News Archive
Local news archive
'Bullying' councillor banned from meetings
Saturday 13th December 2025A meeting heard how there were 496 pages of evidence in relation to the three serious complaints...
Grit-asaurus Rex among new names for gritters
Friday 12th December 2025A fleet of gritters have been given names including Taylor Drift and Grit Britain by school pupils...
Pitch decision means leisure scheme is 'on course'
Thursday 11th December 2025The £9m plan to create a gym and soft play centre could be completed in 2026, say councillors...
GCHQ releases Christmas puzzles designed by schoolchildren and spies
Wednesday 10th December 2025'We've designed the puzzles so that no one will find them all easy...
Two Gloucestershire school top list in The Sunday Times Parent Power 2026 guide
Friday 5th December 2025County schools named as best in the South WestRead full story...
Two Gloucestershire schools top list in The Sunday Times Parent Power 2026 guide
Friday 5th December 2025County schools named as best in the South WestRead full story...
Dujardin's Olympic gold-winning horse Valegro dies
Monday 1st December 2025Charlotte Dujardin pays tribute to her three-time Olympic gold medal-winning horse Valegro, who has been put down...
Man running 52 marathons after mental health crisis
Saturday 29th November 2025Tommy Greenhouse, 22, who has just completed his 47th run, said the challenge was giving him purpose...
Planting of first national forest in decades starts
Friday 28th November 2025The Western Forest is set to stretch across Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire...
Residents fear 'dangerous' cut-through by school
Thursday 27th November 2025Residents say they want the speed limit lowered after several reported having their cars damaged...
Notts to start title defence against Somerset
Thursday 27th November 2025Title-holders Notts will start the 2026 County Championship with an away game against Somerset, while One-Day Cup winners Worcestershire face Derbyshire in their opening match...
T20 Blast fixtures and groups released for 2026 revamp
Tuesday 25th November 2025Somerset begin the defence of their Vitality Blast crown with a rematch of last season's final, hosting Hampshire Hawks in Taunton on Friday 22 May...
Children told to wear extra layers amid school heating woes
Monday 24th November 2025The heating system at Bishop's Cleeve Academy Primary can only run at 50 per cent capacityRead full story...
Overseas owners of empty high street shops problematic
Monday 24th November 2025Town centres across the country are facing challenges with their high streets, so what's the answer?Read full story...
Free school meals - guidance for schools
Friday 21st November 2025Using the Free School Meals portal Please direct parents/carers to apply using the online portal...
Fears over new special school's name sparks call for children to have say on what it is called
Wednesday 19th November 2025There are concerns the Gloucestershire Academy for Inspirational Learning 'doesn't trip off the tongue'Read full story...
Gloucestershire’s newest pupils beam for adorable first day of school photos
Saturday 15th November 2025Gloucestershire’s newest pupils have started school, captured in a heartwarming photo gallery of first-day memoriesRead full story...
Are sport clubs replacing nightclubs for socialising?
Friday 14th November 2025Many are turning away from alcohol and moving towards more health-conscious ways of socialising...
West of England falls silent for Remembrance Sunday
Sunday 9th November 2025Parades and services were held in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire...
West of England falls silent for Remembrance Day
Sunday 9th November 2025Parades and services were held in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire...
School worker faces trial for pupil sex offences
Friday 7th November 2025Leila Jackson pleaded not guilty to five charges of sexual activity with a boy aged 16 to 17...
Man jailed over illegal cigarettes and tobacco
Friday 7th November 2025Michael Addison was caught in Kidlington with illegal tobacco products in his car...
Man diagnosed with ADHD as adult starts forest school
Tuesday 4th November 2025Craig Johnson opened a forest school in 2024 to help children who are neurodivergent...
'Put horseracing tax money in addiction recovery'
Sunday 2nd November 2025The British Horseracing Authority said the move would cost the industry £66m a year...
Prescribing the beautiful game: Can free tickets help mental health?
Friday 31st October 2025Forest Green Rovers manager Robbie Savage opens up about his mental health, as his club get involved in a scheme to help treat symptoms of depression...
National news archive
Exam board Pearson fined £2m for ‘serious’ breaches in standards
Monday 15th December 2025Ofqual issues fines over English proficiency test that some candidates sat at home, A-level Chinese and GCSE EnglishOne of the world’s biggest providers of educational services has been fined more than £2m for a range of serious breaches related to examination standards that could have affected tens of thousands of students...
Pens at the ready! A gen-Z trainee takes on the Guardian’s ‘scribbler-in-chief’
Sunday 14th December 2025As the exam regulator consults about introducing onscreen exams amid complaints of hand fatigue, a young aspiring journalist goes head-to-head with a self-professed expertThis week it was reported that students could soon be sitting their end-of-year exams on laptops after pupils complained of hand fatigue, saying their muscles “are not strong enough”...
Councils to get £3bn for thousands more school spaces for Send pupils
Friday 12th December 2025The government is promising 50,000 more places for children with special educational needs in schools in England...
AI has entered the classroom - but is it the solution for overworked teachers?
Thursday 11th December 2025From deepfake teachers to remote maths lessons - how are schools using tech and AI in the classroom?Read full story...
Councils to get £3bn for thousands more school spaces for Send pupils
Thursday 11th December 2025The government is promising 50,000 more places for children with special educational needs in schools in England...
Labour to create up to 60,000 spaces for children with Send in English schools
Thursday 11th December 2025Bridget Phillipson says £3bn scheme focussed on local state schools will ‘transform lives’, after rise in parent appealsThe government is to invest £3bn in creating bespoke places within local state schools for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), a crucial part of its efforts to grapple with England’s rising numbers of children facing social and mental health problems...
Some GCSEs and A-levels in England could be taken on laptops by 2030, Ofqual says
Thursday 11th December 2025Qualifications watchdog launches consultation amid complaints from pupils about writing fatigue in examsStudents could be sitting some of their GCSEs and A-levels on a laptop by the end of the decade, according to England’s qualifications watchdog...
How can abuse openly take place in a nursery? This is the question we must urgently reckon with | Munira Wilson
Thursday 11th December 2025No parent should worry about their child’s safety while they work...
Tory governments spent £325m on free schools that failed or disappeared
Wednesday 10th December 2025More than £10bn was committed to building new schools between 2014-15 and 2023-24, compared with £6...
Interviewing future medical students gave me that rare thing: hope for the NHS | Devi Sridhar
Wednesday 10th December 2025They face long hours, mediocre pay and, at worst, no job, but their optimism is astonishing – let’s support them betterProf Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of EdinburghWhen I mentioned to colleagues in the NHS that I was helping with admissions interviews for medical students, several responded with the same wry smile and weary shrug: “Do they know what they’re getting into?” Anyone working with the health service over the past few decades has seen the job conditions get tougher, salaries stagnate and idealism erode within a crumbling system...
A welcome pit stop: the US university using parking lots to help unhoused students
Tuesday 9th December 2025Long Beach City college’s Safe Parking Program provides a protected space for students who are homeless to live in their carWhen Edgar Rosales Jr uses the word “home” he isn’t referring to the house he plans to buy after becoming a nurse or getting a job in public health...
London academy staff instilled ‘climate of fear’ among pupils
Tuesday 9th December 2025Report finds children at Mossbourne Victoria Park traumatised by disciplinary measures ‘designed to humiliate’Staff at a London academy instilled a “climate of fear” among pupils, with a drive for academic success likely to have harmed vulnerable children including those with special needs, according to a damning independent investigation...
Strict school 'harmful' to some pupils, review says
Tuesday 9th December 2025Review finds Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy's policies are "harmful" to some vulnerable pupils...
Some schools disrupted amid rise in flu cases
Tuesday 9th December 2025Flu is on the rise, but ministers say schools should only close in extreme circumstances...
'School punished my child because I missed her parents' evening'
Tuesday 9th December 2025Louise Butcher is one of many parents who say a federation's two schools are too strict with pupils...
‘Bring it on!’: growing support in England for four-day week in schools
Tuesday 9th December 2025Why proposals for a shorter working week are winning over teachers and parents – despite the logistical headaches“A wonderful idea”, “Bring it on!”, “Yes!”, “Brilliant!”, “Absolutely”...
Rename ‘home-to-school transport’ to tackle spiralling costs, MPs told
Monday 8th December 2025Costs in England have now risen to £2.3bn a year, with local authorities arguing eligible pupils don’t always need a ‘door-to-door taxi service’“Home-to-school transport” should be renamed “assisted travel to school” to help manage parental expectations, MPs on the public accounts committee have been told...
A four-day week for teachers? This is why that isn’t a luxury for us – it’s a necessity | Lola Okolosie
Monday 8th December 2025Teachers in England and Wales are burnt-out and barely functioning...
50,000 new apprenticeships promised in youth employment push
Monday 8th December 2025Funding will be used to help employ young people in sectors including AI, hospitality and engineering...
Nigel Farage aide dismisses alleged racism as ‘playground banter’
Sunday 7th December 2025Danny Kruger says he is ‘relieved’ Reform leader is facing scrutiny over his past rather than present-day politicsOne of Nigel Farage’s key aides has suggested the Reform UK leader was involved in “playground arguments or banter” when he allegedly made racist and antisemitic comments while at school...
Young unemployed told to engage with jobs scheme or risk benefit cuts
Sunday 7th December 2025About 350,000 work and training places in care, construction and hospitality available but ‘sanctions’ may apply if ‘neets’ refuse offersYoung unemployed people will be offered training or job opportunities in construction, care and hospitality as part of a UK government scheme, but could have their benefits cut if they do not take up offers...
Nigel Farage should apologise after racism allegations, says former watchdog head
Sunday 7th December 2025Kishwer Falkner says Reform leader should apologise to people who say he targeted them at school, even if he rejects being deliberately racistNigel Farage should offer an unreserved apology to people who allege he targeted them with racist or antisemitic behaviour while at school, the outgoing head of the government’s equalities watchdog has said...
Young unemployed to be offered work in construction and hospitality in UK
Sunday 7th December 2025About 350,000 new places to be offered to ‘neets’ with ‘sanctions’ levied for those who do not engage, says DWPYoung unemployed people will be offered training or job opportunities in construction, care and hospitality as part of a UK government scheme, but could have their benefits cut if they do not take up offers...
Artificial intelligence research has a slop problem, academics say: ‘It’s a mess’
Saturday 6th December 2025AI research in question as author claims to have written over 100 papers on AI that one expert calls a ‘disaster’A single person claims to have authored 113 academic papers on artificial intelligence this year, 89 of which will be presented this week at one of the world’s leading conference on AI and machine learning, which has raised questions among computer scientists about the state of AI research...
Why a play about a fatal punch has gripped younger audiences and will tour schools
Saturday 6th December 2025James Graham’s play Punch touches on gang culture, restorative justice and masculinity in crisis, and for the playwright the true story was a privilege to tellWhen thousands of schoolchildren came to see James Graham’s play Punch in the West End, the playwright, actors and producers were struck by one thing...
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