Yesterday, at around 2:40pm, an unidentified man mounted his Hyundai i40 onto the pavement of Westminster Bridge and tragically ploughed into innocent pedestrians. He then continued his act of terror by swerving into the gates at the Houses of Parliament. He then left the vehicle, armed with a knife and stabbed an on-duty policeman who challenged him. Moments later, police shot the attacker dead within the New Palace Yard.
Police have now revised the death toll from five to four, PC Palmer, a woman believed to be Aysha Frade, a man in his 50s and the attacker. The mirror has reported that ‘at least 40 others have been injured, some with “catastrophic wounds.”
Overnight, armed police carried out raids across the UK, which has resulted in a total of eight arrests. In conclusion, investigations are ongoing into the terror attack; no other suspects have been named.
Most schools have a music department. What makes Cumnock Academy’s different from others?
Mr Anderson, Brass Instructor
What made you start playing an instrument and how old were you?
I started playing the organ/piano when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I had always sang and shown signs of being musical from a very early age so my parents encouraged it. My mum was a singer and my grandpa was also a singer. My dad played flute. At age 12 I was attending drama lessons at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Junior School when I happened to hear the symphony orchestra. I loved the sound of the brass section and went straight to school on Monday morning and asked if I could learn one. Soon brass took over the piano.
Is it important for children to play an instrument? Why?
Learning to play an instrument is extremely important for people of any age. It allows you to express feeling through music, to tell stories through music and to train your brain and personality. It’s an amazing way to learn patience, team work, dedication, commitment, punctuality, responsibility and may many more attributes. I could go on and on about it. It’s also proven to really help coordination skills as well as language and maths. Not to mention how it can help boost confidence and most importantly it’s FUN!
Teenage females living in a deprived area are 4 times more likely to experience a pregnancy. Dumfries and Galloway recorded the lowest rate of teenage pregnancy in the under 18 age group with 18.9 per 1,000 population. Whereas Fife recorded the highest rate in bother under 18’s and under 20’s age groups with rates of 31.6 and 48.4 per 1,000 people respectively. Fife is the 3rd most deprived area in Scotland whereas Dumfries and Galloway is the 27th most deprived area in Scotland according to recent records.
Back in 2005 the city of Dundee had 96.3 per 1,000 women under 20 fall pregnant which is considerably higher than the Scottish average rate in 2005 what was 57.7 per 1,000
However the strain is not just on the teen mother, most young fathers do not stay in long term or committed relations with the mother of their child this means the child is more likely to grow up without a father figure which leads to more stress on the mother which can cause, anxiety depression and an unhappy home environment. Some teenage parents can face a lot of negative opinions from family and friends and face a lot of discrimination from society. Fathers also have the right to ask for a DNA test to see if they are the biological father of the child. However pre- birth the father does not have the right to dictate medical treatments for the mother, including the mother’s decision regarding abortion.
While some people may feel that this topic is outdate teen age pregnancy is still a very modern concern. 11% of all babies worldwide are born to girls aged 15 to 19 years old. 3 million girls aged 15 to 19 undergo unsafe abortions every year as they don’t have the mean , funding or support to raise a child at such a young age. Pregnant teens have a higher risk of having high blood pressure later in life compared to women who become pregnant in their 20’s or 30’s. Teenage birth can also be dangerous for the baby not just the mother. Babies born to a teenage mother are at risk of having lower than average birth weight which may mean the babies having to be put on to a ventilator in a hospital’s neonatal care unit to assist with breathing.
The good news is that across Scotland all three age groups (under 20’s, under 18’s and under 16’s) have seen a decrease in teen pregnancies:
Under 20’s pregnancies have decreased by 40.9% going from 57.7 per 1,000 in 2007 to 34.1 per 1,000 women in 2014.
Under 18’s pregnancies have decreased by 47.3% going from 41.9 per 1,000 in 2007 to 22.1 per 1,000 women in 2014.
Under 16’s pregnancies have decreased by 45.4% going from 7.8 per 1,000 in 2007 to 4.2 per 1,000 women 2014.There are multiple teenage pregnancy support groups on the internet and in most local communities you can find some of these at http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/teenager-pregnant.aspx. However if there are no support groups in your area you can also contact the NHS by phone or email, the Samaritans or even Childline if you are under 18. There are plenty of people you can talk to, and talking with someone may help you process this stressful situation if you or someone you know is expecting a child. Support is not just for teenage mothers you can also find support for fathers here info@straighttalking.org.
East Ayrshire is seen as an impoverished area, especially when compared to the rest of the counties in Scotland. Despite this, the percentage of underage youths who have had an alcoholic drink has been in decline over the past few years, as seen by the graph below.
Although there is still vast room for improvement, a 13% reduction in both fifteen and thirteen year olds prove that the methods the council and other involved group are using are in fact working.
Some may argue that underage drinking has become part of the youth culture in Scotland, especially in rural areas where there is little to do.
The drug problem, specifically that in young people is still alive in Scotland, however it has declined drastically over the past decade.
This shows the efforts being taken are working, with more than half of 15 year olds previously having not tried drugs, and almost a third of thirteen year olds. Among both ages, however, boys are still more likely to be offered drugs, with 31% of boys having been offered drugs compared to the 22% of girls. Despite the drastic decrease teenagers are still being offered drugs, with 61% of all fifteen year olds being offered drugs in 2002 – a recent survey shows that the percentage of teens offered drugs is now 38%, showing that it has almost halved too. This again proves the efforts being taken are working, as about two thirds (67%) of thirteen year olds and fifteen year olds (68%) were shown lessons or shown DVDs and given discussions about drugs. 70% of pupils asked felt that their school was giving them enough information and support about drugs and alcohol and their dangers, however the pupils who had never used drugs seemed more likely to agree (71%) compared to pupils who’d used drugs in the past month (56%).
The school system and the council have taken every precaution when educating school pupils about the dangers and abuse of drugs, despite this though, the methadone program employed by the Scottish government has been described as “out of control” and “literally a black hole into which people are disappearing” by Dr Neil McKeganey, with data obtained by BBC Scotland showing pharmacies in Scotland were paid £17.8 million for handling almost 500,000 prescriptions.
McKeganey also said “We still don’t know the exact amount of people on the methadone programme, what progress they are making and if they are managing to come off methadone”
It is clear from even a medical standpoint that the methadone program was employed to stop the heroin addiction – it has done this to an extent but has also brought in a new addiction with methadone. Despite this however, in 2015 The Community Safety Minister Paul Wheelhouse told the BBC “Fewer Scots are taking drugs – numbers are continuing to fall amongst in the general adult population and drug taking amongst young people is the lowest in more than a decade.
Recently, however the number of under 18s in Scotland who’ve been convicted for drug offences are on the rise. More than 100 youngsters have been convicted via the drug misuse act last year, but with a ban on these psychoactive substances taking place last year in May,
90 retailers across Scotland were no longer selling these openly. Across the UK 144 people have died as a result of these legal highs with 62 deaths in Scotland in 2014 alone.
Soon, pupils from nursery school and beyond will be learning in a £62 million school. This school will include: Barshare and Greenmill primaries, Cumnock and Auchinleck academies and Hillside. The new super school will be built on Broomfield and Knockroon. The new super school has had very mixed reactions. A lot of people like it and a lot of people totally disagree with the idea. Although we are first year we will be in third year by the time the school is built. Our opinion is that the new school is a great idea but not on Broomfield as there are many other suitable places for the school to be built. We have interviewed some students and teachers to see what their opinions are.
“I think the new school is going to be really good for the community. The technical department moving in will affect me because I have to clean out my room much quicker than the other teachers.” A Science teacher.
“I think the new school is an okay idea because the other schools are falling apart.”
-Hannah L. ( S1 )
“We have to plan much further in advance because we are being moved twice. We are moving to the main building and then to the new super school, But I’m looking forward to getting new equipment.” A technical teacher
“I would change the location because lots of people use Broomfield. I learned how to ride my bike there.”
As the new ‘superschool’ – which is going to be situated in Broomfield, Cumnock – is in the design process, the long-awaited images of the plans are now available to the public. This article is based on pupils and parent’s views of the school and what they hope is included in the new school.
David Kay, the parent of a Cumnock Academy pupil, believes that the facility needs to be fully accessible to young people with a variety of needs and fully inclusive of all.
David also believes that overall the campus has a positive impact on the community as during our interview he said: “The community is fortunate to have such a state of the art facility, to be built in the middle of it which will strengthen the relationships of the young people of Cumnock and Auchinleck.”
Lucy M. – a pupil from Cumnock Academy – also believes the school should be built with disabled children in mind, for example, lowered light switches and easy access classrooms.
Lucy M., a second-year pupil who attends Cumnock Academy said “the whole reason people are against the new school is where it is being built – Broomfield, where a lot of people like to go during their spare time.” This may show the council that the public are not against the superschool, yet where it is going to be situated.
Evie S., another pupil from Cumnock Academy, believes that new state of the art facilities should be in place to help different departments thrive.
In addition, David Kay, the father of a Cumnock Academy pupil believes that locker space would be hugely beneficial from their own experience as their daughter suffers from back pain due to the heavy bag she carries around the school daily.
Also, as a Cumnock Academy pupil myself, I think a study room should be put in place, equip with computers and state of the art technology to help the students. This would be a great aid to the students to help them study especially for pupils who don’t have access to the internet or a place which is quiet and peaceful.
Another issue which the ‘superschool’ carries is that both Cumnock Academy and Auchinleck Academy are merging. This may cause some problems due to the supposed ‘rivalry’ between both schools. Lucy Menzies, a pupil from Cumnock Academy, has mixed emotions about both academies merging as the propaganda of the two academies being rivals, yet she believes a good aspect of the merger is that pupils will meet new friends.
After research, it has become apparent that included in the plans are purpose-built areas for dining, games,sport and recreation, information communication technology,drama and the arts which will hopefully include some of the ideas above.
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