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Range High
School celebrates best ever GCSE results
OVER 80% of pupils at Range
High School achieved at least 5 good passes including English and
Maths, in GCSE results released today. This is a record for the
school, which was judged outstanding for the fifth consecutive time
by OFSTED in May 2013, and whose GCSE results last year were the
best among Sefton's state schools.
Headteacher Graham Aldridge said:- "We are so very proud of
our pupils today and I congratulate them all. Supported by the staff
at the school and their families, they have worked incredibly hard
to achieve these record results. It maintains our tradition of
challenging all pupils to achieve the highest academic standards."
Chair of Governors Dr Mervyn Thomas added his congratulations,
saying:- "The whole school community is delighted to see our
pupils achieve such wonderful results, and the Governing Body
congratulates them and the staff on such a fantastic year for the
school."
Southport folk asked to sign up
for sign2sing world record
CHILDREN and adults from
Southport are being invited to sign up for a record breaking attempt
for the most people signing and singing on the same day.
The national deaf healthcare charity, SignHealth is hoping more than
150,000 people including several hundred from Southport will join in
with the annual event taking place on 5 February 2014.
Steve Powell, Chief Executive at SignHealth, said:- "Earlier
this year 116,980 teachers and pupils across the country took part
in our 3rd sign2sing event and broke the Guinness World Records™.
The previous record, which we also set, was 114,277. On February 5,
2014, we are once again inviting children and adults alike to take
part in our world record attempt for the most people signing and
singing a song on the same day. This year we are hoping businesses,
choirs, community groups and other organisations as well as schools
join in too. Our aim for the 2014 event is to inspire our next
generation of healthcare professionals about the importance of good
communication."
People from all over the country and overseas will learn to sign a
song. Everyone who registers for sign2sing will have access to
digital resources, which will be available to be
downloaded from the end of September.
People who are unable to take part in the record breaking attempt on
February 5 are invited to join in with the event during sign2sing
week, which takes place from Monday, 3 February 2013, until Sunday,
9 February 2013.
sign2sing is also a fundraiser for SignHealth through a suggested £1
donation from everyone taking part. People will be asked to wear a
scarf like Olli the monkey, who is SignHealth's official mascot, on
the day of sign2sing and donate their £1.
The money will be used to continue the charity's work helping to
improve the mental and physical health and well-being of deaf
children and adults.
Steve added:- "News of the event is already spreading rapidly
and we are hoping to smash our current record and involve more than
150,000 adults and children, while raising awareness of deafness and
the work we are doing at SignHealth. Any businesses, choirs,
community groups and schools from Southport that decide to take part
will be joining thousands of others all over the country and some in
other countries on February 5 when they attempt to break the world
record. We are hoping more than 1,500 schools and organisations
participate in our 2014 event. People wishing to take part are
invited to register now by visiting:-
sign2sing.org.uk and
clicking on the 'register now' link."
sign2sing takes place on Wednesday, 5 February 2014. People can take
part in the event at anytime throughout the day. Alternatively,
those who are unable to take part on February 5 are invited to
participate during sign2sing, 3 February 2014, until 9 February,
2014.
For more information about sign2sing, please visit the website above
or contact SignHealth on:- 01494 687600. Alternatively, people can
follow sign2sing on
Twitter and
Facebook.
HARVESTER RAISES £100,000 TO MAKE
MAGICAL WISHES COME TRUE
A Harvester Salad and Grill
in Liverpool has helped to raise more than £100,000 to support
children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions.
The funds raised will be donated to Harvester's official charity,
Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK, which the restaurant chain has supported
over the past seven years.
The Otters Pool Harvester has helped raised the £105,000 donation
principally through the special Make-A-Wish Sundae, which featured
on the menu during 2012 and saw a donation from every sundae sold
going towards the charity.
Karen Baskett, Retail Director for Harvester said:-
"Make-A-Wish Foundation®
UK makes a positive difference to children and young people across
the country. We are delighted to help to support the
once-in-a-lifetime experiences that these children deserve. We owe a
big thanks to all our customers who purchased a Harvester sundae and
helped to contributed to the fundraising total."
Staff members from Harvester's across the country carried out their
own fundraising activities to contribute to the grand total.
The £105,000 raised by Harvester will enable Make A Wish to grant
more than 26 wishes. The total means that over the past seven years
during which Harvester has been supporting the foundation, more than
£300,000 has been raised for the children's charity.
Amanda Williams, Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK's Director of
Fundraising, added:- "We are thrilled to continue our strong
relationship with Harvester for the seventh year running and want to
say a big thank you for their donation. The donations we receive
make a real difference to the children's lives and create precious
memories for their whole family."
Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK helps to make dreams a reality for
children and young people with life-threatening conditions and give
families precious moments together. It was founded in the UK in June
1986 and, since then, has granted more than 8,000 wishes.
For more information about Make-A-Wish please see:-
make-a-wish.org.uk and
for Harvester visit:-
harvester.co.uk. |
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Some drivers
need a lesson in road safety as kids go back to school
BRAKE and Direct Line are
calling for drivers to help make streets safer for kids to walk and
cycle, by committing to slow down to 20mph around homes, shops and
schools. Their research out today reveals that although drivers say
they want safer streets for kids, many aren't following this through
by reducing their speed in local communities.
Brake and Direct Line's survey of 1,000 drivers from across the UK
finds:- Nearly 2/3 (64%) think traffic is too fast on
some or all local roads for the safety of kids on foot and bikes and
65% want action to make walking and cycling safer around schools,
homes and in town and village centres. However 6 in 10 (63%) admit to
driving at 35mph or faster in a 30 limit and 29% do this at least
once a week... Two thirds (67%) explained they feel pressure
from other drivers to go faster in built up areas, while a 3rd (33%)
say they give in to this pressure to make them drive faster.
5 children under 16 are killed or seriously injured when walking or
cycling every day in the UK. Reducing vehicle speeds can make a
massive difference to the safety of kids on foot and riding bikes.
At 20mph, drivers have much more time to react, to help them stop in
time if they need to, for example if a child runs out into the road.
Brake is urging drivers everywhere to help make roads safer for kids
by committing to slow down to 20mph around homes, schools and shops,
even where the limit is 30mph. Through the GO 20 campaign, it is
also calling for 20mph limits to become the norm across built-up
areas. It is calling for more safe pavements, paths and crossings,
so children and adults can walk and cycle for their health and
enjoyment, and for cheap and sustainable travel, without being or
feeling endangered.
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said:- "While
it's important kids and young people receive road safety education,
it's crucial that drivers take on the ultimate responsibility for
protecting children on foot and bike. Our research shows there's a
contradiction in what some drivers say they want and the way they
behave at the wheel. As well as campaigning for government and local
authorities to do more to reduce speeds in communities to tackle
pedestrian and cyclist casualties and create nicer places to live,
we're appealing to drivers everywhere to do their bit too. By
slowing down to 20mph around homes, shops and schools, you'll be
helping to save lives, and enabling kids to walk and cycle more in
their neighbourhoods."
Rob Miles, head of Motor at Direct Line, said:- "Whilst
parents can teach children how to cross the road safely and warn
them of the dangers when they are out playing or walking to school,
the lives of their loved ones are very much in the hands of drivers
and whether or not they are willing to slow down. Speed limits are a
maximum and not a 'must do'. Drivers, and not just pedestrians, have
a responsibility to gauge the conditions of the community they are
driving through, and we urge motorists to drive as they'd want
others to if their child was playing nearby."
Why GO 20?
► Fewer casualties:- at 20, drivers have more time to react and stop
in time if they need to. Studies show when 20 limits replace 30, it
means fewer casualties among pedestrians and cyclists.
► More walking and cycling:- danger from traffic is a major barrier in
enabling more people to walk and cycle. Town and City-wide 20 limits
have resulted in more people walking and cycling.
► Healthier, happier people:- More walking and cycling means healthier
people, and more enjoyable outdoors activity for kids and adults. It
helps communities interact and be communities.
► Less pollution:- GOing 20 means lower emissions from vehicle
journeys. Plus if more people can switch their commute or school run
to foot or bike, it means less polluting traffic.
► Lower costs:- Poor health from inactivity costs society dearly. Road
casualties cost even more, due to the suffering and burden on health
and emergency services. Preventing casualties and improving health
means GOing 20 pays for itself many times over. It also helps people
save money by choosing the cheapest ways to get about: foot and
bike. Read more about the case for GO 20.
Deciding to let children walk or cycle to school unsupervised is a
difficult decision for many parents, who are faced with having to
weigh up the benefits of their child living an active lifestyle with
the threat of their child being hurt by drivers. Research shows many
are put off letting their child get out and about by traffic danger. Making roads safer helps more parents to let kids walk or
cycle.
Parents who are worried that their child's route to school isn't
safe enough have a number of options. If it's possible, they could
walk with their child to school, helping to keep them safe, or set
up a walking bus with the help of other parents. They could also
work with the school to set up a local campaign for safer roads,
calling for measures such as a 20mph limit, crossings, pavements and
paths. They can also check if their child's school runs pedestrian
and cyclist training, and encourage them to contact the local
authority to provide this if they don't.
Daniel Evans, age 14, from Sunderland, died after being hit on his
way home from school. Daniel was hit by an oncoming car as he ran
out into the road between 2 parked vehicles. He was taken to an
intensive care unit at the hospital due to the extent of his
injuries, where he died 6 days later.
Karon Hylton, Daniel's mother, said:- "We don't know how fast
the car was travelling when it hit Daniel, but it hit him hard
enough to cause serious head injury and kill him. Daniel was fun,
clever and full of energy, and his death has left a gaping hole in
our family. He was a child with his whole life ahead, and he didn't
deserve to die for running out that day. No one can bring Daniel
back, but we can hopefully stop other families suffering as we have.
I urge all drivers to take Brake's advice and slow down around
homes, shops and schools, and watch out for children. Children
sometimes make mistakes when using roads: it's up to you as the
responsible adult behind the wheel of a vehicle to make sure that if
a child does run out, you're going slowly and carefully enough to
avoid doing them serious harm."
Within the past 12 months, how often have you driven at 35mph or
faster in a 30mph zone?
4 % said daily or more than once a day
12% said several times a week
13% said about once a week
11% said about once a month
23% said less than once a month
37% said never
Within the past 12 months, how often have you
felt under pressure from other drivers to drive faster when in built
up
areas?
6% said daily or more than once a day
24% said several times a week
16% said about once a week
10% said about once a month
11% said less than once a month
34% said never
How often did this pressure make you
drive faster?
1% said daily or more than once a day
6% said several times a week
8% said about once a week
6% said about once a month
12% said less than once a month
66% said never
Do you think traffic in your neighbourhood is
too fast for the safety of children or adults on foot or bicycle?
24% said yes, traffic is too fast on most/all local roads for safety
40% said yes, traffic is too fast on some local roads for safety
37% said no
Do you think more needs to be done to make
walking and cycling safer around schools, homes and town/village
centres in your area?
38% said yes, we need some/more cycle paths
15% said yes, we need some/more pavements
25% said yes, we need some/more crossings
29% said yes, we need some/more 20mph limits
21% said yes, we need safer junctions for cyclists
22% said no, we already have the above measures
13% said no, I don't think more needs to be done |
