look my family and friends in the eye when they ask how I am doing or if I am clean. I don’t have to lie anymore. I can actually look them in the eye and say, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m doing just fine’. More importantly, I can stop lying to myself about it. I can finally be honest with myself about being clean and being okay.”
Leo, 32, also spoke in glowing terms about the programme. He said: “I got an email about it which featured the club logo and I didn’t think it was real because it sounded too good to be true. I can be quite restless, so a lot of classroom work could cause some issues as I may need to move about or talk too much, whereas this breaks it up.”
Gill Quayle, who works with Derbyshire County Council on their substance support schemes, urged people to grab the opportunity available to them. She said: “The combination is really useful because you can learn about different things for your health, listen to the brilliant speakers they have and then you can get some exercise.
“You will have a really full day and meet some new people, which then reduces the isolation, because sometimes you can feel on your own. You don’t realise that other people are going through what you are going through, but the truth is they are.”
The Spireites will be hosting a Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) event on Tuesday, December 8 at the Proact Stadium to teach young people about the dangers of racism.
The event, which runs from 9.30am to 3pm, will feature Chesterfield players and other special guests on a Q & A panel.
Pupils from a number of local schools will take part in an SRtRC workshop, ground tours and a workshop run by Global Education. They will also see a screening of the SRtRC film and have the chance to pose questions to the panel.
Ged Grebby, chief executive of SRtRC, said: “We a very grateful to Chesterfield Football Club for their support of the campaign. The team are looking forward to their trip to the Proact Stadium and to be working with the team from Chesterfield Community Trust who we know are doing some really important work in the area.”
The educational event at football club allows young people to experience a first-hand interaction with anti-racism role models in the form of professional footballers and spend time thinking critically about this important issue.
Michael Noon, the Community Trust’s sport & activity officer, said: “We are delighted to be able to support Show Racism the Red Card by hosting an event in Chesterfield. They do a lot of good work tackling racism around the UK and it’s a pleasure for us to be involved.
“By joining forces with Show Racism the Red Card to deliver a day’s workshop for local primary school children, we’re hoping it will provide awareness of the effects of racism for the next generation of Spireites and ensure the Proact Stadium remains a great place for everyone to watch football.”
During the 2014/15 season, the campaign held 33 events in England, attended by 67 current professional footballers and managers and educating 3,088 young people.
Casa Hotel in Chesterfield has been awarded the prestigious AA Silver Award – a commendation received by the team on the eve of the hotel’s fifth anniversary.
Casa’s reputation as one of the leading hotels in the country continues to grow, attracting the country’s top companies, worldwide guests and hosting more prestigious events each year.
Over the last five years, Casa has received many awards and accolades, including being voted one of the UK’s top ten hotels in a prestigious list included London’s Goring hotel and Corinthia hotel.
Operations Director at Casa, Stuart Downham says: “The team at Casa work tirelessly to ensure the best stay for our guests. Being an independent hotel we are able to really tailor our service to the needs of our guests and every decision we make is made with the guest as our number one priority.
“It is a very happy coincidence that we were awarded the prestigious AA Silver Award on the eve of our 5th anniversary’.
These thoughts are echoed by the hotel’s owner, Steve Perez, who has built the business from a building site to the multi-award winning hotel. He said: “We are delighted to be celebrating 5 successful years in the industry and look forward to an exciting future ahead. I am incredibly proud of what Casa has achieved in such a short period of time. Throughout this period we have never swayed from our promise to deliver the best customer experience and we will continue to do this in the years to come.”
It is this passion for the best customer service that has seen over the last 5 years, a massive 125,604 breakfast served using Walton lodge eggs and Walton sausages, 368,412 glasses of wine and 39,538 portions of delicious tapas. Casa has accommodated 113,769 sleepers and served 373,577 dinners between our gastro bar Barca and our 2 rosette restaurant Cocina.
Casa has also had a positive impact on local business and employment. Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield the town’s inward investment campaign, said: “Having a four star hotel in the town has helped put Chesterfield on the map nationally, opening investors’ eyes to the potential of developing here particularly along the A61 corridor.
“The fact Casa is one of the top five hotels on TripAdvisor demonstrates the great pool of talent the town has within the customer service sector. Destination Chesterfield shares Casa’s pride in everything it has achieved since opening in 2010.”
Chesterfield Football Club’s first Christmas Toy Appeal has been launched this week – aiming to put smiles on the faces of underprivileged children and families in the local area on Christmas Day.
Fans are being encouraged to drop gifts off at the club during the lead up to Christmas.
An appeal has gone out to all Spireites fans, the general public and businesses to pick up an extra children’s present while Christmas shopping and donate it to the appeal.
The players visit various hospitals and charities every Christmas and the presents donated will be handed out during those trips.
Kevin Fitzgerald, the club’s head of commercial and marketing, said: “We are very much the hub of the local community and we want to do all we can to help local children and families this Christmas.
“We are hoping that the kindness of our fantastic supporters will enable the club to give more to charities and children than ever before.
“With the help of the Chesterfield community and local businesses, we want to ensure the children of struggling families have presents to open on Christmas Day.”
Donations can be dropped off at the Proact Stadium reception during normal office hours and on match days.
More than 700 young people from schools throughout north east Derbyshire got involved with Chesterfield’s month-long festival celebrating the town’s manufacturing and engineering sector during November.
Made in Chesterfield was designed to introduce youngsters to training, careers and jobs in engineering and manufacturing through a series of visits to companies in the sector, business events and exhibitions.
The festival was coordinated by Destination Chesterfield in partnership with MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar, NatWest, Derbyshire Education Business Partnership, Chesterfield College, Derbyshire County Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, Placing Futures, NLT Training Services, UKTI, East Midlands Chamber, Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Positive 4 Young People.
Councillor Amanda Serjeant, vice chair of Destination Chesterfield and cabinet member for town centre and visitor economy at Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Engineering has always played a major part in Chesterfield’s economy and the events showed that this heritage is continuing today.
“Engineering companies are also at the forefront of work in the town to create apprentices to give young people high quality job opportunities.
“This festival was an opportunity to showcase all they do and raise awareness of the many different types of products being manufactured in the town.”
Chesterfield Champions MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar and Weightron Bilanciai all hosted student visits to their premises with a number of students keen to follow apprenticeships in the sector following the visits. Catherine Swain of Whittington Green School said: “They were fantastic events which all our students loved getting involved in experiments and talking to the apprentices they had on site. MSE Hiller was one of the best places we have been to.”
Flynn Dodsworth a sixth form student at Shirebrook Academy who visited MSE Hiller said: ““I am interested in engineering and looking at doing mechanical engineering or computational fluid dynamics at University.” Fellow student Matt is considering an engineering apprenticeship when he leaves school. Of the visit to MSE Hiller, he said: “I wanted to experience engineering and what it’s about. It’s also good to add to my personal statement for when I’m applying to engineering companies for jobs.”
MSE Hiller also sponsored and hosted MANTRA (The Manufacturing Technology Transporter), a specially customised 14m HGV trailer, packed with the latest machinery and simulators, designed to give aspiring young engineers a hands-on experience with real cutting-edge technologies.
Designed to give students a taste of modern manufacturing, advanced modelling and assembly line technology to help inspire young people to take up careers in engineering, MANTRA worked its magic on 10 students from Parkside School who visited it.
Year 11 student Ashley Macefield (15) from Parkside School said: “I want to do engineering when I leave school and going to MANTRA helped me see all the different kinds of jobs and roles there are. It showed me that we can build anything if we put our mind to it.”
During the visit the boys were introduced to technology currently in use and that which is being developed, including 3D glasses similar to state-of-the-art ‘Occulus Rift’ equipment which is worn by gamers playing virtual reality games, which they are all fans of.
Parkside School Deputy Headteacher Rachel Hammond, who accompanied the students on their visit said: “It was a very successful visit. I could see that the youngsters really enjoyed it. In fact they were blown away by it. What was made evident is that these are very people the industry needs to employ because they are already familiar with and using modern technologies in video gaming.
“What was amazing to learn during the visit was how much of a major player Chesterfield is in engineering and manufacturing and it showed the boys the job and career opportunities that exist locally, which is hugely important to young people who do not want to move away from home.”
A highlight of the week, for both young people and the business community, was the arrival of Bloodhound, the vehicle which is Britain’s latest attempt to break the world land speed record, travelling at a speed of 1,000mph.
A replica of the vehicle was displayed at Chesterfield College. With only 6% of engineers in the UK being women, a wider aim of the £70million privately funded project is to raise awareness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers.
One such woman is Casey Allen (17), an engineering apprentice at Foxwood Diesel in Old Whittington, who recently narrowly missed out on being named the overall winner of the prestigious Group Training Association (GTA) England Apprentice of the Year Award.
Casey, who is about to complete level 2 of her apprenticeship and start level 3, was put forward for the award by NLT Training Services, a specialist training and provider of apprentices in welding, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering based in Brimington, which also supported Made in Chesterfield hosting a number of school visits.
Principal of Chesterfield College, Stuart Cutforth, said “One hundred and fifty students from schools throughout Derbyshire visited Bloodhound while it was here. The presence of Bloodhound at the College has put the STEM agenda on the radar for Chesterfield.”
The arrival of Bloodhound in Chesterfield also had special significance for both the town and a local manufacturing company, industrial weighing specialists Weightron Bilanciai Ltd, who have supplied the weighing systems that have been use throughout the build of the project. The company is also supplying a system to measure the weight distribution through the wheels of the car, to allow the balancing of the vehicle.
The record attempt will take place in South Africa in October 2016 on 12 mile strip of land where Bloodhound travel faster than bullet and the speed of sound, covering a mile in 3.6 seconds.
As well as school events and Bloodhound’s arrival, there was also a special exhibition running at Chesterfield Museum showcasing the town’s manufacturing and engineering heritage.
And it was the museum and exhibition which hosted the Made in Chesterfield launch event to the business community. As well as the launch event, there was also a packed programme of business events held during Made in Chesterfield, including a manufacturing conference, business masterclasses and networking events.
During Made, UKTI hosted one of 11 business events – ‘UKTI Export Week: Made in Chesterfield……sold to the World,’ which was aimed at encouraging businesses to take up the overseas selling challenge and highlighting the wealth of support and knowledge available to help them grow.
Speakers at the event included representatives from Chesterfield drinks manufacturer Global Brands which currently exports to over 30 countries worldwide, and also Paul Wade, Managing Director of Northern Lights, based in Holmewood, exports to five continents.
The UKT event was also timed to coincide with the launch of the Government’s new Exporting is GREAT Campaign (www.exportingisgreat.gov.uk), which seeks to inspire 100,000 new exporters.
Ian Harrison, UKTI Regional Director in the East Midlands, said he was delighted to be involved in Made in Chesterfield.
He said: “Our breakfast event included an in-depth look at the exciting opportunities for local companies to trade internationally, showing businesses that whatever their size, we can help them take their goods and services worldwide.”
“Made in Chesterfield was a complete success thanks to the support of businesses and organisations which enabled us to engage more young people in the sector than ever before showing them the number of jobs and careers and within it and right on their doorstep. Manufacturing engineering is the lifeblood of the economy and it’s important we engage its future workers now to ensure its continued success.
“Thank you to all of the local businesses, training providers and organisations that got behind the week by hosting their own events and attending others. We can’t wait to bring it back again next year to more young people.”
If you’re interested in getting involved in next year’s Made in Chesterfield Week, please contact dom.stevens@chesterfield.co.uk
Pupils from Brampton Primary School have brought a touch of colour to the town’s coach station.
The students helped put the final touches to the Pocket Park project on Markham Road, at the entrance to the coach station by planting 3,000 purple, yellow and white crocus corms.
The project, which started last year, is a collaboration between Chesterfield Civic Society, Franke Sissons and Chesterfield Borough Council, with support from Destination Chesterfield and Killingley Landscapes.
It aims to provide a welcoming green space for those who travel by coach and for shoppers passing by.
Chesterfield Civic Society suggested the planting scheme and paid for the bulbs. Chesterfield Borough Council staff provided spades for the project and helped with digging and preparing the ground for the bulbs to be planted by the children.
Amanda Chalke, Civic Society executive member, said: “We are delighted to work with Brampton Primary School and Chesterfield Borough Council. It now means the project has involved primary and secondary pupils and a talented young designer who attended Chesterfield College.
“Projects such as this are statements of pride in our town by all age groups. We hope to see more.”
Councillor Chris Ludlow, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “This individual project is part of the wider Chesterfield in Bloom project work, which aims to involve the community in making our town a greener and brighter space.
“The work of the children and all the partners will help improve the welcome that coach visitors to the town get, as well as benefit residents.”
Nine local schools are set to perform at the Secondary Dance Festival taking place on 2nd December at the Winding Wheel in Chesterfield. Now in its tenth year, the 2015 event will give more students than ever the opportunity to take part in all types of dance – from contemporary to classical. With the help of their dance teachers, the students have put together a show that would wow any audience.
Taking part are: Anthony Gell School, Brookfield Community School, Hasland Hall Community School, Lady Manners School, Netherthorpe School, Outwood Academy Newbold, Springwell Community College, St. Mary’s Catholic High School and Tupton Hall School.
Mark Tournier, Partnership and Development Manager at the Chesterfield School Sport Partnership, said: “The dance platform is organised by Chesterfield School Sport Partnership, bringing together a range of outstanding dance performances form across Chesterfield. It’s a celebration of dance and all the hard work and effort that goes into the performance. It’s not just about the talent on display, the performers show real courage and determination to make it happen.”
The performing schools will be joined by Déda Derby and Crystal Cheer and Dance who will showcase elements of Street Dance as well as professional choreography and storytelling.
Clare Limb, Head of Dance Development and Learning at Déda, said: “Déda is proud to be a partner organisation of Chesterfield SSP and is delighted to be involved in this event, which enables young people in the Chesterfield District and beyond to take part in an annual professional level performance.”
Mark Tournier added: “The event always has a great atmosphere and the performers leave the stage full of confidence. We are excited to be working with 9 schools and two community groups including the Derbyshire Youth Dance Company performing an inspired Dance–Theatre piece titled ‘Get in Line’.”
Tickets are available now priced at £5 for adults and £3 for juniors/concessions for family and friends of performers. This year’s event is expected to be a sell-out, with tickets already selling quickly. To book please contact the Chesterfield Visitor Centre on 01246 345777.
The 16ft tree will be displayed outside the front of the entrance of the hospital from Monday 7 – Saturday 19 December, where volunteers will be fundraising for the Chesterfield Royal Hospital Charity and Macmillan Cancer Support’s Appeal to raise £2.5 million towards the new Cancer Centre which is expected to open in 2016.
The Chesterfield Royal Macmillan Cancer Centre is an exciting new development that will mean that people with cancer in North and North East Derbyshire will be able to receive vital treatment, care and support in one purpose-built centre providing joined up services closer to home.
More than 20,000 people are expected to see the spectacular tree at the hospital which will be accompanied by carol singers on some days, mince pies and other festive treats to ensure everyone gets into the Christmas spirit.
Rob Turner, senior fundraising manager for Macmillan in Chesterfield said, “If you’re visiting the hospital why not pop over to the Christmas tree and our marquee to see us? We’ve got all sorts of exciting activities planned over the two weeks including carol singing, chocolate tombola, Christmas cards and mince pies for a donation. You’ll also get the chance to have your picture taken using our star-shaped prop and to write a message in memory of a loved one to remember at Christmas.”
Richard Trueman, managing partner of Mitchells said: “We’re delighted to be involved with the Macmillan Shining Stars Christmas Appeal. Cancer affects so many people including a Mitchells’ member of staff. This is a great way for us to show support to our colleague as well as the 1,500 people in North and North East Derbyshire diagnosed with cancer each year.”
Rob Woodhead, director and Head of Wills and Probate at BRM said, “The new Macmillan Centre will bring very welcome advances in the standard of cancer treatment services available to our local community. My colleagues and I are very proud to be able to support a project that will have a positive, tangible impact on the lives of people suffering with cancer, and their families.”
Volunteer event assistants are required Monday – Saturday from 9am – 12.30pm and 12.30pm – 4pm throughout the two week period the tree will be on display. If you’re interested in volunteering, please specify which day(s) and shift(s) you can do and contact Rob Turner on 07545 419 725 or email rturner@macmillan.org.uk
Brockwell Junior School in Chesterfield has received a national award for encouraging pupils to enjoy a more active, safer and greener commute.
The Modeshift STARS bronze accreditation recognises the school’s efforts in getting more children to travel to school on foot or using another sustainable means of transport.
Far surpassing any targets, Brockwell has recorded 82% of pupils walking, cycling or scooting to school on a daily basis during the 2014/15 academic year.
Miss Lenthall, of Brockwell Junior School, said: “It’s a fantastic and well organised scheme to be a part of, which really highlights the benefits of active travel. Through the scheme, we found that not only the children, but also their entire families were becoming more involved with travelling actively.
“The children loved being able to travel to school on bikes as well as scooters and couldn’t wait to record their achievements and track their progress against their pledges.”
Following the successful bronze initiatives, the school is continuing the Modeshift STARS scheme and hopes to expand their initiatives in order to achieve the Silver award in 2016.
The national Modeshift STARS scheme is delivered locally by the Chesterfield School Sport Partnership and supported by Derbyshire County Council and Sustrans, a national charity.
Every school in England can participate in the Modeshift STARS scheme for free, and achieve bronze, silver or gold level awards. It is supported by 52 local authorities and more than 11,000 schools nationally.
Chatsworth has once again taken inspiration from a children’s classic for its much anticipated festive season. Christmas at Chatsworth with Mr Toad takes visitors through the adventures of those best of animal friends; Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toad as they get ready to celebrate Christmas.
With the lower floors of the house transformed into scenes loosely based on Kenneth Grahame’s much-loved classic Wind in the Willows, the Painted Hall serves beautifully as the Baronial Toad Hall dressed with sumptuous garlands and a magnificent Christmas tree while the house itself is generously decorated with festive flowers and giant Christmas trees throughout.
The enchantment continues with scenes of the riverside folk getting ready to celebrate Christmas at Toad Hall before they come in for a shock. Visitors will discover Mole helping to dress Ratty’s Christmas tree before loading up his little boat with gifts to take to Toad Hall. With many charming scenes unfolding on the journey through the house, this year’s festive celebration is sure to enchant all that come under its magical spell.
This year, Chatsworth is also transforming the Great Chamber and the Guest Bedrooms into the scenes from the evergreen story to extend the festive route throughout more of the house.
Children will enjoy discovering the hiding places of the little mice all along the route, placing their wish on the Wishes Trees and dressing up in the costumes made especially for Christmas with Mr Toad by the in house textiles team.
Once again, it’s been a huge effort from the talented Chatsworth in house team with staff from Textiles; Housekeeping; Joinery and Gardening coming together to create the costumes for characters and guides; painting backdrops; making scene-setting items such as Ratty’s jetty and Badger’s house and putting together the garlands and other festive flower displays.
Tickets for visits at Christmas now offer timed entry into the house to reduce queuing times. Visitors planning to make a trip to the house this festive season are advised to book in advance to secure their time slot and make the most of their visit. Free parking is included with all online bookings.
Christmas at Chatsworth with Mr Toad continues until 3rd January 2016. For more information visit http://www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/christmas-at-chatsworth
Over 100 local secondary school students came together last week to train as sporting ambassadors ready to plan and deliver their own sporting events in Chesterfield.
Organised and delivered by the Chesterfield School Sport Partnership, the all-day conference took place at the Institute of Sport in Sheffield and was an opportunity to gain a range of new skills and experience.
The day was delivered by experts in the field of journalism, photography and media as well as former Team GB Olympic volleyball players, Ben Pipes and Dami Bakare.
Students learned how to run how to run a variety of sporting activities; many which are different to the usual sports played in school – for example boccia and new age kurling.
Activities also included a mock press conference with a former top-level athlete, writing a feature, taking and selecting expert photos and deciding how to publicise any completed work.
Sarah Evans, Leadership and Physical Activity Officer at the Chesterfield School Sport Partnership, said: “It’s great to see so many young leaders here today developing their skills and taking on the role as a Young Ambassador.
“I can’t wait to see how they embrace this role to be inspirational and make a change within their schools.”
The media officer from the Brookfield Community School SSOC said: “I enjoyed the media workshop as we got involved in speaking to an Olympian, taking photos and videos of the other activities and writing a sports blog.”
The Silver Young Ambassadors are now preparing to deliver a School Sport Club in Chesterfield, a Level 1 School Games (Intra) competition and two Get Set for Community Action projects.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Preference cookies are used to store user preferences to provide content that is customized and convenient for the users, like the language of the website or the location of the visitor.
