Bear in mind the unforgettable opportunities offered by the Junior Memory Championship

Sponsorship is sought for the Junior Memory Championship, which works with schools to promote memory skills for children.

The Junior Memory Championship is the only nationwide memory championship for primary schools in the UK.

Now in its seventh year, it is an important educational initiative bringing valuable memory skills to the forefront of learning. In its first six years it has reached over 61,000 children.

Over the past two years, the Junior Memory Championship has enjoyed some substantial media coverage in TESPro, Guardian Teachers Network, The Times and on BBC Radio 4's Midweek programme.

The Founder of the Junior Memory Championship is Jonathan Hancock, former World Memory Champion, holder of two Guinness World Records and author of nine books on memory and learning. Importantly he is deputy headmaster of a primary school in Brighton and ensures that every element of this project is keyed into the real learning needs of children, and the practicalities of teaching in a crowded curriculum.

As a teacher he sees for himself how memory and learning techniques are central to educational success.

Jonathan says: "Today's primary school pupils may be adept at using the latest computer games and the internet, but they can still have difficulty learning the information and skills they're taught at school. To tackle these issues, and to make the most of the way the 'iPad Generation' thinks and learns, ancient memory techniques are being put to use as part of this national competition.

"The Junior Memory Championship involves ten and eleven year olds being shown how the ancient Greeks and Romans taught their students to remember, using strategies remarkably similar to today's interactive computer games and social-networking sites".

The organisers of the championship, the Learning Skills Foundation, deliver a range of learning materials (developed by Jonathan Hancock) for primary teachers to use. These materials include lesson plans, INSET pack, video clips, a full memory training programme for the Year 6 children and materials to develop learning skills in other year-groups.

"We wish to grow this project to reach most primary schools throughout the UK.

"We seek sponsorship of £30,000 to further develop and expand the Junior Memory Championship to enable the maximum number of teachers and children to participate and benefit from vitally important memory systems".

Contact: Caroline Shott

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