Concern as school suspensions rise by 40% in Harrogate and Knaresborough

Concerns have been raised after the number of children suspended in Harrogate and Knaresborough schools rose by more than 40% in the last year.

Figures recently published by North Yorkshire Council revealed there were 459 suspensions in 2022/23 — a rise from 314 in the previous year.

The most common reason for suspensions was “persistent disruptive behaviour”, according to a report.

The chief inspector of Ofsted has said that behaviour in schools has deteriorated since the covid pandemic, with some pupils refusing to comply with rules, talking back to teachers and walking out of class mid-lesson.

The topic was raised at a meeting of local councillors in Harrogate on Thursday.

Cllr Paul Haslam, an independent representing Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was “concerned” at the level of suspensions in the area.

He said:

“What we’ve got is a symptom and not a cause. I’m keen to understand the causes of suspensions. I do not underestimate the commitment of teachers.

“As a past school governor and trustee, I know how hard they work but how can we best support them? Can we catch [poor behaviour] at primary school so it doesn’t happen in secondary school?”

Last week, youth education charity Impetus published research that found children suspended from school see their exam results suffer.

It suggested some children were found to be lagging a year behind their peers with some unable to achieve a standard pass in GCSE maths and English.

 

Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills at North Yorkshire Council, responded to Cllr Haslam and said the rise in suspensions reflected a national trend.

She also said the figures were “linked disproportionately” to children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Ms Newbold said:

“What we’ve seen is an increase in suspensions and exclusions across the county. Those numbers have risen over the last few years. We can link it back to wider issues in families rather than school-specific issues.

“We’ve focused on all things inclusion this academic year and are offering support around suspension and exclusions. We’ve had headteacher workshops to make sure we can do as much preventative work as possible but it will take time to see outcomes.”

Read more:

Four fire crews tackle blaze at Pateley Bridge caravan site

Four fire crews were called to a blaze at a caravan site in Pateley Bridge in the early hours of this morning.

Firefighters from Knaresborough, Grassington, Ripon and Harrogate rushed to the scene at 1.12am on Monday, March 18.

An investigation into the cause of the fire at the unnamed site is ongoing, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

A spokesperson added:

“The fire caused damage to a toilet block at the site with an attached workshop also suffering slight fire damage. Crews prevented the fire spreading any further.”

Fire crews extinguishing the flames in Pateley Bridge

Grassington Fire Station posted on social media:

“In the early hours we were sent to a building fire near Pateley Bridge alongside, Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough Fire Station.

Crews worked hard to prevent the fire taking the adjoining building before extinguishing the flames.”

The campsite engulfed in smoke

Grassington fire services at the scene last night

The wreckage at Pateley Bridge Caravan site

Read more:

WATCH: Spectacular drone footage of Knaresborough Tractor Run

A record 401 vehicles took part in the Knaresborough Tractor Run yesterday (March 17), organisers confirmed today.

The annual event saw the tractors depart the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate and then complete a 25-mile route that takes in Pateley Bridge and Knaresborough and numerous villages in between.

The event has raised more than £100,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance since it was first held over a decade ago. You can donate online here.

Drone photographer Colin Corker captured the start and then drove to Nidderdale to capture the spectacular sight of the procession snaking around the countryside.

Here is some of his work from another memorable day.

Read more:

Knaresborough school celebrates 50 years of foreign exchange programme

A Knaresborough secondary school is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its foreign exchange programme.

King James’s School launched the exchange programme with its German partner school, Bruder Grimm Gesamtschul in Bebra, in 1974.

It came after Knaresborough was twinned with the town, based in Hesse, back in 1969.

Over the last five decades, both schools have held annual exchange programmes, whereby pupils visit each other at their neighbouring schools to develop friendships and improve language skills.

However, former languages teacher and UK founder of the school’s programme, Alan Hemsworth, said the programme “nearly didn’t happen at all”, adding:

“We had serious difficulties in finding accommodation for all the pupils and only a last-minute appeal in the local paper saved the day.”

Two pupils even stayed in a caravan at the bottom of someone’s garden, Mr Hemsworth added.

This year’s cohort of pupils will visit Bebra this month to commemorate the anniversary, as well as attending a special event in aid of the big birthday.

Pupils will sport hoodies made for the occasion.

Mrs Allison, one of the school’s languages teachers, said:

“Every year, I come across students participating in the exchange whose parents have fond memories themselves of spending time with their German friends.

“The school’s original aims in promoting the exchange were simple but important, and still hold good today: to promote tolerance, understanding and friendship, and a desire for pupils of all ages to learn a foreign language.”

Staff also recounted the days when English and German students would contact each by pen and paper. They said students now maintain friendships over social media and many meet each other virtually before meeting face-to-face.

Headteacher Mrs Martin also said:

“It is a great privilege to take part in these historic celebrations. Good international relationships are as important today as it they were in 1974 and I hope this exchange continues to go from strength to strength, bringing cherished memories and long-lasting friendships for years to come.”

Read more:

Readers’ Letters: Harrogate is short of social housing – not luxury apartments

Readers’ Letters is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

This letter is in response to two stories. One was about plans to convert King’s Club, a former Harrogate strip club, into luxury flats, and the other revealed plans to turn the former Knaresborough cattle market into a commercial unit. 

North Yorkshire Council should take the opportunity to provide social housing on these sites.

We are not short of executive homes and luxury apartments, but genuinely affordable homes and social housing are desperately needed.

Harrogate is largely dependent upon conference and tourism to provide jobs but these are not high-waged occupations.

People who would otherwise be able to do this work cannot afford to live in Harrogate.

Diane Stokes, Harrogate

Scant information about Harrogate’s ‘new town’ causing community despair

This letter is in response to a feature about how Harrogate’s ‘new town’ is fuelling worries about local roads.

Thank you for the excellent article in the Stray Ferret on the ‘new town’ around Harrogate’s Western Arc.

I have been involved with Harlow and Pannal Residents Association for over ten years, during which time we have been campaigning on the scale of development and the weak or non-existent infrastructure to support this level of development.

Our message has fallen on the deaf ears of the planning authority, the highways authority and the planning inspectorate throughout that period, despite claims that the authorities have ‘engaged’ with us as stakeholders.

North Yorkshire Council, no doubt through limited resources, appear to rely in large part on the private developers to identify the problems with the road and transport network and to come up with the solutions which unsurprisingly amount to very little.   Fundamentally, the studies quantifying the impacts of development have still not yet been produced, either by the developers or the Council, yet a list of ‘mitigations’ is about to be signed off by the Council.  This is what Rene refers to as ‘wrong way round’.  Needless to say, we and the public at large, have not been informed about the cumulative transport assessment which is key to identifying and resolving the problems.

The sheer length of time this has taken, the constant delays, missed targets and scant information have all contributed to a sense of frustration and despair within the community.

We all know that roads in this area are in a very poor condition with widespread potholes and temporary patches. Years of construction activity followed by the impact of thousands of extra vehicles on the country lanes and residential streets in this part of Harrogate present an alarming prospect for residents.

David Siddans, Harrogate

Crimple Valley needs protecting – not developing

This letter is in response to developers reviving plans to build 17 homes in Harrogate’s Crimple Valley.

If planning permission is granted for this application, then as sure as night follows day another application for more housing will follow.

I have lived in Pannal for 60 years and the A61 Leeds Road is a very dangerous road. There have been numerous accidents on and near the bridge. Two acquaintances of mine were tragically killed outside Almsford Bank Stables a few years ago.

Traffic is very fast-moving, due to the road being downhill.

The Crimple Valley is a lovely walk and needs more protection than it currently has.

Harrogate is being overdeveloped and needs more green spaces not less.

Anne Smith, Pannal

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Read more:

Pottery workshop moves to larger Knaresborough premises

A popular pottery workshop in Knaresborough is moving to a larger studio in what is fast becoming the town’s thriving art hub.

Northernline Arts is relocating from its current home on platform 2 at Knaresborough railway station to new premises on Kirkgate.

Run by former pottery teacher Maria Dawbarn, Northernline Arts is a workshop space that gives people the opportunity to take part in a diverse range of creative clay and potters wheel sessions.

Since opening its doors almost exactly three years ago, the business has grown steadily, attracting increasing numbers of people either trying pottery as a one-off experience, or taking it up as a regular hobby.

Owner Maria set up the workshop after first training in ceramic at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at Dundee University and then spending 23 years teaching at Henshaw Arts and Crafts Centre before moving into a management role.

She said:

“I first tried pottery at school and have been hooked ever since, I still get real joy working with clay every day.

“My career saw me moving from teaching into a management role, after more than a decade doing that, I was missing being hands on so I decided the time was right to embark on a new adventure and set up my own studio.

“I’m sure the popularity of the Pottery Throwdown on TV has had a positive impact, but it’s been great to see so many people coming along to try the potter’s wheel sessions. We also have a thriving community of regulars.

“I’m delighted I can work with people every day to share my passion for ceramics and continue to make my own wheel-thrown work.”

Maria hopes the new studio, which is due to open on Tuesday, April 2, will become an exciting art hub for Knaresborough.

As well as giving her and other potters a chance to display and sell their work, she also plans to expand the range of classes available and hold demonstrations of other crafts.

Read more:

New Knaresborough primary school delayed until 2026

An opening of new primary school in Knaresborough is expected to be delayed until September 2026.

The school, which will be run by Elevate Multi Academy Trust, is  to be built at Manse Farm and serve pupils from new housing developments in the area.

It will provide 210 places for pupils, with the capacity to be expanded to 420.

North Yorkshire County Council unveiled plans for the school in 2020 as part of proposals “to serve housing growth”.

It was initially planned to open in September 2022, but was delayed twice until September 2024.

The council previously said that the project had been delayed due to an overhead electric cable that runs across the land where the school is due to be built. 

It added that a sub-station needed to be built on the land and the cable diverted before the site could be transferred to the authority.

Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills at North Yorkshire Council, told a Harrogate and Knaresborough area committee on Thursday that work was still progressing on resolving those matters.

She said:

“What I am aware of is that the earliest that school could be delivered at the moment is September 26.

“Once the primary allocations have been distributed in April, we will again review the data and look at the forecasts and gain an understanding of the timescales around that delivery and what it means to pupil cohorts and whether we need to put other provision in.

“As far as things stand at the moment, I understand that work is progressing around the issues that have been long standing at the site. There is still that commitment to deliver this project at the appropriate time.”

Read more:

The new school is expected to cost £6 million and serve up to 1,000 homes as part of the nearby Manse Farm developments.

Knaresborough Town Council has previously expressed frustration at the lack of progress at the school site.

In December, a motion by Cllr Matt Walker, who sits on the town council and also represents Knaresborough West on North Yorkshire Council, was approved to invite developer Taylor Wimpey “to provide an update on the transfer of land at Manse Farm housing estate to North Yorkshire Council so a primary school can be built”.

Survey highlights Knaresborough’s tourism potential

A survey has discovered Knaresborough is one of the most popular local towns and cities to visit.

The study by research company 56 Degree Insight asked a representative sample of 500 people from a regional pool to rate 10 nearby places to visit.

Knaresborough ranked third with 87% describing it as either OK, good or excellent, behind only York (93%) and Harrogate (91%) — which are both larger and better known.

Knaresborough scored ahead of Skipton (82%) and Ripon (81%), with Otley in West Yorkshire and Thirsk in joint sixth on 76%. Helmsley, Northallerton and Malton filled the last three slots.

The survey also revealed 93% of visitors were ‘very’ or ‘quite’ likely to visit Knaresborough again — higher than anywhere else.

56 Degree Insight also discovered Knaresborough residents’ pride in their town.

They asked 300 Knaresborians to rate where they live and 96% said it was either excellent, good or OK. Only Harrogate residents rated their location higher, at 97%. York was third at 89% and Ripon was seventh at 65%.

The results were revealed at this week’s annual general meeting of business group Knaresborough & District Chamber.

Executive member Peter Lacey said the results indicated that Knaresborough’s already popular visitor economy could be a growth sector.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Lacey said he was still digesting all the results, but the take away message was that there are opportunities for the town to attract visitors and encourage them to stay longer whilst ensuring that the requirements of residents are also addressed.

He said suggestions on how to improve the town, which the survey also covered, attracted positive responses to ideas such as town centre improvements, more benches to sit on and wet weather covers, adding:

“We were also encouraged that whilst sensitivity to design and local impact ideas such as park and ride, a land train and the cliff lift were all considered appealing to both visitors and residents.”

Read more:

Knaresborough’s first food and drink week to begin on Monday

Knaresborough’s first food and drink week will begin on Monday.

Twenty-four businesses are involved in the venture, which runs from March 18 to Sunday, March 24.

It is one of many events being organised this year by Knaresborough Business Collective.

The collective, which was set up by independent traders Natalie Horner and Annie Wilkinson-Gill in 2021, created the food and drink to showcase Knaresborough’s culinary offer.

Similar to the Harrogate and York restaurant week events, it will give people cut-price deals throughout the week.

The deals include butchers meat bundle deals, 2 for 1 deals on cocktails and meals, early bird menus and a full afternoon tea for two for £32.

The collective said in a statement:

“We wanted to allow for both day and evening eateries to participate so decided not to limit it to restaurants only.

“We have 24 businesses including cafes, restaurants, pubs and some are offering more than one deal. There is such a huge range, there are butchers, restaurants, bars, cafes, delis.

“There are so many amazing businesses in Knaresborough it is just a case of showcasing what we have to offer and drawing people in.”

The collective has also revealed plans to run two more events, a health and beauty week and a retail week in the run-up to the Knaresborough Business Awards in summer.

The health and beauty week, which will take place next month, will offer salons a chance to showcase what they have to offer, and the retail event will occur in May.

Ms Horner said:

“We had businesses approach us after Harrogate restaurant week and realised there are so many to celebrate.

“We have launched to event to show what is on offer in Knaresborough, sometimes people get stuck in a routine and need to be shown what options they have. Sometimes people don’t realise these places even exist so it helps to put them on the map.

“All the businesses are so different they have lots to offer and we had to make sure there was a mutual benefit. We have recieved really positive feedback. We had no idea what to expect but it is getting lots of interest, we are seeing how it goes and if it goes well it might become an annual event.”

Besides advertising their events on the collective’s Facebook page, participating businesses will also put posters in their window stating their offers.

The businesses involved are:

Deals will be updated daily this week and shared to the Knaresborough Business Collective Facebook page.

Collective plans

Last year there were talks of the business collective disbanding after the founders struggled to balance their businesses, personal lives and the collective.

Ms Horner said:

“We had a lot of hassle last year, it wasn’t great. It is hard when you are volunteers but we have been offered more help this year and have focused on smaller events.”

But she told the Stray Ferret there would be no spring festival this year, as the collective plans to organise multiple smaller events instead.

She added it was expected to return in April next year and was never planned to be an annual event, despite running for the past two years.

Read more:

Knaresborough hero Bruce Reid seeks help for son

A Knaresborough man who has devoted much of his life to helping others is now appealing for help to get vital medical treatment for his son.

Retired firefighter Bruce Reid is best known in the town for organising free Christmas Day meals for up to 100 people. But he has also raised tens of thousands of pounds over the years for a host of other good causes in North Yorkshire.

His son Andrew, 32, underwent surgery for a brain tumour three years ago. The operation successfully removed 80% of the tumour but it continues to grow and the family has set up a gofundmepage to pay for treatment abroad as nothing suitable is available in the UK.

Bruce, who was made an MBE in 2015 for services to the Fire Fighters Charity and the community, said:

“Surgery is no longer an option but there are some potential treatments abroad and this is the reason we need to raise as much as we can to make this possible to access.”

Bruce, along with son Andrew, daughter Amanda Glennon and nephew Callum Reid, are training for the London Landmarks Half Marathon on April 7.

The fundraising target is currently £10,000 but the actual sum needed is likely to be several times higher. However, because the family is still unclear what treatment is required, or the sum, they are just trying to raise as much as they can for now.

Bruce appealed for help at this week’s Knaresborough & District Chamber AGM and said he hoped to arrange fundraising events in Knaresborough after the half marathon to continue generating income. Members agreed to do all they could to support him.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret afterwards, he said:

“We don’t know how much we will need yet. We are gearing ourselves up. All many pledged will be spent purely on treatment for Andrew.”

You can donate to the cause here.

Read more: