Cheriton Bishop Community Primary School

Snippets from the Classroom and Beyond

No W77 May 2009

I’m afraid I have no pictures from the school this month so I dug around a bit and found this old photograph of the New Inn – predecessor of The Sir John Devenish, aka The Goodknight Inn aka The Mulberry. It seems hard to visualise it now but this was the local pub until 1968 when the new building was completed. The porch of the Old Toll House is on the left which gives the general position of the pub. What is now called Church Lane goes down the hill immediately behind the Road Roller i.e. on this side of the Inn. Access to the Yeoford Road is on the other side of the Inn. The main road is still the A30 which, as you can just make out, makes a bit of a chicane past the pub. Checkers garage is just to the right of the vehicle beyond the pub. As a result of demolishing the New Inn the authorities could straighten the A30 to make it “safer”. Just ten years later the dual carriageway reached Cheriton Bishop – was it worth it? At least the chicane added a bit of character to the top road! The rest of the space occupied by the New Inn and its car park is now taken up by the War Memorial and Woodpecker Way. Behind the Sir John Devenish being built on the right was still fields – Hescane Park was still some way in the future.

I hope you all had a good Easter break and that the children are all reinvigorated, ready for the fray and the world of learning in this summer term.

Now, I want to have another little rant. How I get to ranting so frequently these days I don’t know. Perhaps I am growing in to a Grumpy Old Man! Anyway, this month’s rant is about usage of mobile phones in cars. In addition to White Van Man I now find myself noting that the most frequent offenders of this law are parents picking up or setting down children at the school. Come on now, We have seen time and time again the horrific accidents attributable to using the phone whilst driving, so why do we do it? Surely we can stop our vehicles long enough to make a phone call. To drive with one hand whilst making a call with the other and with a child on board must register as criminally insane! Let’s make our roads safer and only use the mobile phone for phoning out in an emergency and when the vehicle is stopped. This month’s rant is now over.

Here is some good news. The dates of 18^th to 22^nd May inclusive are being designated “Walk to School Week”. Let’s see a good turn out supporting the Walking Bus. It departs from the Mulberry car park at 0830 in the morning and leaves school at 1530 in the afternoon. There should be no excuses to avoid it.

We’ve got a couple of stars at the school. Georgina Tully has been selected to ride at the Royal London Horse Show in September and Elsa Amiss is due to appear on Blue Peter to talk about the success of her Duck Egg business. Well done and congratulations to Georgina and Elsa.

Looking now at the sporting scene there were a couple of results that were reported just after the newsletter went to press. Just before the end of term the school participated in the Crediton Area Schools Football and Netball Tournaments. The Year3/4 football team came third in their group whilst the Year 5/6 team weren’t placed despite putting in some spirited performances. The netball team selected from years 4, 5 and 6 came top of their group, unbeaten throughout the competition. The final match was a really nail-biting event going from being 0-3 down to winning 7-4. Well done to all you young sportsmen and women, your efforts are really appreciated. This term has CB hosting a Small Schools’ Netball tournament on 1^st May , a tag rugby tournament on 19^th May ( details unavailable at the moment) and a football tournament on 4^th June. It looks like a busy season ahead!

I spotted a Walking Bus when there wasn’t one scheduled the other day. It transpire that it was the children of Year 2 returning from Exeter Cathedral and Year 4 returning from the Synagogue in Exeter. This is all part of “Multicultural RE” for the children and can only be a force for good in understanding how different faiths conduct their business. It was also super to see them all walking back to school from the main road and all in proper school uniform.

At a recent Assembly, the children were joined by the Play Group as part of a scheme to make them aware of what goes on in school. Play Group will be using the school premises increasingly and it is hoped that a greater degree of co-location will be of benefit to both parties. Don’t forget about the parking though!!

The Easter Service held in St. Mary’s Church was a delightful affair and was enjoyed by all and the display of Easter Bonnets was marvellous.

So, what have we got in the diary?

1^st May – Small Schools Netball Tournament – CB

19^th May – Tag Rugby Tournament

4^th June – Football Tournament - CB

17^th June – Walking Bus Guinness World Record attempt through BRAKE

17^th July – Sports Afternoon

21^st July – Valedictory Service – St Mary’s Church

21^st July – End of Summer Term

That’s all about the school for this issue. I would now like to update you all with regard to the Dartmoor Railway. As some of you might know, services between Okehampton and Meldon Quarry restarted again after an hiatus lasting for a year. The Thumper unit, pictured at Okehampton on Easter Saturday, was looking absolutely resplendent in it’s fine new coat of paint and refurbished interior. All who rode on the unit over the Easter extended weekend were most complimentary about it. Throughout the weekend there was a steady stream of visitors taking advantage of the service, and, of course, availing themselves of the food on offer at the Bulleid Buffet at the station. The next step will be the extension of the service to Yeoford due to start on 23^rd May. This depends on progress with Yeoford station. The Dartmoor Railway will then become integrated with the Council sponsored Dartmoor Rover with users changing trains at Yeoford from the First Great Western Barnstaple – Exeter service. In the meantime services to Meldon will continue on Saturdays and Sundays and Monday 4^th May (Bank Holiday). More volunteers are required across a plethora of activities. If you are interested then get in contact with me and I can point you in the right direction. Over the last year it was a team of volunteers who did all the refurbishment on the Thumper unit! The Dartmoor Railway website can be found at www.dartmoor-railway.co.uk

PGR