Hi, I'm Kelly - a proud member of the Fetcham community and have been for all my life. I was brought up here and now live here with my family - I am also the vice chair of the Fetcham Residents Association and a strong believer in giving back to the community. We currently meet bi-monthly and are always looking for more people to join! In my spare time, I love to keep fit; this includes going to zumba classes, dance classes and being a regular in my local gym when possible
Patterns are interesting to observe in literature. So when Alan Hollinghurst’s latest novel ‘The Sparsholt Affair’ was set to be released in the same month – this month – as John Banville’s ‘Mrs Osmond’, I knew I had to read both books. Because both authors have won the Booker Prize – Hollinghurst for his amazing … Continue reading The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst and Mrs Osmond by John Banville→
The best-performing companies in the mid-size range are growing fast in Surrey and Sussex. This comes despite the problems and uncertainties brought about by the Brexit negotiations. The same data was provided by BDO, a business advisory and accountancy firm from this region. The figures shown in the report are substantially different than those results in other parts of the country.
Here, only 4 percent of businesses have stated they are feeling more confident in the post-election 100 days. The top 20 businesses in each county provided a report that showed a combined growth of sales of 43 percent in Sussex. In Surrey, the same growth was at 32 percent during the previous year. Combined, they provide work to over 8,000 employees and also generate a revenue that exceeds 2 billion.
Giggling Restaurants Ltd is Surrey’s top spot and it saw a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) in revenue over the previous three years measuring 61 percent. This is even more impressive with the fact that the restaurant chain is a new addition to the top 20 businesses. Sussex’s number one position in occupied for the second year in a row by the Envision Pharma Company. It showed a CAGR of over 52 percent in revenues.
BDO produces the Best in Business ranking which shows the top 20 companies by annual sales growth spanning over the last three accounting time periods. Last year’s research showed that only half of these top business kept their performance. But, it also showed a lot of volatility in the group of the highest performers. Businesses operating in IT and construction continued to show the fastest growth, but other sectors did well. The vibrant mix of different businesses in the top 20 league table shows the same trend. In Surrey, location is not an important factor being that these businesses are fairly evenly distributed across the county.
In Sussex, the majority of the top businesses are based in the county’s key business locations of Horsham, Brighton & Hove and Crawley. Additional research by BDO points that businesses in Sussex and Surrey are resisting the trend which shows that on a national level almost two-thirds of the mid-sized businesses report a drop in confidence when it comes to their growth. For 58 percent, Brexit is still the key concern, especially in regards to the negation with the EU and the clarity of the process.
The same percentage would like the policymakers and the government to focus on this issue. BDO also took the opportunity to call on the government not to take this resilience of the mid-sized companies in the region for granted. Instead, they should try to offer a friendlier environment for business ventures.
Kevin Cook, BDO’s partner, stated that the region has a huge base of aspirational and entrepreneurial businesses. The Best in Business ranking desires to recognize them and also celebrate the success they achieve, but also to initiate a dialogue to increase awareness about the challenges these businesses face. According to him, it is important to find ways how these challenges can be overcome with a unified approach which combines all relevant parties.
from The Fetcham Residents Association http://fetchamresidentsassociation.org/mid-size-businesses-in-surrey-and-sussex-continue-to-perform-well-in-spite-of-brexits-shadow/
It is possible for workers to develop digital content in an effective manner or search for digital info in case they possess stronger literacy skills. They are able to program latest online applications only in case they possess confident numeracy skills.
Learning to Realize Educations Promise, a latest World Bank Report has issued a warning of learning crisis in the global education. According to it, without proper learning, education will not be successful in delivering the promise of remove extreme poverty or development of shared prosperity and opportunity for everybody.
There are a plethora of younger students belonging to low and middle-income countries, facing the prospect of lower wages and lost opportunities in their later life as primary and secondary schools fail in educating them in how to procure success in life. After studying in school for several years, several children fail to read or write. Some of them even fail to do the basic maths. According to the report, this learning crisis is responsible for enhancing the social gaps in lieu of narrowing them. Younger students who are suffering from conflict, poverty, disability, gender are able to reach young adulthood without learning the basic life skills.
Jim Young Kim, president of World Bank Group told that the learning crisis happens to be an economic and moral crisis. If delivered properly, education ensures better earning, employment, good health along with a life without poverty. For different communities, education is capable of strengthening the institutions, spurring innovation, and fostering social cohesion. However, the benefits are dependent on schooling. Opportunities will go wasted if schooling is not accompanied by learning. In addition to this, it is considered to be an injustice. Children, failed by the society are those who are in desperate need of education in order to procure success in life. Hence, the report recommends different concrete policy steps for helping developing countries to solve dire learning crisis in different areas of strong learning assessments.
ICT confers significant benefits, however providing laptops is certainly not the solution
Though School ICT support confers significant gains potentially, handing them laptops is certainly not the solution. Among different factors, the report has a look into the role which ICT or that Information and Communication Technologies play in the field of education. Mixed evidence has been recognized for the effectiveness of different ICT solutions. The vast majority of different ICT interventions do not have any negative effect on the learning of students, as with specific hardware interventions.
Though different programs like dynamic computer-assisted learning programs exhibit amazing results for the secondary schools students in the country which have raised the scores in language and maths as compared to the other learning interventions, However, some of them such as One Laptop per Child programmes in Uruguay and Peru that does not have any influence on math abilities or student reading has not been that effective. In Haiti, a programme for using smartphones for the monitoring of teacher attendance do not have any impact on student outcome or teacher attendance as implementations have proved to be untenable. One Laptop Per Child initiative encountered delays. As the laptops reached the classrooms, after a year, it was reported that above 40 percent of teachers reported that they were rarely or never used for classroom activities.
The software is really effective in case they let the students learn of their own. Computer-assisted learning software, online platforms allow parents and learners to have communication with teachers regarding materials and assignments. They confer free materials which are inclusive of text messages for supporting teachers, interactive whiteboards, televised programs which can be used by parents and educators, in order to design development activities that are age appropriate.
A long history exists that overestimate the transformative nature of technology in different schools. After half a century, as computers were able to gain traction, scholars wonder whether they will be able to replace teachers. According to the report, in schools having technology-rich environment, students may be able to accomplish their students on the interactive displays in lieu of paper
ICT solutions require working in the existing solutions along with existing infrastructure
In accordance with the report, it is a prerequisite to making sure that it is possible to implement ICT in the current systems. A failure in education technology investment occurs as there is limited capacity for maintaining the same or the required infrastructure for their effective working does not exist.
from The Fetcham Residents Association http://fetchamresidentsassociation.org/ict-solutions-to-help-children-become-successful-in-life/
Sheffield Park is the place to go for a walk in autumn. Three hundred acres of landscaped garden and four lakes, Sheffield Park was laid out in the nineteenth century by Capability Brown. And it’s still wonderful today! Just as the trees are turning for the season, you will be treated at every turn of … Continue reading Sheffield Park→
The current pollution status is alarming in many parts of the world including London. The scale of air pollution in London is now a crisis and this was revealed on Wednesday, with new figures indicating that each person in the capital is breathing air that surpasses worldwide guidelines among the most harmful and toxic particles.
The research conducted and recently updated by the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, indicates that each zone in the capital surpasses World Health Organization limits for a damaging type of molecule known as PM2.5.
It also shows that 7.9 million Londoners about 95% of the capital’s population live in zones that surpass the utmost by half. Central London exceeds the average annual limits by twice the WHO limit reaches of 10 g/m3.
London’s air pollution Reality
The discoveries, described as sickening by Londons chairman, Sadiq Khan, have genuine health risks particularly for children with both short-and-long haul exposure to these particulates of pollution leading to the increase in probability of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Health specialists say that youngsters presented to these lethal toxins will probably grow up with decreased lung function and will lead asthma infection.
Khan stated: Its sickening to realize that not a single region of London meets World Health Organization health standards, and even much more dreadful than that, almost 95% of the capital is exceeding these guidelines by no less than half.
London is broadly perceived as the most noticeably awful region for air pollution in the UK, despite the fact that there is developing evidence that dangerously polluted air is damaging peoples health in towns and urban communities all over the nation over.
Khan included: We ought to be embarrassed that our kids and the forthcoming generation of Londoners are being presented to these minor particles of dangerous toxins that are definitely damaging their lungs and shortening their life anticipation. I comprehend this is truly difficult for Londoners, however that is the reason I felt it was important to the point that I influenced this data open so to people truly comprehend the scale of the test we look in London.
A week ago Khan unveiled plans to restrict the utilization of wood-consuming stoves in the capital from 2025 and take care of controls to ensure every new stove from 2022 are as clean as it could achieve.
He has additionally set out a scope of plans to handle pollution from diesel motor vehicles in the capital. This will start by unveiling the first stage, which is the new T-Charge, it will charge old motor vehicles, the most polluting vehicles entering central London, start as soon as possible .
The figures were uncovered as it was discovered that the government has neglected to cut down the quantity of areas over the UK with illicit levels of air pollution despite being requested to by the courts.
As indicated by figures submitted by ministers to the European Commission, 37 out of 43 zones over the UK are still in rupture of pollution restrains an indistinguishable number from in 2015 despite the government being under an incomparable court request to bring pollution down quickly.
Clean air campaigners reprimanded the government’s inaction and invited Khans designs, which incorporate the introduction of an ultra-low outflow zone in 2019.
They called for the London Mayor to take more stern action with immediate effect given the scale of the London pollution crisis.
from The Fetcham Residents Association http://fetchamresidentsassociation.org/london-air-pollution-crisis/
