:00:00. > :00:11.the United States. Join me now on BBC Two, and that
:00:12. > :00:15.White working class children in parts of Merseyside are being let
:00:16. > :00:18.That's the conclusion of an independent study which looked
:00:19. > :00:22.at why Knowsley has the country s worst GCSE results.
:00:23. > :00:25.One of the main recommendations is to set up a grammar school.
:00:26. > :00:28.But that idea was firmly rejected by the borough's Labour council
:00:29. > :00:32.Here's our political reportdr Kevin Fitzpatrick.
:00:33. > :00:34.Knowsley is a borough where children have consistently failed
:00:35. > :00:40.It's currently the lowest performing authority in the country for pupils
:00:41. > :00:51.At this academy - one of six local secondary schools -
:00:52. > :00:55.there have been signs of improvement, but it remains
:00:56. > :00:58.These children are bright and they want to learn.
:00:59. > :01:00.They are like sponges, they're great students,
:01:01. > :01:06.Over time, they haven't had the good diet of teaching
:01:07. > :01:12.The report by ResPublica found that children are being held back
:01:13. > :01:15.by a lack of diversity in the classroom, by poor use
:01:16. > :01:19.of resources when pupils are struggling, and by a stop-start
:01:20. > :01:24.And when pupils leave school, there is nowhere in Knowslex
:01:25. > :01:32.If the report says they are the worst performing schools,
:01:33. > :01:39.I think they should invest lore money within the schools
:01:40. > :01:43.to train teachers, provide more equipment for them.
:01:44. > :01:45.Among the proposals to improve education is the adoption
:01:46. > :01:49.of the marginal gain strategy of the British cycling team,
:01:50. > :01:52.where small increases in performance across the board lead
:01:53. > :01:57.They also think some teachers should be paid more.
:01:58. > :02:00.Controversially, ResPublica say a new grammar school
:02:01. > :02:05.In an area like Knowsley, which is predominantly
:02:06. > :02:07.white working class, you don't have the problems
:02:08. > :02:14.of middle-class pupils elbowing working-class pupils out.
:02:15. > :02:16.Knowsley Council refused to speak to us today, but in
:02:17. > :02:28.In response to the recommendations the council does accept, it has
:02:29. > :02:31.launched a ?1 million education commission to tackle the issues
:02:32. > :02:37.The life-chances of a new gdneration of pupils will depend
:02:38. > :02:47.We heard in Kevin's report the council firmly rejected the idea
:02:48. > :02:50.that a grammar school could help the borough's education.
:02:51. > :02:53.Earlier I asked the Governmdnt's School Standards Minister Nick Gibb
:02:54. > :02:58.Well, it's a pity they disregard an independent report.
:02:59. > :03:02.Knowsley's GCSE results are the lowest in the country.
:03:03. > :03:05.Their EBacc figure - this is the proportion of children
:03:06. > :03:09.gaining the core academic stbjects of science, maths, English,
:03:10. > :03:12.a foreign language, a humanity - stands at 9.5%
:03:13. > :03:16.of children attaining those GCSEs, compared to 24% nationally,
:03:17. > :03:19.so they do need to take action to improve academic
:03:20. > :03:24.Here is an independent report that highlights some significant issues
:03:25. > :03:31.in Knowsley that they could tackle if they took this report seriously -
:03:32. > :03:36.It's been almost 70 years in the planning, but today,
:03:37. > :03:40.the long-awaited link road between the M6 and Heysham opened.
:03:41. > :03:43.The Bay Gateway cost ?140 mhllion, but it's claimed it'll ease
:03:44. > :03:47.congestion in and around Lancaster as well as helping
:03:48. > :03:53.Our chief reporter Dave Guest has the story.
:03:54. > :03:56.They'd waited almost 70 years to see this day.
:03:57. > :04:00.Little wonder then that there was some excitement during the final
:04:01. > :04:03.countdown to the opening of the new Bay Gateway.
:04:04. > :04:06.It's been a local plan since the '40s and we've trhed
:04:07. > :04:09.and tried and pushed and pushed and eventually we got
:04:10. > :04:15.Britain's first motorway, the M6 between Preston
:04:16. > :04:21.Ten years earlier they'd bedn talking about how it might
:04:22. > :04:24.be linked to Heysham, and so almost 70 years
:04:25. > :04:28.after they first started talking about it the M6 to Heysham
:04:29. > :04:35.They reckon about 25,000 vehicles will pass along here every day,
:04:36. > :04:38.but to many around here this is far more than just three
:04:39. > :04:44.It's a route towards economhc regeneration for the area.
:04:45. > :04:50.This road is going to be the catalyst for that regendration.
:04:51. > :04:52.Is there a danger people will come from the port,
:04:53. > :04:54.straight through Morecambe and Lancaster, onto
:04:55. > :04:59.A lot of people who use the ferries do stay in Morecambe.
:05:00. > :05:02.The scheme is not without controversy.
:05:03. > :05:04.The road cuts through swathes of countryside and there
:05:05. > :05:06.are objections about its impact on the environment.
:05:07. > :05:10.But the MP for Lancaster says it will improve the environment
:05:11. > :05:16.Having HGVs outside of our city centre on the Bay Gateway road
:05:17. > :05:21.is going to make our city cdntre a more pleasant place to experience.
:05:22. > :05:24.350,000 trucks pass through Heysham harbour every year.
:05:25. > :05:28.The trucks are currently tr`nsiting through Lancaster centre and can now
:05:29. > :05:33.Here, they say the link road will be a major boom for business.
:05:34. > :05:35.Now the link road is actually physically open it gives us
:05:36. > :05:38.the confidence to invest evdn more money for the future
:05:39. > :05:44.It's cost ?140 million to build but its supporters say everx one
:05:45. > :05:54.of those pounds spent will generate a further four for the area.
:05:55. > :05:57.An eight-year-old boy who dhed in a house fire in Sandbach over
:05:58. > :05:59.the weekend has been named `s Lucas Carter.
:06:00. > :06:01.The fire on Platt Avenue happened early yesterday morning.
:06:02. > :06:03.Lucas's mother, Kelly-Anne Carter, remains in hospital being treated
:06:04. > :06:12.A top north west heart doctor - who beat his teenage daughtdr
:06:13. > :06:15.after she disobeyed him by going to a Halloween party -
:06:16. > :06:18.has been banned from practice for a year.
:06:19. > :06:21.Dr Gohar Rahman - who worked as a consultant cardiologist
:06:22. > :06:23.at Wigan Infirmary - was given a suspended
:06:24. > :06:30.jail term in February after he admitted the assault.
:06:31. > :06:32.Veterans gathered in Liverpool today to commemorate the 75th annhversary
:06:33. > :06:37.of the first sailing of the Arctic convoys in the second world war.
:06:38. > :06:40.They were dangerous voyages but a vital part of the war effort -
:06:41. > :06:42.supplying food and equipment to Russia.
:06:43. > :06:49.The Royal Marines Band beats the retreat outside
:06:50. > :06:56.Watching on, veterans of the 1940s Arctic Convoys to Russia.
:06:57. > :07:00.Among them, 92-year-old Alec Owens from Wirral.
:07:01. > :07:02.He was a gun loader in the Royal Navy.
:07:03. > :07:11.As high as skyscrapers, some of the seas.
:07:12. > :07:16.You'd go down in the depth and come up again and you could
:07:17. > :07:20.And down again, you can't see a thing.
:07:21. > :07:24.NEWS ARCHIVE: The largest convoy ever taken to Russia
:07:25. > :07:29.It wasn't just the weather that made the run north so dangerous.
:07:30. > :07:33.German U-boats and aircraft were a constant threat.
:07:34. > :07:36.Though as a teenage merchant seaman, Roger Ellison, from the Isle
:07:37. > :07:42.I was a young man who didn't feel scared at that age.
:07:43. > :07:46.Not on the ship - I didn't, anyway.
:07:47. > :07:49.The man who leads the present day navy was in Liverpool
:07:50. > :07:53.The Arctic convoys were one of the most extraordinarily
:07:54. > :07:57.challenging events that anyone in the Second World War took part
:07:58. > :08:05.It is important we remember that sacrifice today.
:08:06. > :08:08.Sir Philip also presented the Lord Mayor with an Arcthc Star
:08:09. > :08:16.We'd been trying to get his Arctic Star for him.
:08:17. > :08:20.He died in 2010, so I'm hondstly so proud to wear it for him today -
:08:21. > :08:25.HMS Dragon is in Liverpool to salute the veterans.
:08:26. > :08:28.And there was a fly past by the very swordfish biplane which another
:08:29. > :08:33.Merseyside veteran flew to protect the convoys.
:08:34. > :08:35.Close to the magnetic pole, navigation was hard
:08:36. > :08:40.and getting lost easy. We came out of the stern and we d no
:08:41. > :08:45.It makes me go cold now to think about it.
:08:46. > :08:59.Imagine being in the Arctic Circle, which way is North?
:09:00. > :09:05.The weather has been far from Arctic here, hasn't it? Let's look at what
:09:06. > :09:09.is in store for the week ahead. It's our third very mild
:09:10. > :09:12.Hallowe'en in a row, We're stepping into November
:09:13. > :09:15.and there will be changes Initially we have high
:09:16. > :09:19.pressure to start, so it's We'll see more organised rahn
:09:20. > :09:21.on Thursday afternoon lingering until Friday,
:09:22. > :09:24.and as we head towards the weekend The main thing as we go
:09:25. > :09:28.through the week is the nights You can see the area of high
:09:29. > :09:31.pressure sticking with us for about another 48 hours,
:09:32. > :09:34.but after that the weather fronts start to come in and there's the low
:09:35. > :09:37.pressure that will start to take control as we head
:09:38. > :09:39.towards the weekend. But at the minute we are still
:09:40. > :09:42.in the relatively mild air. The overnight temperatures are not
:09:43. > :09:45.too bad - six for rural are`s, A line of weak rain heading
:09:46. > :09:50.towards us in the early hours of the morning,
:09:51. > :09:52.so visibility is fairly A few spots of drizzle to start
:09:53. > :09:56.the day, but it doesn't takd too long before the clearance
:09:57. > :09:58.comes on in. Brighter skies on to
:09:59. > :10:00.the Isle of Man and parts Sunshine everywhere as we hdad
:10:01. > :10:03.into the afternoon. With a light breeze you would think
:10:04. > :10:06.that might feel quite good, but with a change in the wind
:10:07. > :10:09.direction and the air type it's going to be quite cool,
:10:10. > :10:13.10-11 at the best. A chilly night on Tuesday night
:10:14. > :10:16.through to Wednesday, a cool start, but look at the long spells
:10:17. > :10:19.of sunshine you will see as you go Wednesday looks like being puite
:10:20. > :10:22.nice, but the numbers We've seen these temperaturds
:10:23. > :10:27.typically the overnight period over the last couple of days,
:10:28. > :10:30.so daytime temperatures, Thursday starts OK but the line
:10:31. > :10:34.of weather creeps towards us towards the tail end of the day
:10:35. > :10:37.and that will be around first The unsettled conditions st`rt
:10:38. > :10:42.to work towards us but remember the daytime temperatures
:10:43. > :11:04.and night-time temperatures side. Strong northerly winds, some
:11:05. > :11:05.sunshine and