Twyford

The Hurst Horse Show and Country Fayre is a unique annual event held in the centre of Hurst nr Twyford, Berkshire, that runs for two full days in June. Now in its 27th year the 2006 show will take place over the weekend of 24th and 25th June.

It is a true village show that takes its support from all members of the local community and gives back generous support to those deserving causes within the village and the local community. This year the show promises an abundance of fun packed attractions which will appeal to young and old.

There will once again be a full two day schedule of Show Jumping Events including Clear Round jumping and a musical ride display. The schedule can be downloaded here.

Adding an authentic rural feel to the show will be the country corner with displays of traditional country crafts including pottery and willow sculptures, and what promises to be one of the highlights of this year's show, a scarecrow competition!

A packed programme of arena events will feature Morris Dancing, dog displays, birds of prey, tug of war, Terrier racing and a myriad of other attractions whilst the colourful cacophony of side stalls, face painting, bouncy castle, bar and refreshments will ensure that there is wall to wall entertainment for all the family. Last year's show attracted record crowds and the organisers hope this years show will be even more spectacular, so do come along on both days to ensure you don't miss any of the fun!

Over the years the Horse Show has raised many thousands of pounds, mainly for local charities. St Nicholas Primary School has always been the principal beneficiary receiving around half the proceeds, and it is currently raising money for an ambitious playground refurbishment project. The show is also a stalwart supporter of the local scout and guide movements, the Wokingham Red Diamonds Sports for the disabled, St Nicholas Playgroup, Hurst Village Halls and St Nicholas Church restoration fund. Each year proceeds from the show are distributed amongst these and many other worthy causes.

Hurst Horse Show

This week local Twyford MP Theresa May launched a new website dedicated to the campaign for better rail services for Maidenhead, Twyford and the two branch lines. It includes an on-line petition against the devastating cuts that are planned for December 2006.

Theresa commented; “Over the last week I have been inundated with complaints over these devastating cuts and hundreds of local commuters have signed my on-line petition. We now have a small window of opportunity before the consultation closes on 10th March and I am determined to bring as much pressure to bear as possible. I urge local commuters to visit www.saveourrtrains.com and sign the petition against these cuts.

“Next Tuesday I am meeting Derek Twigg MP, the Transport Minister, to ensure that he is fully aware of the strength of opposition to this further reduction in the services we receive. By working together as a community, strengthened by the Advertiser’s excellent campaign, I am confident that we can mitigate the impact of these cuts which present such a serious threat to our area.”

Take Action Now

Join the Twyford campaign and help to save our Twyford rail services.

What you can do:

1) Sign the online petition

2) E-mail the Transport Minister directly at Derek.Twigg@dft.gsi.gov.uk

3) Take part in First Great Western's consultation process by e-mailing tt06@firstgroup.com

Network Rail appear to be preventing First Great Western from running more fast trains in order to improve the performance of long-distance intercity services.

This is unacceptable.

Remarkably, Network Rail refuse to accept complaints by e-mail, but John Armitt, their Chief Executive, can be contacted at Network Rail, 40 Melton Street, London, NW1 2EE

Twyford

Plans to reduce the number of trains between Maidenhead, Twyford and Paddington will have a "catastrophic effect" on commuters, an MP claimed this week.

First Great Western Link confirmed this week it will reduce trains to and from Twyford & Maidenhead during the peak periods of travelling.

Commuters can study a draft Twyford timetable on the company web-site and make comments. The consultation period lasts until Wednesday, March 8.

But Maidenhead MP Theresa May slammed the proposals to reduce services, particularly fast trains.

Speaking after a meeting with Alison Forster, managing director of First Great Western Link, Mrs May described the proposals as a "body blow" for the area.

She said: "Almost all of the improvements we have won over the past year have been swept away. There will now be fewer trains than ever before, which will undoubtedly lead to more overcrowding and force more people to return to their cars. These announcements will have a catastrophic effect on the quality of life enjoyed by local commuters."

First Great Western Link - which had already been operating Maidenhead-Paddington trains - successfully competed for the franchise in December last year. It made the bid alongside its sister company, First Great Western. The two will merge with Wessex trains and the three will form the Greater Western franchise from April 1.

The company is now inviting comments from rail travellers before introducing the new timetable in December 2006.

Mrs May said that First Great Western Link had been stopped from substantially increasing the number of fast trains and semi-fast trains from Maidenhead. But the Department of Transport and Network Rail rejected these improvements.

She added: "Maidenhead, Twyford and the two main branch lines are significant parts of the Greater Western network, they generate a huge amount of revenue and this grossly inferior service is not acceptable."

Mrs May said that she planned to meet with the Transport Minister in two weeks time. She called on local people to send her their views on her e-mail address, mayt@parliament.uk.

A spokesman for First Great Western Link said there would be fewer fast trains. But he added: "But we will be increasing the train's line speed, so what trains there are will be going faster."

He said they were really keen to find out the views of rail travellers and they should contact First Great Western on e-mail address tt06@firstgroup.com

icBerkshire ~ Twyford

The Piggott School in Wargrave, near Twyford is celebrating this month after being awarded an additional specialist status in humanities, by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) – the first school in the Wokingham district to achieve more than one specialism.

And, it was a case of a double celebration too, as the school was also re-designated as a language college for a further four years. The school has also been asked to take a leading role in offering advice to other schools locally and nationally. Key members of staff are regularly invited to give presentations on the success of the Piggott School as a language college.

Since becoming a language college in 2001, the school has achieved highly in all subjects and has developed an international dimension, which has gained recognition both nationally and worldwide. Through innovative curriculum projects, undertaken in science, food technology and design technology (to name just a few), an international element has been incorporated into all subject areas linking classes to schools in another country to work on similar projects. So far, the Piggott School, Wargrave, Twyford is in regular contact with schools in over 40 countries across the world including Latvia, Japan and Peru.

Year groups have also been assigned a continent of the world and each year they undertake a project and conduct an assembly for the whole school to learn more about particular countries. Students at the Piggott School are able to communicate with students from different countries using a number of different mediums such as video-conferencing, web-cams and email.

The government announced in December 2005 that the Piggott School, Wargrave, Twyford had been granted a second humanities specialism in English and geography from March 2006. This status brings an additional £90,000 per year in grant funding for the school over the next four years. The funding will strengthen English and geography teaching and will provide a more diverse and enriched curriculum improving literacy and communication skills for all students across all subjects.

The , Wargrave, Twyford school will also extend its already excellent working partnership with primary and secondary schools in the Wokingham district and will continue to share good practice with schools nationally through its work with the other specialist schools and academies trust.

Community links will continue to thrive and there are already well-established links with the adult education community programme, which will now be extended to include daytime classes. Some local businesses are already taking advantage of the translation facilities on offer at the school and students are being sponsored by forward thinking local companies who recognise the benefits of supporting young talent, the workforce of tomorrow.

Headteacher Dr Keith Atton said: “We are delighted to have received Department for Education and Skills agreement for our future plans. This is an exciting opportunity to further develop what we offer to our students and our local community”

Wokingham District Council’s executive member for children’s services Cllr Frank Browne said: “Dual specialist status is an asset not only to the pupils at the school, both current and future, but to the local community and businesses too who can take advantage of this status. The international dimension at the school is very interesting and I am impressed with how the school encourages their students to have links with other pupils around the world.

“The Piggott School is the first in the Wokingham district to have achieved dual specialism and is a real credit to all those who have been involved with the bid. This is well-deserved recognition for all students, teachers and support staff at the school. I want to congratulate the school on its success on attracting a further specialist dimension.”

Wokingham District Council ~ Twyford