Good Ofsted report for Dundry

Pupils and staff celebrate the good report for Dundry School

The Ofsted inspectors called at Dundry C of E Primary on October 9 for one of the new short notice inspections. The school had been given just three working days' notice of the inspection but proved itself more than ready. After a day of lesson observations, interviews with the Headteacher, staff and pupils, and analysis of the school results, the inspectors pronounced the school fit for purpose (or satisfactory with many elements of good, in Ofsted jargon).

In the inspector's report teaching in the foundation stage, which had been criticised in a previous inspection, is now judged to be good. In the rest of the school, teachers are praised for their excellent relationship with their pupils and good classroom management. Jenny Handford, Headteacher says; "The whole school community is delighted with the report. The previous inspection, shortly after my arrival at the school, gave us many things to address but I am pleased that the report recognises all the hard work that has been done at the school in the last two years."

YFC calendar girls
Local Young Farmers have bared all for a fundraising calendar for 2007. Young Farmers in the Severn Group, which includes Chew Valley YFC, Wrington YFC, Wedmore YFC, Weston & Banwell YFC and North Somerset YFC, have published the calendar. It features Anna, Clare and Nicola from Wrington YFC in January,

The photograph for March features Emma and Katie from Chew Valley YFC and Jo from Weston & Banwell (pictured left). June features the County Chairman James Sage who is a member of Wells and Glastonbury YFC, November features Richard who is in Wrington YFC. The calendar was photographed at Lower Court Farm, Churchill by kind permission of the Avery Family. The group is holding the county rally on May 12 2007, and in order for this day to be a fantastic success both recruitment wise and for the enjoyment of current members, they need to fundraise a lot of money to put the event on.

Profits from the day go towards paying for the fantastic and dedicated staff at our county offices. The calendars, in black and white rather than colour, are £7.50 each and can be purchased through the County offices on (01278) 691711.

Hinkley restart dates in doubt
British Energy has been slated by local anti-nuclear campaigners over the date announced for restarting reactor 3 at the Somerset site, Hinkley Point. Stop Hinkley says it received information under the Freedom of Information Act to confirm that the 'expected' restart dates for Hinkley Point B had not been cleared by the nuclear safety regulator.

British Energy had made the announcement on November 17 that Reactor 3 would be expected to restart at the end of December and Reactor 4 at the end of January, both after temporary repairs had been made, to be completed in a further outage in the summer. However, restarting a nuclear reactor after safety repairs requires a detailed safety case to be made by the operator and agreed by the regulator.

As the boiler tubes are in a sensitive area inside the reactor pressure vessel, this may not be straightforward and BE will have to demonstrate that the temporary repairs will achieve as much safety as before the damage was discovered in September. Jim Duffy, spokesman for Stop Hinkley said: "British Energy wanted to sweeten their investors with a promise which they hadn't even squared with the safety regulator. Perhaps they believe the inspectors will fall in with their finance-driven timetable but safety must come first."

Stop Hinkley is participating in an event at the House of Commons on November 28 lobbying against the government's new nuclear proposals see
www.NewNuclearPowerNoThanks.org

Mendip Society care for their reserve

It has been a very busy three months in the Mendip Society meadow, Slader's Leigh, at the top of Winscombe Hill. The society was awarded a grant from the Local Heritage Initiative, which provided the means to carry out an ambitious project which aims to promote the growth of the wildflowers for which the meadow is well known. The Society is very grateful to the Local Heritage Initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund for enabling the project to be brought to a successful conclusion.

Words and photo by Judith Tranter

Award for design work on old bridge
Bath & North East Somerset Council's transportation team, in conjunction with the Council's design partner Mott MacDonald, has won an award for its careful restoration of an historic bridge. The joint team received a Commendation at the Historic Bridge and Infrastructure Awards in London yesterday (November 16), sponsored by the Institution of Civil Engineers and English Heritage, among others. The bridge at Publow is a Grade II listed structure that dates back to the 15th Century.

The repairs and strengthening work became necessary after it developed a crack and showed other signs of potential weakness. Working with experts from English Heritage, the Environment Agency, specialist contractors, and consulting with local residents, the Council drew up a plan to strengthen the bridge while preserving its historic character and also making it safer for both drivers and pedestrians. The work involved an unusual combination of cutting-edge engineering techniques and the use of traditional materials.

The work, which was completed in February this year, was carried out to budget and on time. The Council's transportation team recently completed a similar project to restore an historic bridge at Chewton Mill, Keynsham. Although this bridge is not listed, it dates from the 18th Century and the work was carefully designed to preserve its historic character.

68 year-old plans Iceland trek

Phyll White is 68 years old and for the past year has been attending a JJB Fitness Club in Bristol in order to keep in trim. Phyll is quite fit and feels very fortunate that she is so healthy. After much thought she has decided she would like to make a contribution to society, to someone more unfortunate than herself.

Phyll has made a decision that this is the time to do something about it and with the support of her husband John, Phyll will be embarking on an epic fund raising challenge with 39 other people to trek 5 days across Iceland in July 2007. She will be accepting this challenge on behalf of SCOPE, the charity for people with cerebral palsy. They have all pledge to raise £2,400 EACH for SCOPE.

Phyll has paid £200 towards her travel expenses and accommodation, (most nights will be spent under canvas). Her travel insurance, personal expenses and the equipment required will be her responsibility and will be funded by Phyll. Phyll is taking this challenge very seriously, as she doesn't want to let down her sponsors. Already JJB Fitness Club has supported Phyll by helping with additional training. Time is creeping on and we realise that promising to raise £2,400 for this cause is a great responsibility and we shall need all the help we can get to reach the fundraising target.

SCOPE is the largest charity in the UK working with people with cerebral palsy, their families and carers. If you feel you would like to help you could send a cheque to Phyll White, Carmel, Church Lane, Chew Stoke, Bristol, BS40 8TU, made payable to SCOPE or your could go to Phyll's fundraising webpage

http://www.justgiving.com/phyllwhite

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor Phyll: Scope will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28 per cent in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. More information about the charity SCOPE can be obtained from the website

www.scope.org.uk