Parents and pupils at Sheldon School in Chippen-ham have been consulted on a new dress code for sixth formers, as the school tightens up what students can wear. Head of sixth form Michael Seeley said: “We are an 11 to 18 school, not a sixth form
People can join the Drews Pond Wood Project and Wiltshire Ornithological Society for an early morning walk around the Devizes nature reserve on Saturday to celebrate Dawn Chorus Weekend. Starting at 5.30am, experts leading the 90-minute walk will
Sewage back-up is causing a problem in North Newnton where villagers have been battling for 15 years with Wessex Water to get the problem resolved. The issue came to a head again during a public meeting between 50 residents, Wessex Water and Environment
Devizes woman Chrissy Leonard-Wilson’s head attire has been raising laughs as well as money for two young burns victims in Uganda. Ms Leonard-Wilson, 63, was moved by the plight of youngsters badly burned as infants and is raising money for a boy
Traffic will be re-routed through Marlborough during overnight resurfacing work on the M4. The Highways Agency hopes the road improvements will give drivers a smoother ride but the work means closing a key section of the road. At the moment
Sainsbury’s in Calne has raised £214.95 towards an extension for the town’s Scout hut by selling hundreds of knitted Easter creatures over the holiday period. Staff at the store in The Pippin chose the Calne Scouts as its charity of the year last
John Hurst, a longtime resident of Milbourne, near Malmesbury, and a teacher in Swindon for 27 years, has died suddenly. He was 69. Mr Hurst was born in Exeter, the only child of Stan and Vera Hurst. His father was a professional footballer.
Lavender Davy, the former professional actress who became a stalwart of the community of West Lavington, near Devizes, has died after a brief illness. Mrs Davy, born in Bishop Waltham, Hampshire, spent her early childhood years in London during
ABOUT 300 Scouts from the Wiltshire North District packed out the Church of the Holy Cross at Sherston for a St George’s service and parade. Heavy rain affected Sunday’s parade, which was shortened, but Scouts groups, dressed in uniforms and carrying
Healthwatch Wiltshire is inviting people to have their say on the draft Dementia Strategy. Two events have been organised for people to give their views: on Monday, May 12, at the Neeld Hall, Chippenham, from 10.30am to 12.30pm; and on Tuesday,
Shoppers who like to buy online can boost the coffers of Devizes Opportunity Centre in just a few clicks. Consumers can help our Give Us A Chance Appeal by signing up with Give As You Live which works with 3,518 stores which have pledged to pay
Mum Sarah Morgan, whose five-year-old son, Finlay, was born weighing less than a bag of sugar, is helping people band together to support our Give Us A Chance Appeal. Miss Morgan, 26, of Hewitt Court, Devizes, has had a batch of wristbands made
Flood-hit Malmesbury Vics Football Club could benefit from a grant from Malmesbury Town Council towards fundraising ventures, if approved by councillors. Initial plans to give the club a six-month rent holiday worth £750 have been scrapped in favour
The force was strong in Corsham on Saturday, as Darth Vader Dave Prowse joined thousands of fans for the annual Sci-Fi Fun Day. The Bristolian actor played the iconic villain in the original film trilogy and was guest of honour at the event, which
Town councillors in Devizes have agreed that residents of Roundway parish can have an allotment, should any be vacant. Devizes residents have always taken priority at the Quakers Walk and Windsor Drive allotments, but the council’s recreation and
A landmark discovery has shed new light on the origins of life in Britain - with archaeologists confident they finally know the identity of the country's oldest town, in Wiltshire. It had long been believed that Thatcham in Berkshire was the oldest
BOX-based animator Richard Bazley has hundreds of years of history to plunder for his latest project, which he hopes will entertain children on both sides of the Atlantic. The former Disney animator, who worked on Pocahontas and Hercules before
Pioneering flexible bus services between Devizes and the Pewsey Vale are set to become fixed routes but some villages will lose their service all together. Wiltshire Council is proposing major changes to the Connect2 Wiltshire bus services, which
Campaigners in Gastard say they were jumping for joy last week when council planners sided with them after a two-year campaign. Holistic therapist Shelley Harrop was among residents opposed to a plan by Octavian Vaults for a wine storage warehouse
Extreme sport enthusiasts showed off their skills in the first round of this year’s Wiltshire Skate Series. RampNation, the indoor skate park in Devizes, hosted the event on Saturday, as more than 70 enthusiasts took part. Skateboarders, inliners
An oil leak into the engine is believed to be the cause of the dramatic bus fire in Marlborough High Street on Monday morning. Stagecoach launched an investigation into the incident, which happened at 8.30am outside Lloyd’s Bank, and believe a
Real ale fan Rory Audsley-Spence is keen to transform the New Inn in Chippenham into a co-operative. The Punch Taverns pub, next to the post office in New Road, is up for sale and Mr Audsley-Spence is gathering interest in the area to make a community
ORGANISERS of Urchfont’s annual scarecrow trail have revealed the overall theme for this weekend’s event. They keep it under wraps until the last minute, for fear of spoilers, but have announced the central topic will be Myths and Legends, which
Singing teacher and founder of White Horse Opera, Geraldine Roche, has come up with an entertaining way of celebrating her 70th birthday. Ms Roche, who lives in Victoria Road, Devizes, has called on all of her talented friends and the worlds of
Air cadet Ben Cockrem has set his sights set on a career in the RAF after winning a coveted award. Ben, 16, of Massey Road, Devizes, who is in the lower sixth at St John’s School, Marlborough, was among ten chosen from 100 hopefuls who applied
Wiltshire College acting principal Amanda Burnside says it will be offering outstanding provision in five years’ time. She was speaking after Ofsted inspectors ruled Wiltshire College requires improvement. It is the third successive time the
Wiltshire College’s vice-principal Ben Allen claimed yesterday that principal Di Dale is “off sick” but the Gazette understands she is in in negotiations with college governors over a severance deal from her £147,000-a-year post. Mr Allen refused
Wiltshire Council is offering free market pitches to schools and individuals, as part of the Love your Local Market Campaign, which runs from May 14-28. It is hoped to encourage people to try out their business ideas and experience the benefits
TO maximise distance you need to be able to create clubhead speed. A great way to get the feeling of moving the club quickly is to try swinging one-handed. Turn the club upside down so that you are holding the shaft just above the head.
Staff at the Co-operative Food store in Calne have come top of the charts in their bid to raise funds for the Carers Trust, the UK’s largest charity for carers. The store, in Mill Street, has raised £4,354 for the charity through raffles and themed
Songs that rang out through First World War trenches were heard again in Colerne on Monday. Sixty older people from across Wiltshire visited Colerne Primary School for a project organised by the Golden Oldies charity. Founder Grenville Jones
There was something deeply moving about many aspects of ‘Farmer’ Jack Spencer’s funeral in Langley Burrell church last week. His family were proud of his service on D-Day and nine months thereafter without putting his rifle down; they were glad
Relive the glory of Frank Sinatra at a show at The Cause in Chippenham on Sunday, Sinatra The Movie Years, with award-winning performer Robert Habermann. Robert tells the story of Sinatra’s life accompanied by musical director/pianist Trevor Brown
So, at last, the hi-tech world comes to Bradford on Avon. Howard Shelley, the breathtakingly urbane pianist-director of this down-to-earth collection of astoundingly gifted musicians dazzled everyone with a sublime performance of Haydn’s Piano
It is hard to imagine a musical with a more British feel than Betty Blue Eyes, and this show captures everything that is good about theatre in this country. Based on Alan Bennett’s A Private Function, this co-production by Salisbury Playhouse,
When I tell visitors about the high-tech businesses in our part of Wiltshire it sometimes comes as a surprise, but hidden – often on the edge of our towns – are businesses which help our economy grow and provide high-skilled jobs. Last Friday,
This week we came back to Parliament for late-night sittings to ensure the passage of the Bill that paves the way for the construction of the high-speed rail link that will connect eight out of ten of Britain’s largest cities, and is the first new
MY first experience of G&S was when I was taken, aged about ten, by my parents to see a local amateur operatic group. I thought then what a jolly lot they were and the cheerful music has been with me ever since. All the performances since have
The 33rd St George’s Day 10k run in Corsham proved so popular that organisers had to turn away people on the day as there were not enough places. Paralympic swimmer Stephanie Millward started the race at Corsham Football Club and winner Simon Nott
Half a FlyMo lawnmower, a traffic cone and a pair of trousers were among the 31-bag haul of rubbish retrieved from the towpath of the Kennet and Avon Canal in Devizes this week by volunteers from Marks & Spencer. Twenty-one members of staff
Devizes Police are seeking a man – described as 5ft 6in tall, wearing a padded brown jacket and grey trousers – who tried to break in via the patio doors of a house in Broadleas Park at 9am on Sunday. He ran off when challenged by the householder
Choreographed by ITV’s Dancing on Ice head judge Robin Cousins, I knew this was going to be special. It turns out the TV cannot come close to the thrill of actually hearing the slice of the skates and seeing slivers of ice shoot into the air.
A community project helping to transform the Waiblingen Way area of Devizes is in the running for a national award. The project, a partnership with housing association Aster Communities and the Waiblingen Way Community and Neighbourhood Watch Group
WILTSHIRE men’s representative team lost in their annual seasonal opener against Swindon & District Bowls Association going down by 11 shots last Sunday. The Moonrakers side under the leadership of 2014 president Dave Richards (Trowbridge Westbourne
Civil servant Chris Tong is to cycle 420 miles to raise money in memory of a little girl who shared his love of singing. Jemima Prees from Colerne died in a skiing accident in February 2012 but her memory has been kept alive by her parents, who
Police were called to a crash involving three cars on the junction of the A361 at the junction for Blacklands and Bishops Cannings at 8.25am this morning. Minor injuries wer suffered and the occupants of the cars – a VW Passat, Ford Fiesta and
WOOTTON Bassett Town brought the curtain down on their season with all three points at Brimscombe & Thrupp last night. Chris Balfe netted the only goal of the game to hand Jeff Roberts' men a 1-0 victory in Gloucestershire. Bassett have
A fire in a ground floor toilet cubicle caused disruption at Lackham College on Tuesday. The fire, reported to Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service at 1.05pm, was caused by someone setting fire to a toilet roll and the college is dealing with the
4:20pm Devizes Opportunity Centre is a fantastic place and did so much to help me and Finlay, says mum Sarah Morgan. Read more here 3:51pm TONIGHT You are invited
Devizes butchers Walter Rose & Son have again impressed judges of England’s Best Burger competition and are through to the final. The butchers, in Sidmouth Street, have achieved a gold award for their Star burger, as they did when the competition
Wiltshire has officially unveiled its first Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). The MASH is designed to build upon existing partnership work in Wiltshire to further improve the safeguarding of vulnerable people across the county. It is the
DORSET & Wilts begin their RFU County Championship Shield campaign by hosting Berkshire at Royal Wootton Bassett RFC tomorrow (3pm). The Twin Counties, winners of the competition in 2010 and 2011, kick off their campaign at Ballards Ash at
Two developers are involved in a battle to bring big name stores to Chippenham, but they are warning the town ain’t big enough for the both of them. ING Real Estate Developments and Legal & General are fighting over whether TK Maxx will come
A workshop for budding plant and garden photographers is being held on Saturday, May 10, at Lacock Abbey. The day event is being led by Philip Smith, founder and organiser of the prestigious International Garden Photographer of the Year competition
Two former Ministry of Defence aircraft hangars at Wroughton Airfield are going under the hammer at a property auction taking place in London on May 15. Eddisons Property Auctions will be offering the vacant units as separate lots. Hangar L7
