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  • Rise In A Level Passes At Lord Bill’s

    THE level of students gaining A and B grades in their A Level exams at Lord Williams?s school, has risen once again.
    A record number of 562 examination entries saw the proportion rise to 46% and the number of passes overall rise to 99.29% (98% in 2004). A total of 73% obtained A-C passes.

    Twenty students gained A grade passes in all their subject areas. Matthew Clark, Christopher Daniels, Elizabeth Parsons, Rosanna Ryan, Richard Thomas and Miriam Thorpe all achieved four A grades and the following students all achieved three A grades: Natalie Barnes, James Burnett, Sarah Evans, Edward Gillespie, Charlotte Goodwin, Ruth Hazard, Sian Jenkins, Lisa Merry, Jack Nicholson, Anthony Rochford, Victor Smith and Clare Stone.
    Fiona Holden and Rachael Peddie both gained a Double A Award in their vocational studies.

    Acting Headteacher, David Wybron, said: ?Students should be congratulated on their considerable achievements. At a time when some quarters in the press are negative about A level achievement, this school recognises the hard work and dedication of students and their teachers and celebrates excellent results. We are now working hard to make sure that each student is able to move on to the next stage in his or her educational journey.?

    Kate Sheelan, Head of Sixth Form at Lord Williams?, was equally pleased: ?We are so proud of all our students? achievements. We want to celebrate how, through their hard work, the support of their parents and the dedication of all staff in the Sixth Form, they have ensured they have a bright and exciting future ahead of them.?

    Information about ?next step? advice for students who may not have got the results they hoped is available from the school and also on Oxfordshire County Council?s website at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk

  • Thame Hotel Welcomes Film Crew

    ACTOR, John Nettles was at The Spread Eagle in Thame yesterday, filming an episode of the ITV drama series, Midsomer Murders.
    The episode currently being filmed around Thame will be called ‘Vixens Run’ and is due to be shown early in the New Year. The hotel was renamed The Swan for the benefit of the script and Salsa dancing was filmed in the hotel’s Fothergills Brasserie as well as some bedroom scenes, filmed in the hotel?s Brideshead Wing.

    John Nettles was happy to pose with Hotel Proprietor Sarah Barrington who found him to be “just as good looking and charming as in the programme.”

    NB If you are interested in leanrning more about the background to the Midsommer Murders series, take a look at the website for fans

  • Arts Cafe Succcess

    THAME?s Arts Caf

  • Rail Services To Be Restored After Tunnel Declared Safe

    PASSENGERS who use Chiltern Railways received welcome news today as the remaining Tesco tunnel structure at Gerrards Cross was declared safe and a firm date was set for normal services to resume.

    The Gerrards Cross route will re-open on Saturday 20 August, and a complete service for commuters will resume from Monday 22 August. Engineers are working around the clock in the tunnel, rebuilding the track and signalling that was damaged by the collapse.

    Since the tunnel collapsed on 30 June, Tesco and its contractors have removed over 25,000 tonnes of earth and some 60m of tunnel structure. Independent engineering experts have thoroughly reviewed the tunnel design, the building methodology and the earth used as infill, which all form part of the overall tunnel design and agree with Tesco and its consultants that the structure is safe for the passage of trains.

    Chiltern Rail have said: “The underlying cause of the accident is still subject to a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation, but initial views are that the loading sequence used in the construction of the tunnel was the major factor that caused the collapse.”
    (Ed. i.e. rumour has it that earth was piled on TOP of the arch of the tunnel, before it had been piled up on either side first!)

    John Armitt, Network Rail?s Chief Executive, said: ?Now we are satisfied that the tunnel is safe; our engineers have moved in and will be working night and day, rebuilding the track and signalling damaged in the tunnel collapse, to get trains moving once again. I appreciate the last seven weeks have been extremely frustrating for passengers, however we could not contemplate re-opening the line unless were satisfied that the Tesco Tunnel was completely safe.?

    Cath Proctor, Managing Director for Chiltern Railways, said: ?We are very pleased to be able to restore our full timetable, including two trains an hour between London and Birmingham. Re-opening the line at Gerrards Cross is what passengers have been waiting for and we are relieved that, after seven weeks, Network Rail, HMRI and Tesco are fully confident that the line is safe to enable us to run trains through the area. We thank all our passengers for their patience throughout this difficult time and look forward to providing our usual frequent, reliable and efficient service. The tunnel collapse on 30 June has caused major disruption to some of our passengers, but we have tried, in very difficult circumstances, to run the very best possible service.?

    The Rail company say: “The future of the tunnel and the Tesco superstore is a matter for Tesco. Much more evaluation work is needed before any potential future work will be allowed on the remaining tunnel.”

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  • PCSO Brings Down Service Station Crime

    CAR CRIME at the Welcome Break Services in Wheatley, has dropped since the employment of the area’s latest Police Community Support Officer(PCSO).
    The Service Station has employed Chris Ratcliff, aged 23, who has been patrolling the service station off the M40 near Wheatley now for six weeks, and already thefts from cars parked at the services are down in number.

    Chris, who used to work as a mechanic for a motor sport team, said: ?Since working at the station I have assisted in three arrests, worked with the staff at the petrol station on how to deal with people driving off without paying for petrol and generally interacting with the public, either on parking issues or simply giving people directions.

    ?My role at Welcome Break is slightly different to the other PCSOs in Oxfordshire as the people I deal with change everyday. As well as being here for Welcome Break, I also assist officers if they need help with an incident or operation.?

    Crime Reduction Officer, Lesley Nesbitt, works closely with Chris on crime prevention initiatives and events at the service station. She said: ?The presence of Chris at Welcome break services has had a dramatic effect on the number of thefts from motor vehicles being reported from the service station area to just one per month.

    ?I work closely with Chris and other PCSOs on the Thame police area on crime reduction events, initiatives, and community safety issues. This is a great example of partnership working between Thames Valley Police and Welcome Break services to reduce the incidents of crime within the area.?

    David Robinson, Group Security Manager for Welcome Break Services, said: ?Welcome Break continues to take the lead in providing safe environments for our customers and colleagues at our motorway service stations. Following on from the success of employing the first ever PCSO over two years ago at Corley we are delighted that Chris Ratcliff has joined the team at Oxford.

    PCSOs perform a valuable duty; they are a highly visible presence and as a result deter a lot of criminal activity. Whether it is advising people not to leave valuables in their parked cars or helping people inside the service area, they are an additional pair of eyes and ears of the police service, to brief, observe and report. Chris has fitted in very well with the other members of staff and is an excellent addition to the Welcome Break team.?

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  • Thame United Live To Fight Another Day

    THANKS to a kind-hearted, Aylesbury businessman, Thame United are able to play this seasons games in the Southern League.
    Within hours of a deadline to produce

  • Man Robbed In Wheatley

    THE Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was robbed on Saturday, August 13,in Wheatley.
    The victim was standing at a bus stop around 8.30pm on Church Street, when two men drove past in an old style green four door car, possibly a Vauxhall. They pulled into a car park a short distance away, got out the car and walked back towards the man and forced him to hand over his wallet containing cash and bank cards.

    The offenders are both described as Asian, in their late teens to early twenties. One is around 5ft 10ins, slim and with a thin moustache. He wore a black hooded top with red writing across the chest, and dark blue jeans.

    The second man is around 5ft 8ins, also slim with a chubby face. He was wearing a long sleeved, light grey hooded top with black writing on the chest.

    Anyone with information that could assist police inquiries is urged to contact PC Daniel Haggarty at Thame police station, via 0845 8 505 505.

    If you don?t want to speak to police and don?t want to leave your name contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

  • Tuesday Parking Changes (Correction to report 08/08/05)

    CHANGES in the amount of time parking is allowed in the Thame High Street car park, and that in the Upper High Street on Market days, are being proposed by Oxfordshire County Council.
    The proposals are to reduce waiting time to one hour only on Tuesdays, between 8am and 6pm.
    More details are available at the One Stop Shop in Thame town hall and any objections or other representations should be sent in writing to the Director for Environment and Economy, Oxfordshire County Council, c/o Milton Road, Drayton, Abingdon OX14 4EZ

  • Kingsey Road Closure

    THE A4129, Thame Road, Kingsey, will be closed for the next three months while work to strengthen the railway bridge is carried out.
    Work began on August 8, and is due to finish on October 27.
    Diversion signs are in place.

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