Public Meeting: Permanent location secured for The Heights Primary School

BREAKING NEWS:  The permanent site for The Heights primary school which has been bought by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) has just been announced.  It is a privately owned development site on Upper Warren Avenue known as 'Highridge'.

There has been substantial interest in where the permanent home for The Heights is going to be and therefore I, together with my colleague Cllr Ed Hopper, will be hosting a public meeting to give local residents the opportunity to give their views.

The meeting will be on Tuesday 17 June at 7.30 pm in St Andrew's Hall, Albert Road.  In attendance, Head Teacher Karen Edwards and land adviser, Dan Pagella, will be there together with other members of The Heights.  In addition Kevin McDaniel, Reading Borough Council's Head of Education.

As any regular reader of my blog will know, the Caversham Heights area has for well over 10 years desperately needed a primary school to give local families a realistic chance of a primary school place.

It proved a challenge for the EFA to find a site and this was the only viable option.  I am keen to hear your views so that I can represent the interests of everyone in my ward.  Do spread the word & come along to St Andrew's Hall on 17 June.  A leaflet can be downloaded and printed off here

Animal Welfare Fun Day at Mapledurham Pavilion

This Sunday, 8th June between 2 and 5 pm, Mapledurham Pavilion will host an animal welfare Fun Day for all the family to enjoy.

European Election Results Reading Borough

European Election 2014

TOTAL OF VOTES CAST IN READING BOROUGH

 

Party	votes
An Independence from Europe	651
British National Party	333
Christian Peoples Alliance	337
Conservative Party	8996
English Democrats	249
Green Party	4777
Harmony Party	35
Labour Party	12071
Liberal Democrats	2836
Liberty Great Britain	40
The Peace Party - Non-violence, Justice, Environment	205
The Roman Party.AVE	122
The Socialist Party of Great Britain	114
UK Independence Party (UKIP)	7812
YOURvoice	56
Turnout 32.91%

Total Verified Ballots: 38,858
Rejected Ballots: 224

Reading Borough Council is part of the South East Region which elects 10 MEPs. The region stretches from Milton Keynes in the north to Thanet in the east and covers 64 local authorities.

Reading Borough Council local election results

For RBC's Local Election the results are posted here.

Voting this Thursday

In Mapledurham ie those who vote at Mapledurham Pavilion, we can only vote in the European Elections on Thursday, 22nd May.

Reading Borough Council has a four year electoral cycle with a third of wards up in each of years 1, 2 & 3 and a barren 4th year.  Each ward, except for Mapledurham, which has just one councillor (namely me), all have 3 Councillors.

I hope all of you will take this opportunity to vote. If you are interested below is what Rob Wilson has to say about the European elections:

"At a European level, our Conservative representatives are once again demonstrating their determination to listen to the views of the British people and to deliver the real change that the people desire. Conservative MEPs are continually fighting Britain’s corner in Europe, standing up for our interests and working to bring back power from Brussels.

"We are the only party that will guarantee you an in-out referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU: Labour and the Lib Dems refuse to give you a referendum and UKIP cannot deliver one. The Conservatives plan to negotiate a better deal for Britain and then, regardless of the results, give you an in/out referendum by the end of 2017.

"Remember, a vote for the Conservatives in Europe is a vote for change.

"If you require any further information on your local or European candidates, this can be found by visiting:www.readingeastconservatives.com andwww.conservatives.com/europe."

What the racket is all about

Today there will be noise disturbance from helicopters involved in a search and rescue operation.

The good news is that this is a training exercise.  An RAF Sea King helicopter, together with a Police search helicopter, will be in the Mapledurham/Purley area of the Thames river working with emergency services.

I am told that the helicopters are expected in the area at about 11:15 - 11:30 with the exercise commencing at 13:00.

I trust everybody will support this training mission and short-term inconvenience as it is for the greater good of ensuring preparedness for future real-life emergencies.

Update: You can read coverage of the event in GetReading

Temporary site for The Heights primary school announced

This afternoon The Heights primary school has announced it will be located on the old Caversham Nursery site, off the Gosbrook Road, this September when it opens its doors for the first intake of pupils.

Karen Edwards, Head Teacher of The Heights, said “Whilst we had hoped to find somewhere within catchment, this site will ensure The Heights can open in 2014 which has to be our primary goal, particularly when it will only be our home for a short time. The site offers us a fantastic opportunity to establish a school that is purpose built to our needs for the longer term. We are really excited with the prospect of welcoming the first pupils of The Heights in September.”

Parents who have filled out their primary school admissions application form will for starting this September will be receiving offer letters on 16 April.  It is great that parents now have the certainty of the temporary location of The Heights as it enables the school and families to plan accordingly.

I know some families will be disappointed that in the short term the school is beyond the catchment, however it will only be for a fraction of the pupil’s 7 years before The Heights will relocate into its permanent school building. 

Although I haven’t been into the old Caversham Nursery site I believe this empty building could easily be adapted into an effective and suitable learning environment for young children, with a large amount of open space for play.  Reading Borough Council will be providing the new school with resources for the temporary site to ensure that pupils attending the school have a great start to their education in Reading.

The agreement for the temporary site provides for up to two years support. Over the longer term the Education Funding Agency (EFA) which is part of the Department for Education, is working to secure a permanent site.  The Heights Trust and Education Funding Agency have confirmed that detailed terms have been agreed and solicitors instructed. They hope to be able to make further announcements on the permanent location in late April. 

Update:

GetReading report