NORTHGATE MANAGED SERVICES HOSTS LIVERPOOL SCHOOL LITERARY VISIT
06 May 2011
Actor, director and playwright Dan Gordon hosts special “From page to stage” Masterclass for Liverpool students.
Northgate Managed Services (Northgate) has reinforced its position as one of the UK's leading education ICT specialists and shown a real commitment to the communities in which it works by going beyond simply providing and managing ICT. One of the many schools that Northgate works with, Litherland High School, just outside Liverpool, came on a three day literary and cultural visit to Northern Ireland. Northgate supported the trip by hosting a "From Page to Stage Masterclass" with one of Northern Ireland's most recognisable actors, directors and playwrights Dan Gordon.
Over the Easter holidays, teachers and students from the school visited Northgate Managed Services headquarters in Newtownabbey not only to learn first-hand how their ICT is being managed but to also take part in the Masterclass. The 'Give My Head Peace' actor discussed his background with the Year 10 students and talked about Belfast, its unique culture and how the city had inspired many of his creative works over the years.
Commenting on the school visit, Jim Donnelly, Headteacher of Litherland High School stated, "The students that travelled to Belfast are part of the school's Literary Society. We meet once a week and read a variety of books, short stories and poetry from authors such as Seamus Heaney and James Joyce. Coming from Northern Ireland myself, I was keen to have the students visit and to learn more about the places and culture that inspired these great writers.
"When Northgate suggested the idea of visiting its headquarters and hosting a literary masterclass we jumped at the chance. Dan Gordon was fantastic; his insights into the creative industries were excellent and his stories of his time writing and working in Belfast were both funny and engaging. The students learnt a lot and you could see that each and every one took something away from the event.
"I would like to thank Northgate for hosting the event and for taking a real interest in our school. Northgate has proved that there is much more to its education work than meets the eye. The students' feedback was nothing but positive, with many saying that they had gained a greater appreciation for Northern Ireland, its politics and its people. I have a feeling a few of them might be back here sooner rather than later."
Commenting on the Litherland student visit Chris Wiseman, Sales Director, Education, Northgate Managed Services said: "We were delighted to be able to support Litherland High School on their cultural visit to Northern Ireland. We believe that in order to help schools achieve their aspirations, it is vital to build active partnerships with the schools we work by supporting them in their educational activities in addition to providing them a highly flexible, scalable and professional service. The students certainly seemed to get a lot out of the event. Each presented their school impeccably and was a credit to Mr Donnelly and his staff."
