Soho Dreams releases a new EP

Daniel Bravo and Jessica Pardoe sing ‘When I Look In The Mirror’ from a new six song EP release from the upcoming British musical ‘Soho Dreams’. Daniel as Michael Peters and Jessica as Sammy record the duet from Soho Dreams with musical director Ryan Mackenzie.

‘Their voices blend deliciously as the characters reveal their polar opposite views of a district which Michael hates and which Sammy seems wedded to’ said co-creator Rob McLoughlin.

‘It’s a big moment in the show’ he revealed;  ‘their futures depend upon which vision of a changing Soho they’ll opt for’.

The EP is released by Bucks Records (part of the Bucks Music Group on Spotify, Apple Music, and streamers worldwide.

The six songs also include ‘Burning Bridges’ performed by Barry Keenanas Jack ‘The Flash’ Goodman (who owns the part of Soho which the police don’t control), Lee Turner as ‘Tommy’ with ‘Love Tonight’; and ‘Show Me The Door’ by Jessica Pardoe who also sings the anthem ‘This Is My Life’ and the ballad ‘Child’ which were released as singles a few weeks ago.

More details are available on the Broadway World news site.

Educate North Awards

To mark the sacrifices by the education sector, students, lecturers and academic staff during the Covid crisis, Educate North teamed up with listeners to three popular radio stations Smooth North West, Heart Yorkshire and Smooth North East.  

Listeners inundated the stations with nominations for outstanding individuals or organisations in 3 new categories. The results saw one teacher dance and jig in his classroom as he became a winner. 

Professor Tony Young, Head of Clinical Innovation for NHS England also announced 3 nominations for a special Health Award. This was won by The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine along with its partners at The University of Liverpool and NHS Hospitals Trust. 

Among the many other winners was Edge Hill in Ormskirk, Lancashire, which was awarded overall University of the Year in recognition of its continued commitment to deliver an exceptional student experience. 

The University was awarded the coveted top prize for the exceptional progress it has made to deliver investment and innovation over the past 12 months and its dedication to placing students at the heart of everything it does. 

The University of Cumbria’s Festival of Mental Health won the community engagement award.

The Festival is a celebration of wellbeing and offers help and support to all through its array of workshops including gardening, mindfulness, yoga and creative arts. There is also an art festival, talks, and a ‘marketplace’ of local charities, organisations and institutions.

Raising funds for local charities, the festival’s patron is Wigton-born author, broadcaster and peer Melvyn Bragg, who is an honorary fellow of the university and a past president of the national charity Mind.

Coinciding with World Mental Health Day every October, the Festival of Mental Health strengthens the University of Cumbria’s role as a leading training provider of nursing and other health professionals across the region and beyond.

Birkenhead Sixth Form College principal Mike Kilbride, pictured with college dog Teddy

The Principle of Birkenhead Sixth Form College, Mike Kilbride, was honoured with the national award for outstanding leadership. The ‘UK Leadership Award’ was given in recognition of significant achievements in leading Birkenhead Sixth Form College on a complete journey of transformation, not least being rated as outstanding in all areas by Ofsted.

The college has been shortlisted once again for the UK Sixth Form College of the Year by TES Awards, formerly the Times Education Supplement.

It won the award just three years ago and this year’s shortlisting cements their place as a national leader in Further Education.

Although the Educate North Awards ceremony was honouring 2020 winners, with last year’s celebration being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, circumstances of the last year and more have brought into stark light the qualities of leadership required to deal with young people’s education and the deficits that they have endured during various lockdowns.

Both staff and students at the College have benefitted from what they called Mr Kilbride’s ‘strong, passionate and thoughtful’ leadership, and his communication with all parties about the direction he was steering the College through the pandemic has been highly praised by parents, with one saying it was ‘first class’.

Accepting the UK Leadership Award, Mike Kilbride said: “It’s obviously personally very gratifying to be recognised for the work that you’ve done over many years, but you can’t have success as a leader without a fantastic team behind you.”

The Educate North Awards are organised by Carm Productions in conjunction with partners John Kennedy CBE, CCL Digital, the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, The Pilot Group, Communicorp UK, Heart Yorkshire, Smooth North West and Smooth North East. The full ceremony can be viewed below.


Virtual Grand National to run before real event in 2021

The Virtual Grand National (VGN) – which proved a popular replacement for the real thing when it was cancelled due to COVID-19 12 months ago – is set to be televised again on ITV in April.

While former jockey Bob Champion is looking forward to ‘riding’ in the Race Of Champions – which will again be part of the programme – 40 years on from his famous win aboard Aldaniti.

Full details on the Liverpool Echo website.

Virtual Educate North Awards

The annual Educate North Awards will be moving online for the ceremony on 22 April 2021. The awards are organised by Rob McLoughlin’s Carm Productions and will be hosted by Jim Hancock, former Political Editor of Granada TV and BBC North West.

Further details of this year’s awards are given on the Prolific North website.