:00:07. > :00:10.Hello from Stewart and me. In Look East tonight. The head of a
:00:10. > :00:14.leading think tank on education calls on the Government to create
:00:14. > :00:17.more university places. It would cost the government about the same
:00:17. > :00:23.amount of money to have more university students as to have
:00:23. > :00:33.those young people on the dole. there's joy and disappointment as
:00:33. > :00:34.
:00:34. > :00:37.A-level results are opened across our region. I was hoping for 3 As.
:00:37. > :00:42.I did not think I would get an A* at all, so pretty chuffed.
:00:42. > :00:46.Also tonight. Pretty in pink. The weed taking over our waterways.
:00:46. > :00:56.And later, how do you turn a middle aged company director into a
:00:56. > :01:00.
:01:00. > :01:02.First tonight, on the day of the A- level results, a big increase in
:01:02. > :01:05.applications to universities in this region.
:01:05. > :01:13.The increase in applications compared to last year is well above
:01:14. > :01:17.the national average. For example, at Essex, they're up by around 7%.
:01:17. > :01:20.Bedfordshire, more than 15%. And the UEA, up by 17%. Only Cambridge,
:01:21. > :01:27.with a drop of more than 4%, bucks the trend. It's thought that's
:01:27. > :01:30.because its entry requirements have got even tougher. Maybe another
:01:30. > :01:33.sign of the times are the figures released today by the Open
:01:33. > :01:37.University at Milton Keynes. It reports the number of 18 and 19-
:01:37. > :01:44.year-olds reserving courses is up by 30% over last year. The surge in
:01:44. > :01:47.applications is being linked with next year's higher fees regime. The
:01:47. > :01:51.Beard family from Bury St Edmunds is one of those affected. 18-year-
:01:52. > :01:55.old Georgina Beard has decided not to take a gap year as she'd planned.
:01:55. > :02:04.And her parents are concerned about the debts to be faced by her
:02:04. > :02:07.younger brother who wants to train to be a vet. I would have liked to
:02:07. > :02:11.have taken the gap year to develop myself a bit more and learn a
:02:11. > :02:14.second language. I am fairly gutted I will not be able to do it. I will
:02:14. > :02:18.not feel like taking a gap year after university because I will
:02:18. > :02:25.have a big debt and will want to pay it off as soon as possible. Big
:02:25. > :02:28.financial hurdles lie ahead. Her younger brother wants to be a vet.
:02:28. > :02:31.Rory will be fair and square into the maximum �9,000 per year tuition
:02:31. > :02:33.fees. There will be a huge increase in the amount of debt.
:02:33. > :02:36.Across the region, tens of thousands of students have been
:02:36. > :02:43.finding out whether they have the grades they need. Stuart Ratcliffe
:02:43. > :02:50.spent the morning at Northampton College.
:02:51. > :03:00.Results as always bring smiles... Re placed, -- are really pleased. I
:03:01. > :03:02.
:03:02. > :03:05.did not think I would get a A*. also tears as disappointment.
:03:05. > :03:11.a re my university and see if they will give me a place. If not, back
:03:11. > :03:16.to Clearing. Whatever the result, students had already decided the
:03:16. > :03:21.university and the debt that goes with that are not for them.
:03:21. > :03:26.have had enough of education for the moment. I am hoping to set up
:03:26. > :03:33.my own business in entertainment. do not feel that I want to get into
:03:33. > :03:41.debt and start my real life in that way. Education is about learning
:03:42. > :03:46.rather than certificates. This year's university intake will be
:03:46. > :03:50.the last before tuition fees take effect next year. Will his students
:03:50. > :03:57.of the future be looking as something other than university?
:03:57. > :04:01.People are saying, what are there alternatives? One of the
:04:01. > :04:05.alternatives is to study locally, to stay at home. To look at
:04:05. > :04:12.apprenticeships, part-time degrees, there are alternatives. People do
:04:13. > :04:16.not have to commit themselves to huge student loans. As this college
:04:16. > :04:21.is in the middle of an expansion programme, the college says it will
:04:21. > :04:31.be ready to offer thousands more students and affordable alternative
:04:31. > :04:31.
:04:31. > :04:34.to a university education. Students who haven't got the grades
:04:34. > :04:37.they needed to secure a place at university are now engaged in the
:04:37. > :04:39.clearing process. Clearing centres around the region are already
:04:39. > :04:45.extremely busy. Let's go live to Chelmsford and our chief reporter
:04:45. > :04:53.Kim Riley. It is a hive of activity you. This
:04:53. > :05:02.is one of two centres set up by Anglia Ruskin. They are very busy,
:05:02. > :05:05.they started at 8:00pm this morning. -- at eight this morning. You can
:05:05. > :05:10.talk to all the different faculties. You are the admissions tutor, 4 can
:05:10. > :05:14.you tell the students when they call you? I am a lecturer and I am
:05:14. > :05:18.doing this work for Clearing, if they have questions about the
:05:18. > :05:22.courses, I can be very specific with the answers. I think that
:05:22. > :05:29.helps them to be more comfortable with the choices they are making. I
:05:29. > :05:34.do not to make the wrong choices. Keep up the good work. This is such
:05:34. > :05:39.an our this time for students. You do not want to have people phone
:05:39. > :05:42.and it just rings. Yes, and I'm very glad we anticipated that by
:05:42. > :05:49.putting in double the number of phone lines. They have had double
:05:49. > :05:56.the number of calls than this time last year. We want to minimise the
:05:56. > :06:03.anxiety for students. Is it particularly frantic this year?
:06:03. > :06:08.Every clearing period is emotional for students. We try to give advice
:06:08. > :06:13.as quickly as we can. This year, we have been twice as busy as last
:06:13. > :06:17.year. But with the extra resources that we have put on, we feel we
:06:17. > :06:23.have helped to students at deal with things calmly and talking to
:06:23. > :06:29.our staff, they have been able to help. You are back at Business
:06:29. > :06:31.tomorrow morning. If you have just got your results
:06:32. > :06:35.and need some advice, the admissions service UCAS helpline is
:06:35. > :06:38.0808 100 8000. And if you have decided not to go to university and
:06:38. > :06:41.you want to examine other options, taking a gap year, working abroad,
:06:41. > :06:51.apprenticeships, whatever, try www.notgoingtouni.co.uk. And we
:06:51. > :06:51.
:06:51. > :06:54.would love you to contact us if you have any stories.
:06:54. > :06:57.Earlier I spoke to Professor Les Ebdon, the Vice Chancellor of the
:06:57. > :06:59.University of Bedfordshire who chairs a think tank on higher
:06:59. > :07:02.education. He told me he didn't think the big increase in
:07:02. > :07:12.applications this year was all down to the coming change in tuition
:07:12. > :07:17.
:07:17. > :07:24.fees. We are seeing people very keen on improving their have won
:07:24. > :07:27.the prospects are applying for university, particularly at the
:07:27. > :07:33.University of Bedfordshire which is very much geared up to the world of
:07:33. > :07:38.work. What a future to people who cannot get a place? Should they
:07:38. > :07:41.wait and apply again next year? is not quite such a terrible
:07:42. > :07:45.situation next year. The student support budget will be bigger next
:07:45. > :07:52.year. You will get more funding when you are a student. You will
:07:52. > :07:55.not have to repay these higher fees until due are earning over �21,000.
:07:55. > :08:00.Think about the part-time opportunities, about being a part-
:08:00. > :08:05.time student. A third of the students at this universities are
:08:05. > :08:09.part-time. Or they Open University. Think about taking a job for a year
:08:09. > :08:14.and getting some experience, making yourself more attractive to
:08:14. > :08:17.universities, improving your CV. They go by doing some voluntary
:08:17. > :08:21.work so your commitment to the particular area in which you want
:08:21. > :08:25.to study is clearer. There are a host of options. Just do not waste
:08:25. > :08:30.a year. With so many more applicants than places, should
:08:30. > :08:34.there be a way of increasing the number of places available?
:08:34. > :08:41.find it extraordinary that the Government pays people money not to
:08:41. > :08:44.work rather than spending money on universities to create more spaces.
:08:44. > :08:48.We have produced a report which shows that it would cost the
:08:48. > :08:52.government about the same amount of money to have more university
:08:52. > :08:56.students as they are spending on those young people being otherwise
:08:56. > :09:00.on the dole queue. There is a lot of sense in creating more places in
:09:00. > :09:04.our universities. Some people think that too many youngsters go to
:09:04. > :09:08.university and there should be more going into work or apprenticeships.
:09:08. > :09:14.Do you believe that what ever you study at university, if you, with a
:09:14. > :09:20.degree, it is worth having? Over 90% of our guard was from these
:09:20. > :09:29.university either going to work or into further study. -- Leader cent
:09:29. > :09:34.of our graduates from this university. It is not a guarantee
:09:34. > :09:40.of a job, but it is a good step on the career path. Thank you very
:09:40. > :09:44.much. A year ago this week, a road tanker
:09:44. > :09:47.weighing 44 tonnes collided with a train on it's way from Sudbury to
:09:47. > :09:50.Marks Tey. At the time, experts said it was pure luck that nobody
:09:50. > :09:56.was killed. A report into the accident has just been published.
:09:56. > :10:00.Let's get the details from Amelia Reynolds.
:10:00. > :10:04.No one was killed, but four passengers were seriously injured
:10:04. > :10:09.as was the train driver. The crash happened at this unmanned
:10:09. > :10:12.crossing at Sudbury. One of those crossings that you have to phone to
:10:12. > :10:15.get clearance before driving across it. The report by the rail accident
:10:15. > :10:21.investigation branch focuses on that and safety surrounding it. The
:10:21. > :10:24.driver of the tanker did not use the phone. But the report says that
:10:24. > :10:27.because drivers experience long delays in getting permission to use
:10:27. > :10:37.a crossing, this has led to a high- level of non-compliance. People get
:10:37. > :10:38.
:10:38. > :10:41.fed up waiting. The report says Network Rail has failed to identify
:10:41. > :10:43.that problem. As a result of the report, there are six
:10:43. > :10:47.recommendations covering improving safety at the crossing, trying to
:10:47. > :10:50.deal with those long waiting times for drivers and a review of the
:10:50. > :11:00.tables used on the trains, some of which came loose during the crash
:11:00. > :11:01.
:11:01. > :11:06.and contributed to some of the injuries sustained. Thank you very
:11:06. > :11:10.much indeed. Still to come tonight, our weekly
:11:10. > :11:16.Olympic report. And if you want to be a jockey, you start young and
:11:16. > :11:19.train hard. Or perhaps not. He is the managing director of the Jockey
:11:19. > :11:29.Club at Newmarket and he is trying to ride in a big race at the end of
:11:29. > :11:32.
:11:32. > :11:35.the month. Sounds like a bad idea A convoy of travellers has set up
:11:35. > :11:38.camp on a nature reserve at Braintree in Essex and there are
:11:38. > :11:48.fears it could now be damaged. The travellers say they have nowhere
:11:48. > :11:56.else to go and insist they'll move in a few days.
:11:56. > :12:06.Reserve and nature reserve -- the Bocking Blackwater nature reserve.
:12:06. > :12:11.
:12:11. > :12:16.Tranquil and peaceful. This is a peaceful and clean the place. But,
:12:16. > :12:19.last weekend, a convoy of travellers' caravans pitched up.
:12:19. > :12:29.Volunteers to help keep the nature reserve tidy are worried that the
:12:29. > :12:31.
:12:31. > :12:36.caravans and vans could cost damage. It would have been good if they
:12:36. > :12:42.could have explained to the people that have moved on their that it
:12:42. > :12:45.was a nature reserve addicts should be respected for that. But what is
:12:45. > :12:50.happening here at Dale Farm has intensified worries about
:12:50. > :12:52.travellers parking up without permission. Half the travellers
:12:52. > :12:58.here face eviction next month and everyone is wondering where they
:12:58. > :13:02.will end up. In Braintree, people on the estate near the nature
:13:02. > :13:09.reserve have taken matters into their own hands. The other really,
:13:09. > :13:18.we all part of a car's -- the other evening we all part to our cars to
:13:18. > :13:25.stop them dealing entry. travellers have agreed to leave
:13:25. > :13:28.this weekend. A second elderly woman who lived at
:13:28. > :13:32.a care home in Harlow has died in hospital. She was one of three
:13:32. > :13:36.residents at the Partridge Care Centre who were taken into hospital.
:13:36. > :13:38.Essex Police say the woman, who was 80, died last night. A 36-year-old
:13:38. > :13:41.woman was arrested in connection with the police inquiry and has
:13:41. > :13:45.been released on bail. The investigation has focused on the
:13:45. > :13:48.medicines given to residents. A pensioner from Norfolk has
:13:48. > :13:51.appeared in court because she refused to pay all of her council
:13:52. > :13:55.tax. June Farrow from Bawburgh says it is unfair that she has to pay
:13:55. > :14:01.�99 a month when she lives alone. The court decided she has until
:14:01. > :14:03.next March to pay the arrears. Conservationists are calling for a
:14:03. > :14:08.Call to Arms after aerial photographs show a giant invasive
:14:08. > :14:11.weed is taking over parts of the Norfolk Broads. The Himalayan
:14:11. > :14:21.Balsam spreads quickly and is now starting to suffocate rare native
:14:21. > :14:22.
:14:22. > :14:28.plants. Himalayan Balsam, with its sweet smell, a delight for
:14:28. > :14:32.gardeners. But in the world, a giant and a welcome weed. Each
:14:32. > :14:42.plant camp produce it hundred seeds and they are rapidly taking over
:14:42. > :14:43.
:14:43. > :14:51.parts of the Norfolk Broads. -- 800. I see it from the board record
:14:51. > :14:58.early, but I did not realise how far it hadn't read it. -- from the
:14:58. > :15:08.boat regularly, but I did not realise how far it had spread. By
:15:08. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:17.next year, it will be seven metres wide. The plant was introduced over
:15:17. > :15:23.100 years ago. But it is now threatening to suffocate native
:15:23. > :15:28.plants. The seeds fly out, which is why this is such an aggressive and
:15:28. > :15:34.weed. We had not realised quite how bad it was in this area. We had
:15:34. > :15:44.been working on it upstream but it is an eye or Blair. I think that
:15:44. > :15:56.
:15:57. > :16:00.over the next few years, it will be One of the biggest stores in
:16:00. > :16:02.Ipswich has closed today with the loss of 42 jobs. The national chain
:16:02. > :16:08.TJ Hughes is in administration. Branches at Southend and King's
:16:08. > :16:11.Lynn have already closed. A team of archaeologists is working
:16:11. > :16:14.to uncover the ruins of a Roman forum near Norwich. The latest dig
:16:14. > :16:17.at Caister St Edmund could establish when the forum was built
:16:17. > :16:20.and what happened to it. The excavation will carry on until the
:16:20. > :16:29.beginning of September. The forum is inside one of the most
:16:29. > :16:33.important sites in Roman Britain. A north Norfolk village which has
:16:33. > :16:35.been without a pub for more than 40 years has built a new one. The
:16:35. > :16:38.Parish Council in Hindringham has funded The Pavillion which also,
:16:38. > :16:42.rather unusually, doubles up as changing rooms for the village
:16:42. > :16:48.sports teams. Pulling one of the first pub pint
:16:48. > :16:55.here since the 1970s. Needing a new sports facilities, lacking a pub,
:16:55. > :17:02.the committee came up with the solution to combine the two.
:17:02. > :17:10.need is some way to cover the overheads of running the changing
:17:10. > :17:15.facilities, so we thought of the pub. Locals call this are the
:17:15. > :17:21.biggest beer garden in Norfolk. The pavilion has been nine years in the
:17:21. > :17:26.planning and cost �200,000 of parish money. It means a lot. It
:17:26. > :17:31.definitely is a good thing for the committee to come to, some were to
:17:31. > :17:37.come to drink and eat. There used it to be five pubs here. Locals are
:17:37. > :17:43.pleased to have won back. Marvellous. People enjoy a drink.
:17:43. > :17:46.It proves that the villagers can do it if they get together. �5 million
:17:46. > :17:52.of lottery funding has been announced to help transform
:17:52. > :18:02.villages and a website has been set up to offer advice. Locals hear
:18:02. > :18:09.
:18:09. > :18:12.hope that their unusual project Time for our weekly Olympic report
:18:12. > :18:15.where we round up the essential London 2012 news affecting our
:18:15. > :18:17.region. Last week, we had the pleasure of javelin thrower Goldie
:18:17. > :18:20.Sayers, but she's in South Korea for the World Athletics
:18:20. > :18:29.Championships, so tonight our Olympic Reporter Shaun Peel is on
:18:29. > :18:38.the case. We at the Cambridge University
:18:38. > :18:44.athletics track. -- we are at. This weekend, British gymnasts or will
:18:44. > :18:48.be a at Ipswich for a friendly, an international friendly. Tickets are
:18:48. > :18:54.already sold out. It is one of the trials for the world championships
:18:54. > :19:00.in Japan in October. The British men handball team will be in France
:19:00. > :19:05.next week as part of their preparations. They do take on some
:19:05. > :19:10.of the top teams from France, Spain and Denmark. The team has been
:19:10. > :19:20.announced for the Palace cycling or road championships next month.
:19:20. > :19:26.Included in the 13 is Jody Cundy from Cambridge. Knowing that our
:19:26. > :19:35.games happen a few weeks after, you know it is coming closer and it
:19:35. > :19:40.will soon be here. Can you remember this from three years ago? The
:19:40. > :19:44.astonishing opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. In one
:19:44. > :19:52.year, we will be staging are very or mud you can be in it. The
:19:52. > :20:02.organisers are looking for a 10,000 volunteers to take part. -- we will
:20:02. > :20:04.
:20:04. > :20:09.be staging our own and you can be in it. Alter the website to apply.
:20:09. > :20:19.-- I got to the website. Next week, we will be looking at our Olympic
:20:19. > :20:21.
:20:21. > :20:30.called -- hopefuls in South Korea. That is it from me, just loving the
:20:30. > :20:34.weather! It suits them. +
:20:34. > :20:37.Despite the rain at the Test match today, it has still been a
:20:37. > :20:40.fantastic year to be a fan of the England cricket team. The test side
:20:40. > :20:43.is now number one and nobody is doing better than Alastair Cook of
:20:43. > :20:46.Essex. According to the former England captain Michael Vaughan,
:20:46. > :20:51.it's the sort of example that young people should be following. James
:20:51. > :20:55.Burridge caught up with him at a training session in Cambridge. He
:20:55. > :20:58.has hung up the bat, now he is hanging out with the kids. Michael
:20:58. > :21:03.Vaughan has a new cricketing challenge - inspiring a new breed
:21:03. > :21:11.of batsmen and bowlers. We see what is happening in London and
:21:11. > :21:14.Birmingham with the rights. -- rights. We need to make sure that
:21:14. > :21:18.we keep these kids involved in sport because it is a wonderful
:21:18. > :21:24.education for kids, whatever they go on to do in life. You need
:21:24. > :21:27.discipline and skill and to be able to work with each other.
:21:27. > :21:35.important a role can cricket- playing getting children of the
:21:35. > :21:38.streets? It is all to do with their peers and role models. They are
:21:38. > :21:40.seeing a very good England side playing well and winning games.
:21:40. > :21:50.Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann, they are all
:21:50. > :21:57.
:21:57. > :22:02.cricketers that are good examples. It is very important that the
:22:02. > :22:05.England side see their role within society. You gave Alastair Cook his
:22:05. > :22:11.first chance in Test cricket, when you see what he has done, it is
:22:11. > :22:17.incredible, is it not? I was there when he made his debut. I knew from
:22:17. > :22:22.the start that he was going to be special. He had a maturity at the
:22:22. > :22:26.age of 20. He spoke very calmly. He gets very stressed about the game
:22:26. > :22:30.because he thinks about it all the time, but all the great players do.
:22:30. > :22:38.He will go on to be a good England captain. I am sure he will take
:22:39. > :22:42.over from Andrew Strauss when that day eventually comes. He plays in
:22:43. > :22:52.the right spirit and, as I said, he is just what the kids need to see
:22:52. > :22:56.on their screens. Good man. Now if you're the boss of a company,
:22:56. > :22:59.you tend to stick to being a boss. You make phone calls, go to
:22:59. > :23:01.meetings and generally look busy. But William Gittus, who runs the
:23:01. > :23:04.Jockey Club Estates in Newmarket, wanted to be something more than
:23:04. > :23:08.just a boss. He wanted to train as a jockey. He
:23:08. > :23:18.was too old, not fit enough, but he is the boss and what the boss wants,
:23:18. > :23:19.
:23:19. > :23:26.the boss gets. Meet at William Gittus in the
:23:26. > :23:35.Jockey Club HQ at new market. In his trademark a safari jacket, he
:23:35. > :23:40.is the managing director of Jockey Club Estates. He has a boss. He
:23:40. > :23:44.does all the boring stuff that managers have to do. They go to
:23:44. > :23:52.meetings non-stop. What gave you the idea that you could be a
:23:52. > :24:00.jockey? It was the challenge of whether I could be are not. William
:24:00. > :24:05.has entered a race at the end of the month, one of Horseracing's
:24:05. > :24:14.most historic events. But he had never ridden before. Madness,
:24:14. > :24:21.surely? At this yard, William is on a real racehorse. He has been
:24:21. > :24:25.riding with the jockeys. But he has fallen off several times. The
:24:25. > :24:34.consequences of an accident he could be catastrophic. This is not
:24:34. > :24:38.like riding a donkey on the beach, these animals are fast. These
:24:39. > :24:47.resources, things happen a lot quicker. It is like driving a
:24:47. > :24:55.Formula One car. It transpired that he was an absolute beginner so we
:24:55. > :25:03.changed at the lesson plan from a Gallup to something more basic.
:25:03. > :25:08.you see him at the Derby next week? William or the horse? If the loses
:25:08. > :25:12.a few more Pounds, he could get there. William has lost more than a
:25:12. > :25:22.few pounds in weight but he is hoping to raise lots of pines for
:25:22. > :25:26.
:25:26. > :25:30.help for heroes and Racing Welfare. I have been told that your are not
:25:30. > :25:36.a proper writer a jockey until you have fallen off at least eight
:25:36. > :25:46.times. Williams says he knows a lot more
:25:46. > :25:49.
:25:49. > :25:57.I think that is fantastic. He looked quite good on the horse.
:25:57. > :26:02.He looked quite good on the horse. It is not good at all. We have been
:26:02. > :26:12.following the rain all day. The heaviest on the beam is whether
:26:12. > :26:14.
:26:14. > :26:18.bright patches are. -- heaviest of the rain. Still a fair amount of
:26:18. > :26:23.cloud around. You can see from the brighter images here that there
:26:23. > :26:33.will be some heavy again. Midnight, that rain will push away to the
:26:33. > :26:39.
:26:39. > :26:49.east. Brighter conditions tomorrow morning. A much better day. Fine
:26:49. > :26:52.
:26:52. > :26:59.and sunny, staying dry. A bit of patchy cloud at first. Temperatures
:27:00. > :27:07.tomorrow around 21 degree Celsius. But feeling very pleasant when the
:27:07. > :27:16.sunshine comes through. We rocket that morning, -- we will keep that
:27:16. > :27:22.sunshine into the evening. Sunday will bring a few showers in.