Goal Mapping In Peterborough

I was delighted to work with the year 12/13 students of St John Fisher Catholic High School.  As a whole the students behaviour was excellent and they were all extremely respectful throughout.

The session began with a recap of Exam Busters which these students attended last year and they were delighted to have the ability to recall the facts that they hadn’t seen for around twelve months.  They then moved onto Goal Mapping, a powerful session to design their own destinies and they worked really hard to understand the concept of the power of their minds and that their destinies are in their own hands.

All students completed their Goal Maps at the end and I was extremely grateful for the positive comments received both at the end of the session and on my way out of the school.  I look forward to working with you all again in the future.

Pupils who rated the course as 5 stars justified their ratings as follows:

• It was a fun and enjoyable event which gave me a lot to think about – Kyle O’Sullivan
• Helped me to think about my future and motivated me – Louis Matignetti
• A little slow but very positive, helpful and thought provoking, cheers – Hannah (year 13)
• Really inspiring and thought provoking, some clever ideas – George O’Hara

New Exam Busters Programme Tried & Tested.

Thank you to all staff and students at McAuley Catholic High School for such a wonderful day on 15th September. From the moment I arrived to the moment I left, every single member of staff really ensured I was well looked after.

The students were excellent in both sessions. Both sets also showed me the utmost respect throughout the day and participated, engaged and handled themselves in an extremely mature fashion. I was really heartened to receive such positive feedback from so many both on the feedback forms and in person as the students were leaving each session.

This was the first time that I have introduced some new techniques as part of the Exam Busters programmes and I am looking forward to seeing how they impact over the year. I look forward to returning in the future, thank you for a great day.

Pupils who rated the course as 4 stars justified their ratings as follows:
• All the exercises were very successful as the whole group remembered the facts. – Hannah
• Very helpful and informative, helped me a lot and makes revision sounds better. – Lauren
• Get people up and involved more. – Jimmy
• Fun and enjoyable and good to get involved. – Luke
• What a nice man. – Jake

Pupils who rated the course as 5 stars justified their ratings as follows:
• Amazing! Truly funny, weird and loved every minute! Mark Rules! – Scott
• Really fun and engaged all the time, didn’t get bored and learnt loads. I liked your personality/humour. – Samie
• I felt I learnt a lot, it was really helpful and made me want to revise. I learnt a lot of techniques and
didn’t get bored. Thank you. – Shannon
• Very funny, informative, helpful and just an amazing way to learn about revision techniques. – Fox
• Great fun, really connected with us. The techniques worked, absolutely loved it. – Jack
• Great presentations, really funny, very interactive and will really benefit in the future. Great! – Phillip

7th September 2011 - Back To Northgate

If I could have a perfect session then this would be it! After visiting Northgate High in September 2010, I was made to feel very welcome by the staff and worked with an extremely mature and responsive group of students. Surely this year’s group couldn’t be the same? Well they were exceptional students!

The first shock of the day was that every single student had a pen with them after they had all entered the room respectfully. Throughout the morning, every single answer given by the group was mature and of high quality, they offered brilliant examples to the tasks set and there was no shortage of volunteers. They were all stars and, as a presenter, this is why I enjoy my job so much.

It is also very evident that all students are treated equally and with a high level of respect from staff, who on the day were extremely supportive and welcoming to both myself and my colleague Jay. I am already looking forward to returning and working with Northgate again.

• It was very helpful
• A lot of help for the future and it was really good fun
• It was very fun and very helpful (6 stars awarded)
• The dude (Mark) was funny
• Fun
• Great resources

6th September 2011 - More Motivation In Wales

The session ran really smoothly and this was thanks to an impeccably behaved group of students and extremely supportive staff.  The students were a little quiet at first but soon livened up and offered extremely useful and mature contributions throughout the morning. Each and everyone portrayed themselves in an extremely positive light and there were very few issues with any individuals. The whole group worked through their worksheets and completed all the tasks in hand.

• Mark was really nice and friendly
• I enjoyed the whole thing
• It was very motivating
• It was fun
• I was funny and motivating

5th September 2011 - Back To School at Malcolm Arnold

Back to school were the words I used to hate as a pupil but words I love as a presenter!  The first day back was with year 13 at Malcolm Arnold Academy to deliver Mastering Student Motivation as a follow up to Study Skills in January 2011. The group were already extremely motivated and offered some fantastic ideas and contributions throughout. They fully understood the need to plan and motivate themselves over the next twelve months in order to achieve the grades and goals they desire. I wish them all the best for the future and thank them and the staff present for a really enjoyable first day of term. I look forward to working with Malcolm Arnold Academy again soon.

• It was fun, enjoyable and I learnt a lot
• It was very useful
• Very useful and fun

Study Skills In July

As the academic year drew to a close, I visited two schools in the Midlands (nice short journies) to deliver Super Speed Study Skills to help students prepare for next year.

It was a pleasure to work with large and lively groups of students who were hardworking and respectful throughout. I was heartened at how many students came to the front at the end with positive comments and the fact that all joined in and took away the resources when the session finished. 

Student Feedback From June
• Fun and educational and also imaginative
• It was fun
• Fun, educational and nice
• Because it was different and fun it made stuff memorable
• It’s better than anything I have ever done before
• I enjoyed it and the jokes were good
• It was really interesting
• Very helpful for future exams
• Helpful for exams and makes learning fun.
• It was fun and I laughed a lot
• It helped me to remember things that I never thought I could
• I really enjoyed it and it was fun, thank you
• Mark was hilarious and amazing plus it really helped and now I can't wait to start studying which sounds really weird
• Mark was funny and he has cool hair
• I came in thinking that I would be a little bored but even after Mark told us his name, I was laughing, engaged and paying attention
• It was very informative
• It was pretty cool

22nd June 2011 - SWAN Goal Mapping

A handful of students attaneded the Goal Mapping programme at Campion School. The session started with an ice breaker where students had to imagine they had been stranded in the desert and had to select certain items to take with them and leave behind.

They all participated well as part of a team and followed the instructions well. They then moved onto Goal Mapping, a powerful session to design their own destinies. They worked really hard to understand the concept of the power of their minds and that their destinies are in their own hands.

• I know more about what I want to do in the future from today’s activity – Raihan Ahmed
• Mark has been really helpful with being able to look forward in my life and set goals that I can achieve – Jed Collins
• It was very good – Thomas Harker
• It was fun – Tom Williams

28th June 2011 - Barton Primary

Working with all the students and staff at Barton Seagrave Primary School was a delight. All
students were thoroughly engaged and extremely well behaved throughout both sessions.

There was no shortage of volunteers and willingness to work hard whilst having fun and learning.

The staff were excellent on the day too and were keen to join in and support me. Thank you very much for a wonderful day.  All year groups enjoyed the popular Creative Approaches to Learning programme.

• Interesting, fun and creative
• Learnt lots of things = 140 things
• Very fun
• It was great
• Great fun and was a great laugh
• Excellent and fun
• Funny and interesting
• It was fun and interesting to do
• Fabulous and brilliant
• Brilliant and excellent
• Excellent and fun
• Funny and interesting
• It was fun and interesting to do

Goal Mapping Practitioner

Woohoo, I am now a fully qualified Goal Mapping Practitioner!!!

After spending a weekend on the lovely Isle Of Wight, I completed a three day training programme to enable me to deliver Goal Mapping to adults as well as students in education.  The programme was delivered by the amazing Brian Mayne, creator of Goal Mapping and was also attended by some of my wonderful Positively MAD friends.

Watch this space for more details...

May 2011...

Back To Roade
It was a pleasure to return to Roade School and work with Year 10 students again.  Early in the month, I worked with them for one hour delivering a Speedy Study Skills session introducing them to a range of techniques.  Session two was Employable You looking at how to make a difference to what you have to offer in the future.  Next month I will return for Goal Setting and Motivation.

Broadway Superstars
Here is a lovely article written by Alan David Pritchard on the Positively MAD website...

Positively MAD was recently invited by Broadway School in Birmingham to provide a combined parent-pupil motivational event.  Blending goal-setting and motivation, the event was aimed at students in years 7 – 11 and their parents, and was delivered by the irrepressible and highly engaging speaker, Mark Kennedy. Using his talent for delighting audiences with real-life anecdotes, and mixing common sense with highly motivational content, Mark challenged his audience to think about what they really want in life and how to motivate themselves to achieve their goals. Staff, parents and students all found the presentation to be entertaining, enlightening and very worthwhile. Here is a sample of the feedback that Mark received for this inspirational learning experience. 5 Stars Just taught me about life. – Salmaan, Year 7 It gave our parents alongside our pupils to refocus their thoughts and plan for their futures. Super feedback. Positive parent comments. –Sue S, teacher Very good. Good examples. Inspiring. Gives you a flash forward of what to experience in life. – Jameel, year 9 I thought it was good. – Suleman, Year 9 It was excellent. – Anishah, Year 7 It opened our eyes.  Fun, laughs and energetic. Advice to help us in life.  – V- Mizan, year 11  4 Stars  Gets you motivated, you know what you want. – Suleman, Year 10 It was very interesting and made you think. Very helpful. – Ansar, Yr 11 Many thanks to all involved for making our speaker feel so welcome and appreciated. We look forward to making more of a positive difference to the Birmingham community soon.

View article...

April 2011...

Exam Busters Month
With exams just around the corner, it was a delight to work with Evesham High, Queen Elizabeth Mercian, South Wolds and Tredegar Comprehansive as my tour took me to Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Notts and Wales.

All year 11 students were a delight to work with as they learnt a range of memory techniques surround how to revise in time for the big day.  There were some encouraging comments after these fun sessions. 

Evesham High School year 11 students 
“I enjoyed the session because Mark put it across in a fun was and got people involved.”
“It was interesting and will help me prepare for the exams.”
“Put revision into a new and fun way.”
“Interesting, fun and enjoyable.  Mark constantly kept us interested and showed is many useful strategies and techniques.  Top bloke Marky!”
“Do you know what...I am actually going to revise now.”

Queen Elizabeth students

"Flawless, fun and engaging"
"Entertaining, educational and enthusiastic"

South Wolds staff
"Wide range of strategies that will be really useful for revision.  The teacher and parent session was also extremely valuable"

Tredegar staff and students
"Pupils engaged throughout and responded well / interacted with Mark.  Feedback from some classes in follow up lessons afterwards was all positive."

"Really made me realise that revising isn't boring"
"Fun and enjoyable plus certainly not boring"

My blog is changing and new website has landed...

http://www.mad4life.net/

Click above to see my new website.

Also, to improve this blog, I am going to update it on a monthly basis, it will include highlights of all my work in schools and beyond.

Enjoy and thank you for reading.

5th April 2011 – Evesham High

Exam Busters was a hot topic at Evesham High School as year 11 students were assisted with final preparations for their imminent exams.  Students enjoyed the day and commented;

“I enjoyed the session because Mark put it across in a fun was and got people involved.”

“It was interesting and will help me prepare for the exams.”

“Put revision into a new and fun way.”

“Interesting, fun and enjoyable.  Mark constantly kept us interested and showed is many useful strategies and techniques.  Top bloke Marky!”

“Do you know what...I am actually going to revise now.”

Organiser Stuart Weston added, “This gave them an opportunity to think about revision and gave them some practical strategies and techniques to use.”

**I was also delighted to meet a fellow Northampton Town fan in the group too!

30th April 2011 – Goals At Bosworth

The final session of a mini series of sessions at Bosworth College concluded with year 11 students attending a one hour Goal Setting session to help prepare for further education and life beyond.  It was an absolute pleasure to work with a range of positive people.

24th & 25th March 2011 – A Great End To A Busy Week

A busy few weeks in fact!  It is always a pleasure to work with local schools and two afternoon sessions at Caroline Chisholm was no exception.  Year 11  worked through revision techniques in the famed Exam Busters seminars.

Student Comments

“This has made me realise how easy revision can be – and remembering it!  I now know more and better techniques to revise for my GCSEs... I know I can do it and I feel that I will go through my exams with flying colours and end up with a huge grin on my face.”

“I really enjoyed it, it was funny and I learnt loads.”

“It was really helpful.”

“It was decent and fun.”

22nd March 2011 – Study Skills at Writtle College

Two enjoyable sessions at Writtle College in Cheltenham were attended by further education students in the morning and pupils from local schools in the afternoon.  All worked extremely hard and produced some creative examples throughout the day.

Student Comments

“Useful information and very fun.”

“Mark made the session very informative and we learned how to do Mindmaps and how easy they are to use.  A great laugh too!”

“”Good interaction and fun.”

“Really enjoyed the exercises, they will help a lot.”

“Excellent experience and a lot of useful skills for the future for both revision and life.  The day was done in a fun was, not just a lot of speech but a lot of fun activities.”

“Fun and entertaining, I didn’t get a chance to get bored because I was always thinking.”

“Helped me to learn a variety of things and kept me entertained.”

21st March 2011 – Getting Down To Study At The Downs School

The rural location of the Downs School saw year 11 students attend Super Speed Study Skills session to test out alternative techniques for study.  Students enjoyed the two sessions and commented;

“Good activities and loved the Mad Moves.”

“Really helped me and made me realise that there are different ways to learn.”

18th March 2011 – Red Noses and Employability

A fun filled action packed day at Abbeyfield School left everyone buzzing as the launch of the new and exciting Employable You session went down a storm.  The students had already worked through Goal Mapping earlier in the academic year and it was an absolute pleasure to work with year 10 again.

The day began with a group seminar in the theatre before students broke into groups to work on a presentation of their own.  The day ended with an competition back in the theatre to see who was the winner of the star prize.

Student Feedback

“Mark is awesome and does an amazing job at presenting. He makes things seem a lot funnier than they actually are but then as the same time he was serious when speaking about our future.”

“I never ever speak in front of crowds but Mark and my teacher inspired me to want to take part and I felt really proud of myself because they made me feel I had something to give”

“Mark is mad like his job title – Positively Mad. He makes what is normally boring work transform into brilliantly happy interactive work. When I see him do this it turned my day upside down. Cool let’s have him again.”

“I thought that this day was very unusual and different from our normal style of learning. It was very well planned out and Mark has obviously done a lot of work preparing for this day because it made our sense.”

“I thought Mark did an outstanding job! His random theme for our enterprise focus day really grabbed our attention! He offered us lots of knowledge in a teenagers understanding, but mature way! He motivated the whole year group to take part and everyone wanted to perform their presentations and he even bought in some competition prizes. Truly awesome day. I’d like to see more of him in school.”

“It actually made me want to take part and it made me see how careers and enterprise can be fun. It connected up my learning in my mind. Now I have an idea of how to go about sorting my future out.”

School Feedback

“Working with Mark is always a pleasure, from the informal but productive initial meetings through to the final delivery. It's always worthwhile allocating precious time in a busy schedule to meet with Mark, knowing that I will get 100% satisfaction and that the needs of the school will be considered. The more I work with Mark, the less meetings we need, as he has the ability to second guess my thoughts and this in itself saves valuable time.

Mark is very well respected member of the 'World of Work' community by the students of Abbeyfield and when introducing a future event to them or including them on initial planning, they often ask 'is it with Mark again'.

A positive experience of working with Mark is that I am able to work alongside him, as opposed to just asking him to come in a do an event. He takes on board our 'school' needs and often adapts his work to accommodate school targets. This means a lot as it reaffirms to the students that it is a joint effort and not just a one off event.

Mark has a unique 'selling point' of relating to the students in his own way and remembers aspects of previous events, which helps the students relate to previous experiences and this brings continuity to WRL.

In looking forward to planning next year’s activities, I can confident ring-fence a percentage of a shrinking budget to account for events with Mark as the value for money he offers with his skills and experience is more than well justified.”

Wayne Jones
Director of Key Life Skills
Abbeyfiled School

17th March 2011 – English Revision in Lancashire

Mark Kennedy had an enjoyable and worthwhile day at Fearns College recently, where he delighted students with his delivery of the Hooks, Lines and Thinkers English Revision Sessions.

Using a memory hook system, students were taught how to remember over 100 facts without writing them down. Covering basic skills to writing improvement techniques, the course demonstrated alternative approaches to revision and showed students how powerful their abilities really are.

After the course, the students were asked to rate the course using a 5 star rating system.

The majority of the students rated the course as 4 and 5 stars, reporting that they had a great deal of fun while learning how to remember better.

Read on to discover what the students had to say: 

 Pupils who rated the course as 4 stars justified their ratings as follows:

Year 10

• “It helped me remember more, others should take this course because overall it does help you.”

• “Helped me to understand what to do during exams and why. Also helped with spellings.”

• I think the morning was a good session. Some of the things we did helped me to remember what to do in exams.”

• Had a good laugh which made it easier to learn. Thanks.”

• “I liked this course, it was good.”

• “I found it helpful and interesting.”

• “I’ve learnt different ways to remember other than just reading facts.”

• “It was quite good and a good laugh, very enjoyable.”

• “I liked the course. I will have a look at the website. I learnt how to spell independent haha.”

• “I have learnt a lot about exam techniques and revision techniques. Also Mark made it funny so it was interesting, thanks (and it got us out of three lessons).”

• “I think this has helped me in some things. I enjoyed the course as well and it was really worth coming to.”

• “I enjoyed the day and it has helped me with spelling, argumentative writing and how to structure

paragraphs.”

• “This course has taught me a lot about how to remember techniques in my English exams.”

• “This course has taught me some techniques to help do well in my exams and it was funny.”

Year 11

• “I learnt how to break up words to help me with spelling.”

• “Learnt some good revision techniques• “Beginning was a bit boring but was really good at the end.”

• “All good.”

• “It was slightly confusing at first but ultimately I remembered everything.”

• “It was okay, I got confused at the start but then got it as it went on.”

• “Helpful and great for exams.”

Pupils who rated the course as 5 stars justified their ratings as follows:

Year 10

• “Because I have enjoyed the course it made it easier to understand.”

• “Because I learnt how to remember important things.”

• “I would give this course 5 out of 5 because I found it really interesting and helpful. I have learnt a lot and it will help me achieve the grades I want. I would definitely recommend this course to others as I think they would really enjoy it and learn a lot.”

• “Thank you.”

• “I have learnt different ways to revise, thanks.”

• “Good.”

• “I really enjoyed this session and learnt a lot.”

• “I enjoyed this session as it was funny but also helpful with my English. Don’t change you crazy man.”

• “It was fun.”

• “It was funny and we learnt a lot of things.”

• “We learnt a lot of stuff and it was funny.”

Year 11

• “I would give it 5 because I now know how to spell independent.”

• “I would give the course a 5 because it was excellent. I will definitely recommend this course to others.

The presenter was funny and helped me a lot. Thanks.”

• “I thought it was good because I learnt a lot.”

• “I think that I have learned something whilst having a lot of fun.”

• “I learned a lot and would recommend this to others.”

• “Because it was entertaining and grabbed the attention of pupils.”

• “I learned a lot and it was entertaining.”

16th March 2011 – Academy Interview Day

It was a pleasure to be part of Northampton Academy’s Interview Day in mid-March.  Students attended one hour breakout sessions and learnt the importance of Goal Setting.  Comments included; “Positively MAD was mad but good. We had to look at what we want out of life and it made me think about next year.

15th March 2011 – A Trip To Swansea

A long drive is always made worthwhile by some great Welsh hospitality and students and staff at Bryntawe were a pleasure to work with on a sunny spring morning.  The whole of year 11 enjoyed Exam Busters and commented;

“The ways of studying were effective and they stuck with us.”

“I learnt a lot and it was very interesting.”

“It was fun, interesting and it will help loads, thank you.”

“I actually learnt how to revise properly.”

Teacher Wyn Jones added, “Easy attainable tasks for the pupils and morale boosting.”

8th March 2011 - Double Header at Shirelands...

Year 11 students from Shirelands Collegiate Academy enjoyed a Positively MAD day at a West Bromwich hotel.  The morning began with Goal Mapping where students created their goal maps for the future.  After lunch, the theme of the day was exam techniques with Exam Busters.

Organiser Andrea Bell commented, "Exam Busters was very good at highlighting key techniques for improving memory and aiding revision.  Goal Mapping engaged most students and allowed them to consider honestly where they want to go in life.  It was an excellent confidence booster."

The students added, "Thank you Mark, for a great day."
"Was fun to take part in the activities and it was interesting."
"Very good fun and good tips."

7th March 2011 - More Exam Busting at Weavers

The spring sunshine made an appearance and a short visit to Weavers School in Wellingborough banished any Monday morning blues.  Year 11 students attended Exam Busters and displayed excellent attitudes throughout.  Daniel Gay commented, "Very engaging, very positive, Mark's delivery was perfect for our students, they loved the presentation.  Becky Knight added, "A variety of techniques used which are not only useful but kept the students engaged."

It was very heartening to see the students fighting over the feedback forms at the end and their comments included,
"I believe Mark has taught us many things and we won;t forget it.  I understand where he is coming from.  Now I have tips I can use."
"Mark has taught me lots of techniques and I will carry on trying these out.  If I pass my exams, he gave the help to make my studying fun."
"Mark was funny, used words I understood and wasn't boring. One happy age group."
"This helped, new ideas, made it fun and interesting."
"Well...he taught us how to revise and he was better than other organisations we have met before."
He was really easy going and delivered a relaxed session.  He taught us in a different way which was really effective and provided easy ways to revise than any other."

3rd March 2011 - Bewdley

A perfect day with the students of The Bewdley School and Sixth Form College.  Year 11 were treated to a visit to Bewdley Golf Club to work though a day of Exam Busters.   Comments included "Engaging" and "Fun" as well as "MAD" and Useful" in the students feedback and teacher Alison Shiels added, "The event presented learning/exam revision in a fun and entertaining way.  By engaging the students using a variety of stimulating and fun techniques, Mark made the scary world of exams and revision less frightening."

2nd March 2011 - Exam Busters at Milton Keynes Acdemy

A short hop down the M1 to Milton Keynes Academy to work with Year 11!  Michelle Rance commented "This showed the students different techniques on how to revise and best use their time to help with forthcoming exams."

The students also enjoyed the day, adding, "Brilliant explanation on all points."
"Excellent, will use all the techniques."
"Fun and memorable."
"Really random and really works."
"It was mad, a bit like me!"
"It was fun and we learnt a lot.  Mark was really friendly."
"Fun, exciting, interesting and engaging, thank you."

18th February 2011 - St Marks in Bath

A lovely end to the week involved working with some wonderful students of St Marks in Bath.  A select of AimHigher students visited a lovely hotel on the outskirts of Bath and spent the morning working through the Goal Mapping programme, setting short and long term goals.  A former student then spoke about his time at the school before the afternoon session which was Exam Busters.  Teacher Steve Walker commented, "Excellent delivery and related brilliantly to the students and kept them going even on the last day of term.  Great session, thank you."

The students also added,
"It was interesting, funny and everyone enjoyed it."
"Great teaching methods."
"Very helpful, memorable and I will use it to revise."
"Inspirational!"

17th February 2011 - Malcolm Arnold Academy

A school close to home!  Malcolm Arnold Academy is only one mile from my house and the students of years 12 and 13 were a joy to work with.  Year 12 began the day working through Study Skills before Year 13 enjoyed Exam Busters.  Both sessions were well received with the following feedback teacher Rachel Curran, "The majority of students were clearly interested and engaged.  I will be using many of the suggested techniques in the near future which should further help a number of students to practice these skills."

7th & 9th February 2011 - Two Days At Bosworth...

Bosworth College is always a pleasure to visit and this week in early February was no exception.  Monday afternoon comprised of a one hour study skill session with the 6th form before a Wednesday afternoon working with year 11 on Coping With Exam Stress.

Carol Fitzgerald commented, "Great ideas, Mind Mapping is great for so many subjects, good way of remembering lots of facts and also as a framework for evaluation."

4th February 2011 - Double Act At Desborough...

A Friday trip to Maidenhead to work with the lads at Desborough School.  The all boys school spent the morning with Mark and Joe Rowntree who delivered Mastering Student Motivation before moving to Exam Busters in the afternoon.  The morning focussed on setting short term goals before looking at some valuable memory and study techniques in the afternoon.

The teaching staff commented, "Both presenters and content were great.  An enjoyable and informative day."

The students themselves also added,
"This was great, helped our revision and the tips were great."
"Was good and really educational."
"I learnt a lot and hope to keep in mind all the techniques, much appreciated."
"I loved it, it was good fun and I learnt a lot."

21st January 2011 - A Stop At Bishop Stopford...

Friday morning, the sun was out and Kettering was only a short drive from home!  The day was only to get better after meeting a large group of 200 year 11 students at Bishop Stopford School.  The two hour session was an absolute delight and was made by each and every student working extremely hard through the Exam Busters session.  The group were extremely mature, respectful and engaged, a total credit to themselves!

Student Feedback
"Really fun and interesting. Helped me with exam tips and how to revise. Showed me how to structure, thank you." - Will
"Fun and interesting, really enjoyed it." - Alex
Really fun, funny and educational." - Fraser
Fun, funny yet educational and relevant." - Jordan
Great fun and interactive." - Lewis

20th January 2011 - Exam Busters in Lincoln...

Noth Kesteven School in Lincoln was the setting for Exam Busters on 20th January where 200 year 11 students descended on the theatre to work through a range of techniques to help with exam revision and to combat stress and nerves on the big day.

Teacher Miss Whiting commented, "This introduced students to new and effective ways of revising.  They were able to practice some of the techniques.  The students were more confident in the recall of facts."

The groups were lively and enjoyed joining in with the practice tasks, giving the following comments;

"Funny, involved, engaging." - Jake
"Great funny attitude. Fantastic advice and I will definitely carry them out." - Jack
"Funny and interesting." - Duggan
"Entertaining and funny, taught me a lot for my exams." - Elliott

19th January 2011 - Goals With Options 2

After a morning at Roade, it was a short hop back to town to work with post 16 students at Options 2 Training.  A group of 15 students worked through the Goal Mapping programme and enjoyed their afternoon creating their final Goal Maps.

Feedback
"I think today was a real eye opener into certain things holding me back in life, well done and thank you Mark"
"It was very fun and different, haven't done anything like this before"
"Today was good, easy to understand and follow, thanks Mark"
"Very helpful. I've taken everything on board and will stay positive in order to achieve my goals"
"It was very good thank you"
"It helped a lot and gave a lot of helpful advice that was really needed"
"It was wicked"
"It was cool"
"It was educational and helpful"

19th January 2011 - Motivation At Roade...

It was a delight to spend an hour with year 10 students at Roade School on 19th January.  The year group split into two and attended an introduction to Goal Mapping sessions lasting 30 minutes each.  The students were extremely responsive and are looking forward to completing the whole programme in February.

Student feedback

"Valuable life lessons were learnt in that session"
"The session was very inspirational"
"The things I learnt from that presentation we not to listen to anyone (putting me down), to go for my goal and eventually I will achieve it"
"Very good and made me think about setting goals"
"Good speaker, very confident and interacted with the crowd. Got the point across to think about our goals in life"
"We learnt to never give up on your goals and you can't achieve if you don't have a target"
"I think it was a very good presentation, it got everyone to think about how they are going to achieve the goals they set themselves"
"It helped me to see my future"
"Made us realise, we can fail but learn from our mistakes"

6th January 2011 - Exam Stress Busting at Campion...

I have worked with Campion School for around 14 years now and it is always a pleasure to return and work with the students who are always engaged and the staff who are extremely supportive.  The whole of year 11 attended a day in order to combat exam stress and to help motivate them for their upcoming exams.  Whilst learning a range of techniques, students also looked at the benefits of sleep, state, eating the right foods and structuring their revisions sessions.

In the afternoon, an extra session was available to an English target group where the students were able to practice a range of revision techniques specific to these particular subjects.

Student Feedback
"It was fun and I will use these techniques in the future.  I am now Positively MAD!!!"
"Thanks for a great "Positively MAD" day, I feel a lot more confident about my exams now."
"Really enjoyed it and feel more confident now, thanks for a "Positively MAD day."
"Great techniques"
"Enjoyed it and learnt some good stuff to use in my exams."

5th January 2011 - Kicking Off The Year In Lancaster...

2011 began with an Exam Busters session at Central Lancaster High School in Lancaster.  The year 11 students were only settling into their second day back after the Christmas break but were lively and engaged throughout.  Student Rebecca commented, "I enjoyed it and the session really helped me a lot."

Jake added, "Help me gain more confidence in remembering things for my exams and has given me various helpful tips for revising."

Finally Amelia said, "Mark helped me to remember things easier and how to do a Mind Map."