Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

At-Bristol announces new partnership with Northgate Education

Leading UK science and learning centre, At-Bristol, today announces a new partnership with Northgate Education.

Northgate is supporting At-Bristol’s bursary scheme, which is designed to provide schools and other organisations from lower-income areas of Bristol and the South West with the opportunity to explore and participate in the science centre’s educational activities and programmes free of charge. To date, 15 schools and community groups have been awarded a bursary visit, and as a result more than 550 individuals, including many school children, from less affluent areas in Bristol will benefit from the scheme.

Lack of funding is one of the main barriers that prevent schools or community groups in organising trips to educational centres such as At-Bristol. The At-Bristol bursary programme therefore allows children, young people and adults from across the region to be freed of this financial burden, providing them with free entry and, in some cases, subsidised transport.

The bursary scheme is an integral part of At-Bristol’s ‘Widening Access Programme’, which offers a range of initiatives that aim to help schools and the public to overcome social, cultural, financial or physical barriers in accessing extra-curricula science learning opportunities.

Rachel Willis, Head of Learning, At-Bristol, said today:

“I’m delighted to announce our new partnership with Northgate Information Solutions today. It is clear from their work that they share our commitment to making science learning accessible to all.

“It is our goal to ensure that the unique science learning experiences and opportunities we can provide are available to the widest possible audience, enabling all sections of the community to take part in our educational activities, events and facilities.”

Darren Lemon, MD of Northgate Education, added:
“At-Bristol provides local people with the opportunity to explore new technologies and brings learning to life. These are goals that mirror our own. We want to make learning accessible to all and to help narrow the digital divide, and we are delighted to be supporting At-Bristol in this important work.”

-Ends-

For more info:

At-Bristol:

Mavis Choong, Press Officer: 0117 915 7152 / mavis.choong@at-bristol.org.uk

Northgate Information Solutions:
Kathy Sutton, Fellows’ Associates: 07966 890 401
Alastair Whitehead, Fellows’ Associates: 07930 566 291

Notes to Editors:

1)So far, schools and community groups that have received the At-Bristol bursary include Windsor Clive Junior School, Connaught Primary School, New Fosseway Special School, Downs Syndrome Association, Vietnamese Refugee Community and Shelter H2H.

Interested applicants may contact Alex Monday, Learning Marketing Officer at
0117 915 7134 or alex.monday@at-bristol.org.uk for more information.

2)At-Bristol is a leading science centre in the UK and a major player in the worldwide science centre movement. It aims to be a world-class science and natural history centre that makes distinctive, valued and recognised contributions to informal science learning and public engagement with science - locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. A registered charity, At-Bristol has hosted more than three million visits and continually strives towards making science accessible to all. www.at-bristol.org.uk (Registered charity no. 1049954)

3)Northgate Information Solutions is a leading provider of ICT and managed services solutions and software to the public services, utilities markets and corporate markets. Whether business process outsourcing, full IT outsourcing or managing specific needs such as application or web-hosting, desktop management or data-centre systems, Northgate advises clients on how to maximise the value of their information technology assets. With divisional headquarters in Hemel Hempstead and Belfast, Northgate has 25 major offices across the UK and six international offices. Founded in 1969, the company has over 3,300 employees.

4)Northgate Education is the second largest provider of managed services in the UK. It provides technology services to over 1,200 schools, with more than 150,000 teachers and learners successfully supported by the company. Northgate provides services to every school in Northern Ireland through C2k, the largest and most comprehensive e-learning initiative ever implemented in the UK, is providing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) managed services to Bristol City Council as part of the Government's Building Schools for the Future Programme (BSF), and to over 40 education sites in Hartlepool, from primary schools through to further education. www.northgate-is.com/education