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GSCE results are the best yet
THIS
week the Government released the Achievement and Attainment Tables for secondary schools in England for both GCSE and Advanced Level results for exams taken in summer 2004. PUPILS in Warrington are continuing to achieve excellent GCSE results that are well above the national average. 58.6% of pupils achieved five or more passes graded A*-C, which is above the national average of 53.7%. Five or more A*-C grades are now classed as a national Level 2 qualification. In addition, 93% of pupils achieved at least a Level 1 qualification - five or more GCSE grades A*-G. Nationally, the average was 88.8%.
Cllr Maureen Banner, Executive Board Member for Education, Culture and Lifelong Learning, said:- "Pupils in Warrington continue to achieve GCSE results above the national average. It is extremely pleasing that so many of our young people achieve Level 1 and level 2 qualifications by the age of 15. This gives them a foundation from which they can progress, either through more formal education or by worked based training."
Tables for advanced qualifications are also available. These show results for schools and colleges in GCE (A levels) and VCE (Vocational A levels),and other advanced qualifications.
Malcolm Roxburgh, Strategic Director of Education and Lifelong Learning said:-
"There are now a variety of academic and vocational routes to obtaining higher level qualifications. These tables include explanations of the different types of awards, which parents may find useful. Further information is also available from the Warrington Borough Council website under 'Learning'".
Knockout new home for boxing club
GEMINI Boxing Club is leaving Damwood Hall for a new base at Speke Community Hall, Harefield Road. The disused two storey building has been vacant for ten years and Liverpool City Council is in talks with Barnardos to buy the property, transform it and lease it to the club. The premises will be refurbished and the sports hall developed into a first class boxing facility for local people, including the 50 current members, run by the dedicated team of six volunteers.
Councillor Warren Bradley, Liverpool City Council's executive member for leisure, said:-
"This is great news for the club and great news for Speke, as Gemini is the only voluntary club in the area with an open door policy.
The club has a proud tradition and will continue to serve the local community, providing facilities for boxers, other sportsmen and local youngsters.
I hope this move will enable the club to continue producing top class Liverpool sportsmen and women."
President of the Gemini Boxing Club, John Naylor, said:-
"We are all delighted to be moving and the community hall is ideal for us.
When we move into the new building, we will be able to draw more and more kids off the streets and into the club.
I hope that we will be able to do more than just boxing here. I would like to see us accommodate different sports teams from the local area."
Previously known as St Ambrose Amateur Boxing Club, the Gemini Boxing Club has been in existence for more than 30 years and is integrated into Liverpool City Council's Boxing Development Programme.
During that time, the club has produced more than 30 national champions and finalists, including former ABA champion Tony
Mulholland.
The club will leave Damwood Hall, its home of six years, within the next 12 months.
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Decision due over major road and bridge works
A SERIES of major works to improve the safety of a stretch of the A49
Wilderspool Causeway in Warrington are due to be discussed at Monday's
nmeeting of the Council's Executive Board.
Carefully planned to combine roadworks and bridgeworks as one scheme, the
proposals were put together to avoid the busy Christmas and New Year period and to minimise delays to road users and shoppers.
If given the green light by the Executive Board, the works to the stretch of
road between Brian Bevan roundabout and its junction with Bridgefoot
roundabout could get underway as early as Monday 24 January. The proposals include road re-surfacing works (between 8pm and 6am every Monday to Friday) with a contra-flow system
in operation. They also involve bridgeworks taking place between 8pm on
Saturdays to 6am on Mondays and phased footpath closures. It is estimated that the whole scheme could take around 12 weeks to complete.
John Drake, Capital Team Leader, said:- "We appreciate that, although this is
only a small stretch of road, it can be very busy at peak times and we have
done our best to ensure that these proposals take that on board. If given
the go-ahead by the Executive Board we will look to limit, as much as we
possibly can, any impact caused by these works."
NHS has great potential to contribute towards regeneration
AS the largest employer in the country, the NHS has a great opportunity to set an example to other public and private sector organisations as a 'good corporate citizen' by making sure that its procurement, employment, capital build, travel and waste management policies contribute to local regeneration and sustainable development.
The Health Development Agency (HDA) has commissioned a new report from the King's Fund, Good corporate citizenship and the NHS published this week, reviews how this role is developing in the NHS. The report gives a snapshot of progress in the English regions and provides regional and local case studies on all the above policies.
Dame Yve Buckland, Chair of the Health Development Agency
said:- "As a major local employer and user of services, NHS organisations have the power to improve not only the health of the patients coming through its doors but also the wellbeing of the wider community in which they operate.
The regeneration opportunities to be gained through employment and procurement should be exploited. The NHS should open its contracts to local small and medium-sized enterprises as it has the potential to create local jobs for local people.
This supply of local goods and services could stimulate the local economy and foster employment in deprived areas. The NHS needs to work at both national and local level to get these policies moving faster. We have plenty of examples of best practice to share and learn from and we urge the NHS to really exploit its wider
impact."
Karen Jochelson, Fellow in Policy at the King's Fund said:-
"There are now strong messages coming from government about the need to promote population health and reduce health inequalities. This is partly a matter of changing individual behaviour, but more importantly it is necessary for government to change its own behaviour. All government bodies, including the NHS must become far more purposeful about how they use their corporate resources to promote health and sustainable development. This report is a useful stock-take and should help to build good practice across the
country."
NHS involvement varies across the regions. The North West integrates sustainable development into all its policies and recognises the potential NHS role in regional health and economic strategies. London incorporates health impact assessments into its regional policies and recognises the economic role the NHS plays in strengthening the local economy and health profile of London. Other regions have more limited activities or have only recently started looking into this.
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