Pupils invited to win 10 years free internet connectivity for their schools – plus other top tech prizes!

Exa Networks, the specialist education and business internet service provider, is marking its 10^th year in business by launching a competition for UK pupils www.exa.is/10  to win a total of 10 years free internet connectivity for their schools, plus iPads and other digital favourites for themselves.

The internet connectivity prize includes Exa’s SurfProtect which filters out unsuitable internet content to make web-searching safer for children.   

Mark Cowgill, Co-Founder & Director of Yorkshire-based Exa Networks, said: “The competition is a way to celebrate reaching the milestone of a decade of proudly supplying schools and colleges with high quality, content-filtered internet services.   We hope it’ll catch the imaginations of school pupils across the UK and inspire them to get creative and help us celebrate our 10^th Birthday.”

 

The competition is open to any child, aged between 5 and 18, currently in full-time education at a school or college in the UK.  In addition, the top three entrants will also win prizes for themselves.

• First prize is five years free internet for the winning entrant’s school plus an individual prize of a PS4, an Xbox ONE, an iPad or a Nexus 10.

• Second prize is three years of free internet for the entrant’s school plus an iPad Mini for the entrant.

• Third prize is two years free internet for the entrant’s school plus an iPod touch.

The winning schools can choose from Exa Networks’ connectivity services which cover the full range of options available in the UK: from Broadband and Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) to multi gigabit leased lines.

To enter, pupils need to create a story, picture, PowerPoint, video or cartoon about either of the following:

• What I think about the internet 
• The world in the next ten years

Or pupils can submit an entry about a topic of their own choice; it could tie into a school project.

Entries should be submitted before 25^th October 2013 to Exa Networks, 27-29 Mill Field Road, Cottingley Business Park, Bingley, BD16 1PY or electronically.  Full details of how to do this are on the website www.exa.is/10.  The winners will be announced on Exa’s birthday on the 31^st October.

Exa Networks, which is based in Cottingley near Bradford, was founded in 2003 by Mark Cowgill, Thomas Mangin and Michael Syree to provide specialist IT connectivity, networking and software for the education sector and businesses.  Exa Networks has also pioneered technology to ensure school children can browse the web in safety with access restricted to some sites to ensure that unsuitable content is filtered out.

Full details, terms and conditions of the competition can be found at www.exa.is/10

Be a Safety Super Hero! Support local children’s charity events during Child Safety Week 24-30 June

Working with communities to keep children safe

Be a Safety Super Hero! Support local children’s charity events during Child Safety Week 24-30 June

Brighton-based charity Safety Net, who work with local communities to keep children safe, is set to run a programme of activities across the city during Child Safety Week (24^th-30th June). The theme of Child Safety Week this year is Be a Safety Hero.

Kids Competition to win an iPod Shuffle

Safety Net have launched a competition inviting children in Brighton and Hove to draw a picture of their own Safety Hero. This could be anyone they feel keeps them safe, e.g. someone who works at the school, a lollipop lady, a parent, a doctor or a nurse etc. Competition Entry Forms can be downloaded from the website.

Three lucky winners will win an engraved iPod shuffle and, along with nine runners up, have their images used for Safety Net’s Calendar in 2014.

Deadline for entry is 7th July,  all details can be found on the website www.safety-net.org.uk.

Super Hero Dress Up Day for Businesses - 27th June

Safety Net are urging companies to get involved by hosting a sponsored Super Hero Dress Up Day amongst their staff.

The day will help raise vital funds to support Safety Net’s work in the local community, helping keep more children safe. A minimum donation of £1 per person is suggested for staff to dress up. Companies who would like to get involved can find all the relevant details here http://www.safety-net.org.uk/supportus/fundraising-events/child-safety-week-24-30-june-2013-businesses/

Safety Net will also be present at various project activities & events across the city to support children to think about their Safety Heroes in the community and schools, including; Rudyard Kipling FASTWORKS in Woodingdean and Crew Club ‘Here Comes Summer!’ in Whitehawk. Details of these events can be found on the website www.safety-net.org.uk

Look out for our Safety Rocks Summer Newsletter for summer safety and activities coming to a venue near you!

ROYAL MAIL LAUNCHES NATIONAL COMPETITION FOR TWO CHILDREN TO DRAW A CHRISTMAS STAMP FOR 2013

• Royal Mail today announces that for the first time in 30 years it is giving schoolchildren the chance to design its Christmas stamps
• Primary school children aged 4-11 are being invited to take part to create the artwork for official Royal Mail  stamps for Christmas 2013 
• There will be two winning pictures - one to appear on a 1^st Class stamp, the other on a 2^nd Class stamp. They will be picked from 120 regional finalists  
• The competition’s theme is “What does the Christmas season mean to you”? The designs can be religious or secular
• Only twice before have children’s designs been used on Christmas stamps; 1966, the year the first Christmas stamps were issued in the UK, and 1981
• The search for the winning designs was launched by children’s author and illustrator Lauren Child, creator of the famous Charlie and Lola characters. All entries have to be received by the closing date of 19 July. Winners will be announced in the autumn  
• Both winning designs will have to be approved by the Queen 
• Full details can be found at www.royalmail.com/designastamp 

Royal Mail is giving primary schoolchildren the chance to create an official Christmas stamp for the first time in more than 30 years.

Only twice before has the company’s official Christmas stamp been designed by schoolchildren – in 1966 and 1981 and today Royal Mail announced details of its 2013 Christmas Stamp Design competition.

Launched by children’s author and illustrator Lauren Child, the competition is open to primary school aged pupils from 4-11, and will give two winners the chance to see their design used by hundreds of thousands of people sending festive greetings to friends and family across the country.

The theme of the competition is “What does the Christmas season mean to you?” and the designs can be religious or secular. As with all Special Stamps issued by Royal Mail, both winning designs will have to be approved by The Queen.

Two winning designs from children will be selected by a panel of judges, and their designs will appear on one of the 1^st and one of the 2^nd Class Christmas Stamps from this year’s range.

Lauren Child said: said, “I’m delighted to be part of this fantastic campaign to get children thinking creatively about what Christmas means to them. As well as seeing their stamps on letters and cards in the UK over the festive season, the winning designers will also join a list of the best children’s illustrators who have designed Christmas Stamps for Royal Mail – a great honour indeed.”

Stephen Agar, Managing Director of Consumer and Network Access, Royal Mail said: “I am delighted we are able to give two UK schoolchildren the chance to design an official Royal Mail Christmas stamp. Previous designs have become iconic images and it will be a fantastic honour - and a prize that money cannot buy – for the two children chosen.”

The two winners will follow in the footsteps of highly acclaimed children’s’ designers and illustrators who have designed Christmas Stamps in the past, such as Nick Park (2010), Axel Scheffler (2012), Quentin Blake (1993) and Michael Foreman (1987).

Schools, and parents of home-schooled children, can sign-up to the competition online or by returning the application formin a pack sent to them by iChild, the online educational resource centre,  in association with Royal Mail. 

Applications for the 10,000 availableresource packs will be sent out on a first come first served basis and entries must be received by the closing date of 19^th July 2013.  

The winners of the competition will be announced in the autumnand the stamps will be available to buy from November 5^th 2013.

Royal Mail will select 120 regional runners up across the UK. They and their schools will each receive prizes of £100 for the school and £100 gift vouchers for the child.

From those 120 runners up, a shortlist of 24 finalists will be chosen. They and their schools will receive prizes of  £500 for the school and £500 of gift vouchers for the child.

From the finalists two winners will be chosen, one for the First Class Christmas stamp and once for the Second Class. They will also receive prizes of £1,000 for the school and £1,000 in vouchers for the child.