International Rescue Day - September 2010

Salford City Academy ensured the first day at secondary school for their new Year Sevens was a day to remember with a themed "International Rescue Day".  Organised by Head of Year Seven, Rose Daniels and with the help of the Salford Business Education Partnership, the day was a huge success.

Rose Daniels said: "The first day at secondary school can be daunting so we wanted to give the Year Sevens a real taste of school life here - learning new skills, making friends and having fun."

The "International Rescue Day" centred on helping victims of the Pakistan floods and set the pupils a number of challenges.  Acting as aid workers arriving in Pakistan, pupils were split into teams and set tasks throughout the day.

Equipment was supplied to fulfil all the challenges; as well as assembling tents, pupils also had to be more creative to construct a waterproof shelter from plastic sheeting, bamboo sticks and elastic bands on the school field. Whilst outside, the pupils also had to use mini gas stoves, filters and litmus paper to purify and test water for safe drinking.

Back in the classroom pupils designed and built rafts from boxes, cardboard rolls and other materials to see if they could float them in buckets of water as well as carry a box of chocolates without sinking!

Year 7 pupil Jack Etchells said of the skills he used throughout the day: "I've used tactical thinking skills during the outside task; I came up with some good ideas."

For many, the day helped them build their confidence.  Melissa Raynor said: "I talked to people whose names I hadn't even known at the start of the day!"

The last challenge saw pupils prioritise and compile food products for victims of the floods, choosing from a range of items.  Local businesses donated food products for the day: Costcutter (Eccles) gave bottled water, Co-op (Irlam) gave £20 of tinned goods and Costco (Trafford Park) donated £30 of Indian food.  Salford City Academy gave all the collated food parcels to The Salvation Army, Eccles.

Mike Cording, Interim Principal said: "Acting as aid workers in the Pakistan flood disaster gave our pupils a real sense of purpose and energy for the day.  They took to the challenge wholeheartedly and I'm sure this sets the tone for the year ahead at the academy."