Restaurant curries favour with school

Pewsey restaurant Tale of Spice is the latest local company to show its support for St John´s School in Marlborough.

The firm, which has restaurants across Wiltshire and opened in Pewsey in August, has pledged a generous donation to support the school´s Active Pathway students who follow a more ´hands-on´ curriculum than the more traditional GCSE route.

The course is an alternative to GCSEs, which offers training based around practical skills.

Over the two-year course students in Years 10 & 11 learn a wide range of useful skills including gardening, cookery, car maintenance & valeting, painting, tiling & plastering and also have their own allotment site up & running.

They also study digital photography and IT skills and develop presentation & interview skills.

The donation will be used to buy resources that will support students understanding of money management, and will be backed up by practical support from the restaurant, which is keen to show its support for the local community.

"The course has not only improved students´ attendance and behaviour in school but is also equipping them with more "employer friendly" skills," said Mr Charlie Paul, Active Pathway leader at St John´s.

"We have had a great deal of support from local businesses that have provided a range of equipment and expertise for our students, and we are extremely grateful to Abul Jashim at Tale of Spice for his donation and his offer to support our students in developing their business skills. This will enable students to complete the Money Handling module of their course."

Anyone interested in getting involved in the ACTIVE pathway should contact Mr Paul at St John´s School on 01672 516156.

Pictured: St John´s pupils Sam Pusey, Eilidh Williams, Shannon Stott, Adam Dawson, James Gale and Jeremy Amiss with Abul Jasim of Tale of Spice