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THAME’S town partnership, 21st Century Thame, is looking for new blood, people with ‘new ideas and vision’ and particularly for a volunteer to sort out the very successful Thame Equipment Bank’s website.

Today, 21st Century Thame, which has been responsible for initiating Thame Food Festival, Thame’s Blue Plaques, the Thame Walking and Cycling Map and other leaflets, a Shop Fronts Improvement scheme, organising Thame Carnival, running Thame Tidy Day, supporting events such as Thame Town Music Festival and Midsomer Murders Tours, campaigning for Thame’s success in the Great British High Street Awards and Small Business Saturday and much more, has issued the following appeal:

“21st Century Thame is a group of volunteers who work in partnership with Thame Town Council and SODC to ensure the vibrancy of our town. It relies on an abundance of volunteers to continue to run the ongoing projects as well as initiating new ones.

“Before 21st Century Thame was founded various studies were undertaken which showed that Thame was a town used by local people for their weekly convenience shopping. Today Thame is a destination for visitors from far afield and is visited by locals for pleasure as well as necessity.

“Although 21st Century Thame can’t claim responsibility for everything that has given rise to this, it has initiated many projects which have developed into well known, massive events and continue to run other initiatives which support much of the activities that keep Thame an interesting place for everyone.

“As ever we are looking for new blood. We need some people with vision and great new ideas. And we need some people willing to run with those great new ideas. Of course, we also need some people to take over the initiatives which continue to support the ongoing activities.

“In particular – today – we are looking for someone with a specialist skill and a little time – the www.thameequipmentbank.co.uk website was hacked a few years ago and it was rebuilt. But it is still on a black list which means that some potential hirers are warned off the site. Those involved in the equipment bank have not found the time to sort this out – can you ?

“Please do contact us if you can help us with this – contact admin@thame4me.co.uk”

OXFORDSHIRE Fire Service is warning people to take extra care with outdoor fires during this hot, dry spell of weather, after they were called to an incident at Bernwood Forest, Oakley, near Thame, yesterday.

When crews arrived at 08:30 am to the scene, the fire appeared to be almost extinguished but after further investigations by crews it was found to be burning well under a dense layer forest grassland. Crews acted quickly to uncover the extent of the fire by cutting away the surrounding vegatation and used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire before it spread any further.

Incident Commander, Crew Manager Dan Shepherd said, “When crews arrived we were faced with a fire that was well developed, but was difficult to see due to the surrounding vegetation. Luckily a passer-by saw small amounts of smoke and acted quickly calling the fire service otherwise we could’ve faced a much larger incident and a rapidly developing fire, with lots of fuel around it, in what is a protected nature reserve. We believe this was caused by a camp fire left unattended.

He added: “Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that extra care should be taken when having outdoor fires, especially during summer heatwaves. Some local areas have specific campfire areas and these should always be used. Care should also be taken when disposing BBQ’s and members of the public should make sure these are fully extinguished and cold before throwing them away or leaving them unattended.”

NOW that pupils at Lord Williams’s School in Thame, have completed their GCSEs, the school’s Headteacher, David Wybron, has decided to speak out against what he is calling ‘a perfect storm’ for education.

In a statement today, Mr Wybron said: “Over the last month, students at Lord Williams’s and thousands of state schools across the country have been ploughing through the new GCSE examinations. Some of them have had 26 examinations! The Department for Education has confirmed to the school that these are the ‘very best’ qualifications and that the IGCSEs which some of our students did in English and Mathematics two years ago, lacked the same rigour. It therefore staggers me that independent schools are having nothing to do with the new GCSEs.

Students attending our leading independent schools can still do coursework and end-of-course assessments which are less memory based and content heavy. The Department has informed the school that our students, despite taking harder examinations, will not be disadvantaged in terms of grades but, I ask:

 Why should state school students be put under greater examination pressures than their independent school peers?
 Why should state schools be penalised in league table positions if they pursue the same courses as students in our independent schools?
 What are we going to do about increasing numbers being put off further study in English and other hitherto popular options?

Recruitment crisis

“Another feature of the storm is the recruitment crisis affecting our schools,” continued Mr Wybron. “The Department for Education has missed its target for recruiting to initial teacher training for the last five years. (According to TES analysis the country needs an additional 47,000 secondary teachers by 2024 to cope with the huge increase in the number of secondary school pupils.) Recruitment is getting harder, year on year. We accept the challenge of being pro-active in our recruitment strategies and we are very pleased with the calibre of teachers appointed at Lord Williams’s from overseas. What is incredibly frustrating, however, are the immigration controls which are making it very difficult to appoint the best overseas teachers.
“This school supports the ‘Let Them Teach’ campaign and requests that, as it has done with health workers recently, the Government changes its policy and allows teachers in all subject disciplines to be added to the ‘shortage occupation list’. (Currently teachers in a handful of subjects – Maths, Physics, Computer Science and Mandarin are listed as shortage occupations, which are prioritised for visas every month)

“And to fuel the storm we have the ongoing issue of funding. Alongside many others, this school faces huge financial challenges. Staffing costs and inflation are set to rise and we have to replace the heating system at our Oxford Road site. Funding per student is set to increase but because the Government has set a 3% cap on how much well-funded authorities would lose in the new funding formula, students at Lord Williams’s will be receiving over £1,000 less per head than students in well-funded authorities and this is before additional funding is added for deprivation.

Appeal for ‘fairness’ and ‘honesty’

“There are some very concrete things that need to be done. My appeal is for fairness in terms of recognising that it is not acceptable to put students in state schools under additional pressures and that a rethink of examination content and structures is vital. The obsession with prescribing so much content in the new GCSEs appears political; it certainly isn’t for educational reasons and moves us away from the skills our students need in the 21st Century and certainly away from the skills businesses are requesting.

“Schools should have the option of which GCSE courses they pursue but there should not be any ‘league table’ penalty if they choose IGCSEs. It is also an appeal for honesty in terms of the state of teacher recruitment and a request for education to be treated in the same way as health in terms of visa applications and visa extensions, so that schools at least have a chance to recruit the teachers they want. With regards finance, I am not sure if anyone is really listening in Government.”

Mr Wybron confirmed to Thame.Net that he is writing to Thame’s MP, John Howell, about the concerns raised in his statement.

OVER 50 members of Open Britain Thame and Thame for Europe travelled to London on Saturday, June 23, for the biggest pro-European march ever, as more than 100,000 people filled the streets around Parliament demanding a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal. Many people had never been on a march before.

Robin Storey, spokesperson for Open Britain Thame, said: “It was an amazing day out but the huge numbers shows the strength of feeling. The People Vote campaign is taking off across the country on this vital issue for all our futures.”

Phillipa Tawn added: “It was so inspiring to be with thousands and thousands of like-minded people. There was a two hour wait for the march to get started as numbers were so high. It was hot and crowded but people sang and cheered and laughed and shared stories. As someone said to me-the name “remoaner” could not be less fitting. I estimate that about 50 people from our Thame group attended the march. I think we can feel pretty proud about that. Thame was certainly well represented. A huge thank you to all the wonderful members of our group!”

Robin Continued: Now Thame and with many new groups from Banbury in the north of the county to Wallingford in the south, we have seen our membership increase in recent weeks as it has become clear the Government is intent on a bad Brexit deal that will destroy jobs, harm our NHS and wreck the future of young people.

“Take BMW’s publicly expressed concerns; I’ll be pressing John Howell MP again about the Customs Union and Single Market amendments that he could vote for in the next few weeks, if he wants to help manufacturing employees who work in Cowley and live in his constituency, as well as the wider issue of present and future jobs in export led manufacturing.”

“Whether you were a Leaver or a Remainer two years ago, no one really thinks Brexit is going well. We didn’t know about the £40 billion divorce bill back then or that promises on extra money for the NHS would be broken. Above all, we didn’t know that political leaders in Westminster would be so shallow and self-serving to make such a mess of it.

He concluded: Here in Thame and around Oxfordshire we will be out campaigning all summer to make sure the people get their democratic right to have their voice heard on Brexit. New groups start 10am in Witney on July 14, and Didcot July 21.”

To find out more about Open Britain Thame, contact Robin Storey via robin.openbritainthame@gmail.com

THAME could be the first town or city in the country to adopt a Green Living Plan, a public meeting in Thame Town Hall heard on Tuesday evening (19 June).

Members of the RSA Thame Group, led by Charles Boundy, presented their draft Green Living Plan to Councillors and more than 60 members of the community, ahead of a vote for the GLP to go out for consultation with the people, commerce and other interested parties over the next four months.

The GLP is a plan to protect and improve the environment of Thame for the long-term health and vitality of the town and its community. Thame will be producing a new Neighbourhood Plan over the next two years and the Green Living Plan is intended to be a key part of the evidence base supporting and influencing the forthcoming revision of the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.

Thame Town Council appointed the RSA Group, a local group of Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce, three years ago to act as Honorary Consultants to assist the Council create a Green Living Plan. They have been working to produce the draft plan for the last 30 months consulting with many local volunteers and experts in the five areas covered by the plan.

These areas are colour-coded for ease of reference and are: Green – Open spaces, green routes and the natural world, Blue – Water, Red – Energy, Grey – Air quality and the natural environment and Brown – Waste.

The aim of the GLP is to help ensure that, as Thame grows and develops, the town remains a green, pleasant and healthy place to live and work. It should raise awareness and encourage action to enhance the community’s quality of life.

Following the meeting, Thame Town Council issued a statement saying: “The council was very pleased to host an informative presentation by the RSA Thame Group on the draft Green Living Plan. The presentation was attended by more than 60 members of the community, with half the time put aside for questions. A wide variety of questions, on traffic management, single use plastics, biodiversity, the amount of commitment, the consultation process and other topics were raised which will help ensure that the Green Living Plan is right for Thame.

“At the Town Council meeting that immediately followed, the draft GLP was authorised to proceed to a consultation over the summer, probably starting in late July/ early August. The Plan will be a living document, that will benefit Thame forever.”

RSA Thame Group Chairman, Charles Boundy, added: “As the Plan develops we’ll be exploring funding opportunities from development and other sources, including looking for local sponsors or partners with green living initiatives. It is only with the support of local people and volunteers that we can achieve our aims. Practical steps for getting involved are included in the Plan.’

RSA Thame Group member, George Westropp, who chaired the presentation, told the meeting: “It is worth pointing out that Thame is the first town or city in the country to try a Green Living Plan. As Charles Boundy has said, ‘Thame is a trailblazer’.”

A THAME resident has written an open letter to Thame’s MP, John Howell, after the constituency’s Conservative representative in Parliament published his views on the current Brexit legislation currently going through Parliament. The letter reads:

“Dear Dr Howell,  I have just read your e-briefing on Brexit and your justification for voting against the meaningful vote amendment, and I am shocked by your disingenuous statements.

“You compare the lies of the Leave Campaign with those from the Remain campaign (which you describe using the Vote Leave spin as “Project Fear”). To Lie is to say something that you know to be untrue with the intent to mislead. Can you please identify the lies from the Remain Campaign – I have asked many Leave campaigners, and all they come up with are “emergency budget”, “I won’t resign” and similar. I am sure that you know where the lying came from during the campaign (“The EU takes £350m/wk”, “Turkey is joining the EU”, “EU Army” …), yet you claim equivalence.

“You equate the Electoral Commission fines for the Liberal Democrats and Open Britain for lack of detail in their returns with the fine for Leave.EU for deliberate and significant overspending. Details of the Leave.EU behaviour have been passed to the police for investigation of criminal behaviour. These findings from the Electoral Commission are clearly not equivalent, yet you pretend that they are.

“You claim to believe that Parliament already has “a meaningful vote” on Brexit, but you must be aware that a vote that has “the deal as negotiated” and “no deal” as outcomes, is clearly not “meaningful” in any real sense of the world.

“Most readers of your e-briefing will take you at your word, because you are their MP. Misleading your constituents in this way is not the sort of behaviour I expect from my MP.

Sincerely,
Roy Motteram   (Pictured taking part in the recent Thame Carnival procession)
Thame
(Full address details supplied)

NB You can read John Howell’s e-briefing by linking HERE 

NBB John Howell has since replied to Mr Mottram’s letter, accusing him of attacking his personal integrity. Here is JH’s response in full:

Dear Roy, Thank you for our email. But I am simply not going to accept your attack on my personal integrity.

In the last few days I have had correspondence with many constituents who have thanked me for the openness, honesty and thoughtfulness with which I have addressed the issue. Those correspondents have come from both sides of the argument and many have commented on the integrity I have shown. So, until I receive an apology from you I am not prepared to continue with our exchanges.

I claim equivalence of the lies on both sides of this argument and I have the evidence of how the Remain campaign has included and distorted what MPs have said in the literature they have provided.

I claim equivalence in the fines that have been received both by the Liberal-Democrats and Open Britain and with the Leave side. A fine from the Electoral Commission is a fine whatever the detail of the circumstances.

I do not accept your view of a ‘Meaningful vote’ but I accept your right to disagree with me.

I look forward to receiving your apology.

John

NBBB Mr Motteram’s reply to John Howell’s response:

Dear John, Thank-you for the rapid response.

Since you were part of the Remain campaign, you should have a good insight into any lies that were told as part of it. I would welcome you to share that insight, since I am not aware of any. Despite asking for evidence from any number of people who claimed that Remain lied, I have seen none. To imply that both sides lied, as you did means that either you know of such lies, or are attempting to mislead. Given examples of such lies, I would willingly apologise publicly.

“A fine is a fine” you say, and both sides are equally black is your implication. That is clearly not true. Neither the Liberal Democrats nor Open Britain were fined for exceeding their spending limit “by at least 10%”, nor did it find that for either of them that there were “reasonable grounds” that they “committed criminal offences”, unlike Leave.EU. The extent of wrongdoing – “disappointing” inadequate transparency vs significant unlawful overspend involving “potentially criminal offences” are clearly not equivalent, as your statement “Similar fining of the Leave campaign” implies. So on this point, an apology is not merited.

I look forward to hearing your examples of Remain Campaign lies & being able to issue a public apology to you.

Sincerely
Roy Motteram