January 2002

January 2002

February 2002>>

INSPECTORS PRAISE COMPREHENSIVE
School inspectors gave Caldicot Comprehensive School a clean bill of health in its report, published following an inspection in November. The 21 inspectors spent up to five days in the school, examining all aspects of school life. The report stated that behaviour in classrooms was good and that teaching was satisfactory or better in 99% of lessons.

PUPILS JOIN FIGHT AGAINST MENINGITIS
Caldicot Comprehensive School pupil, Hilary Deacon, has organised a campaign within the school to raise awareness of meningitis and to raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation. Hilary was dangerously ill with meningitis when she was four years old. Assemblies were used to give information about the disease and £900 was raised through raffles and a non-uniform day.

POLICE OFFICERS COMMENDED
Caldicot Police Constables Andrew Smith, Chris Horne, Neil Williams and Matthew Davies were given bravery awards after dealing with an armed man. They were called to a flat in the town last August after reports that a man was threatening to kill himself. They found a drunken man armed with a loaded crossbow. The man began swinging the crossbow around, threatening the officers and barricaded himself into the kitchen. A shot was fired in the direction of the officers. Negotiators were called in and, after several hours, persuaded the man to give himself up. He was later convicted of making threats to kill and was jailed for six months.

VANDALS STRIKE AGAIN
The plague of window-smashing in Caldicot continued. Targets included the new Neptune Appliances shop on Sandy Lane, which has been attacked four times since it opened last November. Total damage to the business is approaching £2,000.

PAVILION SCHEME APPROVED
Monmouthshire County Council has given permission for the erection of a sports pavilion, with a car park and coach turning area at Rogiet playing fields. The go-ahead was granted in spite of complaint from some councillors that the building looked like a "mini Tesco".