Hampshire schools to test drive GCSE and Alevel alternative

Hampshire will be at the forefront of change when its schools and colleges offer an alternative to GCSEs and A-levels.
14-19 year olds will be given the choice of a range of diploma courses to take instead of more traditional pathways.
The diplomas give students the chance to take part in more hands-on activites which will carry equal weight to traditional exams.
Peter Symonds, Sparholt, Henry Beaufont School and Southampton University, amoung others will be taking part in the scheme which will be showcased at Winchester Guildhall next month.
Staff from the schools and colleges involved will be holding the event on December 2 from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

I think that as long as 14-19 year olds are given access to information on all pathways available to them this can only be a good thing. Finally, the Department of Education understands that everyone learns differently. This country is lacking in skilled workers. The traditional route has failed so many students who are not academicly brilliant but could be so skilled if the right courses were made available to them. Its so important to let young people know that success doesn't depend on university and that they can find a well paid and enjoyable job that suits them and their talents through the diploma scheme.

Spitfire location revealed

The location for Southampton's Spitfire tribute has finally been announced.
The 50 metre Spitfire will rise up on disused land beside the historic Trafalgar dry dock.
The Spitfire was originally meant for the Town Quay but it was decided that the structure would be too heavy.
The monument will be seen from many vantage points in the city and will welcome cruise ship passengers as they dock in the city.
"It will be a magnificent backdrop for the waterfront and for the new Ocean Terminal.” Councillor Hannides said.
Southampton city council is also in talks with port bosses, ABP, about the possible reopening of dock gate 5 so that the public can get to the Spitfire by foot.
The project, which will cost in the region of £1.7million and is due for completion in 2011, is part of an historic regeneration scheme in Southampton.
As well as the Spitfire tribute there will be a restored tram system and historic vessels like tug tender Calshot.


Southampton has a fantastic heritage and its brilliant to see the council embracing this. Not many people realise the relationship between the Spitfire and Southampton, I lived there 18 years and only found out when plans for the tribute were announced a year or so ago, this is such a shame and the city should be proud of the association. It should also create more interest from prospective visitors. Southampton is well known for its part in the Titanic's maiden voyage and it will be good to see people down at the docks for something other than that for a change.

240 jobs for Hampshires unemployed

Hampshire's unemployed have finally had some good news when it was announced today that 240 jobs in the local area will soon be available.

100 new jobs have been created at insurance company Fortis in Chandlers Ford following a new deal made with Tesco.

The American electronics company, Best Buy, is setting up shop in Hedge End and will be employing another 100 people.

Loungers, a bar chain, will be employing 40 people to work in two new sites based in Portswood and Shirley.

It is nice to finally hear things are starting to look up. With new business coming to the local area the end of the recession doesn't seen as far away as it once did.

Japan, France and Germany have all recently emerged from recession, as have Asian economies like Thailand and Hong Kong.

There are two schools of thought on how soon the UK will officially be clear of the recession. Many chartered accountants are optimistically predicting that the UK economy will rise by 0.5% during this quarter compared to the 0.8% decline in the last quarter.
Others feel that the pace of recovery over the next few years is highly uncertain and that caution is best.
I'm no expert on the economy, like everyone else I judge it by what I see on the streets. More often now I'm hearing of new jobs, government funded training and opportunities for people to become more involved in their local communities through volunteer work. This gives those that are unemployed a purpose and experience that can be carried through into a job.
I think that the arrival of 240 jobs is great news and will help bring Hampshire one small step forward in the right direction.

Bill Gates donates to Southampton University

$100,000 has been donated to Southampton University as part of a global funding giveaway by The Gates Foundation.

The money will go towards helping researchers create a new vaccine that will fight against bacteria that causes Meningitis and Pneumonia.

The Southampton team, which is led by microbiologist Dr Jermey Webb, will be joined by researchers from the Liverpool school of tropical medicine and Bristol University.

The aim will be to create a vaccine that stops biofilm forming which causes the body to fight off its own immune system and antibiotics.

Dr Webb says “Vaccines in use today are generally based on the properties of single-celled bacteria. Our approach is new because we will target properties of the protective biofilms in order to design new vaccines.”

If a successful vaccine is made then researchers hope it will reduce the low mortality rates that are associated with Meningitis and Pneumonia.

Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s ‘Global Health Program’ says: “The winners of these grants show the bold thinking we need to tackle some of the world’s greatest health challenges. I’m excited about their ideas and look forward to seeing some of these exploratory projects turn into life-saving breakthroughs.”

I think that it is fantastic to have researchers, the world over, being recognised and helped to take what could be a life saving idea one step closer to becoming reality.

The Gates Foundation could have pooled all its resources into America but its chosen to look at what the rest of the world also has to offer when it comes to innovative ideas and research. This gives the whole world a fighting chance when it comes to beating the diseases that take so many lives each year.



Resources used: The Southern Daily Echo and Southampton University website.

The Souths MP's ordered to payback expenses

Many of the South's MPs have now received letters detailing concern or ordering repayment over expense claims deemed to be 'unacceptable or excessive'.

Mark Hoban of Fareham, Alan Whitehead of Southampton Test, Mark Oatman of Winchester, John Denham of Southampton and Andrew Turner of the Isle of Whight have all received letters of concern.

However, Julien Lewis of New Forest East and Peter Viggers of Gosport both refuse to comment on the content of their letters.

Two MPs, Sandra Gidley of Romsey and Desmond Swayne of New Forest West have been given the all clear.

Former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg was appointed to audit expenses, from the past 5 years, over the summer.

He has now written letters to every MP detailing any concerns he has about claimed expenses, asking for any documents that are missing and demanding repayment of any expenses that go against new rules.

MPs have 3 weeks to respond to the letters or appeal against any judgements before Sir Thomas Leggs final report is published.

I have spent some time looking at Hampshire MPs websites so i can get an idea of their willingness to cooperate and how open and honest they are on the subject of their own expense claims.

One comparison that really stood out to me is the difference between Conservative MP Mark Hobans website and Labour MP John Denhams website.


Mr Hoban seems extremely keen to show that he is being completely cooperative and up front when it comes to dealing with the expenses scandal.
He has a link to a page that is dedicated to expenses, with an explanation of the rules and a table of what he has claimed over the past 5 years.

This isn't a surprise to me since it was David Cameron who came down the hardest when the scandal first hit the headlines, demanding that an audit be done and any MPs that refuse to pay back claims should leave their respective party. Of course Gordon Brown has said much the same thing, just with slightly later timing.

John Denhams website, on the other hand, is much harder to navigate in terms of expenses. When you do finally find a page refering to the claims it is made up of some quotations of a statement he made on the expenses scandal.
Although his statement was all for a change in the rules and for cooperation with enquires there was not the same willingness to lay it all bare.

This could be that he didn't feel the need as his personal claims are available for the public to see if they so wish. However, as a public figure and one that is meant to be working for the people and must therefore answer to them it would have been more appropriate and shown more cooperation if he had put up deatils on his own website.

By not doing this he has made you have to work alot harder in order to find out the information you want to know, this doesn't leave you with the feeling that he is an open and straight forward MP.



Related Links

Gordon Brown on paying back expenses

David Cameron on paying back expenses