4
I
n
H
ouse
Title
Jonathan Kelly
Although
Mr
Kelly has been
working
as
a part time
Games Coach
at Birkdale for
4
years he only
joined the team
in September
2011
as our
full time Gap
Student. Mr
Kelly
helped
with
football
coaching
at
Castle Dyke and
had a 6 week
placement here
whilst studying
for his degree
in Sport and
C o m m u n i t y
Development at Sheffield Hallam University.
Consequently, Mr Kelly came with the advantage of
knowing many of the boys.
As well as continuing to teach Sport and PE, he has
been a great help in the Art and DT department. The
PP1 boys get very excited about swimming with Mr
Kelly on a Friday and he frequently races the boys to
see who can get ready first! Mr Kelly is getting much
faster. Mr Kelly was a star in the Prep swimming gala
and swam in the teachers’ race despite having learnt
to swim only a few weeks before. He inspired many
boys who find swimming difficult.
Mr Kelly has a passion for basketball and has helped
Mr Oakey run the Senior School basketball team this
year. Mr Kelly also helps with after school care and
has a lovely rapport with the boys, clearly enjoying
their friendly banter. His sense of fun and his friendly
nature will be sorely missed.
Steve Depledge
Victoria Roberts
Vic started teaching at Birkdale in September 2011 and
has enjoyed every minute so far! She says, ‘It’s a great
place to work as everyone is so kind and welcoming
–
staff, parents and boys alike. I job-share with Jayne
Kitchen in PP3. We’ve worked together in the past,
so know each other very well and are delighted to be
working together once again.’
Before Birkdale, Vic taught in a wide range of Sheffield
schools and worked for Sheffield Theatres as Education
Officer and Dead Earnest Theatre as Drama Projects
Manager. She has also done a wide range of freelance
work including co-ordinating children’s arts festivals;
delivering the Creative Partnerships programme in
South Yorkshire; delivering training for teachers;
writing and producing educational resource materials;
and choreographing dance with young people.
Vic enjoys all areas of the curriculum but especially
Literacy, and she is always looking for interesting ways
to engage children’s interest, thus motivating them to
write. Alongside teaching at Birkdale, Vic is a children’s
author with four books already published. One of her
books has co-editions in eleven different languages,
so reading them all could be quite a challenge!
At February half termwe had the pleasure of welcoming
Mr Steve Depledge to the staff at Birkdale as a Games
Coach. Steve was the successful candidate from a very
strong field of applicants. His role is to assist in the
coaching of the major team sports of rugby, football
and cricket. Steve has already had a very positive
impact on the sports at Birkdale helping with football
training and rugby sevens training last term and being
the coach / manager of the U12 cricket squad this
term.
Steve comes from Bath where he was a member of the
Somerset Cricket Academy. He has played rugby for
2
professional teams Bath Rugby and Leeds Carnegie
and currently plays semi-professionally for the famous
Fylde Rugby Club were he has been working closely
with the former England coach Brian Ashton.
