News Archive
Local news archive
West traditions we have to look forward to in 2026
Friday 2nd January 2026A round-up of the yearly events in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire that define where we live...
Record crowd for New Year's Day Cheltenham meeting
Thursday 1st January 2026Cheltenham Racecourse welcomes more than 44,000 spectators as its New Year's Day fixture sells out for the first time...
Film to highlight changing face of the Cotswolds
Monday 29th December 2025Farmers of all ages and walks of life feature in the film, which will be shown in local schools...
Volunteers boost children's enjoyment of reading
Friday 26th December 2025Charity Read With Me says schools report improvements in ability and engagement...
Father found son “bloodied and lifeless” at school car park
Tuesday 23rd December 2025A 17-year-old girl has been sentenced after her friend climbed onto the bonnet of a car she was driving in Brecon High School car park before he fell, hit his head and suffered life-changing injuriesRead full story...
'Aggressive' driver mounts pavement and nearly hits students after overtaking cars and school bus
Friday 19th December 2025He had been aggressively beeping his hornRead full story...
Hundreds arrested for drink and drug driving in run up to Christmas
Wednesday 17th December 2025More than 200 people have been arrested across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Bristol...
'Organ pipes removed' and 'More SEND school places'
Tuesday 16th December 2025A look at what stories are trending across the West of England on 16 DecemberRead full story...
'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...
National news archive
The Guardian view on care leavers: responsibility for looked-after children does not end at 18 | Editorial
Friday 2nd January 2026Free prescriptions and eye tests ought to help these young adults stay healthy...
Days left to choose preferred primary school
Friday 2nd January 2026The date by which people need to apply is 15 January - late applications can be less successful...
Impact over income: a striking number of gen Zers are becoming teachers
Friday 2nd January 2026Despite longstanding concerns over pay and conditions, more young graduates are entering the classroomJoseph Curatolo was studying architecture four years ago when he took a summer job, teaching music to middle school students...
‘I wasn’t allowed to study, but I will make sure no girl in this village hears those same words’
Friday 2nd January 2026Health worker Naushaba Roonjho was ostracised by her family in Pakistan for wanting to work but now she is campaigning for political officeWhen Naushaba Roonjho became the first girl anyone in her district knew to have passed Pakistan’s national secondary school exam, the news was not celebrated...
School permanently closed over structural damage
Tuesday 30th December 2025Pupils will attend different schools for several weeks while a new site is prepared, leaders say...
Online school and junior tennis: freedom, focus – and a quiet cost
Tuesday 30th December 2025Elite junior tennis players are flocking to online schools...
School pupils meet-ups 'a lifeline' for retirement housing residents
Monday 29th December 2025A scheme that started four years ago brings primary school pupils together with elderly residents living nearby...
The words from my dad that saved me as a new parent
Monday 29th December 2025Professor Green and Ryan Libbey open up about how fatherhood affected them and how you can protect your mental health...
The Guardian view on the National Year of Reading 2026: time to start a healthy habit for life | Editorial
Monday 29th December 2025A Children’s Booker prize, library cards for newborns and a major campaign – initiatives to encourage a love of books in children are a cause for celebrationReading to children from a young age leads to greater happiness, educational success, empathy and social mobility – no wonder the government wants to encourage everyone to do it more...
ChatGPT, cooking and Christopher Walken: how parents got their kids to love reading in 2025
Monday 29th December 2025Fewer children are reading for fun - but parents are trying everything from AI to dramatic voices to keep them engagedIt’s been a tough year for our brains...
School closures have rocked this LA-area district – are they destroying it, or saving it?
Sunday 28th December 2025As the US faces challenges to public school funding, activists warn that more people should pay attention to what’s happened in Inglewood, CaliforniaInglewood, California – a few miles east of Los Angeles international airport – is known as the city of champions...
'All children are still into Roald Dahl'
Saturday 27th December 2025The Guinness Book of Records is a favourite with boys, but one author always tops the list...
Brown shooting suspect: gruelling academic climate may have taken mental toll, say ex-classmates
Friday 26th December 2025Cláudio Valente and one of victims, Nuno FG Loureiro, both studied at notoriously challenging Técnico in LisbonAs investigators in Massachusetts work to piece together a motive for the murders of two Brown University students and an MIT physics professor, former classmates of the suspected gunman and one of the victims have been asking if the roots of the tragedy lie in their shared experience at a top university in Portugal...
‘Keeps your mind alert’: older Swedes reap the benefits of learning for pleasure
Friday 26th December 2025Retirees with ‘fantastic hunger for education’ taking part in university organised events in record numbersRecord numbers of Swedish retirees are enrolling in a university run “by pensioners for pensioners” amid increased loneliness and a growing appetite for learning and in-person interactions...
Biggest school in Highlands to become a 'no-phone zone'
Tuesday 23rd December 2025Inverness Royal Academy said in a message to pupils and parents the new rule would start in February...
New York school board investigates wooden ‘timeout’ box allegations
Monday 22nd December 2025Governor calls accusations that students with disabilities may have been confined in boxes ‘highly disturbing’A school district board in upstate New York is investigating school officials amid accusations that the district may have confined elementary school students inside wooden “timeout” boxes...
Head serves school dinners amid 'catering failings'
Monday 22nd December 2025Malmesbury School's Christmas dinner was under threat due to staffing issues, according to its head...
Why do we stop singing when we reach secondary school?
Monday 22nd December 2025New data suggests singing is much more common in primary and private schools than in state secondaries...
Singing at school shouldn't just be for Christmas, teachers say
Monday 22nd December 2025New data suggests singing is much more common in primary and private schools than in state secondaries...
Regulator ‘asleep at the wheel’ over University of Greater Manchester investigation, MP says
Monday 22nd December 2025Office for Students accused of ‘glacial’ response to allegations of fraud, bullying and mismanagementEngland’s universities regulator has been attacked for being “asleep at the wheel” over its delays in investigating suspected fraud, bullying and mismanagement at the University of Greater Manchester...
Thrillers should be on UK school curriculum to boost reading, says Lee Child
Friday 19th December 2025Bestselling author says focus on ‘masterpieces’ puts children off as he promotes prison literacy schemeToo much of the literature taught in UK schools is putting children off reading and thrillers should become part of the curriculum, one of the world’s biggest selling authors has argued...
Ben Jennings on plans to tackle misogyny in English schools – cartoon
Thursday 18th December 2025Continue reading...Read full story. Taken from the RSS feed at https://www...
Deepfakes and pornography: the plan to tackle toxic masculinity – The Latest
Thursday 18th December 2025The UK government’s long-awaited strategy to tackle violence against women and girls has been published today...
Deepfakes and porn: the plan to tackle toxic masculinity in schools | The Latest
Thursday 18th December 2025The government has announced a multimillion-pound investment to tackle misogyny in England’s schools, but is it enough? As part of the government’s flagship strategy, teachers will be able to send children as young as 11 on behavioural courses if they are witnessing disturbing or worrying behaviour...
Boys to learn difference between porn and real life to tackle misogyny in England’s schools
Thursday 18th December 2025Teachers to be given extra training as Keir Starmer warns ‘toxic ideas are taking hold early and going unchallenged’David Lammy: I want my sons to know masculinity can be kind – and my daughter to live without fearChildren as young as 11 who demonstrate misogynistic behaviour will be taught the difference between pornography and real relationships, as part of a multimillion-pound investment to tackle misogyny in England’s schools, the Guardian understands...
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