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- Harrogate childrenswear brand to launch at Great Yorkshire Show
- New mural to welcome visitors to Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show
A young Harrogate man who made international news when he turned 21 has written an autobiography to mark his 30th birthday.
Cory McLeod has led an extraordinary life since he was born, from trekking through South America as an infant with his parents to partying with boxer David Haye in his 20s.
It was a project begun by his dad on the day of his birth that first brought Cory to international attention.
Ian McLeod decided to take a photograph of his son’s face every day for the first year, or perhaps up to the age of two or three. At the time in 1991, he planned to turn into a flick-book – but the project soon grew.
Mr McLeod would send the camera with Cory’s teachers on school trips to ensure he didn’t miss a day, and even travelled for an hour late at night to take a shot when Cory was staying at a friend’s house, before driving home again.
Former Oatlands and St Aidan’s student Cory said:
“It was a family art project for a couple of years, but it became his passion or addiction and he just kept going.
“In his mind, 18 or 21 seemed a good time to stop, but when we got that far, we thought, ‘let’s keep going’.”
In 2012, Cory turned the photos into a video which he uploaded to YouTube, showing his development each day for more than two decades.
It proved a hit: it has since been viewed more than six million times. As a result, Cory and Ian hit the headlines and appeared on TV and radio shows around the world.
In the decade since, his life has been even more eventful.
Moving to Dubai to work in events has brought him into contact with numerous celebrities, from Rihanna to Prince Harry – who, on one memorable night, asked Cory to stop offering him drinks and leave him alone.
A keen traveller, Cory has had many adventures, not all of them trouble-free. He has been held at gunpoint and met bandits during his travels, but always managed to take his daily photograph to keep the project going.
Last month, he published a new video, including images up to his 30th birthday.
His new autobiography, which he began writing during the covid lockdown when he was stuck in his apartment in Dubai, is called 30 Years: A Life Lived Every Day. It covers all his experiences up to the age of 30, in late 2021.
It took him more than two years to complete it, often writing for six or seven hours after work.
The daily photographs, documenting wherever he was in the world, proved a useful prompt in his writing.
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The photos are a kind of social history, from masked selfies during the covid pandemic to the shot of him holding a Blockbuster video from the late 1990s. His favourites are those that show his travels around the world, and special moments in his family life.
Yet taking them has not always been easy, he said.
“I went through a phase where I was constantly remembering at 10 or 11 at night. I’m trying to get out of the habit of doing that.
“Over the course of the whole thing, we’ve only forgotten a handful of times.”
Cory’s autobiography will be published in August and is available to pre-order now.
It is his second book, after he turned his blog about his journey to Everest base camp into a book. He said he now has the writing bug and hopes to use his degree in TV and film production to turn to script writing next.
That drive to create comes from his parents, who were also adventurous: they took him backpacking in South America when he was just one. Dad Ian has since begun a new photo-a-day project, taking him from 60 to the end of his life.
As for the photographs – now selfies taken by Cory wherever he is in the world – he has no intention of stopping. He has his sights set on a lifetime of daily photos.
Teachers’ strike: Closures across the Harrogate district“I think it would be amazing – the first time you could see a full life, from birth to death.”
Teachers at schools across the Harrogate district will not be in the classrooms tomorrow in the first of a series of days of industrial action.
The strike has been called by the National Education Union (NEU) in a dispute over pay and conditions.
The union argues a 5% pay rise in 2022 was insufficient to combat the impact of inflation at 10%, leaving many teachers effectively facing a pay cut.
It argues low pay has been a significant factor in many teachers choosing to leave the profession, and has deterred others from joining it. The result, the NEU says, is more pressure on those who remain, particularly since the pandemic.
The union’s points were supported yesterday by Harrogate Grammar School headteacer Neil Renton, who appeared on BBC News to discuss the situation.
He said he was “torn between [his] head and heart”, seeing the difficulties faced by teachers while also wanting to keep the school gates open for pupils.
The issues the NEU raised, he said, affected schools directly too: a recent advert for an English teacher at HGS attracted just one applicant. He added:
“If this continues and we are not able to work with government and ministers to create an education for the future I would, as an educator, want to take steps to make sure we make a much brighter education for our children.”
Read more:
- Why are Harrogate district teachers going on strike?
- Harrogate train passengers braced for further strikes next week
The following schools across the Harrogate district have confirmed some of their teachers will be on strike and released details of how they will operate tomorrow.
The school said it is prioritising students taking exams this summer, and those identified as vulnerable.
Years 11 and 13 will be in school, along with children from other year groups who have been contacted individually.
Remote learning from home will be offered to years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12. Some live lessons will be led by teachers who are not on strike.
King James’s High School, Knaresborough
The school will be open to pupils in years 11, 12 and 13. Other year groups will be provided with online learning.
The school said it would liaise directly with parents of students with an EHCP about the possibility of provision in school.
The school will be open to year 11 and vulnerable students, while all other year groups learn from home.
Years 7 and 11 will be in school, but students are advised to bring additional work and reading material in case lessons cannot be taught by the subject teacher.
Students in years 8,9, 10 and 12 will learn from home, including some online lessons with teachers who are not on strike.
Year 13 students will be able to work in school if they wish, or revise and join live online lessons from home.
Any students with an EHCP, as well as boarders who can’t go home, can go into school as usual. There is also provision for students whose parents are critical workers.
Rossett School, Harrogate
The school is open to students in years 7, 11, 12 and 13.
Where usual subject teachers are on strike, younger students will have lessons covered by members of the school’s senior leadership team. Older students will carry out independent revision or private study in the sixth form centre.
Students in years 8,9 and 10 will have online lessons available to access from home.
St Aidan’s Church of England High School, Harrogate
Years 7 and 11 will be in school, with years 8, 9 and 10 asked to learn at home.
Sixth form students can work at home or use a supervised study area, if they tell the school they plan to do so.
Students in any year group with an EHCP can attend.
St John Fisher Catholic High School, Harrogate
Years 7 and 11 will be in school, with years 8, 9 and 10 asked to learn at home.
Sixth form students can work at home or use a supervised study area, if they tell the school they plan to do so.
Students in any year group with an EHCP can attend and will spend the day doing activities to develop their social skills, life skills and wellbeing. The school said there may not be sufficient staff available to have one-to-one provision for all students.
Details of how other secondary schools are affected will be posted as we get them.
The next strike date to affect the Harrogate district will be at the end of February.
Harrogate school to recruit fourth headteacher in two yearsA Harrogate secondary school has begun the search for its fourth headteacher in two years.
St Aidan’s Church of England High School has set up a website outlining its vision for the next post holder after facing a number of challenges since late 2021.
The website says:
“The school has had challenges in the last 18 months, including a 2021 Ofsted inspection that highlighted concerns regarding safeguarding processes.
“But the school and the trust responded to this quickly and decisively, and we were delighted that the subsequent inspection in early summer 2022 both acknowledged this, and confirmed the many strengths of the school.
“Our commitment is that we will build on these strengths to re-establish the school’s judgement as an outstanding school.”
St Aidan’s was rated inadequate in an Ofsted report published last January, following a visit by inspectors more than three months earlier. The report found four out of five areas to be ‘good’ but because the leadership and management were ‘inadequate’, the overall rating was also brought down.
However, a monitoring visit in May led Ofsted to return for a full inspection just two days later. The report, published in June, concluded the school was ‘good’, with pupil behaviour and its sixth form both rated ‘outstanding’.
At the time, the school was being led by acting headteacher Chris Ives, who had replaced Chris Burt when he left through ill health in December 2021 after two years in the post.
Read more:
- Union predicts some Harrogate district schools will close due to strike
- Ofsted paves way for new Harrogate school offering additional support
Since last summer, headteacher David Thornton has been in post on an interim basis, but has said throughout that he does not want to be considered for the permanent role.
The recruitment website said:
“The school will look to its new headteacher not solely to manage and maintain its strengths, but to build on them.
“An exceptional leader who can challenge, support, and stretch an already strong team, you’ll understand how to nourish an organisational culture founded on continuous professional development and learning.
“It’s important not only that your own values resonate with the Christian ethos of the school, but that you can also embed these personal values into daily school life.
“You will nurture a learning environment that is welcoming and inclusive, where students feel safe and cared for, and where they have the opportunity to develop as individuals, as well as achieving their academic potential.
“This is a fantastic career opportunity – to take on a leadership role in a school where high expectations are shared by staff and students alike and where all feel they have a stake in the school’s success.
“Harnessing and fully realising the potential of such a school requires sophisticated and assured leadership skills, founded on the highest aspirations for every pupil who passes through the school’s doors.”
Potential candidates have until Monday, February 13 to apply, with interviews expected to take place in early March.
St Aidan’s has almost 2,000 students on role, including in its associated sixth form with St John Fisher Catholic High School.
The school became an academy in 2011. It then formed the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, which now includes eight primary schools across Harrogate and Skipton.
A spokesperson for St Aidan’s High School said:
Family of young heart transplant patient grateful for gift of 28 years“To suggest that the school is looking for the fourth headteacher in two years is slightly misleading.
“After our last permanent headteacher stepped back from the role, two interim heads have helped lead the school. The decision to appoint interim heads was a pragmatic response based on the changes to our Ofsted grading and headteacher recruitment cycles.
“Now that our Ofsted grading is clear and we are Good with Outstanding features, we have reached the right point in the school year to start a leadership recruitment process, and a national search to find our new permanent headteacher is underway.
“Initial feedback has been very positive, and we look forward at keeping our community updated as we go through the process.”
A heart transplant received by a young girl from Harrogate in 1994 opened the door to almost three decades of wonderful experiences for her whole family.
Now, as they mourn Lynda’s death 28 years after the operation, parents Kerry and Brian Morrison are urging everyone to donate organs and share their wishes with their loved ones, in order to give the gift of life to others.
Lynda Morrison was just seven when she fell ill in 1994, shortly after she had moved from Kent to Harrogate with her parents and three sisters.
She was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy caused by a virus and told she would need a heart transplant.
Lynda’s health deteriorated rapidly and she was soon put on the European urgent list for a suitable donor organ.
Two false starts saw the family set out for the transplant unit at Newcastle, only to be told the operation could not go ahead.
Brian said:
“The first time, we turned round at Durham services. The second time we got all the way to the hospital. They radioed ahead and closed the Tyne Tunnel so we could get through.”
Then, in late 1994, Kerry and Brian received a call to say a heart was coming from France and they made the journey by ambulance to the Freeman Hospital.
This time, the operation went ahead successfully. Kerry said:
“We don’t know who gave the heart – just that it came from France. We wrote a letter to the donor’s family and our friend translated it into very good French. We sent it off, but we never got a reply.”
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- Double transplant Ripon woman urges people to donate organs
- Harrogate transplant patient completes 850-mile charity walk
Once the initial period of checks and treatments was complete, Lynda settled into a routine of three-monthly visits to the Freeman Hospital. Slowly, she returned to a more normal life – with a few unusual features thrown in.
Shortly after she moved from Oatlands Junior School to St Aidan’s High School, an opportunity came up. Kerry said:
“In her first term at St Aidan’s, they wanted a flower girl to meet the Queen when she was opening the Sun Pavilion. [Head of year 7 and family friend] John Wood put her forward.”
Lynda was selected and presented the Queen with a bouquet during the visit. Kerry said she took the whole thing in her stride.
“Lynda was pretty unfazed about anything like that.”
A keen swimmer, Lynda joined the disability swimming squad at the Hydro and, for 12 years, took part in the British Transplant Games.
Lynda Morrison, standing third from the right, was part of the Freeman Children’s Transplant Team
In 2004, she was given the opportunity to meet the Australian swimming squad, including Ian Thorpe. Her parents said she was more excited about that meeting than when she met the Queen.
In 2006, as a result of the medication she was taking, Lynda’s kidneys began to fail. Fortunately, her mum proved to be a match and was able to become a donor for her daughter.
The operation improved Lynda’s health and, removing the need for frequent dialysis, gave her back her freedom.
Still keen on sport, Lynda volunteered at the London Paralympics in 2012, staying with friends nearby and catching the train to the Olympic park each day.
A trip to Rome in 2014 was made extra special after Kerry booked tickets to see Pope Francis speak. When a member of staff heard it was the 20th anniversary of Lynda’s heart transplant, he arranged for them both to receive a blessing from the Pope.
Lynda, as always, was pleased but unfazed by the honour.
Lynda Morrison at the European Heart and Lung Transplant Games in the Netherlands
She was a keen traveller, going to France, Sweden, Lithuania and Poland for the European Heart and Lung Games – often happily leaving her parents at home to go with her fellow transplant team members.
She also enjoyed family holidays around the world, most recently to Venice in the spring with older sister Deborah and their mum.
In May this year, Lynda became ill with an infection and was admitted to York Hospital. She never recovered enough to come home – though that didn’t stop the family getting permission to bring Leo, her beloved cat, to visit her.
Lynda died on September 15, aged 35.
Her heart, transplanted 28 years before, was still going strong until the end.
Her funeral was held earlier this month at St Mark’s Church where she had been a regular member of the congregation. It saw many friends gather to celebrate all she had been able to achieve and to support her family as they grieved.
Lynda’s spare time was devoted to the Cancer Research UK shop where she worked for 14 years and her colleagues, many of whom attended the funeral, have been given her prized collection of Harry Potter memorabilia.
Donations from the funeral were split between Cancer Research UK and Heart Research UK.
Members of the Harrogate Network for Organ Donation Support including Lynda, centre in the white jacket, and mum Kerry, second from left
Lynda and Kerry set up the Harrogate Network for Organ Donation Support a few years ago and a tree was planted in the Valley Gardens in 2020 to mark the 25th anniversary of Lynda’s operation.
The network itself is relatively small, as so few people have had organ donations, but Kerry said its impact is wider than they realised:
“The main idea was for people facing the need for a transplant to talk to people and get support.
“Last week, we went to the bank to close her account and the lady looked at the death certificate and said she knew about the tree. When her mother died in the 1980s, her organs had been donated. This lady said she had seen about the tree and been to visit it.
“These things you find out by chance. I said ‘people don’t talk about it much’. She said ‘I think maybe younger people do’.”
Following Lynda’s death, her parents and sisters are keen to continue to spread the word about the value of organ donation and its impact on individuals and families, long beyond the operation.
They said they were forever indebted to the donor and their family, and to the Freeman Hospital for both the transplant and the many years of care afterwards. Brian added:
Family, food and famous faces at the Great Yorkshire Show“It has given us a family life. We were sat down in York Hospital on the Friday before she died and they said there wasn’t much hope for her. The doctor was very sympathetic but it was all a bit rushed.
“I said, ‘we had this talk 28 years ago in Killingbeck Hospital. She’s packed in an awful lot in those 28 years’.
“That is what organ donation really means to people and to families.”
Around 140,000 visitors are set to descend on Harrogate next week for the Great Yorkshire Show.
The county’s showpiece agricultural event will take place over four days from Tuesday to Friday at the Great Yorkshire Showground.
There is always so much to see and do. So, as lifestyle editor, I’ve delved into what is on offer when it comes to family entertainment, food and drink and famous faces.
Family
There is plenty of free entertainment at the Discovery Zone.
When I visited the show last year with my three-year-old, we absolutely loved the Discovery Zone.
Slightly off the beaten track, it’s definitely worth adding to your itinerary if you’re taking the kids.
The area is described as “offering both fun and learning opportunities for all the family to find out more about food, farming and the countryside”.
This year the Discovery Zone will be showcasing regenerative agriculture, to tell the story of environmental practices that are shaping modern farming.
A wildflower meadow has been created for visitors to enjoy and picnic alongside, and interpretation boards will explain how farmers and landowners carefully manage the land to harness nature and wildlife.
Expect a full array of completely free and interactive activities, workshops and demonstrations for families and young people, from wand and felt making, to meeting reptiles and milking a demonstration dairy cow.
This year there will be a new careers hotdesk, organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and supported by agricultural colleges and vets. There will be an opportunity to ask the hosts about routes into agricultural careers and free goodie bags.
Food and drink
Shaun Rankin, of Grantley Hall.
If you’re into your food and drink, our county undoubtedly has some of the best in the world.
This year foodies are in for treat when the winner of MasterChef 2022, Eddie Scott, and Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen line up with a host of well-known regional chefs to cook up some of the region’s finest produce.
The Great Yorkshire Food Theatre will feature more than 20 chefs, including Callum Bowmer of Horto at Rudding Park, Harrogate, Dragon’s Den contestant Will Chew of Mak Tok, in Sheffield, Michelin-starred Shaun Rankin of Grantley Hall, near Ripon, and Nathan Richardson-Kelly of Castle Howard, York.
Dishes being demonstrated range from steamed rhubarb muthiya to halibut and from chicken pancakes to slow roasted beef.
MasterChef winner Eddie appears on Tuesday at 2pm. While shepherdess Amanda shares some of her favourite family recipes from her bestselling book ‘Celebrating the Seasons’ on the Friday at 2.30pm.
Great Yorkshire Food Theatre host Sue Nelson said:
“We’re thrilled to be hosting some great names who between them exude incredible talent showcasing the best of Yorkshire’s culinary scene.
“It’s a great coup to have got Eddie to appear on his home turf so soon after his MasterChef win and he joins a brilliant gourmet line-up oozing passion and skill.”
The Game Cookery Theatre makes the most of Yorkshire game, including venison, pigeon, grouse and rabbit. The game theatre also features a number of chefs, with host Steph Moon joining forces with grouse expert John Cavana to create grouse nuggets and grouse with black pudding.
New for 2022 is an appearance by Year 8 students from Harrogate’s St Aidan’s High School. They have won the opportunity to cook at the show, with two different forms producing their own game pizzas.
Game Cookery Theatre host Steph Moon said:
“It is fantastic to have a full programme at the show again. We have some new chefs and some young chefs and as always we will be showcasing the very best Yorkshire produce in both theatres.”
Famous faces
Matt Baker.
For many years the Fashion Show brought a touch of glamour to the Great Yorkshire Show.
This year, organisers are trying something different, with a new celebrity chat show being held in its place.
TV presenter Christine Talbot will host the show on the new GYS Stage, which will be staged in the former fashion show building next to grey gate.
Farming celebrities will be interviewed and will then have a chat with fans afterwards in a meet and greet zone.
This will include Countryfile presenter Adam Henson on Tuesday, JLS popstar-turned farmer JB Gill on Wednesday, TV host Matt Baker MBE on Thursday and the Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen on Friday.
The Yorkshire Vet Peter Wright will take to the stage each day of the show.
Mr Wright said:
“We always love coming to the Great Yorkshire Show and have been coming for years, with my family as well as filming. I’m delighted to be taking part in the brand new GYS Stage which will be an exciting new addition to the show.”
In 2021, organisers capped the number of visitors at 104,000 and made the show a four-day event to spread out the number of visitors due to covid.
This year, the show is back to full strength and the last few tickets are available for Friday. Tickets are available here and won’t be sold at the gates.
20 parents protest against covid vaccine for children at St Aidan’sAround 20 parents linked arms outside St Aidan’s Church of England High School today to protest against giving children aged 12-15 the covid vaccine.
Children will be able to get their first shot of the vaccine from next week, the government has confirmed.
It follows advice from all four of the UK’s chief medical officers, who said offering vaccinations to children would reduce disruption in schools.
Evidence suggests a single dose cuts the risk of catching covid by around 55%. However, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the government, recommended not vaccinating children on health grounds alone.
One parent at the protest today said she disagreed with the government’s decision not to follow the JVCI’s recommendation. The woman accused the government of “brainwashing” children to take the jab.
She said:
“We are concerned for our children.”
Another protestor added:
“Our hearts are broken.
“We maintain the vaccinations are nothing to do with health”.
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Groups of curious sixth formers stood outside their classrooms to watch, and some approached the protestors to ask why they were there. Two police officers also attended the scene.
Afterwards, the Stray Ferret was contacted by mother Charlotte Castle, who has a child in the sixth form at St Aidan’s. She said she was “furious” at the protestors, who she called “idiots”.
She added:
Stray Views: Planters, pruning and the NHS Nightingale..“The arrogance that these parents know more than 99.9% of world’s viralogists. These people live in echo chambers. They are misinformed.”
Stray Views 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.
We need to focus on the economy and move on
I fail to see why on earth we need a public enquiry into the nightingale hospital.
Has Cllr Jim Clarke and others forgot when covid took momentum we had to be prepared for the worst surely? It could have been overwhelming had the NHS not been able to cope and save peoples lives. What cost can you put on this?
Let’s move forward, concentrate on getting the economy back on track, support people less fortunate than others and not waste money on inquires. I often wonder if councillors understand what their real role is .
Mike Fisher, Harrogate
Are councils trying to deter visitors to Harrogate?
Are North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council deliberately trying to drive away visitors and shoppers with the constant downgrading or lack of maintenance and repair of the West Park Stray area?
First we had derelict and much-loved shelters in need of repair. How long have they been an eyesore to visitors or through traffic, which probably wont want to return if this is the standard.
Now we have horrible timber planters blocking traffic on Beech Grove. Surely we are better than this in Harrogate.
Ken Richardson, Harrogate
Vicious hedge pruning a mistake
This year’s vicious hedge pruning has had a secondary effect; drivers are able to drive over verges with no fear of bushes and trees damaging their vehicles’ paintwork.
Lanes are becoming wider, the verges turn to mud and when it rains the deep ruts turn into torrents, wearing away the road edges.
I have lived in Blubberhouses for 26 years and the pruning has been excessive this spring.
Deborah Power, Blubberhouses
Making Oatlands one-way would harm St Aidan’s students
I have attended St Aidan’s High School for over five years and am now in year 12 in the associated sixth form.
I live in Wetherby, which mean I am required to get a school bus every morning.
Implementing a new one-way system on Oatlands Drive could have a devastating effect on my education and the education of all pupils of both St Aidan’s and St John Fisher’s high schools who get school buses.
Wetherby Road is notoriously busy and as a result I am often late for school. However, If a new one-way system is implemented, this will mean remaining on Wetherby Road until the Empress roundabout, which will probably add 20 minutes to my journey.
I get to school at around 8:55am. Adding 20 minutes to this will mean missing the start of period one, which will severely reduce the amount of teaching I am getting and therefore affect my A-level grades. The first 5-10 minutes is when most of the instruction is given for the lesson – missing this will therefore mean having to wait until the teacher is finished then having to get them to explain again, wasting both my time and theirs.
I have already missed a large amount of learning due to lockdown restrictions.
While I understand the motivation behind the one-way system, there are already usable bike lanes on Oatlands Drive and two wide pavements for pedestrians.
If this one-way system is allowed, it will not only be a waste of public funds that could be used to improve Wetherby Road or to provide technology for online learning to those less fortunate than I am. It will also have a negative effect on my learning in a year that is pivotal for my future.
Tom Adamson, Wetherby. St Aidan’s and St John Fisher’s Associated Sixth Form
Amazing treatment at Harrogate hospital A&E
My son broke his arm yesterday afternoon. We went to Harrogate hospital A&E. I would like to let everyone know that we were looked after fantastically, that the team were so helpful and that even on a Sunday evening at 10.30pm they operated on him. We had amazing aftercare in the Woodland children’s ward.
The doctor who first saw Oliver was saying goodnight to his work colleagues. He took one look at my son and said ‘I’m not going anywhere’, assessed the damage, administered pain relief and got the X-ray sorted. He stayed for an extra hour and a half to ensure my son was looked after.
Just a fantastic service and I can’t thank them enough.
Simon Wade, Langthorpe, Boroughbridge
Got 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.
Harrogate students and teacher star in BBC podcastTwo Harrogate students and their politics teacher have featured in the latest episode of the BBC podcast Americast.
Pippa Linden Howe and Hannah Reinsch, who are year 13 students at the St Aidan’s & St John Fisher Associated Sixth Form, joined teacher Emily Reynard as guests on the programme hosted by Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis.
It was released on Friday and is available to download for a year.
The BBC invited them on the show after Pippa and Hannah emailed the hosts asking to take part.
They discussed US politics with Sopel and Maitlis during the podcast.
Pippa said it was a “dream come true” to appear on the show.
To keep up with the dizzying rollercoaster of stateside politics, Miss Reynard encourages students to listen to podcasts. Sopel, the BBC’s North America editor, described the teacher as ‘inspiring’.
Lockdown boost
Miss Reynard, who has taught history and politics at St Aidan’s since 2015, praised the students for their performance on the show.
She added:
“Jon Sopel emailed afterwards to say thank you for coming on the show.
“It’s been really exciting for all them and was the morale boost they needed at the moment, so having it happen has made a big difference.”
Read more:
Emily Reynard who teaches history and politics at St Aidan’s.
Pippa has received an offer from Oxford University to study languages this year and Hannah plans to study politics but has yet to decide which offer to accept.
Miss Reynard said studying politics at A-Level gave them a good grounding.
She added:
“They are really proactive and engaged with it.
“Politics as an A-Level gives them the skills to articulate their own ideas and listen to each other’s without getting confrontational.
“There are differing opinions and they are passionate, but being in the class helps them explain to each other why they disagree rather than it getting heated.”
Miss Reynard said the unpredictability of politics over the past few years had made it a “cool” subject to study.
St Aidan’s ‘absolutely delighted’ at pitch approval“The American side is so current and exciting – so by default, it’s cool! But some of my friends might be rolling their eyes when I describe politics as cool!”
The headteacher of St Aidan’s Church of England High School has said he is “absolutely delighted” that councillors have given the school the green light to build a floodlit artificial sports pitch.
Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee approved the plan yesterday, subject to conditions on lighting and flooding, despite it being recommended for refusal.
Headteacher Chris Burt told the Stray Ferret the school was looking forward to building the new pitch.
He said:
‘”We are absolutely delighted with the outcome of the planning committee meeting.
“We will be working hard to address the further questions and concerns and look forward to bringing this facility to St Aidan’s and the wider community’’
Read more:
The pitch will be built on existing playing fields.
The application generated considerable interest after the Stray Ferret published an article on Tuesday saying the plans were recommended for refusal.
Harrogate Borough Council’s planning portal subsequently received a surge of pro-school comments, with those classed as favourable jumping from 3 to 123.
Many online comments also backed the proposal and urged local residents that had complained about light pollution to support the school. One said:
“Come on local residents, please be selfless about this: think about someone outside of you. In particular, young people who have been absolutely bulldozed over this year.
Some people on social media have hailed “people power” for helping to influence councillors’ decisions.
However, divisions remain. One reader, who asked to remain anonymous, contacted the Stray Ferret today to express their displeasure at the outcome.
They said:
Harrogate charity Frank’s Fund moves comedy night online“Do these people who are agreeing to this planning application realise that nearby residents could lose up to 10% of their house valuation if this floodlighting goes ahead?
“Also it won’t be long before some organisations will want to use it late at night.”
A comedy night, which raised £13,000 last year for a fund set up in memory of a 14-year-old Harrogate schoolboy, will be staged online this year.
Frank Ashton’s family set up Frank’s Fund to raise awareness and funds for Ewing’s sarcoma, which is a rare form of bone cancer,
A comedy night at St Aidan’s school in Harrogate last year raised over £13,000 for the fund, which has achieved total donations of £158,000 so far.
The comedian Maisie Adam, who like Frank attended St Aidan’s, performed at the event and is a patron of the charity. This year’s online event is set to go ahead before the end of the year although a date has yet to be confirmed.
The charity has missed several fundraising events this year due to Covid.
Supporters have found other ways to raise funds, such as running a marathon throughout the month of September.
Maisie Adam, who is among those running marathons, said:
“It’s all about keeping Frank at the forefront of people’s minds. I am devastated the plan isn’t going ahead in Harrogate.”
Maisie is one of several people running a marathon this month to raise money for Frank’s Fund.
She added:
“What shocked me in particular is just how underfunded Ewing’s sarcoma is. Everyone assumes when money is donated to big charities it is distributed evenly but it definitely isn’t.
With Frank’s Fund, all of the money goes to research for this disease.”
To support Maisie’s marathon, click here.
Read more:
- An ice cream shop in Knaresborough has been doing its bit to raise money for Frank’s Fund.
- Women, from Harrogate and Knaresborough, will swim the English channel for charity.
