31/03/2017 Points West

Welcome to BBC Points West with Alex Lovell and David Garmston.

The number of young people from the west going for a degree

A few have gone to college but most people have gone into jobs.

But we'll be asking - are they really missing out?

A clash of civilisations - critics say a modern tunnel under

well enough to watch a game this weekend, after his heart surgery.

And on it like a flash - dozens of yellow car owners invade

the village where this hatchback was called an eyesore.

I'll be live later with many shades of yellow proving that bright is

actually pretty beautiful. The South West is bottom

of the class when it comes to the number of students

applying for university. Less than a third of

18-year-olds here want to go into higher education -

that's compared to Experts and successive governments

have tried to boost the numbers - but the West's biggest city,

Bristol still has some Here's our political

editor Paul Barltrop. Bristol and the South

West are prosperous - The south of the city is less

well-off, and in educational terms Fewer than one in five children

growing up around here apply The contrast with next door

North Somerset is stark. in places like Long Ashton -

just across the vale over there - are two and a half times more likely

to aim for university. two secondary schools

in the South Bristol constituency on to higher education,

but most don't. It just seemed a bit too

daunting and obviously, it is really expensive nowadays

to go to university so I planned on doing my education

here and moving on to employment. I don't feel like university

was the best option for me at all because I didn't really enjoy

school, didn't really I would really like to go

to university but the line of work I would like to go

in within the industry The south-west should be performing

much better than that. In particular wards have apalling

pull through not just to university, but into further education

and higher skills education. Many head for what is on offer

at this South Bristol I think the big unknown of uni

was actually the fear of uni, how I could afford to pay,

and how much debt I'd That pushed me towards

an apprenticeship because I wouldn't experts and politicians,

but sending more to university I think it's a really

shocking statistic. I think it surprises people,

I'm really pleased that We've got two universities

in Bristol, Exeter down the road, Bath down the road

and it's a shameful But with schools' funding

under increasing pressure across the South West,

getting pupils to aim He's the Associate Headteacher

at the school we saw there - Did you go to university? I did

eventually. I left and went straight into an apprenticeship and with my

background there was no history of university and I was keen to just to

make money. That was the route for me. A lot of people feel that way? I

think so. That is one of the issues around this whole debate around

south Bristol, large amounts of paid employment and you have families

replicating what has gone before and you have youngsters whose

aspirations are limited by their experiences. Who turned out all

right? I certainly did. I was lucky enough to have gone away with a good

set of all levels so when I made the choice to move from British Telecom

and do my degree I was able to do so. But everyone is academic, not

all work is academic. There is nothing wrong with that? I

absolutely believe so. There is a real danger of putting so much

emphasis on your only successful if you have a degree. Quickly earlier

there are so many other rich nowadays into high-level implement

and you can become professional and almost any sphere. Apart from

medicine without a degree course. It is about ?27,000 to go to university

plus your living expenses on top. There is a lot of debt at the end of

it. The much of that as a deterrent? I think it is a great deterrent. We

have young people and our sixth form doing extremely well and have offers

for university places but I know of a number who are actively seeking to

try and get apprenticeships with companies apparently it's the same

qualifications but they get paid and trained on the job and you see that

as a far better alternative. And a word or two, of someone is bright

enough to go to university and academically inclined, should they

say forget the money and gold? Efficacy are passionate about it

then yes they should but it is not for someone else to make that

decision for them. We open their ice to what is out there and then be

help them. Thank you very much was we have a special programme

on Sunday politics this weekend talking about student fees and for

that you should go to university or not.

The actor Jeremy Irons has spoken out against Gloucestershire's

He was at the launch of a new legal challenge against the project.

A community group has referred the contract to the Competition

and Markets Authority - claiming it's anti-competitive,

We are in a world of limited resources and you see all over

And to build a mammoth incinerator in this beautiful

part of the world is, I believe, a step back.

It could be seen almost as antediluvian.

Gloucestershire County Council says the new facility will save taxpayers

over ?100 million and make enough clean electricity to

The Liberal Democrats have launched their campaign for May's

Former cabinet minister Vince Cable joined candidates who'll be standing

The Lib Dems lost control of Somerset to the Conservatives

in 2009, and two years ago lost their local MPs.

But they believe they're now reviving.

The Lib Dems are a very positive about his upcoming elections. We

took a terrible hammering at the 2050 general election and a lot of

councillors were hurt by it but it is now very positive mood.

Among the party's candidates is Tessa Munt, the former MP for Wells.

You're watching Friday's Points West with Alex and David

Stay with us because we've lots more to come before 7.00 including.

Find out how the volunteers are getting on coming Ryan's house into

a home. We have a separation and the forecast between a showery Saturday

and a dry Sunday. A huge tunnel and dual carriageway

close to Stonehenge will destroy the ancient landscape,

according to the farmer Highways England says

the ?1.4 billion scheme But speaking publicly for the first

time, Rachel Hosier told Sabet Choudhury that ancient burial

mounds will be threatened. Stonehenge is one of our top

tourist attractions. It is the jewel in the Crown

of the UNESCO world But our experience of

it is somewhat hampered. That noise is the A303, the main

route from Cornwall to London. It often grinds to a standstill,

unable to cope with demand. Now a ?1.4 billion scheme to be

reroute the road through a tunnel and make it into a dual carriageway

has been given the go-ahead. But Rachel Hosier is not happy

because it will pass through her land which is littered

with ancient burial mounds including It is named because it has the bush

on it so that they left Bush Barrow man in there and then they took

all the what's and all of the gold Within 500 metres of where

we are standing through the western end the back entrance or portal

to the tunnel will go. All these barrows are on the ridges

looking down into that valley. So what does the man in charge

of the channel have to say I have met Mrs Hosier, we are

listening to what she is saying, we are listening to all the other

9,000 bits of correspondence we have Would you change your plans

if it doesn't work out? We are still in consultation

and analysing all those consultations in taking a view

on the best way forward. Earlier this month more

than 20 archaeologists registered their objections

to the scheme. They are concerned that the tunnel

entrance to Bush Barrow will destroy the views of the winter sunset

which is now thought to be fundamental to

the stones' positioning. The final plan for the proposed

tunnel as expected in the autumn. Building work is scheduled

to start in 2020. And you can see what happens

when Seb visits another secret archaeological site that experts say

is also under threat, on tonight's A convoy of 100 yellow cars

will roar into the Cotswold It's in support of a pensioner whose

own vehicle was vandalised. Peter Maddox lives in one

of the most photographed areas in the country -

but some tourists didn't like his yellow car being parked

there and claimed it It was later badly damaged -

with the word "move" Well, now people from

across the country want Welcome to Bibury, it is looking

absolutely fantastic and what a way to arrive. This is a quantum extreme

that has been built by Daniel and behind this is the road and Peter

had his car. It was damaged sadly and the vandalism but there is a

happy ending to this story because as you can hopefully see very

shortly there as a group of cars here, but I going to be and this

convoy tomorrow that came from all over the country to support Peter

and absolutely fantastic effort and I caught up with Peter Elliott to

find out what he would thought about it all.

Peter, what has that support from the public meant to you?

What is nice is that you are going to become a

colour because Vauxhall are going to name the yellow after you.

Let's find out who's jobless was to organise. This crazy idea has

exploded hasn't it? It has grown a very large and the last couple of

weeks since the media attention. The support we have received has been

absolutely fantastic, the public has been behind us. Sadly the irony is

that your yellow car didn't make it. Yes, my yellow car is in the

doghouse at the moment, the fuel cap wouldn't open so have had to turn up

enabling car. Where have you guys come from? East Yorkshire. You are

Peter's daughter-in-law, we had from her Mary, what does this mean to you

and your family. The family are just overwhelmed and it is the most

fantastic thing and Peter is really looking forward to tomorrow. You

have 100 people, but many more wanted to take part. A lot more.

Peter is a bit of a celibate? He has always been a bit of a celebrity but

know it is a wider celebrity. Where have you guys come from? North

Yorkshire. People have come from all over the country tomorrow she wants

to be here at about 10:30am tomorrow morning. Enjoy it. I love that

story. I hope the big yellow sun is shining for you. I don't think it

will be but that is not the point. I think it is believed. I love Bibury.

Now here in the West - we've got a bit of a history when it

That's Her Majesty the Queen in Bristol in 1958 -

when she made the first long distance call without an operator..

Well, now our phones are making headlines here again.

I was trying to remember for the codeword for Bristol. I think it

Builders, carpenters and bricklayers - along with the DIYSOS team -

have been working flat out all week to transform the home

You may remember we told you how Ryan Pollard has had to stay

in specialist accommodation in Gloucester since he collapsed

Well his family want him back - and DIYSOS have a matter of days

Lee Madan is there - how's it going?

it is very much a work in progress but I am told we are ahead of

schedule and that is thanks to the amount of volunteers who had given

up their time to come and work here for free. Just today there are 130

tradesmen and said this three-bedroom house including these

guys. James, you are one of them, why did you come to work here for

free? It is an amazing opportunity to come and help change someone's

life for the better. I did that and Ireland. What has the mood be like

inside the site? Absolutely amazing, a buzzing atmosphere of you

wondering to get the job done and work together to create his

beautiful home. It is Christopher to a normal building site? How is that

working, Coric we all tend to McCann and work together, you just get it

done. There was one little mishap earlier. I did screw through a water

pipe earlier and it came straight down, sorted the problem out and

everyone was happy. I am told the mood and said there was just a.

These guys have to get everything by Thursday, that his friend Ryan

finally comes home after spending five years and that care form and it

is all thanks to goodwill of these volunteers. We salute you.

Just a fortnight after major heart surgery, Cheltenham Town's manager

Gary Johnson could be back at the club tomorrow,

Our sports editor Alistair Durden has been to see him.

I knew he was feeling ok as he was cracking jokes as soon

Gary has had heart surgery before, but nothing on this scale,

But he says he's feeling better day by day, and he's touched

by the level of support and kindness he's received.

There have been plenty of well-wishers and from right

It is only two weeks since Gary's surgery but the 61-year-old

You don't want something like this but when something like this

happens, that sort of makes you appreciate the work that

you are in, the industry that you are in, it's a pretty close-knit

family and it is not just the effort of getting the cards,

it is the effort of the words that people could in the cards that

are overwhelming and soon I will get round everybody

Gary's operation was performed by Doctor Alan Brian who's son Joe

And of course where Gary's son Lee is the head coach.

We had moments where I could talk with Dr Brian about football,

but he was very concentrated on my heart as opposed

to my managerial career or Joe's football career.

I stopped short of saying if I don't come through this

then Joe will never play for Bristol City again.

As soon as I came round from the operation, the doctor

shook me up and said, Mr Johnson, you have to wake up no,

Gary's current club Cheltenham haven't won a game

Although truthfully he has already started working again from home.

A couple of days ago I needed to speak to the strikers

because I felt that wasn't quite performing and I could go

there so I still have enough respect that can bring them here.

They all came here and we had a chat and I should videos

and things they can improve on and I was pleased that

We are in a delicate situation at the moment I know it is just

when my wife Florence Nightingale decides that I can get back

to the football then as soon as I feel ready I will go back

Great to see him looking so well again.

So tomorrow he's hoping to take his seat in the crowd

with his wife Caron for the game against Morecambe.

Cheltenham just six points above the relegation

Rugby's European Challenge Cup has reached the quarterfinal stage.

For Bath it's a home tie against French club Brive.

It's nine years since Bath last won a trophy.

They won the competition in 2015 but got knocked out

Bath's Olympic Silver medallist Heather Fell

is taking on a gruelling new challenge this weekend.

After retiring from Modern Pentathlon, she's currently

in South Africa putting in some final training before tackling

If you haven't heard of this, it's a two and a half

mile open water swim, followed by a 112 mile cycle ride,

and then to finish, you run a marathon.

I haven't actually swam in the seats they had been here and most friends

said there is a lot of sharks around but I didn't think I will be

worrying about that on race day because they will be plenty of

people for them to nibble at. It is another factor could take into

account in South Africa. The Ironman is on Sunday,

and Heather is hoping to complete I'm not sure about the shucks. It is

this Sunday but it is not televised. I might go in for that. It's not too

late. Sit watching it eating cake like me.

The story of a Second World War land girl whose life became an enduring

tale of love has been turned into a stage play.

It's been created by a Somerset man who's no stranger to writing -

he scripted 600 episodes of BBC Radio 4's The Archers.

Now 92, Elizabeth Henderson still lives on the Cotswold

fell in love with farming and her husband-to-be.

That her life has become a stage play is, she says,

You know, it's an excuse to have a party.

On the whole, it's a plus rather than a minus.

Only it's me that gets checked up on, not the boys.

No Finer Life played to a packed house on

It's set towards the end of the Second

World War, when an 18-year-old Somerset girl wrote to a rather

famous Oxfordshire farmer asking for a job.

He was an author and quite a famous one.

And simply everyone was reading his book.

You see, George Henderson wasn't just a farmer,

he was an author and his book on how to work the land became iconic.

It was after reading that book that Exmoor farmer and one-time producer

of Radio 4's The Archers decided to take Elizabeth's life to the stage.

It's a brilliant story because she left school, all she wanted to

do was be a farmer and that's why she joined the Land Army.

And it was that period at the end of the war,

and the year or two after the war, when there was a great sense of

idealism and we were going to make Britain better and the countryside

And Elizabeth's story will play to theatres

across the west until the end of April.

Ian has the weather. As I mentioned earlier, there is something of a

split between Saturday and Sunday, Saturday as a classic April shower

day with sunny spells whereas by contrast on Sunday image of high

pressure it will be dry and I suspect it will actually be under a

fair amount of sunshine. And uploaded a front will run across us

tonight with low pressure dominating the pattern into tomorrow and the

showers and they will fade away by tomorrow evening as high pressure

starts to come in from the west to settle things down into Sunday. For

the rest of this evening we have sharia outbreaks of rain across

Cornwall, Devon and western parts of Somerset and all of that creeping

its way farther eastwards as tonight wears on the storm of us will see

some phase of showering before the natives through and temperatures

around seven to nine Celsius by daybreak many of you will wake up to

a dry starts tomorrow, others will not and that really sets the tone

for the rest of the day because it will automatically starts to settle

into a character of sunny spells and showers, some of the showers turning

quite heavy with perhaps some thunder and conversely if you are

free of those then it should be a reasonable enough afternoon with

some sunshine around and temperatures ultimately about 13 to

15 Celsius, a bestowing on the last couple of days but with the strength

of the sunshine it shouldn't be too bad. Insurers will feed through

tomorrow evening as high pressure starts to return and it will become

quite a chilly night to lead a slew into Sunday Sunday getting up to

similar temperatures with rule to mid-teens and varying amounts of

cloud and sunshine it should be a pretty pleasant stay. ASBO Monday as

we head to next week it is looking like a lot of dry weather generally

with some weeks and southbound and whatever you're doing a great

weekend. Thank you for that. I'll see you on Sunday politics this

weekend. Have a lovely time, night.