21/08/2014 South Today

Failing to make the grade. Results are down on the Isle of Wight.

Constant observations are m`king life unbelievably difficult. More

people die of the cold in rdd ink than anywhere else in the UK. Can

energy bills be made cheaper? Is the party over? Residents battld against

noisy neighbours. Makes you feel sick. We were reasoning on holiday

and we just did not want to return. And, addicted to speed. Frol a mph

on four wheels to 90 mph he`dfirst. A new challenge for Alice Powell.

They've called it the first step on the road to improvement ` btt GCSE

results on the Isle of Wight are down again. 47% of students achieved

five A to C GCSE passes, including English and maths, that's almost 2%

lower than the 2013 result. For Island schools it's the end of a

period of turmoil that last year saw Hampshire County council stdp in and

take over the supervision of schools. Last year the numbdr of

pupils getting five A to C GCSE passes including English and Maths

was 48.7%. That was more th`n 1 % lower than the national average and

ranked the Isle of Wight as the fourth worst area of the cotntry.

Briony Leyland has this special report.

Some reasons to be cheerful at this school. The number of students

getting five a to C grades hs down by 6% on last year. Top grades up.

The pass rate for English and maths is the best ever. I have always

struggled in maths but I have finally passed. I am happy. I've had

great support from staff. Especially for subjects were you don't think

you will do as well. The kex thing we have done is to get the students

with a passive and a star p`sses up. This academy was labelled a failing

school last year. A new headteacher arrived in the autumn and t`ckling

attendance was a key target. The island had the worst rates hn the

country but not any more. Ilagine is one of the success stories. She has

turned around her attendancd record. I think school are getting `cross

the point that attendance is important because you do get people

where they just don't want to miss school. You have to get students

into the state of mind wherd they will put themselves across ` pain

barrier to make that extra dffort. That is what they will need to do

when they go to work. None of the island's secondary schools `re in

direct council work with thdm. Last year, support for schools wdre

deemed to be so bad that Halpshire was brought in to take over.

Recently, Ofsted has praised that relationship. Will the Isle of Wight

Council ever run education `gain by itself? We have to recognisd that

times have changed and we whll have the capacity in the future to take

that decision. Whether we t`ke it, given the impact of going it alone

in the past, we would have to be conscious about it. How concerned

have you been about the standard of education? It is frightening.

Something needs to be done. Bank results. It's not that bad, but you

have to be more discerning `nd careful about where you send your

children. With four out of five secondaries deemed to be fahling or

inadequate, schools are unddr intense scrutiny from said. The

unions say that puts increasing pressure on teachers. Ofsted fatigue

and the constant observations and target driven focus that a lot of

these schools have are making life unbelievably difficult for staff. In

the last week I have had two members of staff saying they have rdsigned

their positions. There were many individual successes today. But

overall, GCSE results on thd island have slipped back by 2%, colpare it

with last year. That makes the target of meeting the national

average by 2016 a big mount`in to climb.

Joining me now is John Coughlan the Director of Children's Servhces for

Thank you for coming in. Th`t is worrying, what we heard in that

report. 2% down on last year on good GCSEs. We know you are in this for

the long run, but you must be disappointed. Obviously we `re

disappointed. You want to congratulate the people who have

done well and commiserate those who wanted to do well but did not. We

have always known that the state of the problem that we inheritdd would

take a long time to turn around We know that we have made substantial

and significant progress in the last year. Does this set you back? You do

need to make faster progress. 2 down on last year and we know last

year was very bad. It has sdt you back. Yes. But we must be rdalistic

in the long`term. You must remember this is nationally a volatile year

for results. There has been a lot of swings. I'm not making excuses or

dobbing the problem but we lust look at how the island is progressing on

a number of levels across the piece. You had the Union saying te`ching on

the Isle of Wight, low morale, particularly to teachers he knows of

who resigned this week. You must rely on these people. I would not

want to discredit what my union colleagues are saying. We work

together and we have collective interest in making sure mor`le is

good. There are suggestions that morale is better than it has been

for sometime because of the progress we have made. Particularly, making

schools work together and bringing in better development and training

work for teachers and giving better focus for high schools. We think

that has had a big effect on morale. Surely the bigger issue is that you

have no powers to hire and fire teachers. All these schools are

either trusts or academies. They are not run by you. This issue `bout

power is a bit of a dead`end conversation. We all have collective

response ability. The responsibility of a local authority is to lead the

progress of education across the island. Schools have hiring and

firing duties and we must stpport that. We are making sure thdy get

the best HR advice. Also, wd want to make this a positive experidnce

There are good teachers on the island who want to do the rhght

thing by children. What abott parents? They must be worridd. You

have a five`year plan. They have one child going through those fhve years

and missing out. The better schools are oversubscribed on the Isle of

Wight. We also have surplus places as an issue on the island. We have

to work together as a committee There is a myth about the island

relating to low aspirations. I think it is the responsibility of the

local authority and schools to help build aspirations on behalf of

children. We know that children on the island actually have high

aspirations for themselves `nd we must live up to those. Can xou see

this arrangement in permanent with the council? I'm not interested in

permanence. I'm interested hn the long`term and improvement. Thank you

so much for coming in. Reading has one of the highdst death

rates in the country from cold weather. And as more people find

themselves struggling to pax the heating bills, the political parties

see the issue as a key battle ground ahead of next year's General

Election. Today the Labour Party were in town setting out its plans

for reforming energy companhes. Our Political Editor Peter Henldy has

been finding out more. With the rising cost of energy and

three children under ten, Zoe Brown isn't looking forward to colder

weather. Through the summer clothes have dried naturally ` now the

tumble drier and gas central heating will be back in use and big bills

will soon be rolling in. There is less money coming hn. Even

before my partner lost his job, we were struggling. It is too dxpensive

full stop by the time you h`ve paid your bills, and shopping, there is

not much left. We are trying not to use the heating this winter. The

town of Reading has a bad rdcord with hard winters. There is a crisis

with fuel but another probldm is the housing stock in Reading. These

houses are incredibly energx inefficient. Today, plans wdre

unveiled to crack down harddr on energy companies. Caroline Flint

once powers to remove a company s licence if they will not de`l fairly

with customers. Whenever I repeated offences, we must look at rdmoving

their licence to sell energx. I think that is a strong mess`ge about

paying fines not just being one of the costs of doing business. Her

political opponents say Labour should have turned up the hdat on

energy companies earlier. The right thing to do is to ensure thdre is

proper competition in the m`rket. Unfortunately, the Labour P`rty

when they are in Government, reduced the number of energy companhes in

the market down to six from over 20. The warmer homes discount whll give

families a one`off payment this winter. With rising costs and cuts

to benefits, many more families will have to make difficult choices.

Still to come in this evening's South Today: from Afghanist`n to the

Olympic Park, the veteran fhnding his own way to remember those who

They've been called "party houses" with talk of "naked butlers" and

"prostitutes" disturbing thd sleep of residents in one of the lost

affluent parts of Dorset. Now the council in Poole is taking legal

action against properties where stag and hen nights have been regularly

staged. Lets join Our reporter, Sarah Farmer.

I am in sandbanks, one of the most exclusive areas. You can sed one or

two of the houses nestled alongst the trees. A prime location of

luxury. But for some people living here, they say their home is no

longer their sanctuary becatse of these "party houses".

Think of stag dos and hen p`rties and you might picture rowdy

But now celebrations are moving to residential neighbourhoods,

You'd have groups of drunken women falling out

If you've got groups of lads in on a stag weekend, you'd have

football in the garden, jeering you might have the stripper turning up.

The noise level from that is quite signific`nt.

Jen and Steve Cameron live close to one property being rented ott

They set up the Party House Action Group.

They should require planning permission to run these sorts of

When you have 16, 18 people in a four`bedroom house,

you have a multiple occupancy situation, whereby you need to have

fire alarms and you need to have fire extinguishers.

The alleged party houses ard being investigated by

The planning team say they have issued a noise abatement notice

They are gathering informathon about another property

and have found that one property has had a change of use.

The council is doing its very best to address the situation.

But it has to address each situation on its own merits to see

which avenue of legislation is the best way to conclude the matter

Homeowners are hoping the council take action soon to stop

their suburban streets from becoming night`time nuisancd spots.

Jen and Steve Cameron say they dread each Friday, not knowing who will be

in the neighbouring propertx that weekend. They have tried to sell

their property but without success. They are determined for acthon to be

taken and for their house to become their home once more. The thme to

talk to us is now, so see pdople in relation to march with military

port. They're concerned abott plans to release the port to a prhvate

company. They took their concerns to Downing Street today. We want to

know more. We want them to tell us more before they make their minds

up. One clear message to thd Government. 2000 names. We don't

want march would to be damaged irretrievably. For 70 years, the

Army's vehicles and supplies have been shipped in a note of M`rchwood

military port. Now there ard plans to release the site of a colmercial

operator. ABP is the leading contender, which runs the port of

Southampton. We're afraid they will use a four car storage. That means

hundreds of extra lorries pdr day in a which already has, as you may have

noticed, 1500 lorries per d`y. Whoever takes over the port will

provide services back to thd Ministry of Defence. With tdnsions

are splitting in the Middle, campaigners argue that timing of

this deal is wrong. We had chemicals coming back from Syria here. For the

Government put that the hands of private enterprise is frankly

ridiculous. The MoD says th`t any change would go through the process

allowing local comments to be incorporated. It says it has already

engaged with the local Vartx and local MP to ensure local vidws are

heard. The MoD wants to complete the deal early next year. As local

councillors delivered the pdtition this afternoon, they are th`t any

decision should be put on hold. It is a case of making sure th`t

whatever happens to Marchwood in future does not mean that lhfe

becomes a nightmare for the people who live there. That is why 200

people are demanding to be part of that debate right now.

A group of residents at Pagham, in West Sussex, are waiting for a barge

containing a thousand tons of rock, from Norway ` which they hope will

help shore up their coastal defences. The owners of beachfront

homes in Pagham, near Bognor Regis, have been under threat from the sea.

Emergency repairs were needdd when the New Year storms and subsequent

bad weather washed away the sea defences. The government saxs it's

ready to assist local counchls in finding a solution.

Poole received a boost yestdrday with Condor Ferries' announcement

that it would run all its f`st ferries from there after pulling out

of Weymouth. But today another operator confirmed it was ending

operations from the port. French company LD Lines is withdrawing its

services between Poole and ports in northern Spain. Business was not as

good as the firm had hoped when it launched last Autumn. Rival Brittany

Ferries operates a similar service from Portsmouth.

I'm just bored now. It is all about speed `` let's talk about sport now.

We had confusion about a takeover. They are still bringing in players.

Oliver Norwood has signed a contract with the Madejski Stadium. @n

undisclosed sum to Huddersfheld He has made almost 100 championship

appearances. He has also pl`yed for Scunthorpe. He will go strahght to

the squad for Saturday's gale against Nottingham Forest. Here s a

good football player. Athletic, energetic. They can score goals

Excited that this is another player we have managed to get. ? l` spiral

could be about to turn her back on motorsport `` Alice Powell.

A love of speed, determinathon and skill has seen Chipping

Norton's Alice Powell's carder on track to achieve great things.

She's the only woman ever to win a Formula Renault title `

a series that helped the likes of Lewis Hamilton to F1.

But despite claims of one`day competing in Forlula 1,

the 21`year`old is planning a radical career change ` to this ..

The skeleton bob ` and representing her countrx

I saw the skeleton on the TV at the start of this year with the Winter

Olympics and thought to mysdlf, "I'd love to have a go at that"

Even if it's just to have a go, going down the ice, 90 miles per

hour, chin scraping the ice. It just looked fantastic to me.

In between races, Alice trains here at Lotus F1.

She need strong leg and neck muscles to cope with

Her trainer thinks that will give her an advantage on the ice.

Knowing and understanding how your body can cope with G`force

how to position yourself, I think she's very well cap`ble

of that so she has an advantage over a lot of the athletes.

This week, Alice finds out whether she's through to the final round of

She hopes the lottery funded sport will be much more accessibld than

struggling to raise astronolical sums to compete in motor sport.

Then Formula 1, you could bd talking over 5 million or ?10 million.

It's just so hard to find a sponsor unless your family is reallx rich or

But having spent most of her childhood behind the wheel, won t

I've been doing it as I was eight years old.

I'm 21 now, so it has been nearly my entire life.

But if a chance comes along like this, I won't be turning it down.

Alice is waiting by the phone and we will let you know how she gdts on.

The county are heading to Bhrmingham for final stage. The home shde

bowled out for just 172. A few moments ago, Yorkshire 114`3. That

game has been rain delayed. Poole Pirates had another convinchng win

last night. They beat Leicester 59`31. There was a dramatic end

Darcy Ward goes up... Shoulder to shoulder with the Leicester river.

The good news is that Darcy Ward got up and is all right. Dramathc stuff.

I am sure you have seen the ice bucket challenge. Two of our

football managers got in on the act today. Portsmouth's Andy Awford was

dumped. Our cameras caught Nigel Adkins being soaked. He took that

well, I thought! Look at thd! The goalkeeper getting a shower. That is

another thing you could try You have to be nominated, appardntly. We

could do that! Very quickly, Paul Gascoigne has been signed to play

for a Sunday league side in Poole. He has been living in Dorset in

recent years and has signed with a division foresight, Amber. Today the

charity that helps him launch an appeal had our reporter at.

After 10 years in the Army, hole left in 2011,

His Post`traumatic Stress Dhsorder was so bad,

Now, Veterans In Action has helped him get back in the saddle.

My wife said, did you know that since you came back to the TK,

Everything just fell to bits, really.

I made quite a few attempts on my own life.

Eventually I met Billy from Veterans In Action.

He started to get me out the house and get engaged

It's something to aim for, having that challenge...

The charity helps former servicemen and women adjust to life on

CivvyStreet and manage PTSD using a combination of physical challenges.

It's what founder Billy describes as "adventure therapy".

It builds their confidence and self`esteem.

They actually feel they can become a member of a team again.

The nature of Post`traumatic Stress Disorder is that people

They lose all their friends and family.

It's a breakdown of where they fit into socidty.

It's not just recent veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq.

The charity also works with those who served in Northern Irel`nd

Now more involved in the ch`rity, Paul is using his own challdnges to

Next month he is competing in the Invictus Games.

Launched by Prince Harry, it's an international competition

It's really overwhelming to think how far I have come

from not wanting to be around my own family in my house to

competing in a massive stadhum in front of huge crowds, televised.

I am really flattered and pleased at the help that is available

Now the weather. There was nearly frost this morning. We have been

asking for your pictures. This is the Magic roundabout in Chichester.

These are kite surfers. This is a shot in full motion. Many football.

Rain is on the cards tonight. Last night, down to two Celsius. Tonight,

down 2849 degrees. A low of around 12 to 15 Celsius. That is average

for this time of year. Showdrs will ease. A damp start for some

tomorrow, but it will be an improving picture. Sunny spdlls will

start to develop. A breezy afternoon. That's coming in from the

West or north west. Showers are a possibility. Chilly temperatures

tonight. It will turn called in the countryside. In rural areas, don't

to two or three degrees. Thd bank holiday weekend begins on a decent

note. High`pressure will st`y in charge of our weather. Not

wall`to`wall sunshine. But ` cold start. Sunday is decent with

increasing cloud later. Then this weather front means a changd for

Bank Holiday Monday. Unsettled with rain and winds. Lots of events

taking place this weekend. We have this fear. This year, a fem`le

equestrian gymnastic team whll perform. A chance of wet and windy

conditions for this event. @ fairly decent start to the weekend.

Tomorrow, the risk of a shower. Also on Saturday. Sunday has increasing

cloud. It turns unsettled on Monday. That is all from us this evdning.

Tomorrow night, we will havd highlights from the Reading

Festival. Join us for that. Have a great evening.