13/12/2011 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today. Our top story tonight, a head

teacher is sacked for altering his pupils' SATs tests. Aleks Grubisic

said he only wanted to make the children's answers clearer.

Plus the best news for Bethany. A perfect bone marrow match is found

in Germany. I am so happy that I am going to

have my sister for the rest of my life.

Also, why Jesse Jackson has come to Leicester with talk of tackling

inequality to combat extremism. And wedding inflation. We look at

Hello, good evening. First tonight, East Midlands Today has learned

that a primary school head teacher has been sacked for gross

misconduct. He altered his pupils' SATs papers.

Speed king exclusively, Aleks Grubisic says he is bitterly

disappointed to have lost his headship at Little Bowden Primary

School in Market Harborough. We can cross now to Victoria Hicks,

who is in our Leicester studio. When did all this happen?

It started in the summer when the year six students took their SATs

papers. The results came back, and eight formal complaint was lost --

was lodged from within the school. That is when a national body

intervened. This was the head teacher, Aleks Grubisic. He is 50,

he has been in teaching for 25 years, and for the last two years

he was head of 2-1. When that national body intervened, is re-

examined all the papers of the children. -- Little Bowden Primary

School. It then took the unusual step of cancelling the test results.

That meant the children went on to their new school without results.

Mr Grubisic was sacked for gross misconduct and four fours VI school

record. You spoke to him at his home in Leicester this afternoon.

What does he say he did? He did not want to talk on camera,

but he did admit to making some changes to his plea pupils' papers.

He says he did not falsify them, or improve his school's standing in

the tables. He said he did not want his pupils to be marked down for

unclear or messy work. So that meant if the answers were written

in the wrong place, on some papers he moved to the answer or wrote an

arrow to make it clear where the right answer was. He admits he made

a mistake doing that, but he said at the time he faced a personal

problems and panicked when he saw the papers.

What have the governors had to say? We approached the governing body,

we have had no response. We also wanted an end to be from the local

education authority, but the council Cantor instead issued a

statement confirming we already knew. -- County Council. This is

what some parents had to save. It is not very good. Not the best

thing to happen. Not very good for the school or the children. I do

not think it has been handled very fairly. No background has been

given about the reasons for this, and I do think that there are a lot

of whispers going on, and I do not think that is fair.

I do not believe all the full report has come out. I think we

should have been told more Falstaff if it was human error all his fault,

he has done so much for the school it will be a shame bad he has left

for the reasons he has. This afternoon, Mr Grubisic told me

he apologised to pupils and parents. As for his future, he has been

warned he could be struck off. So after 25 years' experience, he may

never teach again. Still to come, lean times on the

High Street. Consumers are reining in their Christmas spending, at

that could mean Turkey with fewer The perfect match, but will it be

enough to save young Bethany? The 14-year-old desperately needs a

bone marrow transplant. Her family have just been told that a donor

has been found in Germany. They say they are thrilled and can

finally contemplate celebrating Christmas.

They have not felt much like doing this up until now, but today it is

as if all their Christmases have come at once.

It was amazing to hear them, because I had not thought I would

get a full match. I am very happy and excited and am very grateful.

I am so happy I will have my sister for the rest of my life. Really

pleased. Bethany's had leukaemia since she

was three. She had been in remission, but it came back a few

weeks ago. More chemotherapy is no longer an option.

It was a huge shock, because I was feeling so well. I try to stay

positive with my family. None of us thought for a minute

that it would return. It was horrible. It was absolutely

heartbreaking, I can't describe how horrible it was to hear that. So

the fact that there could be a really good match out there for

Bethany is over during a, and so happy.

Geller has networked passionately for her sister. -- Gemma. They had

the biggest ever donor session in Leicester last month. 4000 people

contributed. You have been through so much. How

do feel about this news? Yesterday when they told us there

was a potential donor for Bethany, it was almost like a little miracle.

And it means Bethany's Merry Christmas could be followed by a

very happy new year. Fingers crossed for her.

A police force that has seen a sharp drop in burglary figures has

been ordered to check if they are accurate. Government inspectors are

worried that some house break-ins in Nottinghamshire might not have

been reported. This comes as they begin a pre-

Christmas crackdown on burglaries. Police! Open the door! Another

burglary suspect at a -- an early- morning raid this morning. The

owner of his hair salon told me how his home was ransacked yesterday

morning. They smashed a window then stole jewellery, a computer and a

new TV. It is just measurable. It makes you feel totally unprotected

and insecure. I did not sleep very well last night. My wife did not

either. We were listening for all sorts of noises. We wondered what

we have to do to protect our possessions.

Tackling burglary has been a priority for the police in

Nottinghamshire, as the official figures have been going down for

several years. But today, this report has raised questions about

how reliable the figures are. Inspectors found concerns that

house burglary may have been under recorded by Nottinghamshire Police.

They said some crimes were not order consistently, as they have

read -- they have ordered a six- month audit.

We are concerned if the force has not been recorded incorrectly. It

is important for the public that they have confidence that the

police force is going to record their crimes directly. Today,

Nottinghamshire Police made a robust defence of the force's crime

figures. Reporting and recording standards

in this force are totally accurate, 94% of all crimes reported to us

are correctly classified. The ones that are not, that is sometimes

because the public when they first report the crime, they do not give

us enough information to base our assumptions on.

But the police are worried that Nottinghamshire is starting to see

more burglaries reported, as they want us all to help tackle that.

Jeremy has joined us in the studio. Why is all of this so important?

Crime statistics are so important when it comes to judging the police.

Last week we heard a retired police inspector go public about his

worries. What this draft report does is really raised questions

about their credibility in black- and-white. Nottinghamshire Police

do not agree? No, they're quite angry. But they say they have

checked to those we classified burglaries that the inspection team

was worried about, they say aid has established a there was not a

problem. In fact, one police chief told me he is convinced that

Nottinghamshire's crime figures are probably more accurate than a lot

of others. More than 40 jobs in Nottingham are

at risk because of government proposals to close 39 regional

offices of the DVLA. 46 posts will go at the Bilborough office in

Nottingham. Ministers want to centralise the DVLA's work at its

headquarters in Swansea by the end of 2013. Today's saw the start of a

three-month long consultation. Police are searching for a gang up

and -- armed robbers who threatened a building society staff in

Elkstone. Money was being delivered to the company of this when a group

of men smashed into the front door? -- with sledgehammers. They escaped

with four cash boxes, but dropped one on the street.

This vehicle was stolen nearly a fortnight ago, so it is been

outstanding for quite a while. It is critical to establish exactly

where that has been in that intervening period. We know it is a

dark coloured BMW, and I would appeal for any witnesses to come

forward if they have seen it. He once advised Martin Luther King

and President Clinton and Obama. Today the American civil rights

leader Reverend Jesse Jackson was in Leicester.

He was talking about his experience of bringing different communities

together to combat extremism. A standing ovation for a civil

rights leader who at 70, remains an energetic champion for social

justice, and who is not afraid to speak his mind. The Reverend Jesse

Jackson Wouter this conference at De Montfort University of the

dangers of growing its trainers and. -- warned this conference.

Hope is diminishing. We must go another way.

He was addressing the first conference of its type organised by

a parliamentary committee investigating the Brits of a

violent radicalism. He has worked so hard. They have

been growing concern over far right extremism, and following the London

bombings in 2005, there is now closer surveillance of some Muslim

communities and universities. Jesse Jackson told be the dangers

of stereotyping people were there, whatever their religion.

The house of prayer becomes a House of Commerce. That is what Jesus

said. It was radical law, but not radical hate. Then we are

challenged to teach people that the science never races take valid

reaction to respond with violence. This is a real attempt with -- by

MPs took why then are the voices of those genuinely alarmed by growing

extremism both at home and abroad. There is a wide range of extremism

that needs to be addressed, and not one based on Islam or one

particular faith. The only way to do that is to work in conjunction

with the communities and government. Jesse Jackson received an honorary

degree from demand that University for his lifelong were to civil

rights. He still believes there is much injustice to put right.

We all know that prices are going up for pretty much everything, not

least food. In fact, the traditional Christmas dinner

provides a prime example of the rising cost of filling the shopping

basket. Research carried out by the

University of Nottingham suggest this year it could be a case of

Turkey with only a very few of the trimmings. Mike O'Sullivan is at

the Victoria Centre in Nottingham. The shops here are up until 8pm,

some of them, as the Christmas rush builds up. If you are thinking of

spending, I have been looking at some figures which should indicate

to you how your pay is keeping up with inflation, and another

estimate on inflation that will show how it is pushing up the cost

of your Christmas dinner this year. Turkey with all the trimmings. How

much more work cost due this year? Economists have worked it out. The

experts say a festive dinner for six people will cost an average �74

this year. That is �3.70 more than last year. That is based on an

average shopping trip going up by 5% it in a year.

Everything has gone up. The turkey is twice as much as a few years ago.

I will probably have less people over for dinner. Less presents,

less varied. Christmas is a special occasion,

and I do not think that will affect what we do on Christmas Day. But

generally, I do agree that food prices are expensive.

Food inflation is at an almost 20 year high. General inflation now

stands at almost 4.8%. So our wages keeping pace with inflation?

Figures show that in many places they are not. In the East Midlands,

average pay is just over �24,300. In Leicester, it has gone up a

little bit more. Nottingham has little bit more. Nottingham has

seen an increase, but it could be because there are fewer part-time

jobs and fewer low-paid jobs around two Adin. Derby has seen a drop in

pay levels. These new mothers have Just trying to find the best offers,

looking through leaflets and things like that. By them when you find a

good offer. I only spend what I can afford and it does not last long

for me. I am sure these words might come back to haunt me, because this

is all about forecasting, but all the indicators suggest that

inflation has peaked and we will probably see it all over the next

commands. The Government's inflation target is to%. We could

be heading that way, but because a bleak -- possibly because of weak

demand and the economy. There are other factors they could

bring down inflation. The Chancellor cancer and 3p per litre

increase in fuel duty will be a welcome relief for many families

will start -- the Chancellor cancelling. We hope that spending

will pick up in the run-up to Christmas.

Fingers crossed. In avenues, Derbyshire County Council has

signed a deal to create 700 apprenticeships over the next four

years. The scheme costing around �500,000 will be targeted at 16 and

17-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training.

The council is also offering training grants of �2,500 to small

and medium-sized companies to take on apprentices.

There has been a lot of talk of wind and wintriness this week.

Here's Sara with a quick look ahead to the forecast.

It is remaining very cold and windy throughout most of this week and

some of the Shah as we are likely to see could also produce a little

bit of snow. -- some of the showers. It does look pretty. Even when it

is fake! Nothing fake about our Natalie, with the sport.

Football, and Nottingham Forest chairman Fred Clarke has told us

tonight they have been no bids to buy the Cup since it was put up for

sale. In a powerful and honest interview he admitted he had found

it difficult in the last few months and says he cannot bring any

players in this January unless some go out.

He is a former European Cup-winning hero, so when not in Forest came

calling, Frank Clark knew he would help out. -- Nottingham Forest. But

the last two months has been harder than he thought. They got in an

ambitious manager who wants to build Rome in a day. That is one of

the reasons we brought him here. We want someone ambitious. He is

frustrated and we are frustrated that because of the financial

realities, we cannot do as much as we would like for him at the moment.

So that is something I am having to deal with. But this time last year,

Nottingham Forest were on the verge of six spot. They are now in the

bottom three. What has gone wrong in such a short space of time?

don't know what was done before we came here. I could tell you that

any club that has the managers in six months has problems. Eventually.

And the problem for Frank has now is he has to sell players before he

can bring any more in. We have to trade and not necessarily selling

and buying, we might be someone in on-loan, so we need to move

somebody out. What about the sale of the club, has there been any

interest for many buyers? The last time we heard from them, there was

no approaches whatsoever. So are you looking at alternative sources

of income? We are looking to strengthen the board, who might be

able to find investors. Frank wants to be frank, and honest and open

that the fans. Everybody at the club is doing their utmost to turn

it round and improve, but we need them to stay with us. Without them,

there will not be football here. Boxing, and this Saturday, Carl

Froch is aiming to become a dual world champion and the winner of

the Super Six tournament. But he is fighting the unbeaten American,

Andre Ward. Mark Shardlow is with the Froch cab in New York and all

this week he will be reporting on the build up to the bout. -- the

Froch camp. Carl Froch has been training here

in South Manhattan, 50 yards or so away from the site of the former

twin towers. Over the next few days, we will have the inside track on

his preparation for Saturday night's fight. We are with him as

he completes his fight camp in New York. He does not get any bigger

than this, this is the pinnacle. find out why a former heavyweight

world champion comes to visit. There is pressure on him. He has

superior power and strength. We go to the gym in Nottingham where Carl

started as a nine-year-old and went on to win schoolboy titles.

even then, you could not turn around and say he was good to be a

world champion. It and his mother opens the Froch scrapper. A just to

cough, almost son. -- scrub out. -- he just took off. Is that Carl

Froch, the legend? That his life, with the Carl Froch camp, over the

next three days here in the States on East Midlands Today.

That looks really good! Onto rugby, and Nottingham are getting some

help in their push for promotion from a World Cup winner, no less.

New Zealand international Ali Williams is returning to the club

in an advisory role. He will be helping to find new players from

Down Under and looking at ways they can increase their crowds. He wants

to repay Nottingham after they helped him regain his fitness

earlier this year. For four games, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The

green and white hoops, as they call it. I was surprised at how grounded

the guys were and how willing they were to strive towards higher goals.

But also a me to achieve my goals. Moral from Carl Froch tomorrow, but

that is all for now. -- more from. It is one of the biggest single

financial outlay is you are ever likely to make. Not your Christmas

dinner, but your wedding. We were wondering how is the wedding

industry faring in these rather straitened economic times? Any

matrimonial discounts on offer, or are the bills for her wedding bells

still going up? In our series on living, loving and leaving, or

births, marriages and deaths, we sent James Roberson to a wedding

It has been going 25 years, but each year, dividing show gets

bigger and better. One time, it was very straightforward, and now there

are so many wonderful ideas they can pick up at the show. For

example, chocolate fountains are very popular. One guide for brides

says the average wedding costs in 2010 was no over -- was over

�19,000. It will drop by 1,000 next year, but next year the prediction

is up at over �20,000. How can couples and parents save money?

Being organised, you can definitely save money. Lots of people like

ourselves do special offers if you order early. They are those brides

were the parents have contributed a lot and will still spend thousands,

but there are other brides have probably would rather use the money

on the mortgage on a house, so don't -- so go for something

slightly cheaper. Some businesses have kept prices the same for four

years. Does that help in a recession? Since the recession,

business has been wonderful. So people are still spending their

money on wedding cars. With costs so high, wedding insurance is

poplar. This company it offers a variation on that, on alternative

supply of one Nazi down. The bride does not want money back when the

failure happens, she wants the savings she has been promised.

are couples thinking ahead to save money? Daniel answer manpower are

already planning for 2013. We are hoping it will not really affect us.

We are just looking at things and getting ideas. Having a look at the

fashion show. So, money is ruling now, right? At the end of the day,

if the girl has her mind set of something, like all ladies, we get

what we want in the end. -- set on something.

That is so true! No, it is not!

As the father of two daughters, I As the father of two daughters, I

rather hope they will elope. Now let's get a look at the weather.

It will stick by windy throughout the early part of the evening and

we might see a few showers. But no rainbows tonight. A rainbow was

captured last Friday by sue Robinson. She managed to capture a

double rainbow. These keep your pictures coming in. We will start

to see this evening not only quite a strong West south-westerly wind,

but also a few showers around the region. The majority will be more

confined to the coast. We do start to see the wind easing off a little

into the early hours of the morning. Frost starting to form, a very cold

night. Temperatures falling to a minimum of one Celsius. It will be

colder in rural areas. First thing tomorrow, there will be a line of

showers pushing from the south-west. They could affect the south of

Leicestershire. There is another line coming through during the

afternoon. They could turn quite wintry. Some hail, sleet and snow.

Over the higher ground, they will start to fall as snow. The wind

also starting to strengthen from the South West. Another cold day

with a maximum temperature of five Celsius. We have also a windy day

in store for Thursday. Starting off try and becoming brighter through

the morning, then the cloudy increases. That is ahead of a band

of rain which is associated with that deep era of low pressure. At

present, it has also started to move direction, so we are keeping a

close eye on it. At present, it is sinking further south. We will keep

you informed over the next few days as to the strength of the wind. But

as to the strength of the wind. But it is set and down again for the