School closure confirmed
– despite 3,000 objections
by David Skentelbery
TOWN Hall chiefs have confirmed their decision to close Warrington?s Woolston High School ? despite another massive protest by parents and pupils.
The borough council?s executive board voted unanimously to publish their intention to close the school from August 2012.
Hundreds of demonstrators chanted ?Save our school? outside the Town Hall as the board meeting started with a final plea from Ian Johnson, chairman of governors at the school.
He told the meeting: ?It has been said that closing Padgate High School would have a terrible effect.
?Does anyone think that the effect will be any less at Woolston? The school has been there for 50 years – it is part of the community..?
Councillors heard there had been more than 3,000 representations from people who wanted the school to stay open.
Education chief Coun Sheila Woodyatt said the decision was one of the most difficult she had ever had to make. But decreasing numbers of pupils was a problem across the country and the Government was insisting that council?s tackle the problem.
If Padgate and Woolston high schools were both kept open they would each require a subsidy of ?600,000 ? and the money would have to come from all the other high schools in Warrington.
?We have checked and double-checked the figures and unfortunately they are correct.?
Coun Woodyatt said every effort would be made to ensure that all pupils at Woolston High would be able to complete their education at the school.
Coun Fiona Bruce said the people protesting outside the Town Hall should really be demonstrating outside Westminster because it was the Government that was forcing the decision on the council.
No new pupils will be admitted to Woolston High next year and the school will close in August 2012 ? provided the borough council confirms the executive board?s decision at its next meeting.
Primary schools in Woolston will send their pupils either to Padgate High or William Beamont High.
Shafilea tragedy: inquest
expected to last four days
by staff reporter
THE inquest into the death of Warrington murder victim Shafilea Ahmed is to be held in Cumbria ? close to where her body was found.
It will open on January 8 and is expected to last four days. A total of 29 witnesses have been called.
The 17-year-old, from Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, disappeared in September, 2003 and after a massive police hunt her body was discovered on the banks of the River Kent at Sedgwick in Cumbria.
In February the same year she had visited Pakistan for a family wedding and, it is understood, was introduced to a would-be suitor. She is believed to have turned him down and, while still abroad, apparently swallowed bleach as a protest. This seriously damaged her throat.
She was still being treated for the injuries when she disappeared.
Later, police revealed they had found poems or song lyrics written by Shafilea which spoke of her bringing “shame” on her family and wishing she were dead.
Police say they are satisfied Shafilea was murdered, although a cause of death has never been disclosed. A number of people have been arrested and questioned in connection with her death, including members of her own family. But no-one has ever been charged.
7,832 homes at
risk of flooding
by John Hendon
MORE homes in Warrington are at risk from flooding than almost anywhere else in Britain.
New figures reveal that a total of 7,832 homes in the town are at ?significant risk?.
Only six other towns in Britain are in more danger.
Baroness Young, chief executive of the Environment Agency, wants insurers to take a hard line on flood insurance claims.
She wants them to refuse cover to houses built on floodplains against the advice of the Environment Agency.
Warrington has had a good record in this respect in recent years. Few if any homes have been built in high risk areas.
But in the past it was different. Hundreds of properties have been built on land liable to tidal flooding from the Mersey. Many have in fact been flooded ? and hundreds of relatively modern houses are kept safe only by costing pumping installations.
Yet the town escaped relatively unscathed during the summer, when more than 40,000 homes in Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcester, Oxfordshire and Berkshire were inundated. Fourteen people died, thousands were evacuated and many were left without electricity and drinking water.
There was some flooding in the Penketh, Great Sankey and Orford areas ? but nothing on the scale of the worst-hit areas.
Baroness Young, in a Channel Four TV programme last night (Monday) said insurers could help the situation by hardening their stance against people opting to live in newly-built houses in flood risk areas.
?Many of the properties that flooded in the summer were built in the 60s, 70s and 80s and we?ve got a huge backlog of that in the floodplain now and we don?t want to increase that by building any more,? she added.
Flying visit by the RAF
MEMBERS of the Royal Air Force paid a flying visit to Warrington?s Priestley College to see the newly refurbished main hall.
Students were given the chance to take time out of their studies to take part in a number of physical activities and team building exercises arranged by the crew.
Students on Level 1 and 2 courses from Business, Performing Arts, Sport and ICT took part in the activities.
College tutor, Colin Whittaker, who organised the event, said: “It was excellent to be able to welcome in representatives from the Royal Air Force. Their passion and energy rubbed off on the students who immersed themselves in the range of activities throughout the day.”
New drink-driving
campaign launched
by James Parr
POLICE are warning drivers in Warrington not to risk being over the limit this Christmas as a new drink and drugs campaign gets under way.
Cheshire Police are looking to improve safety on the town’s roads by tackling drivers who are over the drink and drugs limits.
The force is the first in the country to have their own specialist team with enhanced drug recognition skills.
The team consists of two officers, PC Andy Taylor and PC Robbie Burns, who, following specialist training with the California Highway Patrol, are now the region’s first fully qualified drug recognition experts.
Inspector Brian Rogers said: “As part of our partnership approach to improving road safety we are committed to a policy of education and enforcement. This is why it is so important that we work with our partners to let road users know that drug driving is the evil twin of drink driving.
?The penalties are the same, the punishment is the same and more importantly the death and destruction on Cheshire road’s caused by impaired driving through drink and drugs, are the same.
?Together with our partners, we are committed to tackling drink and drug impaired driving and raising awareness of the growing problem which is making a major contribution to death and serious injury on our roads.”
Last year party-goers became complacent with Christmas drink and drug drive message, so police want to warn motorists that this year they will be doubling their effort in an attempt to eradicate drink and drug driving and deter young motorists from taking up the habit.
Town is “number
one in the country”
by James Parr
WARRINGTON has been named as number one in the country for improvements in children’s services according to a recent OFSTED report.
Thanks to initiatives such as the Youth Parliament, the town is again at the top of the improvements list for the third year running.
All the assessments look at various aspects of life for children and young people in each town, with Warrington being graded in the “outsta
nding” category.
Family Support Services in the town also made the “outstanding” category, while exclusion figures from secondary schools have declined three years running.
The report has also recommended some areas for improvement including social care assessments and involving children in the development of services.
Executive member for Children’s Services, Coun Sheila Woodyatt said: “This is excellent news and the result of fantastic commitment and team work from all our staff. It brings a positive close to another successful year. We will of course be taking on board all the recommendations in the report to help further improve the service as a whole.”
Lenny Henry blends
old and new comedy
by James Parr
A COMIC performance by Brummy entertainer Lenny Henry was well received by all at Warrington’s Parr Hall as he performed his latest tour Where Do You Come From.
There was a good showing for the former Tiswas entertainer as the hall was close to capacity and he didn’t disappoint with snappy jokes and comical characters.
Warrington seemed to warm to Henry. He especially endeared himself to the audience when talking about the town’s loudmouth and Iceland mum Kerry Katona.
Brilliant imitations of legendary comic Tommy Cooper were a big highlight of his performance, while various made up characters were funny in parts and not in others.
Audience participation was a substantial part of the act. Singing to create atmosphere was particularly enjoyable.
Henry showed an ability to blend “old style” comedy with contemporary issues, making witty remarks about the recent Government disk scandal, the war in Iraq and the American armed forces.
There was a touch of classic Henry about the performance, as he didn’t shy away from racial or religious issues to come up with light-hearted jokes on contentious subjects.
Perhaps a slight concern should come from the fact he loves dressing up! The use of video footage did add to the atmosphere however and made for a good conclusion to the performance.
Using interlinking jokes at different points of the show was a great technique and got a lot off laughs.
There was a good atmosphere throughout the performance. Even shouts from die-hard Tiswas fans couldn’t throw the big man off his stride.
Henry has done well to last the distance on the circuit and should be commended for providing fresh material for so many years, yet the jokes and attitudes at times were like something your dad would say to get cheap chuckles.
All in all it perhaps wasn’t the “blow you socks off” performance that had been billed, but it was certainly a lively set that provided the audience with a fair few laughs.
