The Bradley Stoke Journal

Breakfast presenters Bush and Troy from Heart Radio are fronting a day of celebrations at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre tomorrow (Sunday 1st November).

The centre is marking the 10th anniversary of its opening with a day of events that also includes performances by the Kamon Kung Fu group and the Fahrenheit dancers.

Free activities throughout the day will include a bouncy castle, velcro wall, surfboard simulator, children’s entertainer and a face painter.

Members of the public will be invited to show off their fancy footwork in a penalty shoot out, with the winner being rewarded with free centre membership.

The Heart Angels will be there too with the chance to win even more energizing prizes, including free entry to fitness classes and swimming.

Events get under way at 10am and run through until 4pm, with Bush and Troy appearing between 1 and 3pm.

More info: Schedule of Events [PDF, 177KB]

Related links:

• What’s On in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
• Sport and Leisure in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)

The recent relocation of all Bradley Stoke youth clubs to the Brook Way Activity Centre has led to a “confrontation” between youth workers and members of a local netball club (believed to be The Black and Blues), according to Bradley Stoke Town Council.

The news is revealed in the recently published ‘draft’ minutes of a meeting of the Council’s Finance and Leisure Committee, held on Wednesday 21st October.

The committee chose to discuss an agenda item entitled ‘Community Centre Usage’ in closed session, meaning that the press and public were excluded from proceedings.

The minutes reveal that the confrontation occurred on 7th October, the first Wednesday after the youth club relocation on Monday 5th October.

The incident appears to have centred around  netballers entering the centre to shelter from bad weather and organise sign ups for the new season.

Youth workers “mindful of [child protection] legislation” are said to have expressed concern over the large number of netballers in the building alongside “the youth” (as the Town Clerk affectionately refers to the young people of our town).

Council members heard that the youth club may have been understaffed on the night in question due to the earlier resignation of a youth leader and absence of other youth workers due to holidays.

Concern was expressed over the general lack of youth supervision and a report that “boys and girls had been seen emerging from the same toilets”.

The incident is said to have led to acrimonious correspondence between youth workers and the netball club over the use of the centre’s toilets.

Councillors agreed that youth workers (or any other hirers) have no right to demand terms and conditions of other hirers of the centre and that in future the netballers should use the disabled toilets, leaving the other toilets for the sole use of “the youth”.

Related links:

• Bradley Stoke Youth Clubs (The Journal)
• Netball in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)

£150 worth of vouchers up for grabs

Pets at Home is looking for a star pet to help open its brand new Bradley Stoke store at the Willow Brook Centre on Friday 6th November.

The pet care superstore has teamed up with the Bradley Stoke Journal to offer one lucky reader the chance to win £150 worth of Pets at Home vouchers.

Readers are invited to send in a picture of their pet and explain why they feel it should be crowned Bradley Stoke Pet Idol 2009!

The winning VIP (Very Important Pet) and its owner will be invited to the Willow Brook Centre on Friday 6th November to officially open the new Pets at Home Bradley Stoke store.

Click here for details of how to enter the competition and win £150 worth of Pets at Home vouchers

This week’s public meeting of the Bradley Stoke Safer and Stronger Community Group is to hear a presentation on South Gloucestershire Council’s strategy for combating fly tipping.

A representative of the Aztec Hotel & Spa is also due to explain to the meeting how the hotel contributes to the local community.

The meeting will commence with a review of progress made on priority issues agreed in July, which included anti-social behaviour at the Baileys Court shops and wheelchair access issues at the Willow Brook Centre.

The Safer and Stronger Community Group (one of 20 in South Gloucestershire) was set up as part of the Neighbourhood Policing Model and South Gloucestershire Council’s Community Engagement initiative.

Participants include people who live and work in the area and representatives from the local police, Avon Fire & Rescue, NHS South Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire Council, Bradley Stoke Town Council, Southern Brooks Community Partnership and other local organisations.

The group now has its own website, where meeting agendas and minutes can be found, along with other useful community information.

This week’s meeting take place at the Baileys Court Activity Centre, Baileys Court Road on Tuesday (27th October), starting at 7pm.

Related links:

• Agenda for the 27th October 2009 meeting [MS Word]
• Minutes of the 21st July 2009 meeting [MS Word]

Students looking to embark upon courses at Bradley Stoke Community School’s (BSCS) new sixth form, due to open in September next year, have been asked to indicate their likely subject choices.

Questionnaires distributed at last week’s post-16 open evening were due to be handed in today, to help the school plan the range of courses to be offered.

A provisional list of 52 possible Level 3 (e.g. A-level & BTEC) courses was distributed at the meeting, from which students were asked to select up to four subjects plus a further ‘reserve’.

Courses will be run jointly with other schools in the Concorde Partnership’s southern area , namely Filton High School, Filton College and Patchway Community College.

Students have been told they must obtain five GCSEs at grade C or above in order to enrol on Level 3 courses, with a grade B in any subject they wish to follow.

The centre will also offer a limited number of Level 2 (e.g. GCSE)  courses as part of a ‘Consolidation Programme’ for students who need to re-sit GCSEs or develop their skills in new areas.

A final list of courses to be offered will be published by December and the deadline for applications has been provisionally set as 25th January 2010.

Students attending the centre will be eligible to apply for the government’s Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA), worth up to £30 per week (dependent on household income).

Building firm Thomas Vale Construction reports that work on the new post-16 centre is running slightly ahead of schedule due to the recent good weather. The company currently plans to hand over the completed building on 14th June 2010.