Wolves captain Karl Henry donated 40 books to his former school – after buying them from former property developers-turned authors.

Click the image to watch a video of the event.

Henry visited St Alban’s C of E Primary School in Ashmore Park, Wolverhampton, to hand over copies of Skips Crosswords, which are written by brothers Ash and Sam Sharma.

They are now encouraging other people to do the same in the hope that their books will be used across the region. They started writing the books a year ago after struggling to help their children with their homework.

The books help develop English and Maths skills through crosswords. Ash Sharma, of Great Barr, who has three sons aged seven, eight and 11, said: “Our children were asking us for help but we didn’t know what we were talking about so we started brushing up and ended up getting a book together.

“We were property developers and we never expected to get into this. It’s great that Karl donated the books and if anyone wants to do the same then they should get in touch with us.”

Click the image to watch a video of the event.

Thomas Barnes pupils receive their books thanks to a £400 donation from St Mary’s Vets, Tamworth.

Youngsters at a Tamworth school are set to boost their knowledge, thanks to the helpful donation of a local vets practice.

St Mary’s Vets, in Amington, has donated £400 worth of educational books to Thomas Barnes Primary School.

They provided the school with 80 Key Stage 2 Maths and English crossword and crossmaths puzzle books from SKIPS Educational.

“We are delighted with this extremely generous donation, which has been very well received by our students,” said Kelly Williams, headteacher of Thomas Barnes.

“The books strike the right balance between work and play, fully support further development of English and Maths skills and also provide parents with the perfect opportunity to get involved with their children’s development at home.”

SKIPS Educational is a new publishing company that, with the assistance of local businesses, aims to supply every child in the UK with a free copy of its unique and fun learning aids.

The nationwide ‘free book for every child’ scheme launched in March 2013.

Guy Smith, of St Mary’s Vets, said: “We wanted to give something positive back to the community and these books have helped us do just that.”

Any potential business sponsors willing to support local schools by donating books should contact Paul Frewer (SKIPS Educational) on 01746 783857.

“Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to provide these educational books to a local school, hopefully it has been beneficial to them and us.”

Local schools in Birmingham have benefited from a £1500 donation by Financial Planning & Wealth Management services provider, to sponsor 300 educational books, which aim to put ‘the fun back into learning’ for pupils, ready for the start of the new school year.

Jobson James Financial Services (JJFS), the financial planning & wealth management business owned by Charles Stanley Group PLC has supported schools through Skips Crossword; a new and creative resource which is encouraging young learners to want to do their homework. JJCS made the donation through their Community Fund, which is administered by Birmingham and Black Country Community Foundation (BBCCF).

Skips Crosswords has produced a range of Primary English and Math’s books; these have been developed by Ash Sharma, father of two, who has transformed the curriculum into educational crosswords, making learning and revision fun for young learners. Ash invented these books whilst trying to engage his 11 year old daughter to do her homework.

Tim Venner, Business Development Director, Jobson James Financial Services commented “We are pleased to be working with BBCCF to help make a positive impact in our community through our Community Fund. Skips books is a wonderful resource, which enables young people to learn whilst having fun. We are pleased to be able to offer this gift to support our future generations to excel further in their studies”.

Jackie Gazeley, Head teacher, City Road Primary School said “We are very grateful to Jobson James Charles Stanley for sponsoring these books. The resource will not only be a great benefit to our pupils but will help our parents support their children with their homework. One parent mentioned ‘it is a fantastic resource for children and parents alike’.”

Zoë Keens, Director Development, Birmingham & Black Country Community Foundation stated: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Jobson James Charles Stanley enabling them to achieve their CSR vision by connecting them to causes that really make a difference in our community. Skips Crossword is one of those causes; it is innovatively supporting our young people through tackling the challenges of making studying fun yet educational, and we believe it is doing a fantastic job.”

“Skips Educational was born out of Ash Sharma’s frustration at being unable to enthuse his daughter to do her SATS homework. He created hundreds of crossword puzzles to make the task more engaging for her and has now published 50,000 books which are available nationwide in Waterstones and WHSmiths.

“Andy Povey, Investment Executive, who led the investment deal for Finance Birmingham said: ‘We are delighted to see that the launch company for Birmingham City Council’s creative fund showcases an innovative product that will deliver economic and social benefits.’”

Seema Green, Parent.

I’d recommend this series of books to anyone who wants to encourage their youngsters to increase their out of hours learning. A real opportunity to make progress outside of the classroom.”

Anand Patel
Associate Headteacher, Hodge Hill College, Birmingham

Zoë Keens
Development Director, Birmingham & Black Country Community Foundation