Shaftesbury School reports another great set of GCSE and BTEC exam results for students, among the best the school has ever achieved. The numbers of students achieving five or more 4+ grades including maths and English has improved, with many subjects securing at least 80 per cent of their entries at Grade 4+. The most successful subjects were: the Arts, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, French, Religious Studies, Drama, History, and Maths.
Better than I hoped Headteacher Donna London-Hill said: ‘We are thrilled with these results. They are a testament to the hard work of our students and staff who together have achieved these high outcomes. We all know that the past few years have been tough, but the resilience and determination shown by our young people has been brilliant, and it goes to show that hard work pays off. The students were relieved and delighted with the results and it was lovely to see so many happy faces. It means that they are able to move on to their next steps, which is great.’ The students were equally delighted with their results. One commented; ‘I am so relieved’, while another reported that ‘these are better than I could have hoped’. Lots of students were keen to thank their teachers for the support and guidance that they had been offered for the duration of their courses, proving that education is very much a partnership. The school is very proud of the outcomes today and would like to wish every student a very happy and fulfilling future.
A spokesperson for Sturminster Newton High School (SNHS) congratulated SNHS students on their GCSE results: ‘Despite two years of disruption and school closure, students have performed magnificently and showed true resilience and determination. These are the first GCSE exams for two years and the government has told schools that grades will be deliberately lower than in previous years, as they attempt to get outcomes in line with 2019 results. Given this fact and the very difficult circumstances over the last two years, students have performed magnificently and should be massively proud of their results. With so many tremendous achievements, it is difficult to pick out individuals but particular congratulations to:
Sofia Sutton (seven Grade 9s, three Grade 8s),
Ellie Mitchell (two Grade 9s, two Grade 8s, six Grade 7s),
Luke Alford (four Grade 9s, one Grade 8, two Grade 7s)
Alex Sharpe (six Grade 8s, two Grade 7s, one Grade 6 and a Merit)
Beth Saunders (five Grade 8s, two Grade 7s and a Distinction).
‘These are spectacular and well-deserved achievements for our students and we are extremely proud of them. ‘A huge well done to them and thanks to all the teachers and parents who have worked so hard to support, encourage and motivate them over the last two disrupted years. ‘We wish all the students the best for their next steps.’
Local fairs can lift a community – but there’s no hiding from the anxious mood that grips the Vale’s residents, says North Dorset Lib Dems’ Mike Chapman
Mike Chapman Lib Dems
At the peak of COVID, we recognised the difficulties families were facing – we saw the successful roll-out of community fridges in Poole. There was nothing similar operating at the time in North Dorset, so we decided to pave the way and set one up in Sturminster Newton. Community fridges have the double benefit of reducing food waste and stretching household budgets. Other schemes have since developed including fridges in Shaftesbury and Blandford and, of course, The Vale Pantry in Sturminster Newton. Two years on, we have decided to hand our community fridge over to The Emporium team who I am sure will be able to stock it more effectively from more local sources. The very best of luck to them with this and all their other initiatives. On another positive note, no-one does a Fair quite like Dorset, do they? In quick succession we have the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show, The Oak Fair, The Great Dorset Steam Fair and the Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival. It always makes me smile that the Cheese Festival was borne out of a collective fury at the closure of the town’s creamery and cheese factory. This was a very Dorset response: an attachment to all things rural, coupled with a blend of stubbornness and entrepreneurial flair.
An anxious mood We found the G&S Show especially good. It gave us the opportunity to ask people about their priorities and to listen to a wide range of thoughts and perspectives. Although the Show with all its attractions served to lift most people’s mood, there was no hiding from the underlying anxiety about life and the world at large. And now have the winter of our discontent. We face a nasty enemy, multiple threats to our standard of living, a poor economic outlook and strikes and go-slows every which way you look. We ought to be pulling together but we are a million miles from that. Boris’s legacy will be dominated by that failure. Despite his ‘levelling up’ vocabulary, he has undoubtedly increased the polarisation of the nation. Blue wall, red wall, whatever colour wall; please can we just have fewer walls? Please would the new PM also address another noticeable polarisation – that between customer satisfaction and shareholder satisfaction. Across rail, energy, water, communications, the media and even the ports, a proper balance seems to be out of reach. Is this because the public as customers have so few real choices? Or is it due to a failure to regulate profits effectively? We need to find answers and properly invest in solutions before the roving eye of capitalism settles on the NHS and begins to espouse more and more salami-slicing of its routine, less complex activity, engendering counter-productive competition that distracts doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff and managers alike from their real purpose.
A plan to tackle the energy crisis was drawn up by a cross-party group of MPs in February and is ready to go, says Labour’s Pat Osborne
August’s column about Blandford Town Council’s ‘motion for the ocean’ already seems a lifetime ago. Within a few short weeks, that glimmer of hope was eclipsed by a tsunami of raw sewage engulfing our beaches, rivers, and the marine habitats around our coastline. The root cause of this? Greedy water company bosses prioritising shareholder profits and their own inflated paycheques over basic public health needs. It’ll be lost on nobody that we’re in deep ‘sewage’ with our other utilities too. Since 2010, under the Tories, energy prices have spiralled out of control. In September, bills will almost double with the promise of even more increases to come. People across North Dorset, who already have nothing else to give, are being asked to cough up yet more, so that a handful of shareholders can make even more profit.
Ready-to-go plans If that isn’t bad enough, the same Tories who passed the laws which allowed the water companies to do so much harm, are papering over their decisions to slash investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy from wind, waves, sun, and tides – implying instead that environmental policies are to blame for energy hikes, and that fracking and more North Sea gas and oil are the answer. What we really need is a plan that includes windfall taxes on the huge profits of energy companies, a plan to insulate homes to keep energy bills down, and to bring energy back into public ownership so we’re all in control of our future. Fortunately, such a plan exists. The legislation was written in February by a cross-party group of MPs and is ready to go. We can only live in hope that our new prime minister (whoever that will be) will deliver it. Until then, I’ll hold my nose as water company bosses pump more sewage into the environment – and cash into their pockets – but I won’t hold my breath.
Light-touch government is an excellent theory, says North Dorset Green Party’s Ken Huggins. But in practice it just doesn’t hold water. Or sewage.
The ideology that promotes ‘light-touch’ government sounds appealing. It makes for simpler government, with a reduced role for the state, minimal bureaucracy, reduced public sector borrowing and reduced taxation. The claim is that industry, free from the restrictions of red tape, can get on unhindered with the business of supplying the market with what people need. Bad businesses will fail, and only good businesses will succeed. Sounds good, but there is a fatal flaw … human greed. A ‘good’ private company is generally considered to be one which primarily focusses on maximising the money made for its shareholders and management, putting profit before people and planet. Take the water industry in England, overseen by the government regulator OFWAT and the Environment Agency which are both considered to be poorly resourced under light-touch government.
Polluted bonus The industry was privatised in 1989 by a Tory government, under the pretext that the private sector would inject the cash needed to upgrade old Victorian sewers and fix leaky mains water pipes … That went well, didn’t it! 30 years on, a 2020 report found the businesses had been loaded up with £48bn of debt to help fund dividends of £57bn, while customers’ water bills increased 40 per cent above the rate of inflation. In 2021, despite grossly polluted foul water being discharged uncontrolled into our rivers and seas for 2.7 million hours, water company executives received an average £100k bonus on top of their salaries. The water industry is not the only one raking in excessive profits. What we need is big bold honest government, with people and planet protected by appropriate regulations that are rigidly enforced by properly funded public authorities. The Green Party is calling for essential services like water and energy to be brought into public ownership. Not easy, we know, but the plundering has to stop.
Gryphon School students are celebrating an incredible set of GCSE results today. 14 students gained 10 or more GCSE grades equivalent to the old A* grade, and 39 gained 5 or more grades at that level. Headteacher, Nicki Edwards, said ‘I couldn’t be more proud of all of our students. They have battled through three years of disruption in their education and have achieved these amazing results despite all of the challenges. We look forward to welcoming many of them into our Sixth Form, and wish those students going on to apprenticeships and college courses all the very best for their future. ‘I am very grateful for all of the effort put in by our incredible team of staff to support all of our students in enabling them to reach their full potential.’ Head of Year 11, Laura Bucke said ‘The achievements of this year group are a reflection of their resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity throughout their GCSE years. I am proud of each and every one of them.’
‘super proud’ Ben Titus
Olympia Pudelko – who achieved an amazing 13 Grade 9s – and her friends Sophie Lord and Imogen Kimber said ‘Thank you to all our teachers. We are so proud of everyone and feel shell-shocked!’ Ben Titus is feeling ‘super proud and over-the-moon’ as he joins The Gryphon Sixth Form. As are Barney Griffiths and Liv Bowditch – Barney saying “I am very happy and looking forward to the next steps”. Liv said she was happy and excited to get the grades she needed for her A levels.
In August 2020 and 2021, GCSE and A Level students received results that had been determined by their teachers because examinations did not take place due to COVID. In these circumstances, the Dorset Association of Secondary Headteachers (DASH) agreed that it would not be appropriate to share the unvalidated ‘school’ results, but instead decided to focus on sharing students’ individual successes and stories. The feedback we received from parents and students showed that this approach was much preferred, as it placed the spotlight on their hard work and achievements, rather than a comparison of schools’ performance. For this reason, DASH schools have decided to continue with this approach and ensure that results days remain focused on celebrating the success of our students. Dorset Association of Secondary Headteachers
“I declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service”
It was a promise fully kept. We will remember her for her inspiring dedication to duty and to country. May her shining example live on.
Statement from Angus Campbell, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Dorset:
“The country is in deep mourning following the loss of Her Majesty. All our thoughts are with the members of the Royal Family at this most difficult time.
“Whilst still a Princess, on her twenty-first birthday, Her Majesty broadcast a declaration to the country and the Commonwealth which included the words:
“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”
“Those words encapsulate the love, service and pure strength of character with which Her Majesty has led the monarchy of Great Britain and the Commonwealth over her extraordinary seventy-year reign. It is so special to see the words of a twenty-one-year-old Princess so perfectly foreshadowing her long life of dedicated service to us all.
“We have all lost a unique, loving and determined Monarch who has, over seventy years, not only delivered the extraordinary, devoted service and support she promised at such an early age, but given us so very much more besides.
A visit to Martin Green’s remarkable Down Farm Museum is highly recommended, says Rupert Hardy, chair of North Dorset CPRE
Martin Green demonstrating a stone polishing tool in his Down Farm Museum All images: Rupert Hardy
Martin Green may farm 260 acres of land organically on Cranborne Chase, but he is best known for his extraordinary archaeological work there, and for the impressive Down Farm Museum he set up behind the farm, which is full of his finds – flint tools and prehistoric artefacts from the Paleolithic to the Romano-British period. His family has been farming here since the 30s and he started picking up flints as a child, his curiosity sparked by his father’s interest. The Greens knew the area the farm had prehistoric remains, but their profusion was only unearthed by Martin, who started digging in 1976. His hero was General Augustus Pitt-Rivers, the Victorian soldier, scientist and archaeologist, who excavated many sites on the Rushmore estate and elsewhere. His mentor was Richard Bradley, who became a Professor of Archaeology at Reading University. Although Martin was not formally trained, he worked closely with Prof Bradley in the late 1970s on the Pitt-Rivers project which re-examined the large and important Pitt-Rivers collection of 26,000 archaeological and ethnographic objects to a new museum at Oxford University.
Martin Green (centre, on the mound) leading a tour of the prehistoric sites on Down Farm.
Dorset Cursus There are a number of excavated and sensitively preserved prehistoric sites, including round pond barrows and henges (enclosures surrounded by ditches and banks), on the farm. One of the most extraordinary is the Neolithic Dorset Cursus which crosses the farm. Overall, it runs for six miles, mostly westwards, but this was only fully realised in the 1950s. It is the longest in Britain and Martin has only recently excavated part of it. Originally consisting of a pair of parallel banks, some of the Cursus is still visible. It is assumed the Cursus served a religious or ceremonial function related to its southwesterly orientation following astronomical alignments. From the eastern end you can see the midwinter sun set behind the long barrow on the ridge of Gussage Down; a magical experience if you are lucky enough to get a sunny winter solstice. Martin believes the profusion of sites on his farm related to the location of the Cursus here, but another factor may be the Ackling Dyke, a Roman road which also crosses the farm.
Neolithic Aurochs Another remarkable site on the farm is the Fir Tree Field Shaft, which is estimated to be more than 25m deep, even though it has only been excavated to 13m. The shaft was formed by natural processes due to water percolation from melting glaciers at the end of the Ice Age. Finds in the pit range from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic, covering the period from hunter gathering to farming, and including bones of deer, aurochs, flint tools and pottery. Some of the deer clearly fell in. Aurochs were ancestors of modern cattle, domesticated by Neolithic people but long extinct. Many universities, including Cambridge and Reading, have been involved in the digs on the farm, with students receiving practical courses on excavation techniques and going on archaeological field trips run by Martin. In recognition of his work and knowledge, Martin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by Reading University. In 2000 he wrote a book about archaeology and his farm, “A Landscape Revealed: 10,000 Years on a Chalkland Farm”, which is a fascinating read. Prof Bradley said of it: ”Martin must be the most professional amateur [archaeologist] in Britain, but his work is so important that the term is simply not sufficient. His achievement is unique, as this book shows us”. One recent development has been the construction of a Neolithic house at the Butser Ancient Farm museum in Hampshire, modelled on the one Martin excavated at Down Farm.
Extinct Auroch and other early cattle skulls found by Martin Green on Cranborne Chase, now on display in his museum
Farmer or archaeologist? Martin sees advantages in his joint roles as farmer and archaeologist which enable him to distinguish what is genuine (or not), such as crop marks. He believes strongly in protecting the environment, and he is in the process of introducing rare breed cattle, which will help establish more wild flowers in his fields. He sees technology as a major aid to archaeologists; geophysics shows how the Cursus functioned. Drones and 3D laser scanning (LiDAR) are also very useful tools, through which more prehistoric sites are being discovered on Cranborne Chase and elsewhere every year. Surprisingly, his favourite artefact is a flint knife found in Yorkshire, not Dorset, which you can see in his museum. Asked what conveys his life’s work he quotes the words of General Pitt-Rivers: “It was if some unseen hand had guided me to be the owner of such a property”.
Dorset CPRE has organised several visits to Down Farm. Groups of six or more are welcome at his museum – please contact Martin on [email protected]. He can lead tours of the prehistoric sites on the farm too, which I thoroughly recommend.
