Special school to lose
its residential status
by David Skentelbery
WARRINGTON looks set to lose its residential special school for children with behavioural difficulties.
Members of the borough council?s executive board have voted 7-2 to re-designate Grappenhall Hall School, at Grappenhall and cease to offer residential places there.
Councillors Peter Walker and Fiona Bruce both spoke against the proposals and voted against the decision.
Coun Sheila Woodyatt, the council?s education chief told the board it was costing more than ?300,000 to maintain the residential facility at the school which was used by only five pupils.
She said: ?It is absolutely ridiculous to be spending so much money on so few pupils. It would be much better spent on the 400 or so other children who require a special education in the borough.? But she said there was no question of closing the school which, she acknowledged, was doing a magnificent job.
Grappenhall Hall School is the borough?s specialist school for Behaviour Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD). It takes pupils from Warrington and Halton (currently 11 pupils), with some pupils from other areas It is currently designated as a 120 place, boys only residential facility for 5-19 year olds.
Almost all boys attending the school are aged between 11-16. Although designated for 120 boys it has been below capacity for years and in January had only 102 boys.
There are currently only 13 boys in the primary provision ? and only eight of these are from Warrington.
Very few boys continue attending the school?s post-16 provision. There are currently seven ? of which only four are Warrington residents.
The board was told there is no special school provision within Warrington for girls with behaviour, emotional and social needs. It is not practicable at the moment to make Grappenhall Hall co-educational as the cost is considered to be too great.
However it is considered thought should be given to making changes to enable girls also to receive specialist BESD support.
The board voted to:
Cease to offer residential places at Grappenhall Hall School.
Cease to offer post 16 educational provision at Grappenhall Hall School (those pupils who are currently in 6th form will be able to complete their education at the school).
Cease to offer Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 provision at Grappenhall Hall School (those pupils already placed in this provision will be able to progress through the school).
Reduce the capacity of the school to 90 places.
In the future investigate the possibility of developing a secondary day mixed BESD facility on a site to be determined.
Snapper Hollie clicks
with the photo judges
by James Parr
A TALENTED snapper from Warrington has been crowned as Britain’s Best Young Photographer in Getty Images’ My Britain photography competition.
Hollie Cookson, 18, from Westbrook, scooped the national prize for her images, which included a worker eating fish and chips, a lone gambler on a slot machine and someone getting their hair cut.
Young snapper Hollie impressed a panel of renowned judges in the photography world and will now receive her prize of a one-day internship at Getty Images in the department of her choice.
Budding photographers were asked to shoot the pictures they felt best represented their life, community and feelings of what it’s like to be a young person in Britain today.
Hollie’s photographs represent an honest reflection of life in the North West and while they are affectionate, they also show a slightly darker side of British society.
She said: “Being the overall national winner is one of my greatest achievements and has really spurred me on to pursue my life long career ambition of becoming a professional photographer. The competition really stood out for me because I saw it as a challenge to try and capture what it’s really like to live in the North West.”
This unique competition was open to all 13-18 year olds in the country, with qualification to the national competition being granted by winning a regional contest.
Competition judge, Adrian Murrell, Global Vice President, Editorial, Getty Images, said: “Hollie’s pictures stood out because they are very memorable British images, which capture plenty of emotion. As well as being technically very strong, she captures her subjects unawares, which is a very hard thing to do. Overall, the standard of entries has been magnificent. It has been a wonderful experience to have this unique insight into how young people feel about the places where they live and how they go about capturing those feelings through photography.”
Town park loses out
in TV lottery contest
by Lesley Wilkinson
DESPITE the support of hundreds of Warrington people a local park failed to win a share of ?7.8 million in a television contest.
Enfield Park at Cinnamon Brow competed with others from throughout the North West on Granada’s People’s Millions TV contest for Big Lottery Fund good cause money.
The site was bidding for an award of up to ?80,000 in the contest televised last week, when it was pitted against a riverside nature trail project in Padiham.
There was massive support for the Warrington projects and many people cast their phone vote to support it, but despite that it failed to win.
The Enfield Park project was to refurbish the large open space, to improve safety and renovate the planting and pond area. Granada filmed on site with the local community, councillors and schools all featured.
Those involved in the project are continuing their fundraising for the work to be done.
Man hurled racist
abuse at shopkeeper
by James Parr
POLICE are on the hunt for a man who hurled racist abuse at a chip shop owner in Hood Manor.
Wearing a grey and white hooded top, he approached the shop on a pushbike and unleashed a torrent of racist abuse at the owner.
Another man was believed to be with him. He didn’t say anything but the pair rode off together.
The offender is described as around 5ft 4in in height and of slim build. Police are now appealing for help from anyone who witnessed the incident, or was in the chip shop at the time.
The incident occurred on Saturday November 24 at around 7.30pm and anyone with any information is urged to contact PC Christine McCullough at Great Sankey Police Station on 01244 612 620.
Busy commuter route
to close for three weeks
by Lesley Wilkinson
ONE of South Warrington’s busiest commuter routes is to be closed for approximately three weeks to allow for repairs.
Warrington Borough Council has introduced a temporary closure of Lumb Brook Road from its junction with Grappenhall Road/Chester Road (A56) to its junction with Stockton Lane, from Monday December 10.
Work will be carried out over two phases. Phase one will be for about two weeks and will start on the 10. Phase two will start after the festive period on January 7, and is expected to take a week.
Signs will be placed on site when the closures are in operation, with access controlled by the contractor.
The alternative route will be via Lumb Brook Road, Witherwin Avenue, Lyons Lane, London Road, Grappenhall Road, Chester Road and vice versa.
The closure will allow for essential maintenance/renewals works at the existing traffic lights at Lumb Brook Bridge.
Bosses told: start
surfing the web!
by James Parr
BOSSES in Warrington are being told they are missing vital opportunities to hone their skills – because they are not spending enough time on the Internet!
Findings, published by the Chartered Management Institute and Centre for Applied Human Resource Research, show that 90 per cent of senior executives have Internet or Intranet access, yet 67 per cent spend less than half an hour on them trying to solv
e problems.
The in-depth study of 1,000 individuals and 12 companies from across the North West ? including Warrington – also concluded that only half had made use of an online management resource, while only 27 per cent have participated in structured e-learning programmes.
These findings have led to calls for managers to get more Internet savvy and start using techniques such as blogs and social networking sites to communicate better with their staff.
Business benefits appear to far reaching as around 55 per cent of North West businesses say online learning is a powerful resource for today?s busy bosses as they can ?dip in and out as time allows.?
Despite this 34 per cent say ?tutor-led? development is far more effective and 74 per cent still prefer face-to-face conversation.
More than a third of those surveyed claimed they have ?too many distractions? diverting them from PC-based development.
Jo Causon, director, marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute said: ?There are clear business benefits to adopting e-learning models, but until organisations provide engaging development tools and support alongside these, uptake will continue to be slow. However, the integration of social networking with other online routes is likely to help this process, particularly as personal development will go beyond the boundaries of organisations.?
Show apartments
open for viewing
by Lesley Wilkinson
VISITORS to a new apartment site in Warrington have the choice of two show apartments to view.
McInerney Homes’ Williams Wharf development, in Knutsford Road, on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, features two show apartments designed by Show Business Interiors.
Cath Ogalive, design account manager for Show Business, said: “The brief for the show apartments at Williams Wharf was to create two very contrasting homes which reflected the waterside location and were elegant and modern.”
One is bright and vibrant using aqua green and white features with aqua carpets throughout, retro furniture and a feature wall covered in luxurious lily wallpaper.
In contrast the second apartment has deep piled charcoal carpet, and is decorated in black, grey and white with citrus accents of yellow and green, creating a contemporary Hollywood feel.
