Issue No. 46March - April 2010

Village Voice

The newsletter of Bottesford, Easthorpe, Muston & Normanton

Bottesford C of E Primary School gets thumbs-up from Ofsted

As a result of a recent inspection on 26

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January 2010, Ofsted judged Bottesford Church of EnglandPrimary School to be a GOOD school that provides a good quality of education and where theOUTSTANDING spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is a particular strength.

Ofsted acknowledged that ‘pupils of all abilities and from all backgrounds, including those with additional needs, makegood overall progress.’ They recognised that ‘pupils are well prepared for the future as pupils have good attendance,generally have high level of basic skills and good levels of confidence.’ Pastoral care is a particular strength and theystate that the school promotes community cohesion very well with some very strong elements. Mixed age provision andteaching was also highlighted as particularly effective.The school is very pleased with the outcomes which recognised and celebrated what they do well and confirmed areasfor further improvement. The headteacher Louise McGrory says the outcome of the report is a direct result of all mem-bers of the school community working closely together: staff, children, governors and parents, and she would like tothank everyone for their commitment and support.

Local residents make the most of theJanuary snow on our beautiful Beacon Hill

We have all had a bitterly cold winter and, unusually, a white Christ-mas. Although this was an inconvenience to most of us at somepoint, there was also an opportunity to take advantage of the bigfreeze and have some fun for many members of our community!Thanks go to Melton Borough Council and the Post Office for main-taining an efficient refuse collection and postal service, and to theParish Council for keeping important pavements clear.Spring is just around the corner!

Bottesford CE Primary Headteacher, Louise McGrory

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Folk music coming to the VC Hall

Internationally famous guitarist Reg Meuross will be performing, with BethanyPorter, in the Village Hall on Saturday 17th April 7.30pm. Reg is a gifted song-writer and singer, Bethany is a singer who also plays cello and ukulele.The hall will be arranged ‘cabaret style’, so feel free to bring your own nibblesand wine or purchase a bottle from the bar. Glasses will be provided. Tables willbe allocated on a 'first come first served' basis, so if you want to make sure youcan sit with your friends - come early.Tickets £8 from the Deli and Spar shop, as well as Sue Middleton on 842215.

“

Not forgetting…..”

Volunteers of the Bottesford Heritage Project are delighted with all the local sup-port for this book which is on sale at Bottesford Library and the Spar Shop.Meanwhile, the project’s websitewww.bottesfordhistory.org.uk continues toflourish and has so far received 56,000 visitors from 103 countries, and currentlyaverages 100 visits per day !

Would you like to share your memories of V.E. or V.J. dayin Bottesford?

The Second World War ended 65 years ago. The Heritage project would like tofind out how Bottesford marked the event so please get in touch with Neil Forteyon 843320 or Sue Middleton on 842215.

News from Friends of Bottesford C of E Primary School

The start of the new academic year saw the AGM for Friends and with an enthu-siastic bunch of 12 volunteer parents they began the job of meeting the School’s ‘Wish List’. The list is compiled by pupils, teachers and support staff for itemswhich can enhance the learning environment but are not met by schools funds.The next major event will be the Scarecrow Festival over the weekend of 12thand 13th June. The pupils are currently deciding the theme for this year and,will be posting it on their websitewww.bottesford.leics.sch.uk The new ongoing fundraiser is viawww.easyfundraising.comwhich enables do-nations from leading high street shops to be made to Friends. By simply loggingon, donations are made on every purchase you make. This is a simple way tocontinue to support the primary school even if your child no longer attends.

Annual Gala (3rd May) includes new attractions

The May Day Gala volunteer committee has been strengthened this year withrepresentation from the Parish Council and the Lions President. New attractionshave also been added including an 8.5 metre climbing wall and a human Ham-ster Wheel. Updates will be posted onhttp://www.gala.bottesford.org.uk/. If you have ideas or can offer your support please contact the committee.The Gala will be started by the May Queen procession from Winterbeck Ind. Es-tate at

10.30 (note the time change)

travelling along the High Street and thegala will be officially opened at 11am.

Other events on Bank Holiday weekend …

…. include events at St. Mary’s church; the Art Society Show at the MethodistChapel; Friends and Football Club Family Disco; and the Rosie May Dance Com-petition at the High School.

BLOT—Belvoir Locals Oppose Turbines

The BLOTTERY Draw raised £4,600 from the draw in late 2009. Winners of thefirst 3 prizes were 1st, Ian of Bottesford; 2

, Graham of Bottesford; 3rd, John of Normanton. The full list can be seen atwww.blot-online.org/. As Village Voice goes to press the Public Enquiry is underway at the VC hall. Ithas been well attended by local residents. Both BLOT and Melton Borough Coun-cil are against the siting of turbines close to our villages, and their evidence aimsto persuade Her Majesty’s Inspector to reject the planning application by Ridge-Wind. We await the results!

For details of the Catholic Church, Grantham, telephone 01476 563935

Football coaching success story

Emma Seymour

, a pupil at Nottingham’s Becket School, has recently success-fully completed the Football Association Level 1 Coaching award. The coursetook place at Dayncourt School in Radcliffe-on-Trent over several evenings andweekends in the autumn. To pass the course Emma had to plan and lead a va-riety of coaching sessions and keep a log book of everything she did, includinglearning about first aid and child protection laws.Emma’s motivation for gaining this qualification was to develop her work withthe Under 7s group that she trains at Belvoir High School on Saturday mornings.The sessions last from 9.45 till 11.00 and are open to all children under 7 whowant to learn to play football and have some fun. If your child would like tohave a go, just turn up at the school and talk to Emma.Congratulations Emma!Fair Mobility is a charity providing mobility to

the disabled at major events andattractions throughout the East Midlands. Based in Bottesford it is run by Ann & Barry Voce who founded and registered Fair Mobility as a charity over 10 yearsago.They provide a choice of three and four-wheeled electric scooters, powerchairsand manual wheelchairs for hire, giving people the opportunity to explore out-side events in comfort and they ask for a daily hire donation towards runningcosts.Fair Mobility helps over 2,500 people each year and wants to have a presence atmore events. You can pre-book a scooter for an event by ringing 01949 845189

or sending an e-mail toinfo@fair-mobility.org.uk . ID is required initially.More information is available onwww.fair-mobility.org.uk . As a Registered Charity they are depend-ant on donations, and also appreciativeof volunteer help in the running of thisoperation, including office work and ve-hicle maintenance. If you have a littlefree time, please get in touch for moreinformation.