Corby Study Centre

Northants Study Centres are no longer supporting the Corby Study Centre.

For further information please contact Val Sudlow, Study Centres Manager on 01604 367150

The Clix project returned to Corby this week, with photographer Chris Denner working with a group of A-Level students from The Kingswood School.

The Clix project is all about promoting Northamptonshire’s cultural and sporting assets. The project, which has been running at the Study Centres accross the county, is being led by photographer, Chris Denner who is encouraging the groups to see Northamptonshire their way.

The project at Corby was a particularly exciting one, simply because the town has so much to offer as it moves through it’s own transformation and regeneration.

Adrenaline Alley was used as the initial Clix Northamptonshire launch back in April with the students photgraphing BMX bikers in the incredible urban surroundings. A short time later and the students were back, with Rob Jones putting together an incredible itnerary with exclusive photography access across the town.

Starting at Corby Town FC, Chris discussed establishing shots, using the pitch, stands and even water sprinklers to achieve the students own unique take of the ground. A short walk led to the Athletics track, which was in use by several local schools giving the students the opportunity to use different shutter speads and perspectives. One or two of our group soon realised that photography isn’t all glamour and fashion as they lay in the sand pit and knelt in dusty grass to get the best shots!

Rob then led the group to nearby Rockingham Castle where he had arranged visits to the gardens as well as exclusive access inside the house itself where photography is usually not allowed. As the house is quite dark inside Chris used the opportunity to show the students how to maximise the light into the cameras without using flash, which could damage some of the furnishings.

Next on the agenda was a visit to the new Olympic Swimming Pool in the town centre, where Rob had arranged photography permissions both in the press area and on poolside. The pool staff lowered all of the diving boards for our groups to get their close up shots, some were even brave enough to climb the stairs to get a view from the higher boards.

Next door to the pool, the Cube offered unique angles and textures to finish the day, or so we thought….

As our group were photographing the outside of the Cube, none other than the head of the Borough Council invited us in to take some shots from the roof! A priority tour of the Cube followed and our students were taken to the 3rd floor gallery, with views stretching to Finedon they certainly had some establishing shots! From there they were taken to the roof of the Cube, they even had a sneak peek into the Art Gallery which is still under construction. Back inside the Council Chambers came next, with photographic opportunities from both the public viewing gallery as well as inside the chamber itself. Finally, the new theatre was opened especially for our students to take some great photos!

The day was absolutely fantastic! A huge thank you to everyone involved and for letting us have such privileged access all day! The students take their own work away to complete and their finished work will be uploaded onto the Clix website, along with photos already available from the other centres.

Take a look at some of the students below:

This week was the final week for our young learners from Our Lady of Walsingham so we decided to send them off in style with a cool interview and a crazy game of skater maths!

Gary, a skater who works at the Alley came down to see us and answered loads of questions about being a skater, his hobbies and the Alley. We found out loads of really interesting things that are happening at the Alley and learned that Gary loved visiting Cornwall, has entered two competitions and spends lots of money on his skateboards!

Once the interview was over Rob showed the group how to use Comic Life, a programme which uses photos that have been imported to produce a comic style page!

Once their comics had been produced they were given a game called Skater Maths to play. Using giant cards with numbers and names of urban sports stars they created maths problems and found the answers.

 An exciting digital photography project involving local schools from across  Northamptonshire will be officially launched this Wednesday (6th April).Called CLIX, the project encourages participants to produce images that explore the values and themes of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 and promote the county’s key cultural and sporting assets.It’s being led by professional photographer Chris Denner who is working with the county’s study centres and local schools alongside key venues including Northampton Saints Rugby Club, Northampton Town Football Club, Northamptonshire Cricket Club, Rushden and Diamonds Football Club, Silverstone Race Circuit and Adrenaline Alley Urban Sports Park, Corby.

County residents are also being encouraged to submit their own images that explore the values and themes of London 2012 from a unique Northamptonshire perspective, for example using iconic local landmarks, key cultural and sporting fixtures and local sporting or cultural legends or teams.

Images produced through the project, including those submitted by the public,  will be available to view on a dedicated website www.clix-northamptonshire.com throughout 2011 with the very best being selected to appear in a local exhibition and souvenir calendar for 2012.

Councillor Andre Gonzalez de Savage, county council cabinet member for customers and communities said: “CLIX is one of a series of Igniting Ambition projects taking place in Northamptonshire this year as part of the Cultural Olympiad, a national initiative that aims to bring more arts, music and culture to residents in the lead up to the 2012 Games.

The project celebrates Northamptonshire’s cultural and sporting assets and we want everyone to get involved and submit a picture – so get clicking.”

Chris Denner said: “I’m really proud to be apart of the CLIX project, as its very rewarding to see the young people engage in such an exciting and dynamic venture. It’s great to see the passion and creativity that’s being applied to the young peoples photography, everyday I’m consistently being impressed not only by the quality of the images, but by the thought provoking messages I’m seeing in every photograph.”

The project has already seen a photo shoot with take place with Chantelle Cameron, the 19-year old kickboxing sensation from Northampton as well as workshops with students from Kingsbrook School, Deanshanger at the Silverstone Study Centre.

CLIX is funded by the Legacy Trust UK and key delivery partners of the Northamptonshire 2012 Strategy namely Northamptonshire County Council, Northamptonshire Sport and Northamptonshire Enterprise Limited.

Igniting Ambition is part of the Cultural Olympiad programme in the East Midlands which invests in projects and people that take the London 2012 Games as their inspiration to create once-in-a-lifetime cultural opportunities for audiences and communities.  It is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to create a cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the European Regional Development Fund and the East Midlands Development Agency, with the support of Arts Council England and many others.

For more information about 2011 Igniting Ambition projects and events go to: www.northamptonshire2012.com

Our Ladys had their practical session at the Alley today!

Safety First of course, helmets, knee and elbow pads (supplied by the Alley) were all put on and BMX bikes handed out.  Getting used to such small bikes was tricky for some of our group who were used to their own Mountain Bikes at home, but watching some of the other Alley users gave them some tips on how to ride with ease. 

Back in the centre, some much needed refreshments were had and a chance to have a little break before starting work on their very own movie!

Using Windows Movie Maker Rob showed the group how to create their film using photographs of the session which had been uploaded to the laptops.  Choosing between 12 and 15 stills each the group imported their pics into the software and chose transitions, added titles and credits and finally, chose some music to add!

Their films were burned to CD to take home, but not before we got a chance to upload some of them, take a look below to see some of their work!

The Alley is undergoing some changes with new ramps and areas being developed, so we thought that we’d have a go too!

This week we asked our group to design their own ramp, based on the ones they have seen in the Alley, as well as what they’d like to whizz down! Using the dimensions on the Vert ramp they began to get an idea of just how big the ramps are.  Although we didn’t just give them the dimensions, that would be far too easy.  Instead, they were shown how to estimate using their paces and the height of those around them.

Back in the centre they began work on their own designs, using squared paper to create plan drawings.  They had lots of mathematical problems to work out including angles, measurements and scale.  Working in pairs they produced their ramps using card and coloured paper, decorating with some cool skateboarding logos. 

A team against team game of Sports Alphabet finished the day with some great ideas, Curling, Zorbing and Tae Kwon Do were some of our favourites!

This week, our young learners from Our Lady of Walsingham School were taught the Japanese art of Origami – Sport style!

To kick off they began with an Origami skateboarding shirt using only one A4 piece of paper. 

Once their shirts were tucked away in their drawer work began on their very own group football – using only paper!  Rob showed them how to create Pentagons and Hexagons using different sized and coloured paper.  Questions on angles and shapes were included with mental maths required to find the angles in their shapes. 

Working in groups of 2 and 3 they made 20 Hexagons and 12 Pentagons - per group! Once these were all complete, it was time to begin the construction of their ball.  Each Pentagon is surrounded by 5 hexagons, using tape to stick the shapes side by side the ball is slowly constructed until the final piece is applied, VERY carefully!

Skateboarding shirts were designed and coloured and the groups finished the session with a quiz about 2D shapes on Iamlearning (quiz created by the centre).

Our Lady of Walsingham School are with us this term at the Alley and we kicked off with some great activities!

Firstly they were shown around the centre, and then the Alley, taking note of the graffiti art work and gasping in awe at some of the tricks and stunts by those using the ramps!

Back in the centre they set to work designing their own name bagde using Graffiti Creator, improving their IT skills by using several programmes at once to create the final product!

Once we knew who everybody was it was time to start on our Robolab challenge using the new Alley Garage (ok it’s just a box, but a rather snazzy one).  The Robolab challenge requires teamwork, IT skills, estimation and a lot of patience!

Working in pairs they were tasked with creating their own buggy using Lego Robolab equipment, not just any buggy however, as they were to be given three challenges to complete.  The first challenge needed precision timing only, with their buggy completing one full 360 degree, no more, no less.  Following their victory in challenge one they had to think of a way of attaching a front wheel or wheels to their buggy using the kit available.  Two big wheels, one small wheel or three medium wheels, it didn’t matter as long as their buggy could compete in the next two challenges. 

In challenge three timing and precision driving were needed to travel along the floor and park inside the parking bay.  Straight lines weren’t always possible as wonky wheels and over enthusiatic button pushing often got in the way.  However, crafty ideas such as setting off at an angle to compensate for the arcs created by the wonky wheels were soon discovered. 

As if that wasn’t tricky enough they were given one final challenge.  Parking inside the new Alley Garage.  As Rob said “you’re not allowed to park in next door’s drive, or in the wall” it has to be precision perfect, afterall, who wants to crunch the side of their car everytime they park in their garage?

A great week to start their time at the Alley, we even let them have some time on Iamlearning to finish!

In their final week at the Study Centre, Exeter Primary took to the ramps and completed their practical session.

Once they were kitted out with all of their safety gear, supplied by the Alley, they were ready to start their session on the main ramps. A few false starts getting up the ramps soon turned into fearless riding!  Not only did they have to overcome any wobbles but they had to learn the bikers etiquette, when to set off and when to wait for other Alley users.  Every one of our group tried the big ramps and Alex even completed a few jumps! 

Whilst they were whizzing around, photographs were taken of their moves to be used back in the centre.

Using a programme called Movie Maker they produced their own “movie” of the session.  They began by choosing the best photographs for them and importing them into the programme.  Transitions and music were added along with titles and credits to finish their piece of work.  The movies were then burned onto discs to take home.

This week the centre had a visit from Anna Letts and her PfS on the Road school, Lodge Park.  The group have been working with Anna and Jaimie from the Cobblers Study Centre on a Wednesday as part of a “Maths Leaders” project.   

They had a great day using practical maths skills in an urban sports context. First they matched skateboarding terms (tricks and skills) to their definitions, looking at the language in the descriptions.

Next they looked at the Vert, a huge ramp, the biggest of its kind in Europe, and estimated its width and length using estimation. They also looked at which parts of maths are involved when designing and building ramps such as measurement, force, angles and speed. They had a go at designing their own scale model ramps and building 3D versions of them. The groups needed to think about safety and speed as well as shape.

The practical BMX biking and skateboarding session was enjoyed by all. The year 7s tried out the various ramps in the Alley and gained in confidence as they practised.

A skate interview was next, where the students asked Gary (who also works at the Alley) questions about skateboarding, the Alley, broken bones, how long he’d been skating and we even had a demonstration of a few tricks!

For more info on PfS on the Road take a look at the website:

http://ontheroad.northantsstudycentres.org/