Headlines: Rainbow bridge, MBE awards and Bath Rugby celebrations
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Bristol Live's story of a mum-of-four who died in a skydiving accident on the Somerset and Devon border has had a big response. Belinda Taylor, 48, from Totnes, and Adam Harrison, 30, from Bournemouth, died in the accident at Dunkeswell Aerodrome at about 13:00 BST on Friday.A 26-year-old cyclist died in a collision in Ringwood, the Salisbury Journal reports.WH Mitford and Son in Westbury-on-Trym is due to close in September. The hardware shop has been there for 160 years, writes Bristol World.Swindon Advertiser followed a trans solidarity march in the town over the weekend.And the Rainbow Bridge connecting Montpelier and St Andrew's in Bristol has been restored to its former colourful state by a team of volunteers, Bristol 24/7 reports.
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There were celebrations over the weekend following Bath's Premiership Rugby win.Congratulations are in order for Pier Pritchard who was awarded an MBE in The King's Birthday Honours List for her work in Wiltshire Council's children's safeguarding team.Swindon Borough Council will start work on a £55,000 project to refresh the Greenbridge roundabout next week.Phlebotomists are striking again, so there will be blood test disruption in Gloucestershire this week.
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BBC News
an hour ago
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Sefton's children's services praised for 'significant turnaround'
A council's children's services which last year was described as posing "significant harm", has shown improvement across the board, inspectors have services run by Sefton Council were rated "inadequate" by Ofsted back in early 2022, but the education watchdog's latest monitoring report gave it an overall rating of "good".Ofsted inspectors said "children are now a clear priority for the wider council", and that staff have reported "a positive shift" in the culture of the Council leader Marion Atkinson said securing the improved rating was "a proud moment", and that the services had "undergone a transformation". Atkinson said the council had "worked tirelessly to build a children's services in Sefton that our families, children and young people deserve".She said the Ofsted rating confirms that "our children are now safer, better supported and more empowered".Last year Ofsted carried out two monitoring visits which identified "widespread failures" in the described the inspection as "bleak" with highly vulnerable children being left at risk of serious harm."This report marks a significant turnaround from the previous rating," said the improvement, Ofsted highlighted the need for improvement in areas like the use of multi-agency information when responding to safeguarding concerns and the quality of record-keeping. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Clearing no longer 'bargain basement for the unsuccessful' as savvy students use it to 'trade up' uni courses
University Clearing is no longer a 'bargain basement for the unsuccessful' amid an explosion of top courses on offer, the head of Ucas has said. Dr Jo Saxton said sixth formers entering Clearing on A-level results day was the 'new normal', with much of the old 'stigma' removed. The admissions chief also said this year's students could be better-achieving than previous years – opening up the possibility of even higher grades. And in a wide-ranging interview, she also urged the Government to encourage university entry for students from disadvantaged regional areas. Dr Saxton was speaking ahead of hundreds of thousands of 18-year-olds receiving their A-level grades on Thursday. Those who miss their grades and get rejected from their chosen universities can enter Clearing, which matches unplaced students with unfilled places. Asked if there was still a 'stigma' to Clearing, she said: 'There is a new normal.' 'Clearing maybe was perceived as a bargain basement – it was for the people who had been unsuccessful. 'But that is definitely not how current applicants perceive it.' She pointed out that because so many top courses are now entering Clearing, many students even use it to 'trade up' from their existing place. 'For current applicants, it's [often] the mechanism by which they change their mind,' she said. Around 26,000 courses are currently on offer in Clearing, with most of the top universities of the Russell Group listing places available. Dr Saxton said students are becoming savvier, by pre-researching alternative courses before results day. 'They're not blindfolded throwing a dart at a dartboard,' she added. It comes after experts predicted at the weekend results may remain higher than before the pandemic. Asked if there would be grade inflation this year, Dr Saxton suggested any rise in grades may be down to the cohort being cleverer. This is because they were the first cohort since the pandemic to have their GCSE grades returned to the old harder standards – meaning more people at the lower end may have been put off from doing A-levels. 'The practical consequences of that is that it did mean that fewer students than in recent years actually met the entry criteria that most schools and colleges would set for progression into A-level subjects,' she said. 'It probably means there's fractionally higher prior attainment across the cohort.' Dr Saxton was speaking at an event run by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), about her views as the head of the UK's official admissions body. Asked about her 'hopes and fears' for the Government's up-coming plans for universities, due to be published in the autumn, she said she wants to see more action on students from disadvantaged areas. She said: 'We're definitely thinking about it and have been involved in some of the conversations. 'In terms of what I hope for, I'd really like to see more about access and participation plans, particularly from a regional angle – that regional disparity. That London advantage. 'More people in all parts of the country should get to benefit from higher education.' Last year, 27.8 per cent of pupils got A or A* grades – a record outside of the pandemic – and a record number also got accepted onto courses.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Schools give pupils lessons in phone calls to prepare for clearing
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