Murray Hudson's blog from Gratnells
Catalogues & distributors
ASE journal highlights problems of poor prep-room design
Jun 24th
The Association for Science Education (ASE) has picked up on our special report into prep-room design in the June 2010 edition of their Education in Science magazine. The Gratnells report was aimed at reducing the number of poorly designed and equipped prep-rooms specified by architects who have little or no experience in the area.
Industrial style shelving
We highlighted a case of an Academy in West London (which shall remain nameless) which was given simple industrial style shelving into which thousands of pounds of science equipment could not fit. The pictures here tell a thousand words.
Total disorganisation.
Gratnells was brought in to sort out the mess and now the school are happy. To find out more please download the report off our site and join our campaign against bad science storage.
Education in Science is a bi-monthly publication from the ASE and an excellent read for anyone connected to science teaching in the UK.
Colour Swatch – the most difficult print project in the world?
Jun 11th
One of the most common questions we get is ‘Can you describe what your green tray looks like. How green is it?’ Answering a question like that on the phone is nigh on impossible. It’s sort of grass green but that depends on which grass you have in your garden. The web gives a good approximation but print a sheet from a standard colour laser and it is never quite right. It was time to develop an accurate colour swatch of all our tray colours. Nice idea, but I can assure you that is easier said than done. It was the 24 carat nightmare. The trays needed to be matched to CMYK charts and RAL charts and HEX charts and any other charts those clever print people have invented. It took months. We needed wet copies and dry copies and spot varnishes and bleeds and fades and cuts and rivets .. it just went on. However, at last it’s finished and we have beautiful colour swatches for all. They are free so please ask for one. Just don’t throw it away. I’ve sweated blood over those. They should be lovingly placed on your desk and stroked once an hour…because they’re worth it.
Free for all
Boost for suppliers into the nursery market
Jun 10th
Gove getting down with the kids
The UK nursery sector will be strengthened by the news that the coalition government has confirmed that the entitlement to free childcare for three- and four-year-olds will continue. The Education Secretary Michael Gove has gone further saying it will be increased to 15 hours a week and that childcare would also be extended to the 20,000 of the country’s most disadvantaged two-year-olds. For suppliers into this market this is surely an indication that demand will hold up. This coincides with the release of a new survey into future resourcing for nurseries conducted by BESA the UK trade body for suppliers to education. It makes interesting reading noting that nurseries are most likely to prioritise a greater range of resources than schools with learning toys at the top of the list. Instead of buying at a particular time of year, 81% said purchasing happened at any time. For suppliers this means that the traditional autumn glut can be smoothed out throughout the year.
Four day week for British Schools?
Jun 8th
Imagine waking up on Monday morning and not packing the kids off to school. As a cost saving measure a rural community in the American state of Georgia has extended the weekend an extra day. School gates remain locked on the first day of the week at Peach County where students attend school just four days a week, a cost-saving tactic gaining popularity among cash-strapped districts struggling to make ends meet. The 4,000-student district started shaving a day off its weekly school calendar last year to help fill a £600,000 million budget shortfall. As Cameron and Clegg prepare to wield the axe, is this a step too far for the UK? View article here.
Gratnells trays exposed in the News of the World!
May 31st
On Sunday the nation’s favourite kiss’n'tell paper News of The World ran a feature about Havelock Comprehensive which has improved dramatically since tycoon David Ross decided to sponsor the failing school to become an Academy. Established in September 2007 the Grimsby School is sponsored by the David Ross Foundation. We were delighted to see a Gratnells tray taking centre stage of the lead picture.
We congratulate the school on their transformation, and would like to think improving classroom storage played a part.
Starring Gratnells Trays
Full story is here
Gratnells trays star in BBC drama Ashes to Ashes
May 25th
Red shallow trays on the filing cabinet
It was sad to see the end of the BBC series Ashes to Ashes last week. Throughout the series a stack of red shallow trays and a lone yellow deep tray have featured at the police office where the drama is based. Leading character DI Alex Drake was seen carrying the yellow tray holding her notes as she chatted with her boss DCI Gene Hunt. We, the staff here at Gratnells, all claim to understand what the ending was all about. Are they alive or dead but more importantly is this proof that there are Gratnells trays in heaven?
Forty winks and a burger for KM?
May 18th
We were glad to welcome KM Furniture and their delivery lorry today when they popped into the Wickes store opposite the Gratnells Harlow factory. After what must have been an exhausting morning delivering their popular chairs to the local schools, a break was obviously required. The driver looked very relaxed when we found him and we hope he had enough energy to get back to KM HQ in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
If you are passing by don’t feel you have to use the local burger van – coffee and croissants are always available here at the home of trays.
The view from Harlow – How does Gratnells see the market?
May 11th
The year started brightly with tray sales in the first quarter exceeding Q1 2009. Our main concern is the continual march of raw material prices. Polyprop prices are now the highest I have ever seen them and now exceed the previous peak at the end of 2008. How much more can they go up? www.prw.com
Exhibitions
May 11th
The horror that is Worlddidac is looming. The bi-annual international education love-in is all set for October in Basle and we are there with a stand the size of Wales. Why IS everything the size of Wales? Anyway our Wales-sized stand is looking forward to greeting you with a soggy biscuit and weak hot coffee. I will be behind the desk somewhere between Pont-y-Berem and Abergavenny. www.worlddidac.org.
