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An eight year old girl was expelled after her parents took her out of school for a holiday.
Victoria Corry was absent for 11 teaching days - one more than is allowed under government guidelines.
Crumpsall Lane Primary school in north Manchester eventually re-admitted her - but the head teacher says government guidance on the issue is unclear.
The action came as government ministers urged holiday companies to consider curbing prices in the peak season.
Consumer Affairs Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, raised concerns about pricing policy with leaders from the holiday industry.
The Department for Trade and Industry says he brought up the issue in a general meeting of industry leaders.
He asked them to look at ways of cutting prices, including offering discounts to families who book for breaks during school holidays.
This is already being done in some areas.
‘No clarity’
Families who take their children out of school for holidays often say they could not afford to take a break if they had to pay peak-time prices.
Prices between low and high-season often double.
Guidance from the Department for Education is that head teachers can give permission for a child to be taken out of school for up to 10 teaching days.
The child’s absence is then marked down as “authorised”.
Victoria Corry missed 11 days while on holiday in Spain with her family, and an end-of-year test.
After the holiday, she missed another six days of lessons while her parents negotiated with the school.
Weeks earlier she had received a good attendance award.
The head teacher of Crumpsall Lane primary school, Alastair Robertson, told BBC News Online there was a lack of clarity in government guidelines.
Head teachers and governors were not clear about what sanctions could be taken against parents who took their children out of school for more than 10 days.
Victoria’s family had not asked for permission to remove her from school but had written to the school in early May to tell them she would be off school for 11 days, from 13 May, Mr Robertson said.
The school replied the next day saying a break of more than 10 days could not be permitted and telling them their daughter would be taken off the school roll - removed from its list of registered pupils - if she missed more than 10 days.
‘Not enough clarity’
Mr Robertson said: “If anything comes out of all this I hope it is that schools, parents, governing bodies and local education authorities are given better guidance on this.
“The government has given education a high priority, saying how important full-time education is and how parents should not be taking children out of school, local authorities and schools have followed suit.
“But there is not enough clarity about what should be done on the ground.
“In this case, everyone was acting in their own best interest - the family who wanted a family holiday and the school in acting on the regulations.”
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “We have been in close discussion with the school over this issue and are very pleased that this pupil is now back in school.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Education and Skills said taking a child off the school roll was a “very serious matter” and that they would expect a school to take advice from their local education authority before going down that route.
Supply and demand
Earlier this year the Office for Fair Trading rejected calls from the Liberal Democrats to investigate the issue of holiday pricing.
The OFT said there were no grounds for an inquiry.
The travel industry says its prices reflect supply and demand.
Keith Betton, a spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents, said: “If you look at the big travel companies’ financial results, you
will see that they make a loss or only a tiny profit out of season.
“If they did not charge the higher prices during the peak they would soon be out of business.”
Last year, the government suggested parents who took their children away for unauthorised holidays could be fined by the school or local authority.
The first fixed penalties (fines) for truancy are expected to be issued this week.
Some of your comments:
Mr Robertson has my full support. It’s a shame that parents who take their children out of school during term time for no good reason are not fined and made to attend parenting skills courses, rather than the child being punished by being made to miss yet more school. But while that’s the only option, I’m glad that some schools are finally hitting back.
Helen Buckley
It’s ridiculous to say everyone acted in best interest, as head Robertson says, “In this case, everyone was acting in their own best interest - the family who wanted a family holiday and the school in acting on the regulations.” How could such draconian action be justified for an 8 year old? At that age school should be fun. How will this affect her and her family’s view towards school. The head needs sacking.
Steve Winter
I am married to a teacher, who unlike her pupils can not take time out of school to go on holiday. We have to pay premium rates for average package holidays. I think as a teacher she should receive subsidised holidays, nearing in mind that her pay is not fantastic.
Dave Wood
Doesn’t anyone find it odd that a school is so worried that a pupil misses 11 days of schooling that they then exclude her for another 6 days? For the head teacher to pass the buck onto the government is pathetic, does he not have any common sense?
Wayne Boucher
I am a lone parent, having made this choice by adopting a child.
I have just had to pay 1,500 for a week in Majorca in the school holidays to take my new daughter on holiday at the end of July. I also found that not only do I get penalised by higher prices in the school break, but I have also had to pay adult price for my child of 9 years old as I will be the only adult going - so in fact, I have been penalised twice just for wanting to bring some happiness into my adoptive daughter’s life and take her on holiday.
Surely I am not the only lone parent to take a child on holiday, so the tour operators must be making a mint by penalising us this way. I think it is totally unfair and prices should not be so far out of reach for being a single parent and the government should be able to do something to stop them making more money out of us by having to pay adult fare for a child.
Janet
If the problem is supply and demand then we need to drastically
reconsider how term breaks are set up. So, why is it not possible to
stagger half term and summer breaks for maybe a week by county? I
understand this is not possible over Christmas or Easter, but it seems to me that the summer holidays are the ones that are causing the problems.
Also, why are travel companies not making enough money at off peak times? There are now many many more single people, or people with no children who could travel at any time of the year. I find it upsetting that with a good job and reasonable income I still cannot afford to take my girlfriend and her two children away for even a week in the summer. It’s tough enough off-peak.
I have a sneaky feeling however that rather like motorway service
stations it is not supply and demand, but rather having a captive audience.
Craig Mold
Whilst I sympathise with families who feel that they cannot afford to take holidays during school holidays, I wonder whether they ever consider the teachers who are not, for obvious reasons, permitted to take holidays during term time, even the 10 days set for pupils. They have no choice but to turn in for work the week after half term knowing that a quarter of their class are still enjoying themselves on holiday somewhere around the world.
Rebecca Kirk
People seem to think it’s their right to have a cheap foreign holiday. What absolute rubbish. I have two pre-school children and can’t afford to take foreign holidays as it is. Parents who take children out of school for any length of time (I think 5 days is more than enough) should face fines or the loss of a place on the school roll, and no backing down later on.
We live in a free market economy where supply and demand determine prices. If more people expect foreign holidays than there are places, they will have to pay extra for it. The industry should look for more capacity at peak times, with innovative use of facilities (for school trips or business use) at off-peak times.
I don’t think the answer is to change the school holidays or allow people to take children out of school, but to accept that you have to pay for such luxuries as foreign holidays. I also don’t think it appropriate for the government to dictate prices for holidays.
Tom Niedrum, Taunton, Somerset, UK
We recently had a threatening letter from our local authority in an attempt to dissuade us from taking children out of school for holidays and stating the importance of the children not missing school. However a teacher friend told us it was nonsense as in her view it was far more beneficial for the child to have a holiday than be in school providing it was not before the end of term exams.
Also the fines suggested by the government are only a fraction of the potential savings that one can often obtain in going only a few days earlier. Due to a genuine mix up over dates last year we inadvertently booked our holiday three days before the school term ended. We were surprised to find that with two children we saved about 500 and fortunately the school was flexible enough to accede to our request for the extra days off school.
The government would do better to look at ways of staggering the school terms throughout the country and imposing restrictions on the discrepancies between the lowest and highest prices charged by the holiday countries than threats of fines to the parents and expulsions to the pupils.
John Cooper, Warrington, Cheshire, UK
A number of people have suggested within their comments that local authorities should stagger holiday dates. This already happens in some parts of the country and, unfortunately, it also causes problems. A married couple I know are both teachers, and work in different authorities. When holiday dates vary, they are unable to take holidays together. This also affects teachers who work in a different area to the one they live in, since their children will attend a local school and sometime be on holiday during different weeks. In addition, there is an impact on voluntary organisations trying to cater for demand for half-term youth clubs and the like.
Steve, Darlington, UK
I have for the first time had to take my children out of school for our holiday because my husband is unable to book any time off during the school summer holidays, so what are we supposed to do? We are not given priority because we have families, or 9 times out of 10 everyone has to have the same holidays.
The majority of parents try to abide by the rules and sometimes genuinely have to take their children out of school. It seems to me before long we will have to write to the government for permission to have a holiday. It is always those who try to keep within the rules that are penalized. Schools today are given too much rope to dictate to parents what they should do. What about parent rights? The majority of parents will always make sure that their children have a good education and encourage them at all times, and I am one of those.
Mrs J Hemming
This is absolutely ridiculous. To equate family holidays with truancy is nonsence. Family holidays are enriching and often educational experiences for children and often the only concentrated time families get to spend together. I work because I have to not because I choose to, my children have child care after school and with the exceotion of our time on holiday in the school holidays too. You can’t equate us having a planned and organised family holiday with children truanting because they can’t be bothered to get out of bed in the morning or to go christmas shopping or for any number of other reasons they don’t go to school on a casual basis. Perhaps we should ban residential and day trips in school time as these are no different to family holidays.
Pippa Jenkins
On reading the comments made by others, I am surprised to find that the main emphasis seems to be on rights of parents and/or teacher to take holidays, and little or no comment on the amount of disruption to the education of the individual child, and indeed the entire class, that 10 days’ absence from school would create.
In primary schools, the pressure on teachers to deliver a full curriculum of learning, with the added presure of maintaining standards for Sats is already stertching resources and time. If one child misses 10 days of schooling, they risk missing whole chunks of the curriculum. The onus is then on the classroom teacher; do they allow this child’s education to be neglected, or do they take time away from the whole class in order to help this one child to catch up?
If parents insist on taking their child away from school lessons to attend holidays, perhaps they should be made to pay for individual tuition at home to “fill in the gaps” during school holidays instead? Of course, this may well negate the savings made on off-peak holiday deals…
Genevieve, Manchester
My parents frequently took me out of school for holidays at that young age, including a whole month once for a trip to Africa. I can tell you that when I returned there was nothing I could not rapidly catch up with, and yet the educational value of such holidays, with such exposure at an early age to foreign cultures, was tremendously valuable, and have remained with me until today.
How about the schools applying some common sense to situations and individual pupils’ situations, instead of this ridiculous 10-day blanket limit?
Matthew Bird, Thurrock, UK
I think the Mr. Robertson acted according to his interpretation of the guidelines. The fact that he had the guts to admit that his interpretation was incorrect, by reinstating the pupil should earn him a lot of respect. Well done Mr. Robertson.
Luke Robbins, Fleetwood Lancs
I’m amazed by the way people say “I have had to take my child out of school / pay for an expensive holiday” and so on. No one has to take their child on holiday.
My mother was a single parent living on low income and so we never went abroad. But I really don’t feel that I was deprived. However, if I’d had my schoolfriends boasting (as children will) about being allowed to miss weeks of classes in order to jet off to some foreign holiday, I might well have felt my family’s relative poverty far more than I did.
No child should be given preferential treatment by a school in the matter of truancy just because their family has enough money to take them abroad.
Beth, Oxford
It is easy to have a go at parents but surley it is the fault of the travel companies, if prices where the same all year round then I suspect that parents could afford an holiday. It is ridiculus to expect parentsto pay 1000 more for an holiday in July or August, when they can go cheaper in June or September.
If two weeks a year is going to upset the child ’s education then there must be something wrong with that child’s school.
Paul Eckersley, Radcliffe Manchester
Whilst I appreciate the reasoning behind the actions of Mr Robinson, I do not appreciate being told how many days I can take my child out of school legally. Last year I received a letter from my daughters school denying leave that we had booked and threatening a 100 fine.
But what they didn’t take into consideration was the number of days that the school closes for “teacher training, etc”, which amount to at least seven days maybe more.
Karina Stokes, Hertfordshire
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See related site about cyber sex dating lounge.
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A residential care home has been ordered to close following allegations a resident aged 97 was poisoned.
Lucy Cox died at the Parkfields home at Butleigh near Glastonbury, Somerset, on New Year’s Day.
Rachel and Leigh Baker, who work at the home, were arrested following Ms Cox’s death and later released on bail.
The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) said it had cancelled the home’s registration because the owners had failed to improve standards.
Mrs Baker, 45, a registered nurse at the care home, was arrested on suspicion of administering a noxious substance.
Six deaths
Her husband Leigh, 48, was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the administration of a noxious substance.
Police are investigating Ms Cox’s death, but it has been reported that as part of routine investigations, another six deaths are being looked at.
An Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson said: “A number of issues surrounding the care of residents at the home are being investigated.”
The investigation is being carried out jointly with the CSCI.
Registration cancelled
A CSCI spokeswoman said certain matters were brought to its attention in early January.
“Because the owners had failed to improve standards since the January inspection we have issued a notice to cancel their registration which will effectively close the home,” she said.
Somerset County Council said it had been working closely with the CSCI investigation to ensure that appropriate and safe care was available to all of the current residents at Parkfields Residential Care Home.
In a statement, Miriam Maddison, Director of Adult Social Services, said; “During this time, we have been able to complete individual care assessments with every resident to ensure that we have an up to date picture of their care needs.
“We are working with CSCI to ensure that appropriate information is readily available to residents and their families.”
No-one from Parkfields was available for comment on Thursday afternoon.
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Elderly residents of care homes in County Durham mounted a demonstration against plans which could see authority-run centres close.
Care workers, residents and relatives were expected to gather outside County Hall on Thursday as Labour councillors held a group meeting.
Families of elderly residents fear cost-cutting plans could see 12 council-run homes close.
Councillors deferred a decision until a later date.
Durham County Council has said it believes it could save 3m a year if it closed down its remaining homes, which it says are two-thirds full.
The union Unison is concerned about job losses, the impact on older people and about handing over all the care homes to the private sector.
The council said no decision had been made and changes would not be rushed.
Closure trauma
Union regional officer Howard Pink said: “It’s appalling that Durham County Council is considering such a drastic and irreversible decision.
“The loss of jobs will be horrific, and result in many compulsory redundancies. We know from past experience that many older people simply don’t survive the trauma of home closures.”
The council believes that by pulling out of residential care it would have the money to provide an extra 2,000 home care hours a week and an extra 78 care beds.
Councillor Christine Smith, whose portfolio covers adult care, said: “I can give every assurance that we will not be kicking people out of homes at short notice.
“If there is a decision to close, each person will be looked at individually and their needs will be paramount.
“We will be looking to see with the resident and relatives what alternative provision we can offer for them with our partners in the independent sector.”
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In 1976 Rock Against Racism was set up by a group of punk musicians and political activists, and was later supported by a number of acts, including the Clash. It has since mutated into Love Music Hate Racism - a charity supported today by mainstream acts such as Ms Dynamite, DJ Asha and Doves.
Its sister organisation, the Anti-Nazi League, was founded in 1977 and continues to play a major role in corralling opposition to racism.
MUSIC
Like just about everything these days, punk is either enjoying a revival or due for one soon.
Attitude is still everything
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Retching guitars and raw vocals have certainly been a recurrent favourite since the days of Sham 69 and Stiff Little Fingers, but it is the “do-it-yourself” ethic of punk that is its biggest legacy in music. Today, groups can mix an album in a laptop - no need to pay for pricey multi-track studios.
“Punk”, the word, has also become a keenly applied suffix, generally denoting a rough, raw element to a type of music, such as skate punk, anarcho punk. Although quite why bubblegum trio de jour Busted warrant the label “punk pop” is anyone’s guess.
FASHION
It was clothes, not music, which first brought punk to mainstream attention. Songs were often banned, and bands played in underground clubs, but sullen youths in DMs and spiked haircuts were harder to miss.
Not as far apart as you think…
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Out went the flares of disco and natural fibres of hippy chic; in came all things synthetic - nylon, rubber, lurid colours and black. This emphasis on image was no accident. Malcolm McLaren’s then-wife, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, put much into the Sex Pistols’ look.
Today ripped fishnets and stencilled leather no longer turn heads. But punk’s influence lives on, in the sales racks jammed with bondage pants and striped tops, and in collections by Westwood and Alexander McQueen. Even the late Gianni Versace co-opted the safety pin for that Liz Hurley dress.
ART AND DESIGN
Energy. Attitude. Humour. A desire to shock. An enthusiasm for DIY techniques and found objects.
YBA Sarah Lucas
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Punk’s visual language - typified by Jamie Reid’s collage for the Sex Pistols’ Never Mind… album - can also be found in work by contemporary artists such as Sarah Lucas and Gavin Turk (both at a formative age when punk was at its peak). Graphic designers, too, found a new edge in punk’s rough-edged images.
But punk and art have long been closely entwined. Arts students were as crucial to the movement as working class concerns, and the New York art scene is thought to have helped sowed the seeds of punk.
Nor did punk pioneer the use of found objects and photo montage - cash-strapped art students have long used whatever is to hand in their works, as did the surrealists.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
A truer legacy is the riots at the Battle of Seattle, the books Fast Food Nation and No Logo, and any of the growing underground musical scenes.
Andrew Davies, England
Punk in many guises is alive and kicking in the UK these days. There is a strong DIY ethic and bands/promoters/record labels communicate freely using the internet, which has opened up new opportunities to get messages across and create a sort of underground community.
Rich, Wales
Punk was a liberating movement. Anarchy is about freedom. Few, if any, laws. Freedom to speak your views, whether they be racist/sexist or whatever. Punk meant freedom/liberalisation via anarchy not music and clothes.
Simon Hickey, Stockport, UK
Weren’t the Sex Pistols the first completely manufactured boy band?
Philippa Margaretson, Barking
The Monkees pre-date the Sex Pistols by quite some time.
Simon Gibbons, Luxembourg
Everything that punk stood for was already there and active. The anti-establishment, freedom to say, do, look however you want had been in existence since the 60s. The Sex Pistols knew that - that’s why they named it the Great Rock ‘n’ Roll swindle. A triumph of marketing over substance.
Al, UK
As you read this, thousands of frustrated, creative individuals in all parts of the globe are communicating directly with each other. A tenacious underground network exists for the dissemination of ideas, information and self-produced materials. Punk is a state of mind and a way of life.
Stuart, Scotland
This all seems a bit highbrow to me. As a relic of that era, my main recollection is the endless ‘gobbing’. Punk was just another version of youth taking delight in upsetting their parents and other old gits (which of course we are all now - Lydon included̷ 
Robo, UK
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A woman who punished three young children in her care by ramming sticks down their throats has been convicted of abuse spanning 20 years.
Eunice Spry, 62, from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, was convicted of 26 charges and cleared of 12 charges.
The prosecution said Spry’s treatment was “horrifying” and “sadistic”.
Detective Constable Victoria Martell said: “When the defendant was arrested, she was completely calm…her lack of emotion was very chilling.”
The offences took place in two of Spry’s homes in Gloucestershire between 1986 and 2005.
Ms Martell said she was left almost in “disbelief” after first taking a call from Victim A, in December 2004.
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I sweated blood for these children. I’ve worked non-stop. I love them. I still love them
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She added: “When I first heard the allegations being made, my reaction was almost one of disbelief, but having worked in CID for a number of years I had obviously heard other terrible stories.
“However, as I spoke to the other victims, and they also told me of their experiences, it really hit home how terrible their lives had been.
“It was very harrowing to hear the three of them explain their experiences, but to them, they had not known any other life than the abuse they had grown up with.”
Spry was arrested when police raided her home in February 2005.
The three were later examined by doctors and specialists after they made their allegations.
They found a series of marks and unusual bruises on their bodies and throats which were entirely consistent with their harrowing stories.
They were also found to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and low self-esteem, and the girls had both attempted to take their own lives.
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Punishments would be anything from being forced to stay awake all night and constantly being beaten with sticks and poles all over my body
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Spry was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court of a range of charges from unlawful wounding, cruelty to a person under 16, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation.
During the four-week trial the jury heard how Spry - who was the legal parent of the three children - had subjected the children to a regime of abuse.
The jury heard that the children were forced to drink bleach and eat their own vomit.
Constant punishment
One of the foster children told a news conference: “She’d always punish me for the slightest thing. These punishments would be anything from being forced to stay awake all night and constantly being beaten with sticks and poles all over my body.
“It was agonising but we had to get used to it. I was deprived of mixing with other children my age. My foster mother never showed me any love or encouragement, only negativity or abuse.
“She locked me up in the bedroom once with my sister for about a month. I can’t even remember what I had supposedly done wrong.”
Another of Spry’s victims now aged 21, was imprisoned in a wheelchair by the woman following a car crash.
Refused tests
Doctors told the girl, who suffered horrific injuries, that she would be confined to a wheelchair for up to six months after the crash.
But medical experts who examined her soon found there was no physical reason why she could not walk.
Spry refused a series of tests to find out what was behind the girl’s condition and deliberately hindered her recuperation to maximise the compensation payout she could get from the insurer.
In a statement Jo Grills, chair of Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board (GSCB), said: “Eunice Spry is someone who other parents trusted with their children. She deliberately set out to deceive those parents and all of the agencies involved over a 20-year period.
Shared information
“Although these children were seen by many different professionals, few were a consistent presence. Information was not shared so that it was impossible for anyone to have a clear picture.
“As a result of the Victoria Climbie enquiry, one of the significant safeguards now in place is the requirement for agencies to work far more closely together and for information to be shared.”
Spry, who denied all the charges, told the court: “I sweated blood for these children. I’ve worked non-stop. I love them. I still love them.
“Anyone who met these three children would say they’ve grown up to be fine respectable adults. That’s what I aimed to do and that’s what I think I did to them.”
Bristol Crown Court heard how Spry covered her tracks by forbidding them to be examined on their own by doctors or dentists.
She maintained her innocence throughout police interviews and during the subsequent trial.
Judge Simon Darwall-Smith adjourned the case to allow pre-sentence reports to be prepared.
Spry was remanded in custody until the sentencing hearing at Bristol Crown Court at a date to be fixed.
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1498 - Christopher Columbus visits the main island on St Vincent’s Day.
1627 - St Vincent granted to Britain’s Lord Carlisle
1783 - Treaty of Versailles recognises St Vincent as a British colony.
1795-97 - Britain, with French support, deports 5,000 caribs to Belize following an uprising.
1812 - First recorded eruption of La Soufriere volcano which resulted in many casualties.
1834 - Slavery abolished, forcing plantation owners to free more than 18,000 slaves; foreign labourers indentured.
1902 - Second eruption of La Soufriere volcano results in the death of 2,000 inhabitants.
1951 - St Vincent granted universal adult suffrage.
1958-62 - St Vincent a member of the British-sponsored West Indies Federation.
Independence
1969 - St Vincent granted internal self-government, with Britain retaining responsibility for foreign and defence affairs.
Former PM James Mitchell won four general elections
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1979 October - St Vincent and the Grenadines become independent with Milton Cato of the centre-left St Vincent Labour Party (SVLP) as prime minister.
1979 December - Revolt on Union Island by a group that wanted more power in the country’s new government put down.
1981 - Workers stage a general strike in protest at new industrial relations legislation against the background of an economic recession.
1984 - James Mitchell becomes prime minister after his centre-right New Democratic Party (NDP) wins a surprising victory in the general election.
1989 - Mitchell returned to office after his NDP won all parliamentary seats.
1994 - Mitchell and the NDP returned to office once again, but with a reduced majority.
1998 - Mitchell and the NDP scrape a fourth term.
2000 - Mitchell resigns and is succeeded by his finance minister, Arniham Eustace.
St Vincent’s capital, Kingstown
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2000 - Anti-government protests and industrial action are sparked by a proposal to increase pensions for parliamentarians.
2001 March - Opposition leader Ralph Gonsalves becomes prime minister in elections brought forward from 2003 because of anti-government protests in 2000.
2002 June - Governor-general Sir Charles Antrobus dies.
2003 February - St Vincent and the Grenadines is admitted to the Non-Aligned Movement of developing nations.
2003 June - Country is removed from a list of nations deemed uncooperative in the fight against money-laundering.
2005 December - Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and his Unity Labour Party win a second term in general elections.
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Christmas is on the way and there are some fantastic venues to skate at, whether you’re shopping or sight-seeing.
There are loads of indoor ice rinks up and down the country too that are open all year round, the National Ice Skating Association has details.
Check our list of the best venues below and the links on the right for more information.
Don’t forget to wrap up warm and a spare pair of socks might be a good idea too!
LONDON AND SURROUNDING AREA
Somerset House
One of the grandest venues in London, just off the Strand, you can skate outside within the House’s 18th Century courtyard. At night the building is illuminated creating a festive feel right in the heart of the city. This is popular so book in advance.
Dates: 22 November 2006 - 28 January 2007.
Cost: Adults 10-15, children 7.
Natural History Museum
Combine a trip to the nearby museums (Natural History, Science, V&A) with a skate on a 1,000 square metre rink which is very kid-friendly. There’s a junior rink and ice marshals to give you a helping hand. Again booking ahead is worthwhile.
Dates: 9 November 2006 - 21 January 2007
Cost: Adults 10.50 - 12, children 7.50.
Skate at night under floodlights at the Natural History Museum
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Tower of London
If you fancy a slice of history with your skating then the Tower of London might be the ticket. The moat is transformed into a rink and sessions last an hour.
Dates: 25 November 2006 - 14 January 2007
Cost: Adults 10, children 7.50.
Greenwich
Set at the Royal Naval College, another grand venue awaits if you’re checking out the local markets or the observatory.
Dates: 2 December 2006 - 14 January 2007
Cost: Adults 9.50, children 7.
Canary Wharf
Outdoor skating is also happening in the cityscape amongst the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. The rink is open for three months at Canada Square Park. You could close your eyes and pretend it was downtown New York.
Dates: 18 November 2006 - 18 February 2007
Cost: Adults 10, children 7.
Kew Gardens
On the way to Richmond and beside the banks of the Thames, Kew Gardens offers a delightful setting to ice skate. If you’re visiting the gardens then it would be plain rude not take to the ice and burn off the slice of cake from the Orangery.
Dates: 25 November 2006 - 7 January 2007
Cost: Adults 10.
Hampton Court Palace
A bit further out of town but perfect if you’re visiting Henry VIII’s famous home.
Dates: 4 December 2006 - 14 January 2007
Cost: Adults 9.50, children (U12) 7.50.
Windsor
With the Queen’s residence as a backdrop, Alexandra Gardens is home to a 880 metre square rink for six weeks. The ice holds 240 skaters an hour from 10am to 10pm.
Dates: 26 November 2006 - 8 January 2007
Cost: Adults 9.50, children 7.50.
REST OF THE UK
Cardiff
The Winter Wonderland Open Air Ice Rink outside Cardiff City Hall gives visitors the opportunity to skate or watch from a heated terrace. School groups can go for as little as 2.50 a child with teachers free.
Dates: 16 November 2006 - 7 January 2007
Cost: Adults 7.50, children 5.50.
Glasgow
George Square makes for a stunning backdrop adjacent to the city chambers and skaters can bask in the glow of the city lights. If that’s not warm enough get hold of the mulled wine on offer.
Dates: 25 November 2006 - 24 December 2006
Cost: Adults 6-8.50, children 5-6.
Edinburgh
If you can’t feel festive under Edinburgh Castle then the rink at East Princes Street Gardens probably isn’t for you. This is the eighth year Edinburgh’s Winter Wonderland has been on show.
Dates: 24 November 2006 - 7 January 2007
Cost: Adults 8.50, children 7.50. Off-peak tickets are cheaper.
Skate at twilight under the shadow of Edinburgh Castle
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Bristol
The Mall at Cribbs Causeway is just north of Bristol, but offers a perfect rest from Christmas shopping.
Dates: 16 November 2006 - 6 January 2007
Cost: Adults 5-7.50, children 4-5.50
Manchester
Piccadilly Gardens is the setting for a brand-new outdoor skating rink.
Dates: 17 November 2006 - 7 January 2007
Cost: Adults 7.50, children 5.
York
In the shadows of the Clifford’s Tower, outdoor ice skating makes a return to the Eye of York. There’s 600 square metres to dance around and accompanying DJs.
Dates: 18 November 2006 - 7 January 2007
Cost: Adults 7.95, children 6.50.
Cornwall
The Eden Project’s winter festival, A Time of Gifts, offers an open-air ice rink which is open for business right through the year.
Cost: 4 for 40 minutes.
Warwick
Warwick Castle boasts not just a ice rink but a 60-metre ice slide too.
Dates: 2 December 2006 - 7 January 2007
Cost: Adults 6-10, children 5-7
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A further education college is claiming the title of “best in England” after gaining an outstanding inspectors’ report.
The education watchdog Ofsted awarded South Cheshire College, Crewe, the highest possible grade in 13 out of 16 areas judged.
It was commended for its curriculum, training, leadership and management, and student support.
South Cheshire also gained the highest rating in the country in 1999, under Ofsted’s inspections predecessor, the Further Education Funding Council.
Teaching
This time around, 10 curriculum areas were judged to be outstanding and awarded a grade 1 by Ofsted and the Adult Learning Inspectorate.
The three remaining academic areas were judged to be good.
Inspectors praised the college’s high pass rates, high retention rates, accommodation and facilities.
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The results are a reflection of excellent teamwork
Dr David Collins, principal
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South Cheshire, which has 3,000 full-time and 8,000 part-time students, dates back to 1843 and was incorporated in its present form in 1993.
It offers academic courses up to A-level, as well as vocational subjects.
The Ofsted report says: “Teaching and learning are excellent. For the college as a whole, 84% of observed lessons have good or better teaching and 82% have good or better
learning.
“Almost half of the lessons are very good or outstanding.”
It adds: “The principal provides inspiring leadership. Staff are highly motivated and well informed.”
The principal, Dr David Collins, said:
“The results are a reflection of the excellent teamwork by 100% of the staff at South Cheshire College and the commitment of our enthusiastic and hardworking students.
“We now look forward to building on the success and continuing to provide first-class education and development opportunities for people in South Cheshire.”
There are about 100 sixth form colleges and 275 further education colleges in England.
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Richard Desmond’s announcement that he has sold off his portfolio of adult magazines has been interpreted as a sure sign that he is planning another bid.
He did put his name forward for Hollinger International’s initial auction, but as that started prior to the company’s court case with Conrad Black, it was more a practice run.
This time around will be the real thing, and analysts believe Mr Desmond has sold off the adult titles for two reasons. Firstly to distance himself from his downmarket publishing history (not an asset when you are bidding for the prim and proper Daily Telegraph), and secondly, to raise an additional 20m of funds for his bid.
The owner of Express Newspapers has also made no secret of his desire to get his hands on the Daily Telegraph.
A possible trump card in Mr Desmond’s hand is his co-ownership of a printing press with the Daily Telegraph - the West Ferry plant in east London.
A spokesman for Mr Desmond has previously suggested that if anyone else wins the bid for the Telegraph they had better have their own printing press.
Barclay brothers
The Channel Island-based media, hotel and shopping tycoons are a hard pair to read.
The Barclay brothers are secretive to the extreme
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A month ago it appeared that Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay had clinched the takeover of the Daily Telegraph, after it was announced that they had cut a deal with former Hollinger boss for a knockdown 260m.
However, this was overturned last week by a US court, which deemed that Lord Black had no right to sell the newspapers.
And the Barclay brothers have now officially withdrawn their offer for Black’s Hollinger Inc. assets.
It is not yet known whether the brothers want the Daily Telegraph enough to put their names forward for an open auction.
One thing is sure however - with their empire turning over 6bn a year, they have the money for any fight.
In addition to the Scotsman newspaper they own the Ritz hotel and Littlewoods retail group.
Providence Equity
Providence Equity is a US private investment firm said to be interested in buying the Hollinger International titles.
Based in the east coast state of Rhode Island, but with offices in New York and London, it manages investments totalling more than $5bn (2.7bn).
A bid for the newspapers would however mark something of new departure for the firm, as although it has invested in book and magazine publisher F&Q Publications, Providence mainly specialises in the technology sectors, investing in everything from mobile phones to cabling.
Providence says its target investment per transaction is $10m to $500m.
Daily Mail and General Trust
Charles Sinclair is said to be a tough operator
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Like Richard Desmond, the Daily Mail and General Trust, owner of the Daily Mail and Evening Standard, made a bid for the Hollinger International’s titles the first time around.
Its 550m bid was in conjunction with finance firm Cinven and the Berry family, the previous owners of the Daily Telegraph.
It is not yet known whether the Daily Mail and General Trust, led by chief executive Charles Sinclair will make another offer.
At least politically the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph would be a perfect fit, with each seeking to represent the views of Conservative-supporting middle England.
Incorporated in 1922 the Daily Mail and General Trust is one of the oldest media companies in the UK.
Candover
UK private equity firm Candover was one of the other first time bidders for the Daily Telegraph and other Hollinger International titles.
Its bid is said to be together with a management team at the Telegraph and has also been connected with Jeremy Deedes, a consultant to the paper, and the former Telegraph editor Charles Moore.
Established in London in 1980, it today also has sister offices in Paris and Dusseldorf.
To date it says it has invested in 120 deals with a total value of more than 16.7bn.
It adds that it looks “to work with businesses that have high quality management, a strong market position and excellent growth potential”.
Blackstone
American private equity firm Blackstone is led by hard-hitting New York businessman Peter Peterson.
Peter Peterson certainly has impressive connections
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A former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, he founded Blackstone in 1985.
Prior to that, back in the early 1970s, he was President Richard Nixon’s Assistant for International Economic Affairs.
Such a CV is indicative of Mr Peterson’s clout, and he may have his eye primarily on Hollinger International’s Chicago Sun-Times.
3i
London-based 3i describes itself as a “world leader in venture capital and private equity”, and it certainly has operations around the world.
Another of the original bidders for the Daily Telegraph, it is also not known whether it will bid again.
However, as recently as December it paid 46m for the Northern Ireland titles of Trinity Mirror, such as the Belfast News Letter, and 3i may now have a real taste for buying newspapers.
It is said to be seeking the advise of former Mirror group chief executive David Montgomery regarding its interest in the Daily Telegraph.
Apax
Apax was, after 3i and Candover, the third UK private equity firm to make a bid for the Daily Telegraph first time around.
Based in London, it says it has a 30 year track record “of working with entrepreneurs to build internationally successful companies from early stage investment to management buyouts is exceptional”.
To date it has raised and advised on deals worth more than 6.5bn.
Tribune
Tribune boss Dennis FitzSimons
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Tribune is an American newspaper institution.
Founded back in 1847, its titles include the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.
Ownership of the latter title suggests it may have its eyes on Chicago Sun-Times.
It also owns 26 television stations, and claims to reach 80% of US households.
The company is led by Dennis FitzSimons.
Washington Post
The Washington Post Company is the parent group of the newspaper of the same name.
It also owns Newsweek magazine and television stations in Detroit, Houston, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio and Jacksonville.
Led by Don Graham, the grandson of company founder Eugene Meyer, it says it aims to provide four things - high-quality publications and services, excellent returns to shareholders, strong support to the communities where it does business, and a good place to work.
It may also be keen to get its hands on the Chicago Sun-Times.
Gannett
Gannett owns USA Today
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Another American newspaper giant and owner of USA Today, the nation’s largest-selling daily paper.
Gannett also has a number of operations across the world, owning Newsquest in the UK, the country’s second largest regional newspaper group.
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A former IT worker at Aberystwyth University has been jailed for eight months at Swansea Crown Court after admitting 22 child porn offences.
Mark Haskell-Cooper, 44, pleaded guilty to offences including making CDs and possessing indecent images of children.
The crimes dated back to October 1999, but most related to one day in June 2002 when he put the images onto a CD.
The court heard that Haskell-Cooper had been sacked by the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Paul Hobson, prosecuting, said police searched Haskell-Cooper’s home at Bronant, near Aberystwyth, and confiscated his computer and a number of CDs.
The court was told that the CDs contained 1,072 indecent images of children - some as young as four. Ten of the images fell into the most serious porn category.
Emails
Mr Hobson said Haskell-Cooper had copied the images onto discs so that he could place them on his computer after it had been upgraded.
The court heard that during police interviews Haskell-Cooper, a part-time table tennis coach, said he was interested in adult porn and had been sent the porn images in e-mails.
Haskell-Cooper told police: “Maybe I have a problem somewhere that I am not aware of.
“Deep down I don’t like this stuff. I would never harm a kid. Perhaps I deserve to hang.”
Christopher Howells, for Haskell-Cooper, said his client had no control of the images being sent to him but he had kept them.
Judge Gerald Price told Haskell-Cooper his was not a victimless crime and it was necessary to pass a sentence which included an element of deterrent to others.
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