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West Kirby Grammar School
West Kirby Grammar School (abbreviated to WKGS) is a non-denominational selective state grammar school, founded in 1913, with academy status in West Kirby on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The school admits girls from age 11 to 18 and, since 1985, boys for the sixth form only. The school is one of The Sunday Times top one hundred state schools. History In 1912 it was open for girls and boys but in 1913 was made an all girls grammar school. Founded in 1913 the school celebrated its 95th anniversary in 2008, with a whole school photograph. The school celebrated its 100th birthday in 2013, a weekend of events including another whole school photograph and a concert at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The 'Centenary Room', funded by the Old Girls' Association, was also opened next to the main hall of the school. In May 2011 the school was given a grant to renovate facilities on site, this was used to build two new teaching blocks, with work due to be completed in 2009. The technology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grammar School
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school, differentiated in recent years from less academic secondary modern schools. The main difference is that a grammar school may select pupils based on academic achievement whereas a secondary modern may not. The original purpose of medieval grammar schools was the teaching of Latin. Over time the curriculum was broadened, first to include Ancient Greek, and later English and other European languages, natural sciences, mathematics, history, geography, art and other subjects. In the late Victorian era grammar schools were reorganised to provide secondary education throughout England and Wales; Scotland had developed a different system. Grammar schools of these types were also established in British territories overseas, where they have evolv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirley Hughes
Winifred Shirley Hughes (16 July 1927 – 25 February 2022) was an English author and illustrator. She wrote more than fifty books, which have sold more than 11.5 million copies, and illustrated more than two hundred. As of 2007, she lived in London. Random House profile Retrieved 1 January 2007. Hughes won the 1977 and 2003 Kate Greenaway Medals for British children's book illustration. In 2007, her 1977 winner, ''Dogger'', was named the public's favourite winning work of the award's first fifty years. She won the in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheila McClennon
Sheila McClennon (born 13 May 1960) is a British radio presenter, notable for her work on BBC Radio 4. Early life She was born in Clatterbridge, in Wirral (then in Cheshire). She attended West Kirby Grammar School, where Jan Ravens was two years above her. Ravens would later mercilessly impersonate many Radio 4 presenters of ''You and Yours'' and ''Woman's Hour'' on '' Dead Ringers''. She gained a degree in English, Drama and American Studies from Manchester University. Career She worked in local radio and TV, and presented the Breakfast show on BBC Radio Shropshire from 1985. Radio 4 She has presented ''Woman's Hour'' (from 1994) and ''You and Yours''. Personal life She married in September 1992 in Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver .... She has a daugh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One of the most successful composers and performers of all time, McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism, exploring styles ranging from pre–rock and roll pop to classical and electronica. His songwriting partnership with Lennon remains the most successful in history. Born in Liverpool, McCartney taught himself piano, guitar and songwriting as a teenager, having been influenced by his father, a jazz player, and rock and roll performers such as Little Richard and Buddy Holly. He began his career when he joined Lennon's skiffle group, the Quarrymen, in 1957, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the cute Beatle", McCartney later invo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also available on BBC iPlayer. History ''Newsnight'' began on 28 January 1980 at 22:45, although a 15-minute news bulletin using the same title had run on BBC2 for a 13-month period from 1975 to 1976. Its launch was delayed by four months by the Association of Broadcasting Staff, at the time the main BBC trade union.Andrew Bille"Flagship sails on", ''New Statesman'', 7 February 2000 ''Newsnight'' was the first programme to be made by means of a direct collaboration between BBC News, then at Television Centre, and the current affairs department, based a short distance away at the now defunct Lime Grove Studios. Staff feared job cuts. The newscast also served as a replacement for the current affairs programme ''Tonight''. Former presenters include P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirsty Wark
Kirsteen Anne "Kirsty" Wark FRSE (born 3 February 1955) is a Scottish television presenter with a long career at the BBC. Starting on Radio Scotland, where she became a producer, Wark switched to television, presenting The Late Show and Newsnight, as well as hosting her own interview programme and launching a production company. Her activities have included reporting on the Lockerbie bombings, hosting a book quiz and encouraging open discussion of menopause. In The Great British Bake Off, she qualified as Star Baker. Wark’s powerful, searching interview style and perceived closeness to Labour Party figures have provoked controversy. She was named journalist of the year by BAFTA Scotland in 1993 and Best Television Presenter in 1997. Early life Wark was born in Dumfries, Scotland, to Jimmy Wark, a solicitor, and Roberta Wark, a schoolteacher. Her father served in the Second Battalion of the Glasgow Highlanders during the Second World War and was awarded a Military Cross for he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural setting". Having aired over 19,500 episodes, it is the world's longest-running drama by number of episodes. Five pilot episodes were aired in 1950, and the first episode was broadcast nationally on New Year's Day 1951. A significant show in British popular culture, and with over five million listeners, it is Radio 4's most listened-to non-news programme, and with over one million listeners via the internet, the programme holds the record for BBC Radio online listening figures. In February 2019, a panel of 46 broadcasting industry experts, of which 42 had a professional connection to the BBC, listed ''The Archers'' as the second-greatest radio programme of all time. Partly established with the aim towards educating farmers following World War II, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth Archer
Ruth Archer (also Pritchard) is a fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers'', played by English actress Felicity Finch. She made her debut in the 15 July 1987 episode. The character was created and introduced to ''The Archers'' as a love interest for established character David Archer (The Archers), David Archer (Timothy Bentinck), whose then girlfriend was deemed unsuitable for the role of mother to the next generation of the Archer family by the editor of the show Liz Rigbey. Finch was cast as Ruth after a successful audition. Ruth is portrayed as being strong-willed, determined and loyal. She is also a New Woman and a farmer, traits that made her stand out from the other female characters in ''The Archers'' at the time of her introduction. In later years, Ruth has mellowed and is more open to negotiation. Her storylines have often revolved around her marriage to David and her work on Brookfield Farm. In the early 2000s, the scriptwriters had Ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dead Ringers (comedy)
''Dead Ringers'' is a British radio and television comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. Among its stars was Jan Ravens. The BBC cancelled the television run in 2007 after five years. ''Dead Ringers return to Radio 4 was announced in 2014. History The programme first aired on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000. ''Dead Ringers'' returned to radio in July 2014. In November 2001 BBC One said it had commissioned a pilot for a television version. The pilot was well received and in August 2002 a full series was commissioned, this time on BBC Two. The TV show ran for seven series and was axed in April 2009. In 2002 the BBC's ''Arena'' broadcast a documentary about the series entitled ''Radio Ha! - Meet The Dead Ringers'', directed by Fisher Dilke. It featured interviews with the cast and writers, and behind-the-scenes footage from a studio recording f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Ravens
Janet "Jan" Ravens (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on ''Spitting Image'' and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life Ravens grew up in Hoylake, then in Cheshire, on the west side of the Wirral with her father, a local government clerk, and her mother, a nurse. She attended West Kirby Grammar School for Girls, where Radio 4 presenter Sheila McClennon (''You and Yours'') was two years below her. She studied education studies and drama at Homerton College, Cambridge and was first female president of Cambridge University Footlights Club in 1979–80. Career After Cambridge, Ravens became a radio comedy producer. Her first television role was in the ITV series, 'Just Amazing'. She joined Jasper Carrott's comedy, ''Carrott's Lib'', in 1983. In 1986, she played the heavily pregnant Vanessa Plowright in the "Tourists" episode of ''Farrington of the F.O.'' (broadcast 13 March). In 1986, she accompanied then husband Steve Brown on the Capital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Id (band)
The Id were a new wave/synthpop band from the Wirral, Merseyside, England formed in 1977. They are best recalled as the precursor to the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), in which Id members Andy McCluskey (bass, vocals), Paul Humphreys (keyboards) and Malcolm Holmes (drums) would reunite; Gary Hodgson (guitar) would also reappear as a technician for the new group. A number of the Id's songs, including "Electricity", were re-recorded by OMD. Formation The Id formed in September 1977. McCluskey and Humphreys had met each other at school, sharing interests in early electronic artists like Brian Eno and Kraftwerk and played together since 1975. Humphreys went to study electronics at Riversdale College, in Liverpool, where he met Gary Hodgson and Steve Hollas (bass). The group also included Julia Kneale (vocals), Neill Shenton (guitar) and John Floyd (vocals), all of whom had short-lived tenures. The band gigged regularly in the Merseyside area, performing original m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy McCluskey
George Andrew McCluskey (born 24 June 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded alongside keyboard player Paul Humphreys in 1978. The duo have been described as "electro pioneers". McCluskey also founded pop girl group Atomic Kitten, for whom he served as a principal songwriter, and has collaborated with various acts. His work has received nominations at the Ivor Novello, Grammy and Brit Awards, and has topped charts in the UK and internationally. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Andy McCluskey was born on 24 June 1959 in Heswall, Wirral, and grew up in Meols on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula in England. McCluskey met Paul Humphreys at Great Meols Primary School, in Elwyn Road, and played with him in several bands, including Hitlerz Underpantz, VCL XI and the Id. McCluskey then attended Calday Grange Gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
