26/01/2017 Points West

Good evening. so it's goodbye from me

A head teacher in Wiltshire is warning that his school is one

of hundreds in the West that are losing out under changes

Class sizes will be increasing. Parents will see older textbooks and

fewer resources and some things never used to do, we won't be able

to. We will see the benefits from funding plans and who is losing out.

The Wiltshire couple murdered in the gun attack

An inquest hears about their final moments.

Carol Vorderman targets Number 10 in her campaign to win a knighthood

And we look back at the village which kept its own

A head teacher in Wiltshire is warning that his school is one

of hundreds in the West that are losing out under changes

Tim Gilson from Marlborough School in Wiltshire says

But whilst some school are suffering under the changes,

Our political editor Paul Barltrop reports from Wiltshire.

After years of pleading for help, schools across the West hoped last

month's announcement would be the help they needed.

But after looking in detail at the figures, many

For while overall nearly 900 schools across the region

will get more funding, 340 will get no increase.

In fact, most will be worse off, including this one.

This school is officially outstanding. Raised by step, pop

Europeans and facing a financial hit that has bunting ahead to go public.

-- that is prompting. It is important everyone understands they

will be locations. I have to say to parents that they will see class

sizes increasing, older textbooks, they will see fewer resources and

some things we used to do, we won't be able to do the same. Today,

parents suggested the letter from the school warning of cuts. The

Government's claim that an unfair funding system is being fixed rings

hollow. We are in the bottom of their 10% in

the country for funding. It seems incomprehensible. If something

should not be cut, it is education, especially a school like this, which

is doing very well. Teachers, especially at the school,

are so dedicated and passionate. I just think it is a real shame that

what they do is going to be compromised. Healing about maths

teaching at the Gloucester primary school, the shadowy Education

Secretary. Teachers here and everywhere feel that the Government

has got its sums wrong. They are trying to hoodwinker parents.

Parents are not stupid. They concede and sells schools have the moment.

The school here today are concerned that if they have more money cut

from their budget, it will impact on staffing levels and the ability to

provide some great resources that are seen in the school at the

moment. Hoping to taste success, the Schools Minister. Each the secondary

school in Swindon, a bowler his skills will on average gain. But he

says the Government simply does not have the money to give more

everywhere. After every national formula change some will win and

some will lose. We have capped any losing school to 1.5% per year, 3%

in total. It is a fairer system that reflects more accurately the needs

of schools. The Government is standing firm. Despite the

controversy, the changes will be in by 2020.

Well, as you heard there, it's a mixed picture.

Some schools will get more from the new way

in which the funding will be calculated, but others fear

they'll lose out and have to make serious cuts.

Overall in Wiltshire, they'll be just over

?6 million a year better off, although as Paul explained,

that won't mean more money for every school.

It's the same picture in Swindon, where in general, schools will be

more than ?3.5 million better off, although the local council is clear

that there'll be winners and losers there too.

13 of its primary schools will get less money.

South Gloucestershire schools are getting a similar

Somerset looks to gain the most overall with ?13 million more

available, with secondary schools there on average getting

In Dorset, the budget's going up overall by ?4.5 million,

but the council's told us that there, 15 primaries

and two secondaries will see their budgets cut.

In Gloucestershire, the overall budget is up

However, it's a very different outlook in Bristol.

There, the council says it expects its schools to be

about ?2 million worse off - with primary schools losing

Just looking at that list, it seems every area apart from Bristol has

more money. Yes, because broadly more money is

going into education. This new formula was meant to correct some of

the unfair aspects of the old formula, which had long been

complained about. But if you look at the bigger picture, what we have the

moment is more children going into schools, going through schools.

Schools frankly after do more work. And we have rising costs. The pay of

teachers going up, pension contributions going up. The

apprenticeship levy going up for schools as well. The national living

wage coming in as well. School say that overall, a lot of things they

routinely do cost them more. Even those with a bit more money might

not feel better. In one of the skills you went to today, it was

built under the Private Finance Initiative. The cost fixed and they

cannot spend less, for example, on maintenance. You have his contract

and get nice new buildings but they are maintained and serviced and so

on. For instance, you cannot save a bit of money by not painting your

conscience or cleaning as much. Where can you save money but you

might things like teachers and textbooks, and that has an impact.

Schools in Swindon are under huge pressure to improve standards. How

can a manager with their settlement? Swindon did see something of a rise

but even then, a mixed picture. Some of the schools, I think 16 and total

will either have the same money or less than before. One of the reasons

the minister Wenger today is because of step, the inspectors, had been so

critical of the schools there a few weeks back. Local MPs are unhappy.

Schools are unhappy. The minister came in today. He was unapologetic

but he did say that standards were starting to rise in Swindon and he

was encouraged by what he saw today. Briefly, Bristol has seen his budget

going down. Yes, urban schools generally getting less money.

Bristol was not one of the biggest funded and it is not one of the

biggest losers. An inquest into the deaths

of a Wiltshire couple who died in an attack on a Tunisian beach

resort has been told Eileen Swannack and her partner

John Welch were among 38 people killed when an Islamist gunman

targeted Sousse in June 2015. Our Wiltshire reporter Will Glennon

was at today's inquest Here today at the Tunisia inquest at

the Royal Courts of Justice, the court heard about John Welch and

Eileen Swannack from Welch. John was 74 and Eileen was 73. They were on

holiday together and where on the beach outside their hotel in Sousse

on June 26 2015. A gunman went on the rampage, killing 30 people,

including 30 from the UK. -- 38 people, including 30. This computer

animation shows how the gunman left the hotel grounds, turned to his

right and shot Eileen and John. Sergeant Paul Griffiths was part of

the British police team that try to reconstruct what happened. Because

there were no British suspects, there has been no criminal

investigation. Today, Sergeant Griffiths confirmed that John was

found dead on the beach. He had been shot in the neck and chest. Eileen

had also been shot dead. Moving portraits were painted of John and

Eileen. She has been described as full of energy, with a lust for

life. She loved Tunisia and this resort in particular. She was a

great-grandmother but had a real sense of fun and enjoyed

socialising. Scores of people turned out for her funeral in the village

of Biddestone in Wiltshire. John was also a great grandparent and a keen

sportsman. He was a healthy man who, it was said, had years of life left.

He was kind, caring, generous. He knew many people in the local area

and is greatly missed. The inquest will continue into next month as it

tries to establish exactly what happened in Tunisia. Whether proper

travel advice had been given to people beforehand and whether the

Government did actually believe that there was any risk of such an attack

taking place. Just before we move on, a quick

correction to our top story. We mentioned Marlborough School, but

that was incorrect. That was my mistake.

The family of a 24-year-old who's been missing for almost two weeks

say they just want him to get in touch.

Deakon Wilkins, from Worle, disappeared on the 14th

of January after leaving a nightclub in Bristol.

The search for him continued today, as Andrew Plant reports.

We are outside Motion nightclub here in Bristol.

That is the car park where, right now, police are meeting

What they are doing is organising what they are calling a more

thorough search of the local area to try to figure out what happened

to Deakon after he left the club here in the small hours 12 days ago.

But at exactly the same time, if you look through this hole

in the wall, you will see police teams over there using divers

to search the water, which is just a few metres away

Deakon vanished after leaving the nightclub at 4.30am

His family and friends have spent 12 days desperate for news.

We have got 20, 30 people coming up today.

People we don't even know coming to help out,

through social media, to help try and find him

Today, they walked different routes he could have taken.

Miriam taking a week off university to help search the streets

Any kind of sign, just to get it out there so people know that

And if they know anything, to get in contact with us

Today, Deakon's family and friends searched along pathways and nearby

parks and handed out leaflets to the public, hoping someone

Meanwhile, police continued to search the water nearby

as the mystery of Deakon's disappearance goes on.

Alex and David with you, thanks for joining us.

Carol Vorderman leads campaigners to Downing Street demanding

a knighthood for the last British Dambuster,

Looking back 100 years to when a Gloucestershire village

That is still to come. First, an update for you.

Two University of Bristol students who've suffered racist abuse

on social media have today made an official complaint

Timi Ariyo and Tami Sotire handed over a file of evidence showing how

they've been targeted in offensive messages and a video

by a group of young men, including another student

They said they were pleased with how the meeting went.

Following the statement they made on the BBC the other day, I didn't

But the university is showing a lot of support and I think some good

We are looking to start disciplinary procedures quickly,

with the individual who is one of our students.

And we're also looking to work with other universities for other

The University of Bristol also says it's also looking at ways to make it

easier for students who are dealing with such abuse to come forward.

A secondary school in the Forest of Dean has shut its doors

until Monday because more than 150 students and staff are unwell.

In a letter to parents, the head of Dene Magna

says they are suffering from a sickness bug.

Professional cleaners are being brought in to sterilise the school.

The National Trust says it won't support plans for a park

The preferred location for the scheme, at Bathampton Meadows,

was approved by councillors last night, despite

The National Trust says it believes it will scar

Carol Vorderman and the Gulf War veteran John Nichol have taken

a petition to Downing Street to try again to get a knighthood

for the last surviving British Dambuster.

George "Johnny" Johnson, from Bristol, who's 95,

which became famous for destroying some of Germany's dams

Johnny Johnson was one of 125,000 men who served under

None of them ever received even a campaign medal.

Then Johnny was snubbed in the New Year's Honours List.

If those other people deserve their awards, that's fine,

Today, Carol Vorderman and former Gulf War veteran

John Nichol marched on Downing Street -

with a brief stop outside Buckingham Palace -

to deliver a petition to knight Britain's last surviving Dambuster.

This is overnight. Overnight, yeah.

100 since we have walked from the park.

Tell me about your personal involvement with

He is representative of every single one

of those young men of Bomber Command.

People forget the level of the sacrifice.

If you served in Bomber Command, there was almost a

50-50 chance that you would die during the war.

Half of the Royal Air Force has been killed.

Half of an army regiment has been killed.

Those figures now would bring down a government.

It would bring down a government if that

Back then, it was a simple fact of life.

After the war, the men of Bomber Command were held at arm's

There had been massive loss of life when they

But in the last three weeks, over a quarter of

a million people have signed a petition to recognise

Johnny Johnson and, by extension, all his comrades.

Johnny is pleased and the veterans

and their families are pleased that

attention has been given to them once again.

And I think it shows the depth of respect that we have both

for Johnny Johnson as an individual, but

also for who he fought with, and those he says that,

if he were offered a knighthood, he would accept on behalf of.

And those are the 55,573 men who died as a

One of the surprising things about today is

There is no march, it is just Carol

Yet this story has captured the imaginations of news

If public opinion carries any weight, Carol

hopes Johnny's name will be on the next Honours List in June.

A new report says the Bristol and Bath area is now leading

the country with their booming economy and seeing

That same report warns that many aren't feeling the benefits,

because there's also been a sharp increase in the cost of house prices

Robin Markwell is in Bristol for us this evening.

I am at the launch of this new report by the Resolution Foundation

here. The panel includes a Mayor of Bristol, just about to discuss the

findings. The news contained inside is bittersweet. Like London, the

economy in Bristol is doing very well indeed. Also like London,

Bristol is becoming a place where Bristolians cannot afford to live.

They will uses event tonight to Colin and new politicians here -- to

call on the new partition being elected here in May, the metro

Mayor, to do more. It's up, up and away

for Bristol's booming economy. Other cities still lag below

where they were before the financial crash but a report out today shows

Bristol soaring above them all. Only London has outpaced it in terms

of economic growth. From a living standards perspective, the

employment rate has kept rising and it is the highest in the country.

While the economy hots up, the housing market

For estate agents in the city, they've never had it so good.

We've seen an increase in prices of 10%,

New figures show the cost of renting across Bristol and Bath has soared -

up an average of ?100 a month in the last five years.

Rising house prices also means it's harder for young people

In 2001 around seven in ten of 25 to 39 year olds

owned their own home here in the West.

Last year that figure had fallen to just over half.

For Angie Palmer - who lives in Bristol's Bedminster area -

This is the dining room. The kitchen is out there. Two-bedroom terrace

and it is 920 5p per month in rent. Leg-mac that is a lot. -- ?920 per

month in rent. She works as a graphic-designer

but it's still not enough to cover Demand for properties on her street

was so intense she took this place I have a good job, get my wage is

less than my rent. It is baffling but that is the situation and I am

not the only one in this situation. I live off tax credits. It is not

ideal and it is difficult. But it is how it is.

Politicians are all too aware of the scale of Bristol's housing

shortage and the new metro mayor elected this May is being urged

Without enough affordable housing in the city,

Bristol's economic successes could be short-lived.

Earlier, we were talking about the sacrifices of the previous

generation. Johnny Johnson and Bomber Command.

But the experiences of young men joining the army

made into a performance at the Bristol Old Vic.

Their stories were collected by poet Owen Sheers,

whose book was so moving that it was made into a radio play.

The drama tells the story of three young men from Bristol.

It is the story of their service but the story of their

It is about the aftermath of conflict, and really

How those concentric circles of damage can spread

from the individuals, through families,

The story looks at the physical and mental scars of war,

and the film rights for it have just been bought up.

The spacecraft which took Tim Peake to the International space station

and back has gone on display at London's Science Museum.

The Soyuz capsule, complete with scorch marks from re-entering

Earth's atmosphere, was unveiled by the man himself.

The Wiltshire astronaut, who wants return to the space station soon,

said he hoped the display would inspire the public.

As he does. Gosh! That capsule would really

primitive, doesn't it? -- looks really primitive.

The extraordinary story of a Gloucestershire community

and its resident gorilla has been brought back to life in a new book.

The village archivist in Uley stumbled across pictures

of the gorilla, called John Daniel, which had been kept since the 1900s.

The gorilla, called John Daniel, or Johnny to his friends, became a

member of the village of Uley in the early 1900. He was bought from a

department store in London as a gift to Alice Cunningham who lived in the

village. She treated him like a human child. He had free reign. He

just loved the children. They loved him as well. His bet a lot of time

with the children. Also, he used to sit in the village green outside the

pub, hoping the folk would come out and give him a glass of cider. He

adored cider. He was a bit of a drinker? He was! In 1989, the BBC

made a documentary about him, complete with re-enactments and

memories. We treated him like he was one of us. The other difference was,

she was a gorilla and we were humans. When he lost his temper...

He would stomp is -- thump his hands. He would take your hand and

go to school with you. The teacher gave him a still to sit on and he

would sit with someone one day and another person the next. John Daniel

played with the children on this clean. But having cider at the local

pub was shot left. -- shoplift. He was sold to America. She thought he

would be for a home in America but she was diseased. He was going to a

circus. Bannerman Bailey's Circus. He just didn't cope with that at all

after life he had in Uley. Alice was ardently sent for in a new life in

America, but the guerrilla guide before she could reach. It was said

he died of a broken heart. The story is being told again thanks to

Margaret. We were lucky to have him and it is that the village on the

map again, hasn't it? Is that for real? It is so sad. I am

sad now. Who died of a broken heart? The

gorilla. Yes, died of a broken heart. I think

we should move on. I know... We will look at the weather for a pick-up. I

have to lift everyone's spirits now? Something much better in terms of

the weather story. Change on the way. I have heard words like roll

and bitter. -- raw. Some sunshine came through but with the winds, it

has felt very raw indeed. Change coming in the way of the stripe of

cloud to the West. And what is behind that as well. We will lose a

dominating high pressure that has been with us for the past few days

and see whether systems shifting in from the south and West. That starts

tomorrow afternoon. It is a slow process but eventually in the coming

days things are becoming that bit more unsettled. And with it, as you

might expect from the south-west, something a bit milder. There will

be spells of rain at times and that will continue to be quite breezy.

That change does not start until tomorrow afternoon. So, tonight,

we're looking at a pretty settled night of weather. You can see,

though, because we have blues to the north and east, already we are

starting to see something that little bit less cold nudging in from

the south and West. There is a bit of a spread in temperatures. We're

all quite close to freezing but probably, Gloucester and Wiltshire,

yes, subzero temperatures overnight, whereas just like the above towards

the south and West. Might see a flurry of snow but it is generally

dry. Might have some bargain and first thing tomorrow, though. A dry

start, brightness and fast. In the afternoon, that rain band suites in

from the South West and that will bring us the change. Temperatures

around three or four Celsius but as he got through tomorrow evening,

temperatures continue to lift. Up to 78 Celsius. That rain pushes on with

the milder air. -- seven or eight Celsius. For Saturday's cell, a

little dry weather around. You could pick up a shower. If you do, it is

more likely towards Gloucestershire. If we are trying to be clever about

it, the Bristol Channel. Temperatures knocking on the door of

double figures. I think we will see those double-figure is eventually on

Sunday, although eventually this low pressure brings more rain. You can

see frontal systems in from the south and West as we go through the

second after the weekend into next week. We can see the impact on the

temperatures here, back to double figures.

Good news. It has been boning freezing. A little bit more good

news. -- blooming freezing. George this one, who was said with

crossbows in the head, is now standing up, drinking on his own and

a bit better. The fund for his treatment is now ?5,000. --