November 2011 Archives : Northumberland communities

Bedlingtonshire High School works with parents

Posted by Richard Fletcher on Nov 22, 11 10:33 AM in Schools

A Bedlington school has been recognised for its excellent work with parents over the past two years, including creating a focus group.

Bedlingtonshire Community High School has achieved the 'Leading Parent Partnership Award' for their excellent work in engaging parents.

The school has worked hard over a two year period to develop the relationship and experience that parents have when contacting the school. A lot of work has been done to improve the quality of parents' evenings and letters the parents receive as well as improving communication, introducing parent newsletters and information about what their child is studying each half term in every subject.

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Sports and leisure provision in Bedlington

Posted by Malcolm Robinson on Nov 17, 11 05:20 PM in Bloggers

London will have its new leisure and sporting centres and even though the people of Bedlington don't expect anything as grand as that, a gesture will be nice in an age where we, as a country, are hosting an Olympic Games.

It is beginning to look like all the pressure is starting to pay off as leisure provision in Bedlington, or the lack of it to be more exact, was debated at the South East Northumberland Area Meeting last night (16/11/2011). Members seemed to accept the fact that Bedlington has been overlooked for far too long, 30 years was mentioned and this blogger would say 40+ but let's not squabble over a decade or two! It was a little galling to hear some members say that when in fact they have been responsible for that neglect, but hey that's politics and a different blog!

Using a Bedlington Forum commissioned feasibility study done by KKP in 2010 as a base, a NCC sponsored meeting took place with interested parties which was acknowledged by all as being very positive. There is now an NCC initiative looking into this subject with most of the interested potential users being represented. The possible High School development at Bedlington Station was singled out as a potential site for community involvement in sports by the NCC executive member for Customer Relations and Culture, Neil Bradbury. Don't know how popular that might be with the Bedlington community because when it was mentioned at a Forum meeting as a possible solution there was very little support for such a move, the call for a stand-alone centre being unequivocal!

One other possible site was also mentioned, Gallagher Park, and there are already moves afoot by the Friends of Gallagher Park to build on their recent success of the BMX track. They asked the Bedlingtonshire Development Trust to carry out a public consultation and assess need and suggestions. The Trust immediately targeted all of the local schools and other local organisations as well as asking members of the public to fill in questionnaires. The main reason for targeting the schools, as the Trust pointed out, is that the school kids will be the principle users of anything which might be constructed over the years to come and they should have a large say in what type of development is delivered there. With over 3500 replies to date and more coming in daily the Trust is busy collating all the information. To date there are 43 separate and individual suggestions and no prize for guessing what suggestion has come out top! FoGP and the Development Trust are keen to state that they are looking for the most viable and sustainable suggestions to take forward.

Bedlington might have waited a long time for something like this and it has to be accepted that it will be a long and difficult journey but with the right will and resolve there is no reason why our children shouldn't be able to use a modern and innovative facility on their doorstep, we have paid enough in for others over the years!

Where does the wildlife go?

Posted by Richard Fletcher on Nov 7, 11 01:20 PM in Bloggers

Written by Kevin O'Hara, conservation officer at Northumberland Wildlife Trust

Where do they all go in winter? - Part 1

Recently I felt the first twangs of winter; the 'first frost' gripped my garden, the chickens came skidding out of their ark, and I had to break the ice on their drinking water. I really like those first days, when we still have some daylight left to enjoy the wonderful colours and smells. I take the camera and binoculars with me when I walk the dogs, keeping an eye out for winter thrushes or other visitors. The clocks have altered and we start the long haul of winter - not until February will some real light return to the sky, and warmth to the sun.

It is during these months that we wonder where, exactly, many of our resident wildlife species go to survive the coldest and wettest days of winter, especially those that are more delicate and less mobile.

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New ideas from Mr Rich give Bedlington Terriers an American matchday

Posted by Richard Fletcher on Nov 4, 11 04:51 PM in News

Sent in by Bedlington Terriers Community Football Club
To have your team's news posted contact northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk or call 0191 201 6122.

For the Bedlington Terriers Community Football Club, their recent trip to North America yielded more than just experience on the pitch.

"People had the misconception that the trip was all about playing a couple of matches. It was a lot more than that. We are adopting the techniques and approaches they use to take a simple baseball match into a fun packed family day of entertainment," commented David Holmes, Bedlington Terriers FC Chairman.

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