TOP SCHOOL GETS BEHIND NEW CROXLEY GREEN SECONDARY

St Clement Danes School is to lead a bid to build and educationally sponsor an exciting new secondary school in Croxley Green to cater for the expected shortfall in school places.

The goal is to open a new school in September 2016 with an initial intake of 180 pupils (six forms of entry) but this will only happen if parents actively support the plans.

Due to the growing local population, Hertfordshire County Council knows there will be a shortage of secondary school places for children currently in Years 3, 4 and below if a new school is not established.  The current expansion of primary schools is evidence of the growing need for secondary school places in the years ahead.

Hertfordshire County Council approached St Clement Danes School to lead the bid to establish this new secondary school, help with its opening and continue to support its development.

Dr Valentine, Headteacher of St Clement Danes School, said: “There is an urgent need for more school places and the only way to solve this is to build another school.  We understand that parents will be looking for the best teachers, the best facilities and the best opportunities for their children.   We will use our expertise to deliver a high-performing secondary school at the heart of the community.”

The Governing Body of St Clement Danes School welcomes this opportunity and sees it as a natural progression in the support offered by St Clement Danes School and part of its commitment to a collaborative approach to education.

St Clement Danes School is well placed to deliver the new school.  St Clement Danes School was judged Outstanding by Ofsted for every aspect of school provision and performance.  It has a strong track record in supporting other schools as a National Support School.  St Clement Danes leads the Herts & Bucks Teaching School Alliance which is training secondary school teachers to the highest standards.  Dr Valentine is herself a National Leader of Education. 

Hertfordshire County Council has identified a suitable site at the end of Baldwins Lane in Croxley Green as a potential location for The Croxley Green Secondary School.

The plans for the new school have been warmly received by local primary  and secondary headteachers.  Dr Valentine and her team will meet with junior school parents and other interested parties during March and April to explain the plans. Parents are urged to register an interest in the new school by April 30^th 2014 so that evidence of parental support can be presented to the Department for Education, helping to demonstrate local support for the new secondary school. 

Dr Valentine stressed: “We are asking parents of current Year 3 and 4 pupils to complete a simple form registering their interest in The Croxley Green Secondary School.  This is not a binding commitment and they will, of course, be free to apply for any school when it is their time for secondary transfer in 2016 or 2017.”

Parents can register their support for The Croxley Green Secondary School by completing the online form at www.croxleygreenschool.org.uk                

For more information call 01923 284482 or email enquiries@croxleygreenschool.org.uk

Interested parties can also follow progress on the campaign at                         www.facebook.com/croxleygreenschool              www.twitter.com/croxleygreensch        

Flood update – stay in touch says Council

The Council has strongly criticised petty thieves who have been pilfering sandbags along river banks in the district. The message from Chief Executive Steven Halls appears in the Council’s latest Service News email bulletin to residents.
Steven Halls said: 
“My sympathies are with the small number of householders who have been directly affected and we are fortunate that so far the impact of the floods has been relatively minor compared to other parts of the country. 
“Routine maintenance of our riverbanks includes the temporary use of sandbags to bolster areas of erosion.  While these sandbags in themselves would not prevent a major flood, they do help to alleviate the impact on flooding.  Residents with any information about this irresponsible crime should contact the Police or the District Council in confidence.”
The District Council has provided 3,000 sandbags to help in the flooding and is considering selling bags to private residents in the future to make protecting homes easier.  Any profits would be used to help provide frontline services.  Providing sandbags to private residents is not the responsibility of District or Parish Councils but Three Rivers has been providing help in exceptional circumstances.
Steven Halls added: 
“District Council officers and councillors have worked hard over the past week to alleviate the limited but serious flooding in the area and in Park Road in particular. I would also like to thank the emergency services and in particular the Fire and Rescue team for their sterling work in clearing Park Road and other flood areas.
“I must remind residents, however, of their responsibility to plan ahead and protect their homes.  We are looking at how we may help with sandbag provision in the future, but it is essential that we all, as private residents, plan ahead. As always, please look out for elderly and vulnerable neighbours and information, advice and updates are available from the Council and other national and local agencies.”
The County Council’s resilience officer Philip LeGrove will be speaking at the Three Rivers Pensioners’ Forum on 21 February.  His presentation and discussion will include advice on flood prevention for residents. http://www.threerivers.gov.uk/Default.aspx/Web/PensionersForum
Service e-news and Environment e-news bulletins are available at www.threerivers.gov.uk 
@threeriversdc  or search for your town on Facebook. 

Brendan Cole at the Watford Collosseum Thursday 13th Feb

BRENDAN COLE - LICENCE TO THRILL TOUR

Watford Colosseum

Thursday 13th February 2014

0845 0753993 / www.watfordcolosseum.co.uk

Tickets: £25.00 - £32.00

 www.brendancole.com

“All the best bits of Strictly multiplied by ten” – Daily Star on Sunday

Having thrilled audiences with the breathtaking dances and stunning choreography on Strictly Come Dancing, Brendan Cole’s stunning show ‘Licence To Thrill’ is back by popular demand. Kicking off on January 16th in Eastbourne and concluding on March 17th in Edinburgh, the 48 date tour will be a feast of pure entertainment by an international cast of dancers with amazing star quality.

“Brendan Cole’s Licence To Thrill show was a feast for the eyes and ears”
- Plymouth Herald

“Brendan Cole broke the mould and created an exhilarating show”
- The Bristol Post

Brendan presented his new show ‘Licence To Thrill’, the eagerly anticipated follow up to his debut theatre tour ‘Live and Unjudged’, in 2013 to rave reviews around the country. With all of the Ballroom and Latin favourites seen on Strictly Come Dancing, Brendan hosts this sleek and sophisticated show.

Brendan and his phenomenal cast of 14 musicians and 6 world class dancers dazzle audiences with scintillating music and choreography in this 2 hour dance and big band extravaganza. The Waltzes and Foxtrots will take audiences on an emotional journey of beauty and sophistication while the fast paced Quicksteps, Tangos and American Smooths will simply take their breath away. The excitement of the Latin dances with the likes of Cha Cha, Samba, Salsa and Jive will have people itching to get up and join in right there in their seats while enjoying all of the passion of a dance show offering it all!

The band is lead by Musical Director Barry Robinson and includes the brilliant vocalists Ian Mackenzie and Julie Maguire and some of Britain’s best musicians. On stage throughout the show they will perform songs from across the decades from Nat King Cole to Gladys Knight to Michael Bublé. “There is a small nod to James Bond with the music. One of the big songs is Gladys Knight's Licence to Kill (hence the Licence to Thrill title) and there is a dance-off between the males in Live and Let Die.” 
Brendan will once again be joined by a stellar cast of dancers. “My dance cast is truly international with a collective CV from competition, theatre, stage and television! I'm very lucky to have a cast that have been in Dancing With The Stars around the world as well as stars from the Broadway hit Burn the Floor and, of course, Strictly Come Dancing.”

Australian dancer Melanie Hooper, who first joined Brendan for the final run of Live and Unjudged, Germany’s Patrick Helm, who has been assisting the artist director on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing as well as performing in a number of the professional dances, and home grown dancer Crystal Main will all be returning. Also returning is Brendan’s brother Scott who always brings something unique to the evening.

Brendan’s 2013 ‘Licence To Thrill’ leading lady from France Fauve Hautot had also been planning on returning for the tour but unfortunately has injured Cruciate ligaments in her knee and so is unable to join Brendan. Stepping into Fauve’s shoes and joining Brendan and the rest of the ‘Licence To Thrill’ cast is fellow Strictly Come Dancing professional Aliona Vilani.

“With this wealth of talent we will ensure audiences have the best seat in the house, every night, all night and I can't wait to see the show back out in theatres again.” 

Flood update #Rickmansworth

Due to flooding parts of the Aquadrome remain closed. The car park and Cafe in the Park remain open but there is deep water elsewhere and many of the footpaths are closed. The play park in Riverside Drive is closed.

Released from TRDC Monday 10th February