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Parents, pupils, residents and the general public are being invited to have their say on designs for Coppice Performing Arts School, Wednesfield High School and The Braybrook Centre, which are due to be refurbished as part of Wolverhampton City Council’s £300m Building Schools for the Future programme by 2013.

People will be able to see displays showing the designs and get the chance to talk to architects and members of the Building Schools for the Future team who will showcase how the new designs will improve the learning experience for pupils and explain how community facilities will be developed.

Feedback from the public will be encouraged and taken into account when the designs are finalised and planning applications drawn up.

Councillor Claire Darke, Wolverhampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Schools, said: “We are very proud and excited to be able to show off the initial designs of these new schools to the public.

“They are the result of six months’ hard work by the architects and the schools, young people, local communities and city council staff. Now we are keen to hear what local residents, parents and the public think.”

The consultation events will take place at:

• The Braybrook Centre, Bellamy Lane, Wednesfield, on Wednesday September 8, 2010
• Coppice Performing Arts School, Ecclestone Road, Wednesfield, on Thursday September 16, 2010
• Wednesfield High School, Lichfield Road, on Wednesday September 22, 2010

All these events will take place from 6 to 8.30pm.

Additionally, a further consultation event detailing the plans for The Braybrook Centre, Coppice Performing Arts School and Wednesfield High School will take place at Wednesfield Library, Church Street, (We assume this is a typo as the new Library opened in Well Lane in June but are checking with council!) on Monday September 13, 2010, from 4 to 7pm.

To find out more about Wolverhampton’s Building Schools for the Future programme, please log on to www.wolverhamptonbsf.org.uk.

In June the government announced that it was scrapping the Free Swimming scheme for under 16 and over 60’s as part of government cuts, BUT there is good news for Wednesfield residents.

Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust has announced that due to the success of the scheme in Wolverhampton it would continue to fund swim sessions until the end of March 2011.

Councillor Matt Holdcroft, council cabinet member for leisure and culture told the BBC, the scheme had been “massively popular”.

He said: “Thousands of youngsters and older people have signed up for free swimming passes since the scheme was launched in April and this extension will enable many more people to take advantage of the initiative and improve their health at the same time.”

Free swimming sessions are available for the under 16’s and over 60’s at Wolverhampton Swimming and Fitness Centre, Planetary Road, Wednesfield.

As mentioned recently on our Facebook page, St Alban’s C of E Primary School in Ashmore Park has been forced to delay reopening for the Autumn Term due to building work over running.

The school has undergone a much needed refurbishment over the summer and the work has meant that the new term will now begin on Monday 6th September 2010 as opposed to Thursday 2nd September as initially planned.

New Head Teacher David Croser, who takes over this term from retired head Ruth Lawrence has written to parents saying:

“Due to circumstances beyond my control the refurbishment will take slightly longer than expected.

“I hope this does not cause you any undue disruption, and only represents a delay of a further two days. This will enable us to ensure that we will be ready to begin our new school year as we would wish.

“I very much look forward to meeting you all on the 6th.”

We’re sure the kids won’t be too upset about an extra couple of days holiday! – WV11 Ed

Armed Police descended on Essington early this morning after reports of a security guard being threatened by a man armed with what has been described as a machete or samurai sword.

Assisted by a police helicopter the armed officers arrived at the scene around 05:30am and closed Long Lane in both directions between the A34 Stafford Road and New Landywood Lane.

The road has since reopened but officers have been unable to trace the armed suspect.

More from the Express & Star and BBC News.

These links are either news stories we’ve spotted elsewhere or articles that we think our readers may find of interest.

• Emma Reynolds congratulates Wolverhampton BSF on schools success – Emma met with Tim Westwood and Gerard Stone from Wolverhampton Building Schools for the Future this week to congratulate them on successfully securing the funding to build or redevelop 26 schools across Wolverhampton including every Secondary School in Wolverhampton North East.
• Betting shop manager claimed £34,000 benefits « Express & Star – A bookmaker’s manageress from the Black Country who claimed more than £34,000 in benefits while earning up to £1,200-a-month has been spared a prison sentence.
• Hospital bosses told to improve security « Express & Star – Hospital bosses in Wolverhampton have been told to tighten up security in areas where patients’ charts are stored after a computer disk containing almost 800 confidential patient files was found at a Wednesfield bus stop.
• £2m bill for cost of vandalism in schools « Express & Star – Almost £2 million has been spent repairing damage caused by vandalism at schools across the region in the last three years, new figures show.

Police in Wolverhampton are urging residents to be vigilant following a number of distraction burglaries in the region.

Between 14 July and 6 August 2010, there were a total of six distraction burglaries reported in the Ashmore Park, Pennfields, Bradley, Lanesfield and Goldthorn Park areas.

In three of the six incidents, offenders claimed to be from the water board in order to gain access to the homes of elderly residents.

>> Continue Reading…

Following our introduction and part 1 earlier this week, here’s part 2 of…

Six Short Steps to Weight Loss Success (part 1) by John Russell

Step Four: Reward Yourself!

Have you set a goal to go out walking five times this week and achieved it? Great, reward yourself…

Did you want to avoid eating any puddings this week and achieved it? Great, then reward yourself!

Here’s a list of potential gifts to get you started, why not add your own:

• A Book, CD or DVD
• Get some new workout clothes
• Go to watch a movie
• Go bowling
• Have a day away
• Have a relaxing bath
• Go for a walk
• Watch your favourite TV programme
• Have your friends round
• [Insert Your Reward Here]

Step Five: Still Finding is Hard?

With that all said, if you’re still finding it hard, help is at hand. The Wolverhampton Health Trainers are here to support, guide and motivate you to success.  It’s a free and confidential service available to people over the age of 16 who live, work or have a GP registered in Wolverhampton. Health Trainers see you on a 1:1 basis to help you make a lifestyle change in one of the following areas:

• Physical Activity
• Healthily Eating
• Weight Loss
• Reducing Alcohol
• Stopping Smoking

Step Six: Contact Us

If you’d like your own health trainer email healthtrainers@wolvespct.nhs.uk  or call on 0800 073 4242. To visit the Health Trainer website click here.

Good luck!

John Russell, Health Trainer

http://www.twitter.com/healthtrainers