News 2007

Ball serves up Set Point for students
May 10 2007 By The Journal

Children's television legend Johnny Ball yesterday helped North students launch a new maths and science programme.

The Think of a Number star was at Newcastle College to see Set Point, a new service for students to help their studies.

It is being installed to make sure youngsters have easy access to extras that will help them on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses.

Ball, well-known for making science and maths understandable, wrote and presented 23 television series, also including Think Again, and Johnny Ball Reveals All.

He was joined at the college's higher education centre by academics from across the region, including from Newcastle's Centre for Life, which provided inter-active maths demonstrations.

Jackie Fisher, principal and chief executive at the college, said: "Enhancing the student experience in STEM subjects is extremely important to Newcastle College and we are thrilled that the Sixth Form College has been awarded the Tyne and Wear Set Point.

"We hope that through Set Point Tyne and Wear, our work will see us collaborating with a number of partners and ambassadors to enthuse our young people.

"Most importantly, we want to ensure the future stability and prosperity of these valuable industries and help give an informed understanding of how these fascinating subjects can lead to employment opportunities and economic growth here in the North-East."