Cheshire Independent Issue 198
15 MARCH 2025 Visit our website: www.independentnewspapers.co.uk T: 0161 480 8171 | E: info@damartraining.com or visit our website: www.damartraining.com A specialist provider of apprentice recruitment and training BUXTON Opera House and Pavilion Arts Centre has won a top award for its work with local schools. It received the ‘Excellence in Primary and Early Years’ honour at this year’s prestig- ious Music and Drama Edu- cation Awards. The venue was recognised for its ‘Satellite Opera House’ project, an innovative scheme that provides isolated schools in the High Peak area with access to drama and musical theatre provisions with the help of expert practitioners. It enables schools to hold specialised after-school activities and offer exclusive development opportunities for children, including a weekly artist in residence programme with bespoke performing arts workshops, and further school staff training provisions to continue the inclusion of arts in their curriculum. The awards, held in Lon- don, celebrate outstanding achievements in music and drama education, recognising individuals and organisations that have made a significant impact in these fields, show- casing excellence in teaching, innovation, and leadership. The venue was also nom- inated in the ‘Outstanding Drama Initiative’ category in recognition of its annual work experience scheme. Allie Spencer, its head of creative learning and engage- ment, said: “We are delighted to receive this award that rec- ognises the work that Buxton Opera House is doing in the High Peak primary schools. “We are grateful to all our practitioners who have con- tributed to this project and who have instilled valuable social and performance skills into the young people they have worked with.” INTERNATIONAL mar- keting expert Ed Jones returned to the King’s School in Macclesfield to tell the next generation of business-gurus about his career defining ‘out of the box thinking.’ Confessing to not having been an A* academic, Ed, 41, enjoyed the extra-curric- ular provision at King’s, and explained that it provided “a grounding that helped develop my confidence and commer- cial creativity”. He told the students: “I was never going to be a lawyer or an accountant, but if you want an imaginative solution, it helps to think out of the box.” Developing global brands such as Kellogg’s, Del Monte, Krispy Kreme, Vimto and currently Autoglym, the UK’s largest manufacturer and supplier of car care products, to 45 countries worldwide, Ed has an industry-wide reputa- tion for originality. Indeed, many of his projects have resulted in unprece- dented increases in turnover, taking Krispy Kreme dough- nuts, for example, from £80million to £150m in the UK over five years. In the ‘Fast Moving Con- sumer Goods’ (FMCG) sec- tor, he has even earned the nickname ‘Mr Whippy’, after having an ice cream van con- verted into motor boat for a PR stunt, and getting warned off the Thames by the river police for going too close to the Houses of Parliament. He said: “The resulting pic- ture of us handing the police officer an ice cream over the water made the front page of every tabloid in the country with the product branding right, left and centre and led to a threefold increase in sales that summer.” He also had an ice lolly made up in the image of David Hasselhoff, who was pictured in a Del Monte branded jacket licking his own icy image. Ed, who now lives in Chea- dle, with his wife Nikita and two children, gave King’s eco- nomics and business students a blow-by-blow account of his Awards joy for Opera House ‘Mr Whippy’ thinks outside the box career path. That included having to work with the security services during the Olympics to ensure his in sta- dium product delivery vehicles had not been compromised by terrorists. He said: “I like to look at other brands in completely dif- ferent sectors, see what they are doing well creatively and if that can be applied to our own products.” “It’s a complex role from product development to brand recognition, from product placement to competitive but profitable pricing. It’s the opposite of boring but you will have to adapt and evolve.” King’s head of economics and business, Jamie MacGre- gor, said: “Ed has spoken to our students a number of times before and loves to give something back. “It’s so important, espe- cially with subjects like economics and business, that students can see what their studies might lead to and the creative characteristics and professional disciplines they will need to flourish.” • Small classes • Excellent GCSE & A-Level results • Stunning 80-acre campus with state-of-the-art facilities • Wide enrichment and extracurricular offer www.kingsmac.co.uk | 01625 260000 The King’s School in Macclesfield Charity No. 1137204 ‘EXCELLENT ’ IN ALL AREAS - ISI Inspection 2022 Junior Discovery Morning Saturday 22 March, 10 am –12 pm Infant & Junior Open Afternoon Thursday 1 May, 1–3 pm To register go to: wwwkingsmac.co.uk Find out more at our...
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