Wokingham

With the summer holidays now here, the skate park in London Road in Wokingham is seeing many youngsters free-styling their days away.

The skate park was given a life line back in April after negotiations between Wokingham Borough Council, Wokingham Town Council and Leisure Connections were successful in allowing it to remain on site until September, when a follow-up meeting will be held to discuss future arrangements.

Cllr Malcolm Bryant, deputy executive member for Wokingham community development, said: “Youngsters have proved over the past few months that they respect their skate park and very much want it to remain on site at St Crispin’s Sports Centre. The youngsters have risen to the challenge to take ownership of the skate park and have been looking after it well which will help us to negotiate for the park to remain at its current location. I am impressed with their hard work and dedication to keep the site clean and tidy.

“This youth facility is immensely popular with the young people and I am very keen it stays where it is but we all need to work together to make it an even bigger success. Things have been going well over the past few months and I hope it will continue to be a success over the summer.”

The skate park, located on land within St Crispin’s Sports Centre, Wokingham has been open since 2006 and is used frequently by the borough’s young skaters and BMX riders. Earlier on this year, a number issues had been highlighted with regard to graffiti, litter and noise and, as a result, Wokingham Borough Council’s parks and open spaces team took over the maintenance of the site from Wokingham Town Council.

Since April, things have improved significantly at the site with few reports of vandalism or graffiti. The council’s contractor Quadrant has been visiting the site twice a week to ensure it is safe, clean and tidy.

The borough council’s youth workers continue to visit the site on a regular basis.

Wokingham Borough Council

Choosing an outfit was this week’s costume challenge for Hazel Gillingwater, manager of the costume service at Wokingham Borough Council. Hazel was invited to the Queen’s garden party on July 22, and wore an outfit from the service’s extensive collection of vintage dresses and hats.

The Costume Service in Finchampstead provides low-cost costume hire for schools, drama groups and the community. The service offers thousands of outfits including period costumes, fancy dress and vintage dresses and shoes.

Hazel was invited to the garden party by Lady Elizabeth Godsal, High Steward of Wokingham and Vice-Lord Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire. Lady Godsal hired a fairy godmother costume from the service two years ago for the Wokingham Winter Carnival. She is now the patron of the service.

Earlier this year Lady Godsal attended the launch of ‘Clothes Talk’, a Heritage Lottery funded youth project inspired by the heritage collection at the costume service. She also attended a lunch held to thank the service’s volunteers. She invited Hazel to the garden party in order to recognise the good work that Hazel has done for arts and drama in the Wokingham borough.

Hazel said: “I wore a dress from the costume service wardrobe – a dress designed by Hardy Amies, who was once the Queen’s dressmaker. It’s made from silk chiffon. I was very honoured to be invited to the Queen’s garden party, but I have just been doing my job for 28 years, which I have really enjoyed.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Pupils across the Wokingham Borough celebrated their Healthy Schools Status at a special celebration event on July 9.

To qualify, Wokingham Borough schools had to develop their whole school approach to health and education and meet the criteria for all four of the programme’s themes: personal, social and health education; emotional health and well-being; healthy eating and physical activity. And they must demonstrate how they involved the whole school community in the initiative. They were congratulated on their Healthy School Status by Wokingham Borough Council’s Deputy Mayor Cllr Barrie Patman.

To mark the success of schools on the programme, the celebration event saw the latest 17 schools to achieve the status attend a celebration event. The schools that achieved Healthy School Status were: Bearwood Primary, Beechwood Primary, Finchampstead CE Primary, Gorse Ride Infant, Hillside Primary, Hawkedon Primary, Highwood Primary, Lambs Lane Primary, Oaklands Infant, Oaklands Junior, St Nicholas CE Primary, Woodley CE Primary, Wescott Infant, The Bulmershe, The Forest, The Holt and Ryeish Green.

Rosie Webb, Wokingham curriculum development adviser: healthy schools, said: “Whole school communities including teachers and pupils have embraced the rigorous National Healthy Schools Standards. Each school was represented at the special celebration event by members of their healthy schools task groups. The children and young people from each school made a presentation to the invited dignitaries and guests to share their excellent ideas and projects which have gained them Healthy Schools Status.

“We enjoyed hearing about everything from vegetable gardens to peer mediation projects. The children and young people as always were the stars of the show – inspiring us with their wonderful ideas and their professional presentations. The schools also displayed their work towards Healthy Schools Status and the whole event was buzzing with enthusiasm and success.”

Deputy Wokingham Mayor Cllr Barrie Patman presented the schools with their National Healthy Schools plaques and certificates as well as balloons and goody bags. He said: “We are very proud that so many schools have come so far and achieved so much as Healthy Schools. Thank you to all who have committed their time, energy and enthusiasm to this work, and long may it continue.

“The Healthy Schools Programme has come a long way since it was introduced in the Wokingham Borough in 2000.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Families can come along for two hours of super sporty family fun this summer, with Family Reading Olympics events in the borough's libraries. The sporty events are part of this year's sport themed reading challenge – Team Read.

Events are taking place at:

- Wargrave Library, Thursday August 7, 10am to 12 noon
- Maiden Erlegh Library, Friday August 15, 2.30pm to 4.30pm
- Winnersh Library, Wednesday August 27, 10.30am to 12.30pm

The Wokingham sessions will include fun games, reading challenges, crafts, quizzes, races and more. Each event will last two hours and is suitable for families with children aged five to 12 years old. There is no need to book – families can just drop in.

Team Read is free to join at any of the Wokingham borough's libraries and, on joining, children will be given a free Team Read pack of goodies. Children are asked to read six library books during their school summer holidays. Those taking part will be given a sticker for each book they read so they can chart their progress through the challenge. If they read six books during the challenge, they will receive a prize and certificate, plus they will be entered into a prize draw to win a Team Read goodie bag.

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Library is giving families an opportunity to try yoga sessions with a difference this August. The library is hosting three Story Yoga tasters, as part of this year’s sport themed reading challenge – Team Read.

Story Yoga is a form of yoga based on stories and rhymes. The sessions are designed especially for children and parents to enjoy together. Children and parents enjoy a fun story and act out sections of the story using yoga. The taster is suitable for children aged seven and under and their parents or carers.

The sessions are taking place at Wokingham Library on three consecutive weeks:
- Wednesday August 6
- Wednesday August 13
- Wednesday August 20.
They run from 11am to 11.30am and places must be booked by calling 0118 978 1368.

There are lots of fantastic sport-themed events taking place this summer, as part of the Team Read reading challenge, which is taking place in the borough’s libraries this summer for children aged five to 12. Team Read is free to join at any of the Wokingham borough’s libraries and, on joining children will be given a free Team Read pack of goodies. If children read six books during the challenge, they will receive a prize and certificate, plus they will be entered into a prize draw to win a Team Read goodie bag.

Children aged under five don’t have to feel left out, as they can join the Book Crawl, a scheme running in all libraries for children aged under-five. Children collect stickers on each visit to the library and can then exchange four stickers for a certificate

Wokingham Borough Council

There will be a summer of sporty fun for under-fives in the Wokingham borough’s libraries this summer, with free Sporty Storytimes. Children can come along to their local library and join in with fun sporty games and stories. The sessions are free and there is no need to book.

Plus, there will be a surprise guest at several of the events – the Bookstart Bear. The bear is making surprise visits to children’s events this August and will be joining in the fun at many of the Sporty Storytimes. He can also be seen at Rhymetimes this month.

Events are taking place at:

- Wargrave Library, Monday August 4, 1.45pm to 2.30pm
- Wokingham Library,Tuesday August 5, 2.15pm to 3pm
- Finchampstead Library, Wednesday August 6, 10.15am to 11am
- Woodley Library, Thursday August 7 2.15pm to 3pm
- Lower Earley Library, Thursday August 7, 2.30pm to 3.15pm
- Twyford Library, Monday August 11, 2.15pm to 3pm
- Spencers Wood Library,Monday August 11,4pm to 4.45pm
- Winnersh Library, Wednesday August 13, 10.30am to 11.15am
- Maiden Erlegh Library, Tuesday August 19, 2.15pm to 3pm

There are lots of fantastic sport-themed events taking place this summer, as part of the Team Read reading challenge, which is taking place in the borough’s libraries this summer for children aged five to 12. Children aged under five don’t have to feel left out, as they can join the Book Crawl, a scheme running in all Wokingham libraries for children aged under-five. Children collect stickers on each visit to the library and can then exchange four stickers for a certificate.

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough libraries will be training a team of reading champions this summer, with a series of free fun Team Read Champions League events in many of the borough’s libraries. The sessions are part of this year’s sport themed reading challenge – Team Read.

Five of the borough’s libraries will be running weekly sessions throughout August:
- Twyford Library, 2.30pm to 3.30pm, Friday August 1, 8, 15, 22
- Lower Earley Library 2pm to 4pm, Tuesday August 5, 12, 19, 26
- Spencers Wood Library, 3pm to 4pm, Tuesday August 5, 12, 19, 26
- Woodley Library, 10am to 12 noon, Thursday August 7, 14, 21, 28
- Wokingham Library, 2.30pm to 4.30pm, Thursday August 7, 14, 21, 28

The sessions are for age five to 12 and are designed to help children complete the Team Read challenge. Wokingham Children can get ideas of sporty books to read and discuss what cool new authors they have been reading. The events will also include fun sporty games and quizzes. There is no need to book a place – just turn up.

Team Read is free to join at any of the Wokingham Borough’s libraries and, on joining, children will be given a free Team Read pack of goodies. Children are asked to read six library books during their school summer holidays. Those taking part will be given a sticker for each book they read so they can chart their progress through the challenge. If they read six books during the challenge, they will receive a prize and certificate, plus they will be entered into a prize draw to win a Team Read goodie bag.

Wokingham Borough Council

More than 15 high-achieving members of Wokingham Borough Council's community care staff who attained nationally recognised qualifications over the past 12 months were recognised at a special achievement ceremony this week.

Monday July 21 saw Pat Brecknock, general manager community care, present certificates of achievement to a contingent of hardworking staff.

Among those receiving certificates at the celebration of achievement were Wokingham home care and residential care workers, staff working with people with sensory needs, those providing services for vulnerable adults and staff who help people with learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

The qualifications they have attained in the past year range from NVQs in health and social care, post qualifying awards in management studies and a diploma in working with visually impaired people.

In addition, five special achievement awards were presented to recognise the outstanding contributions made by individual members of staff.

Pat Brecknock said: “Congratulations to all our go-getting staff who should feel proud of their success. These awards are a way for us to show our appreciation of their hard work and I am delighted staff are achieving such a broad range of academic qualifications. It’s not at all easy to study while you have a full time job, but our staff are always so keen to undertake new training and this is one of the reasons why we are able to deliver even better services to vulnerable people who need assistance from the council.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Former Mayor of Wokingham Borough Council Cllr Annette Drake raised a staggering £22,859 for local charity Building for the Future and she presented a cheque to them on Tuesday July 15.

Wokingham Cllr Drake dedicated her year in office to raise money for a new charity, Building for the Future, which aims to raise enough money to purchase a community-based building for children with disabilities and their families in the borough.

Building for the Future is an umbrella group of seven charities that already work with disabled children and their families locally: Peapods, Friends of Ryeish Green Bungalow, ASD Family Help Group, West Berkshire Down’s Society, Reading Deaf Children’s Society, Friends of Bridges, and Berkshire Blind Society. The charity’s vision is to provide a state-of-the-art building to cater for children’s individual needs as well as for community groups. It is also forming an independent parents’ forum so that parents of disabled children can support each other.

Cllr Drake hosted a number of events during her year in Wokingham office, including a banquet at Bearwood College which raised £2,000. Other highlights of the Mayor’s civic year included the annual carol concert at Loddon Valley – a very enjoyable evening which raised £4,000 for the charity.

Cllr Annette Drake said: “I am delighted to have supported such a worthwhile charity during my time in office. I would like to thank everyone who helped me raise these funds and supported me in doing so over the past year.

“People have been so generous, which is no surprise, as this is obviously a very worthy cause. Many parents with disabled children have told me that there is a need for a dedicated centre in the Wokingham Borough – and the parents are those who know best. I am optimistic that we will change this dream into reality.”

Chairman of Building for the Future Jane Holmes said: “We are tremendously grateful to Cllr Annette Drake for raising such a phenomenal sum of money for us. Her hard work and support over the last year has really given us our wings and set us on our way towards achieving our aim for our children. We are continuing to raise funds ourselves and many local people and businesses are helping us to raise funds also. We are keen to create partnerships with more local businesses and are very keen to talk to developers about our Building for the Future.”

Wokingham Borough Council

On Tuesday July 15, Wokingham Borough Council’s Mayor Cllr Pauline Helliar-Symons launched her photographic competition at Winnersh Library with the help of pupils from Bearwood Primary School.

The competition, based on the theme Wokingham Borough…Past and Present, is being supported by Snappy Snaps, Wokingham. Pupils from Bearwood Primary School joined the Mayor for a photographic workshop. During the hour-long workshop, pupils learnt more about photography and picked up some tips on how to take good pictures.

Mayor Cllr Pauline Helliar-Symons said: “I am delighted pupils from Bearwood Primary School helped me launch my photographic competition. The theme is quite broad as I want all entrants to think about the Wokingham Borough and photograph something that captures either the past or the present or even a combination of both! I am very grateful to our sponsors Snappy Snaps for being willing to support the competition.”

Snappy Snap’s Jacqueline Chang said: “I am delighted to be involved with the Mayor’s photographic competition. Photography is a rewarding pastime that everyone, young and old, can be involved with. This wonderful competition will allow people to show off their talents while showing off our Borough. I am really looking forward to the final exhibition.”

The competition has four categories: Adults; young people aged between 11 and 14; young people aged between 15 and 18; and all borough primary schools. Full details of how to enter can be found on the council’s website at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/mayor. Prizes up for grabs include a studio shoot, canvas images, and personalised gifts including mouse-mats, t-shirts and mugs. All winners will win membership to Snappy Snaps’ digital club.

Finalists will be invited to a prize reception in the autumn and their photos will be exhibited in The Mall Gallery at the civic offices, Shute End in Wokingham before the exhibition tours the borough and visits libraries.

Wokingham Borough Council

This summer, aspiring actors, dancers and singers can hit the high notes with some tips from professional drama coaches thanks to two workshops being organised by Wokingham Borough Council’s youth service

Wokingham Young people wanting intensive coaching to improve their drama, dancing or singing skills over the summer holiday can attend either of the week-long courses being held at The Emmbrook School.

Simply Drama, a five-day programme, will start on Monday August 4 and runs until Friday August 8, costing £15 per day or £50 for the whole week. This will be followed by a Dance, Drama and Singing Workshop running from Monday August 11 to Friday August 15. Once again this is being held at The Emmbrook School costing £15 per day or £50 for the whole week. Young people will be coached by qualified performing arts practitioners and facilitators.

Cyril Sansum, performing arts coordinator at Wokingham Youth Centre, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for young people to get top quality coaching for a very reasonable price. Anyone can sign up for the week, regardless of their experience, and they will have the opportunity to join up to the regular Monday night performing arts club we hold at Wokingham Youth Centre”.

At the end of each week there will be a performance held at the school to showcase the young Wokingham people’s work and parents and carers will be invited to watch. Those people taking part will also receive a certificate of attendance and The Berkshire Award for Youth.
The programme is suitable for 12 to 18 year-olds. Places are limited so young people need to book their place as soon as possible. To book, collect an application form from Wokingham Youth Centre, 35 Reading Road, Wokingham or telephone (0118) 978 3610 for more information.

Wokingham Borough Council

Leadership skills were high on the agenda at a conference which brought together some 100 school governors in the Wokingham Borough.

Well-known educationalist and author Professor John West-Burnham was the guest speaker at the Wokingham governors’ conference held on Thursday July 10 and he gave a key note speech on leadership and governance – Options for the Future. John West-Burnham is also a consultant in leadership development.

During the evening, governors joined one of two syndicate sessions. The first entitled “growing leaders in your school and new models of headship” was led by John West-Burnham. The second was led by David Marriot, head of governor services in Wiltshire and vice chair of the national committee of co-ordinators of governor services, and was entitled: ‘growing leaders in your governing body and new models of governance.’

Gillian Cole, the Wokingham borough council’s school development advisor, explained the proactive initiatives that are underway in Wokingham Borough to spot talent and grow leaders in our schools.

Governors also had the chance to network and meet key officers and members from Wokingham Borough Council to discuss future projects and initiatives.

Deputy executive member for children’s services Cllr John Kersley said: “A strong and effective governing body is a considerable asset to a school and the council recognises the important role governors play and is keen to support them further in their duties.

“The borough council is aware that a good partnership with governors is central to meeting the challenge of raising standards even higher in the future. This conference is just a small part of the support we provide to governors.“

Sylvia McDonald, Wokingham governor services manager, said: “It was one of the most successful conferences that we have held and that was down to the very informative speakers and useful syndicate sessions. I hope the governors enjoyed it as much as I did.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Hot off the printing press this month is a summer edition of Wokingham Txt magazine - a magazine from Wokingham Borough Council which is written by young people for young people.

Wokingham Txt is aimed at keeping young people in the borough aged between 11 and 18 years up-to-date with activities that are going on and providing them with lots of information about how they might get involved with some of the many activities taking place.

The latest summer edition covers some key issues and contains information that matters to young people in the Wokingham Borough. Articles featured include fair trade, Berkshire Costume Service, anti-bullying workshop, launch of the young person’s active youth website, a youth exchange to Palestine, fundraising activities and much, much more.

Wokingham Borough youth MP Adam Connell gives an insight into his work representing the views of the borough’s young people and talks about what he’s been doing in his first five months as youth MP, as well as his plans for the future. Deputy youth MP Shabana Karim also talks about her role supporting Adam.

Txt also caught up with young people from Wokingham Library’s manga drawing club to find out how they became interested in Japanese comics and cartoons and why they like the club so much! The magazine also highlights how much talent there is the Wokingham Borough with articles by Eloise Laurent who performed at a London Theatre and a group of young people who took part in the top television show Britain’s Got Talent.

Txt shows Wokingham young people that there is a lot going on to keep them busy this summer. A pull-out section in the centre pages has been designed to be displayed on a wall or notice board, highlighting all the information they need to know about what is happening at local youth centres as well as in many local sporting areas.

Many of the Wokingham youth centres are running summer schemes including residential trips, football competitions, quad biking, moped training, water sports, archery, barbeques and much, much more. Check out the details at www.wokingham.gov.uk/youthservice or www.activeyouth.co.uk or drop into your local youth centre to see what is happening during the summer. The council’s sports development unit is also running a whole range of events over the summer months.

Copies of Txt are sent to every secondary school pupil in the borough and will also be available from youth centres and libraries. Copies can be downloaded from the Wokingham Borough Council website at www.wokingham.gov.uk/txt

Cllr Norman Jorgensen, executive member of Wokingham children’s services, said: “Txt allows young people to have their say on the issues that are important to them. Another aim of the magazine is to show young people that there really is a great deal for them to do thanks to facilities and events right across the Wokingham Borough.

“This edition of Txt sees some great articles written by the young people and it is good to see their involvement in the magazine. I would urge all young people to get themselves to a local youth centre this summer – you may be surprised to see how much is going on!

“If there are any young people who would like to submit articles for the next edition, please get in touch. We are keen to know what they think about the magazine and we would love to hear from young people, whether it’s on a topical issue they feel strongly about or if they would like to interview people or review projects. Now is the time for budding journalists to get in touch!”

Anyone who would like to submit articles for the next edition of Txt can do so by emailing: txt@wokingham.gov.uk or by calling senior communications officer Andrea Jenkins on 0118 974 6010.

Wokingham Borough Council

Youngsters with a host of bright ideas have been contributing to a website that will make their lives a whole lot easier: http://www.activeyouth.co.uk workers from Wokingham Borough Council and young people from around the borough have brought together their ideas about the issues that matter for 12 to 18-year-olds. Working alongside web designers Flare Imaging, they have created a site where all the information youngsters need is easily accessible.

The site includes advice on careers, good nights out in the borough, health issues and how to have a say in the way the borough is run – as well as useful tools such as help writing your CV, and useful links to other websites offering things like travel, safety advice and cinema listings.

Along with supporting youth workers the website’s main developers, Andy Galpin aged 15 and Ben Crowther aged 14, both from Woodley, are looking for young people to join them on the web team. Interested teens should contact Andy and Ben at active.youth@wokingham.gov.uk. Adults wishing to share skills in these areas are also invited to get in touch, using the email address above or calling Sandie Evans on: 0118 974 6267.

Executive member for Wokingham children’s services Cllr Norman Jorgensen said: “It is excellent to see young people putting their skills to such good use. The website is extremely professional and a credit to all those who have worked on it. I am sure that many more teenagers around the borough will find the wealth of information on the Active Youth website useful.”

Wokingham Borough Council

St Crispin’s School in Wokingham hosted this year’s Carnegie Conference on June 20. The event shadows the CLIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards, awards for children’s literature and the best children’s book illustrations.

The conference provided a forum for student book groups from St Crispin’s, The Forest, Ryeish Green, Luckley Oakfield, and Emmbrook to meet and discuss the short-listed books for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway awards.

Wokingham Students exchanged views about the merits of each book in small groups and then went on to present their views to the whole forum. As well as book readings, the students used PowerPoint presentations and mini-drama productions to champion their favourite book. Each group went on to promote the book they enjoyed the most and the students then voted for the book they felt most deserved to win.

The conference gave Wokingham students from the different school book groups a chance to mix, get to know each other and share ideas about books and book group activities that they enjoy. The day was so successful that the librarians, who organised the day, hope the event will encourage further fun and activities between school book groups in the local area.

A national celebration, the Carnegie Conference is in its fifteenth year and many schools across the country take part. It seemed the ideal way to encourage reading for fun. The idea has proved increasingly popular and registrations have grown year on year.

Sue Squires, librarian at St Crispin’s School, said: “The Carnegie Conference provided students from local schools with an opportunity to work together, as well as providing a forum for them to discuss and vote for the best books on the two shortlists.”

Cllr Norman Jorgensen, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “It is good to see such a scheme being developed in our schools especially as we are celebrating the National Year of Reading. Reading groups in schools support young people’s enjoyment of reading and development of literacy skills. I hope that many more schools will develop school book clubs.”

Wokingham Borough Council

On Tuesday - July 15 - Wokingham Borough Council’s Mayor Cllr Pauline Helliar-Symons will be launching her photographic competition at Winnersh Library with the help of pupils from Bearwood Primary School.

The competition, based on the theme Wokingham Borough…Past and Present, is being supported by Snappy Snaps, Wokingham. Pupils from Bearwood Primary School will join the Mayor for a photographic workshop. During the hour-long workshop, pupils will learn more about photography and pick up some tips on how to take good pictures.

Wokingham Mayor Cllr Pauline Helliar-Symons said: “I am delighted pupils from Bearwood Primary School are able to join me in launching my photographic competition. The theme is quite broad as I want all entrants to think about the Wokingham Borough and photograph something that captures either the past or the present or even a combination of both! I am very grateful to our sponsors Snappy Snaps for being willing to support the competition.”

The competition has four categories: Adults; young people aged between 11 and 14; young people aged between 15 and 18; and all borough primary schools. Finalists will be invited to a prize reception in the autumn and their photos will be exhibited in The Mall Gallery at the civic offices, Shute End in Wokingham before the exhibition tours the borough and visits libraries.

Wokingham Borough Council

Former Mayor of Wokingham Borough Council Cllr Annette Drake raised a staggering £22,859 for local charity Building for the Future and she will be presenting a cheque to them on Tuesday July 15.

Mayor Cllr Annette Drake dedicated her year in Wokingham office to raise money for a new charity, Building for the Future, which aims to raise enough money to purchase a community-based building for children with disabilities and their families in the borough.

Building for the Future is an umbrella group of seven charities that already work with disabled children and their families locally: Peapods, Friends of Ryeish Green Bungalow, ASD Family Help Group, West Berkshire Down’s Society, Reading Deaf Children’s Society, Friends of Bridges, and Berkshire Blind Society. The charity’s vision is to provide a state-of-the-art building to cater for children’s individual needs as well as for community groups. It is also forming an independent parents’ forum so that parents of disabled children can support each other.

Wokingham Cllr Drake hosted a number of events during her year in office, including a banquet at Bearwood College which raised £2,000. Other highlights of the Mayor’s civic year included the annual carol concert at Loddon Valley – a very enjoyable evening which raised £4,000 for the charity.

Cllr Annette Drake said: “I am delighted to have supported such a worthwhile charity during my time in office. I would like to thank everyone who helped me raise these funds and supported me in doing so over the past year.

“People have been so generous, which is no surprise, as this is obviously a very worthy cause. Many parents with disabled children have told me that there is a need for a dedicated centre in the Wokingham Borough – and the parents are those who know best. I am optimistic that we will change this dream into reality.”

Chairman of Wokingham Building for the Future Jane Holmes said: “We are tremendously grateful to Cllr Annette Drake for raising such a phenomenal sum of money for us. Her hard work and support over the last year has really given us our wings and set us on our way towards achieving our aim for our children. We are continuing to raise funds ourselves and many local people and businesses are helping us to raise funds also. We are keen to create partnerships with more local businesses and are very keen to talk to developers about our Building for the Future.”

Building for the Future has raised in excess of £30,000 to date.

Wokingham Borough Council

Four Wokingham Borough schools have triumphed in the UniServity national Learning Platform Awards for Excellence awards announced on Friday June 27.

The schools – Radstock Primary, Polehampton Infant and Gorse Ride Junior – are three of only seven schools in the whole world awarded for their use of learning platforms – a secure online environment created to help pupils study. Willow Bank Infant School was also highly commended.

All pupils in the Wokingham Borough’s schools have access to their own online learning space via UniServity learning platform, currently being rolled out across the area. It is a set of online tools to help pupils and teachers share, store and manage their information and work. Although similar to a website, a learning platform has additional tools that makes it more interactive for pupils with discussion forums and messaging tools. Each pupil will have their own unique username and password to log on and use the system.

Radstock Primary School was awarded an accolade for Innovation and Creavity in, and beyond the Classroom, whilst Polehampton Infant School received its award for Personalising Learning. Gorse Ride Junior School was awarded for its use of Student Voice: Within and Beyond the Classroom. Highly commended Willow Bank Infant School was praised for its 21st Century Learning in Practice project.

Cllr Norman Jorgensen, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “This is a fantastic honour for the four schools and the learning platforms are shining examples of the innovative work that takes place in our primary schools. All four schools should be extremely proud to have their work acknowledged in such a high profile award. I would like to extend my congratulations to everyone involved.”

Teachers from each of the schools and children from Radstock Primary School visited the Institute of Directors in London on June 27 to collect their awards. The Radstock pupils also took part in presentations about the work that led to the award.

Wokingham Borough Council

n art exhibition showing the marvels of the natural earth has gone on show at Wokingham Borough Council’s civic offices.

Arena for the Arts is an annual celebration of visual art by children and young people from the Wokingham Borough and was officially unveiled by Wokingham Borough Council’s Mayor Cllr Pauline Helliar-Symons. The exhibition, a joint project between the borough council and local schools, is based on the theme ‘The Natural Earth.’

Wokingham Artwork has been created using a variety of media including painting, photography, collage, sculpture, pottery and textiles. Pupils have focused on a whole range of aspects of the earth including buildings, the environment, insects and bugs to name just a few, and some of the artwork has been based on famous artists’ work, namely Georgia O’Keefe and Richard Long.

The Coombes Infant and Nursery School looked at landscape and used clay from their own grounds to illustrate their work. Schools from the south west of the borough* have created ceramic flocks of sheep which are being exhibited on the back lawn at the civic offices in Shute End, Wokingham.

Jane Clark, arts development officer, said: “This exhibition symbolises the spirit of the earth and highlights how precious it is. The pupils have created such wonderful pieces of art – it’s a true inspiration.”

For the past two terms, hundreds of pupils from primary and secondary schools across the Wokingham borough have been busy exploring their creativity. Schools taking part this year are: Arborfield, Newland and Barkham Junior*, Bulmershe, Colleton Primary, Farley Hill Primary*, Gorse Ride Junior, Grazeley Parochial Primary*, Hawkedon Primary, Hillside Primary, Loddon Primary, Maiden Erlegh, Robert Piggott Infant, Shinfield Infant and Nursery*, Shinfield St Mary’s CE Junior*, South Lake Primary, St Teresa’s RC Primary, The Coombes Infant and Nursery*, Waingels College, Wescott Infant School, Whiteknights Primary, and Winnersh Primary.

Arena for the Arts was founded by Wokingham Borough Council in 2003 and every year, hundreds of children take part in the event with workshops in schools and youth centres throughout the borough.

Wokingham Borough Council

The second annual Wokingham Food and Drink Festival will feature a mouth-watering mix of flavours from around the world – and plenty from close to home as well. Local businesses are still being invited to take part and local bands and performers are needed to join the line-up of entertainment that will make the festival even more of a feast.

Last year’s Wokingham festival was a triumph despite some atrocious weather and this year’s event has been moved to an earlier date to try to avoid a repeat of the downpours – the dates for all foodies’ diaries are Friday September 5 to Sunday September 7.

Places for traders and exhibitors are already filling up and Wokingham’s town centre manager Brian Newman has secured one of the big names of the food world – The Festival of Food – for this year’s event. The Festival of Food is a roadshow that visits many of the most prestigious festivals in the UK with a marquee packed with fare from top producers, cooking demonstrations and samples to taste. Among the exciting exhibitors it will bring to Wokingham will be quality cheeses, sausages and toffees as well as an authentic Indian cooking demonstration.

Brian Newman said: “Securing the Festival of Food is proof that Wokingham Food and Drink Festival is firmly established on the map. Last year’s Wokingham festival was a success despite the weather and this year – with more money, time and experience behind us – it is set to provide visitors with a spectacular event.

“Traders who took part last year are already signing up again, which is always a good sign, but we have space for others, and would love more local exhibitors to take part. Wokingham town and the surrounding area is home to many wonderful pubs, restaurants and other food business and the festival is a great opportunity for them.”

Among the local Wokingham exhibitors already onboard for 2008 is Neill Bardo, head chef at the Cantley Hotel, who gave a very popular cooking demonstration last year and will again be wowing the crowds with his culinary skills this year.

Businesses wanting to take part in the Wokingham Food and Drink Festival can find an application form on Wokingham Town Council’s website: www.wokingham-tc.gov.uk.

Local bands and singers are also urged to come forward for an opportunity to shine on a fully lit and equipped stage, as part of the festival’s live entertainment.

Brian said: “A band which performed last year were spotted by producers, and went on to perform at this year’s Clothes Show in Birmingham, so it could be a great opportunity. It could also be a starting point for building confidence in performing, or even just a chance to have a go because music is your hobby.”

Auditions will be held at the Wokingham Youth Centre on Reading Road. Anyone interested should contact the organisers at wokinghamfestival@bacyp.co.uk or on 07881 941344.

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough Council is committed to seeing improvements made to Wokingham town centre to improve its vitality and viability and will do everything reasonable within its power to see these happen to ensure Wokingham residents use and enjoy the town.

Wokingham Chief executive Susan Law said: “This direct action to ensure that regeneration of the town centre actually occurs is certainly on the cards now that we have taken steps to bring the Rose Street car park back into the council’s ownership. With this key piece of land back in council hands, we will have the opportunity of finding and working with a partner whose financial strength and experience in town centre redevelopment will complement our ability to represent what the people of Wokingham want by way of development.

“Already the council has published a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union* (OJEU) inviting expressions of interest to work jointly with the council to regenerate Wokingham town centre, not just Peach Place. This notice allows the council to have a direct interest in the development and already we have received a high level of initial interest. The fact that some 50 initial enquiries have come in indicates that Wokingham town centre is still an attractive place for development, despite the current economic downturn.

“In addition, the public workshop held on Saturday June 28 to look at the redevelopment of Wokingham town centre as a whole has also given us food for thought with real debate and brainstorming taking place, resulting in some radical ideas that are certainly worth exploring.

“One of the over-riding wishes of the people present at both this workshop and the one held in January was for the council to take an active role in the regeneration of the town centre. And that is exactly what we are going to do.

“By having an ownership stake in the future development, the council can better control what is developed and when it happens, without the town of Wokingham being prey to the priorities of any single private developer.”

Cllr Matt Deegan, executive member for Wokingham community regeneration, said: “We are going to facilitate the whole process to ensure we have the right developer in place to regenerate Wokingham town centre for the benefit of everyone and this must be done in a coordinated way. I am delighted that we have had such an excellent response from prospective developers already.”

After the closing date for expressions of interest has passed and the pre-qualification questionnaires have been received by the end of August, the next step is for the Wokingham council to sift and select a longlist of developers by early October. The aim with then be to shortlist a small number of prospective developers by December, with a view to starting the competitive dialogue with the prospective developers in January 2009.

Susan Law said: “We all want to see progress made on improving the town centre and making it an even more vibrant place for all to enjoy and I’m looking forward to working with local people to get these improvements under way. I cannot deny that the regeneration of Wokingham town centre won’t take time because it will – but rest assured it will happen.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Residents of Wokingham sheltered housing had their eye on the ball last month, when Boccia bounced into their lives! Wokingham Borough Council's sports unit hosted a Boccia Tournament at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre for residents living within the council's sheltered schemes.

The Wokingham council’s community sports coach Glenn Goudie regularly visits sheltered housing schemes to hold seated exercise classes – and once a month each group plays a game of Boccia. Boccia originated in Italy and is played between two teams who each have six balls to get close to a jack.

Glenn said: “The tournament gave people a chance to put their skills to the test. It was very popular - 19 residents from the sheltered schemes took part and the competition was played in good spirits.”

The day began with a practice session from Berkshire Sport coach Lisa Davies, which was followed by a gentle seated exercise session hosted by Glenn. After lunch it was down to the tournament. The teams were a mix of people from the various housing areas and each team played at least five games.

The winning Wokingham team included Babs Edwards and Lillian Lupton from Treacher Court, Doris Bull from Polehampton Court and June Morgan from Dickens Court. After a tense final, all competitors received a medal and the winning team was presented with an engraved trophy.

Deputy executive member for social care Wokingham Cllr Bob Wyatt said: "The day was a fantastic opportunity for residents to meet each other and enjoy a fun and relaxed competition. Our thanks go to the coaches and the staff from Loddon Valley Leisure Centre for all their help. My congratulations to the winning team and all the other worthy players!"

Wokingham Borough Council

A campaign is being launched to encourage people in Wokingham, Bracknell Forest and Reading Boroughs to cut the amount of food they throw away and waste.

Over the next six months, the three councils and their waste disposal partner re3 will be highlighting to residents about how much unused food is thrown away and suggest some practical steps to reduce it; including thinking carefully when doing the weekly shop about how much is needed, and how to store food for longer.

The move comes in the wake of a report from the government funded Waste and Resources Action Plan (WRAP), which shows UK households throw away a third of the food they buy.

WRAP estimate the average household wastes £420 a year on wasted food. The three councils have a population of around 400,000 residents which means they may be throwing away as much as £168 million worth of food each year.

On a daily basis WRAP claims households across the UK throw away:

• 7 million slices of bread
• 260,000 packs of unopened cheese
• 4.4 million whole apples
• 5.1 million whole potatoes

There is also a huge environmental impact when the amount of transportation involved in delivering food to our homes is taken into account. The WRAP study says that if the waste was cut we could save CO2 emissions equivalent to removing one in every five cars from the road.

Chairman of the re3 project and Wokingham Borough Council’s executive member for corporate services, Cllr Rob Stanton, said: "The issue of food waste affects all of us. It is an economic, environmental and health issue. People often feel that this type of issue is too big for them to make a difference but this is an issue on which everyone can have a positive impact and if they do, they will not only see a reduction in the amount they throw away but they'll save money too."

Cllr Mrs Dorothy Hayes, executive member for the environment at Bracknell Forest Council, said: “Encouraging residents to think carefully about the amount of food they throw away could not only stop unnecessary waste ending up in harmful landfill sites, but save money at the checkout as well.”

Paul Gittings, lead councillor for environment and sustainability at Reading Borough Council, said: “I was pretty shocked by the findings of the WRAP report. The amount being wasted is a concern, especially as there are plenty of places in the world where the food we are wasting would make all the difference. I hope that people everywhere will do their bit to waste less perfectly good food.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Great crested newts, barn owls and sand martins are some of the endangered species that have become buoyant in the Wokingham Borough over the last five years according to a new report outlining the progress of the borough’s biodiversity.

The Wokingham Biodiversity Forum reviewed the borough’s 10-year plan to help the natural environment thrive this week, and found that as it reaches its half way point more than 87 per cent of targets have been completed or are on their way to completion.

The forum will be appraising the borough’s Biodiversity Action Plan later this month as it approaches the five-year mark. The plan was launched by Wokingham Borough Council in 2003 to protect and preserve wildlife, trees and the natural environment after the community, wildlife experts, nature lovers and local representatives of statutory agencies told the council what areas they thought needed a helping hand.

The plan includes 69 different targets to be completed by 2012 ranging from promoting natural habitats to the community to increasing membership of the Biodiversity Forum, to encouraging wildlife friendly gardening in the borough, to designating new nature reserves and planting new native trees. The report shows that 40 targets have been completed, 20 are either on-going targets are under way and nine are yet to be started.

Wokingham Borough Council

A project that brought young and old Finchampstead Wokingham residents together has ended with a celebratory party.

For the past two months, Wokingham junior wardens (a group of community-minded young people organised by the community wardens) in Finchampstead have been going to Cockayne Court residential home in Arnett Avenue to get to know its residents and to join them in games and other activities.

The idea behind the project has been to help the junior wardens and older people breakdown the generation barriers between them and to learn more about each other’s lives.

Among the activities they have shared, have been a joint game of bingo and a games session when the junior wardens brought their latest toys and games to show the residents, who in turn dug out old toys and games from their childhoods. There was also an interview session, when the young and older people paired off to answer questions about each other’s lives.

There was also a joint visit to the Berkshire Costume Service where the young people had a chance to learn about the history of some of the clothes, while the older people had a trip down memory lane with some of the vintage clothing.

The Wokingham project finished with two round-up events: an evening when each of the pairs gave a brief presentation about what they had learnt and, finally on Friday July 4, the junior wardens returned to Cockayne Court for a celebratory party.

The intergenerational project was organised by Wokingham Borough Council community wardens Roderick Mertens and Tim Holmes, with the help of Rose Green, community development worker, staff at Cockayne Court and Gorse Ride Junior School, which the junior wardens attend.

Tim Holmes said: “The idea behind this project was to bring the two generations together in a fun way so that we could break down barriers and correct some misconceptions that may have existed. And it has worked brilliantly. Once young and older people have been involved in this sort of project, they can get past the stereotypes to see the real people and it has been great to be involved with that.”

Wokingham Borough Council executive member for community development Cllr Dianne King, who went to the party, said: “It was wonderful to see the junior wardens and the residents enjoying each other’s company and this shows what can be done when barriers come down. I think both groups have got a lot out of this project and I hope to see more intergenerational activities of this type in the future.”

Wokingham Borough Council

The new multi-million pound state-of-the-art Wokingham Addington Special School is taking shape and from Easter 2009, the school is set to open its doors with new and improved educational facilities.

Pupils and staff from Addington Special School have been regularly visiting the site to watch their new school being built within the grounds of The Bulmershe School on Woodlands Avenue in Woodley. And on Friday July 4 they were joined by leader of Wokingham Borough Council Cllr David Lee, deputy executive member for children’s services Cllr John Kersley and MP for Reading East Rob Wilson.

The new £13.5million Wokingham school is being built by contractors Balfour Beatty, and will include classrooms, specialist science, art, music, ICT and drama facilities, a large and small hall and hydrotherapy pool, as well as sensory suites, soft play area, physiotherapy, speech and language and medical areas.

The Balfour Beatty team are making good progress with construction of the new school. The laying of block work to create the outside and inside walls of the school has been completed whilst the mechanical and electrical installation is progressing well. The roof of the new school has been made watertight and the floor preparation is well underway. Windows have also been fitted and this week - July 7 - the ceilings have started to be installed. Work continues outside the school building with the football pitch and landscaped areas having been seeded.

Pupils, parents and the wider community have been watching their new school grow on a live web-cam at www.addington.wokingham.sch.uk

Cllr David Lee, leader of the Wokingham council, said: “I am delighted to see how much progress has been made so far on the new Addington Special School. We still have a way to go, but our journey to provide the pupils with first class facilities is getting closer day-by-day. Everyone is looking forward to the school being finished and seeing the pupils move in next Easter.

The Wokingham pupils have thoroughly enjoyed watching their new school grow and I do hope they will continue to visit the site over the next few months and also watch progress live from their classrooms. The new school building will help the pupils achieve their full potential and will provide them with real opportunities for the future. It is a new era for the whole school community and one that I am very excited about.”

Liz Meek, headteacher, said: “The project is really exciting now as we can see the new school taking shape week-by-week. The pupils really enjoy their visits to the new school and come back very excited by what they have seen.

“I can see the drawing turning into reality and the new school is going to provide so much extra space and opportunity for our children and young people. As we start the new term in September the dream becomes a reality, as we know we will be in our brilliant new school before the end of the academic year.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Legal services at Wokingham Borough Council are certified as being top quality after the legal team retained Lexcel 4, the Solicitors Regulation Authority ’s coveted quality standard.

The Wokingham council first received the accreditation in 2006 after a rigorous assessment by a team of independent experts. The mark was retained after reassessment last year and now, in 2008, the team has yet again kept its accreditation even though a new, more stringent approach to the assessment has been adopted.

The prestigious Lexcel Quality Mark is only awarded to legal practices that have successfully met practice management standards covering good customer care, case management, office administration, financial management and risk assessment. The Law Society introduced the scheme in 1998 to give customers a standard by which they could judge the quality of the legal services they require.

Executive member for Wokingham corporate services Cllr Rob Stanton said: “Retaining this accreditation is a real achievement for the team and is testament to their hard work and high level of service. It also serves to assure our residents that the legal service provided by the council is top quality. I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this success.”

Wokingham Borough Council

The Wokingham garden is growing at the Acorn Community Centre – and gardeners with learning disabilities have had a blooming big boost to their horticultural skills with the opening of new greenhouses.

Horticultural therapy charity Growing Places, which manages the gardens at the Acorn Community Centre in Woosehill, has been fundraising for new greenhouses so that they can expand their activities for learning disabled gardeners. And on June 25 their efforts finally bore fruit when two greenhouses were officially opened by Mark Foss, head of engineering at Boehringer Ingelheim, a local pharmaceutical company which sponsored the greenhouses.

Cllr David Lee, leader of Wokingham Borough Council and former executive member for social care also attended the launch.

Growing Places teaches horticultural skills such as seed sowing, potting on and creative floral crafts, as well as offering participating gardeners opportunities to enter competitions and participate in plant sales, which offers valuable social and money-handling skills.

Staff from Boehringer Ingelheim visited the centre on several occasions to build the greenhouses, which were bought in kit form.

Opening the greenhouses, Boehringer Ingelheim’s Mr Foss said: “I am really delighted that we have been able to help with this project. While our staff were working here they were made to feel extremely welcome and Growing Places is an initiative we have been proud to support.”

Wokingham Cllr Lee said: “I used to be executive member for social care and so I remember the beginning of this project. I have watched many people work hard to make this happen and I am delighted to see that the very popular gardening activities will now be able to expand, thanks to the generosity of Boehringer Ingelheim and the hard work of the project’s members.”

Daily plant sales are now held at the Acorn Centre from 10.30am to 2pm Monday to Friday - anyone can attend to browse the blooms in the greenhouses and pick up something to brighten their garden or to give as a gift. Members of the Growing Places sponsorship scheme can get a discount on plants bought at the centre.

And now, new Wokingham activities are also planned at the greenhouses in addition to the daily plant sales. Free drop-in gardening workshops for the public will be trialled in July, starting with a show session on herb production. On July 10 the gardeners from Growing Places will show visitors how to sow parsley seeds, take sage and rosemary cuttings and transplant small thyme plants into bigger pots. Visitors will be able to take home the mini-herb garden they have created, free of charge.

To find out more about free horticulture workshops at the Acorn Centre’s greenhouses, or to join the Growing Places sponsorship scheme and claim a discount at the plant sales, please visit www.wokingham.gov.uk/growing-places or call the Acorn Centre on (0118) 989 9750.

Wokingham Borough Council

Social enterprise is forging ahead in the Wokingham Borough, with two of the area’s social enterprise organisations scooping top awards last week in the Social Enterprise Berkshire 2008 Annual Awards Ceremony.

Social Enterprise Berkshire is jointly funded by Wokingham Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, South East England Development Agency, DEFRA Rural Social Community Programme and European Social Funding. The awards seek to recognise best practise in social enterprise and showcase the way in which social enterprises are changing lives.

Ethical employment agency Support Horizons, based in Wokingham town centre, won the award for Best Existing Enterprise. Support Horizons is a community-owned company which provides trained and vetted temporary workers for the social care sector. The company also provides genuine employment opportunities for adults with learning disabilities. Profits from the business are re-invested into the community.

Managing director Tim Holland said: “The awards shows how much great work is going on in social enterprise in Berkshire, so it’s a real honor for us to receive this award after only just over two years in business.”

Religious education resource R.E. Inspired, based in Earley, was named Best Innovation. The group offers education sessions, collective worship opportunities, after-school clubs and inset training to help schools and parents bring religious education to life.

Chair of Trustees at R.E. Inspired Jane Earl said: “We are delighted with the recognition of this award. It is a tribute to the hard work of the volunteers from the 20 churches and the excellent cooperation we have had from schools. But the real reward is seeing young people start to think about issues of faith and tolerance. We are delighted to have the chance to play our part.”

Executive member for Wokingham community development Cllr Dianne King said: “It’s great to see social enterprise making such great strides. The community spirit and innovation these organisations are inspiring in people is fantastic and the opportunity to work in partnership with self-sustaining organisations like these is very valuable to the council.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Fraudsters are finding that crime doesn’t pay in the Wokingham Borough – and two more benefits cheats found out the hard way at Reading Magistrates Court on June 26, after Wokingham Borough Council’s fraud investigations team caught up with them. As well as penalties for their crimes, the two fraudsters face repayment of all the defrauded money.

Martha Waugh aged 66, from Clements Close in Spencers Wood, made a fraudulent application for benefits in June 2003, failing to declare two private pensions and some of her bank accounts. Ms Waugh then also failed to tell Wokingham council when she started working in September 2003. Even when her claim was reviewed in June 2006, she still fraudulently failed to declare the pensions, bank accounts and her employment.

Discrepancies were noticed by staff in the council's benefits team and an investigation found evidence of the pensions, bank accounts and paid work. In court Ms Waugh pleaded guilty to five offences and was sentenced to 200 hours community service and ordered to pay £800 costs. She is also currently repaying the overpaid benefit, which amounted to £11,491.57.

Tina Hawkins aged 41, from Highgate Road in Woodley, failed to declare that she was receiving maintenance payments, which had recommenced in April 2007. An investigation proved the payments coming from the Child Support Agency (CSA). In court Ms Hawkins pleaded guilty and was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 costs. The overpaid benefit, of £3762.08, is being recovered from her current entitlement.

Wokingham Revenues and benefits investigations manager Alistair Nunn-Price said: “Cheating the benefit system is a crime and is taken extremely seriously. Our benefit fraud investigations team are very vigilant, and these cases show that those who make fraudulent claims will be found out and made to pay it back – as well as paying the costs of the court case.”

Wokingham Borough Council

With the Beijing Olympics coming up, this year’s Summer Reading Challenge at Wokingham borough’s libraries will be the sport-themed Team Read.

Each year children across the Wokingham borough are offered the chance to join the reading challenge, which aims to inspire them to read six library books during their school summer holidays, and this year’s challenge, Team Read, kicks off on July 12.

Team Read is free to join at any of the Wokingham borough’s libraries and, on joining, children will be given a free Team Read pack of goodies. Those taking part will be given a sticker for each book they read so they can chart their progress through the challenge. If they read six books during the challenge, they will receive a prize and certificate, plus they will be entered into a prize draw to win a Team Read goodie bag.

Throughout the challenge, Wokingham borough’s libraries will be holding sports-themed events to tie-in with the challenge.

These will include Family Reading Olympics when parents can take five to 12-year-olds to two hours of sport-themed fun with games, quizzes, crafts and more. These will be at Wargrave Library, Maiden Erlegh Library and Winnersh Library.

Throughout the challenge there will be weekly Team Read Champions League sessions at some of the borough’s libraries that will offer the chance for five to 12-year-olds to enjoy quizzes and games and to pick-up ideas for sporty reads and new authors. These will be at Wokingham Library, Woodley Library, Lower Earley Library, Spencers Wood Library and Twyford Library. These will also be free and there is no need to book a place.

Younger readers will be able to join the fun at special Sporty storytimes, which are for children aged five and under. They will be at: Wargrave Library, Wokingham Library, Finchampstead Library, Woodley Library, Lower Earley Library, Spencers Wood Library, Twyford Library, Winnersh Library and Maiden Erlegh Library. Places must be booked in advance from the libraries.

Parents with children aged seven and under can take them to one of the story yoga sessions at Wokingham Library being held in August. These are specially designed yoga session for children and parents that use stories and rhymes. They will be on at Wokingham Library from 11am to 11.30am on Wednesday August 6, Wednesday August 13 and Wednesday August 20. Places must be booked in advance from the library.

As well as these activities, a Team Read Treasure Hunt is being held at all the borough’s libraries. Nine numbered Team Read characters have been hidden around each library and children - aged under 13 - must find each one and write down the numbers on them on an entry form for a chance to win a goodie bag full of books and other prizes. There can be only one entry per child and the closing date is August 31.

Wokingham Borough Council’s executive member for community development Cllr Dianne King said: “The Summer Reading Challenge is always fun and, with the Olympics this summer, it is great to have a sports theme. The summer holiday is a great time for young people to read for pleasure rather than for school work and all the borough’s libraries offer a great choice of children’s book.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Parents in the Wokingham borough are being urged not to miss out on free packs of books for the babies and children.

Bookstart book packs provide the perfect way to start reading with babies and toddlers and they are available free of charge at three stages of children’s development.

The first Bookstart pack contains two board books, a book of nursery rhymes, advice on sharing books and information about libraries. Health visitors give these packs to parents when they carry out a baby’s eight-month development review.

But the second pack, the Bookstart Plus pack, which contain two books, a colouring pad, a pack of crayons, a bedroom frieze, stickers for toddlers’ books and a list of great books for toddlers, must be collected from a borough library or children’s centre. The Bookstart Plus packs are available free between a child’s second and third birthdays and to collect them parents or guardians need to take their child’s red health record book to any borough library or children’s centre.

Wokingham Borough Council executive member for community development, Cllr Dianne King, said: “Reading is one of the greatest gifts to give a child – it is free, fun, educational and lasts a lifetime – so Bookstart packs are a wonderful thing for families to receive. It is important that parents and guardians realise that the second Bookstart Plus pack – which is available at a vital age for children’s reading development – is only available from libraries or children’s centres and so they must go and get them. We do not want to see piles of Bookstart Plus packs in our libraries; we want to see scores of children in them enjoying their books.”

The third pack, the Bookstart Treasure Chest,which contains picture books, stickers and a pad and pencils, is given to parents by their child’s nursery or pre-school before the child’s fourth birthday.

Wokingham Borough Council has produced posters and flyers to publicise the Bookstart scheme and more information is available from the Council’s Bookstart officer Ellen Phillips on 0118 974 3711 or via email at bookstart@wokingham.gov.uk.

Ellen Phillips said: “Bookstart aims to inspire, stimulate and create a love of reading that will give children a flying start in life. Many parents are not aware that they can collect the Bookstart Plus pack. It is really important that all parents with a child aged 24 to 36 months goes into their library or children’s centre and claim this pack that they entitled to.”

Parents and guardians could combine collecting their Bookstart Plus pack with a visit to one of the borough libraries’ many baby and child events, which include baby rhymetimes and storytimes.

Wokingham Borough Council

Imaginative young people will find plenty to attract them to two of Wokingham borough’ s libraries this summer – with a Manga Extravaganza and the Winnersh Gaming Club.

Japanese cartoon drawing, manga, has become increasingly popular and Wokingham Library holds a regular manga club for young aficionados and will host a free workshop on Friday August 15. The workshops will be in two sessions, from 10.30am to 12 midday and from 2pm to 3.30pm and will be for experts and beginners alike.

The workshop will cover basic manga drawing and drawing comic strips and participants will also be able to create a character for the library’s manga wall.

And, another popular activity for Wokingham young people, fantasy role-play gaming is on offer at Winnersh Gaming Club, which meets at Winnersh Library every Saturday from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Members, aged between 11 and 17, play games such as Warhammer 40K, Lord of the Rings and Warhammer Fantasy. No experience is necessary and all required equipment is provided. The sessions are £2 per player and places must be booked in advance from the library on 0118 974 7979.

Wokingham Borough Council executive member for community development Cllr Dianne King said: “Libraries have always been places to fire young people’s imaginations and activities such as manga and gaming fit into that tradition. The young people who come to the manga and gaming clubs stretch their imagination and develop their creativity and we hope to see more and more young people attending them.”

Wokingham Borough Council

An art exhibition marvelling the natural earth is set to go on show next week - Monday June 30 - and will be unveiled by Wokingham Borough Council’s Mayor Cllr Pauline Helliar-Symons.

Arena for the Arts is an annual celebration of visual art by children and young people from the Wokingham Borough. The exhibition, a joint project between the borough council and local schools, is based on the theme ‘The Natural Earth.’

Wokingham Artwork has been created using a variety of media including painting, photography, collage, sculpture, pottery and textiles. Pupils have focused on a whole range of aspects of the earth including buildings, the environment, insects and bugs to name just a few, and some of the artwork has been based on famous artists’ Georgia O’Keefe and Richard Long’s work.

The Coombes Infant and Nursery School looked at landscape and used clay from their own grounds to illustrate their work. Schools from the south west cluster* have created ceramic flocks of sheep which will be exhibited on the back lawn at the Civic Offices at Shute End in Wokingham.

Jane Clark, Wokingham arts development officer, said: “This exhibition symbolises the spirit of the earth and highlights how precious it is. The pupils have created such wonderful pieces of art – it’s a true inspiration.”

For the past two terms, hundreds of pupils from primary and secondary schools across the Wokingham borough have been busy exploring their creativity. Schools taking part this year are: Arborfield, Newland and Barkham Junior, Bulmershe, Colleton Primary, Farley Hill Primary*, Gorse Ride Junior, Grazeley Parochial Primary*, Hawkedon Primary, Hillside Primary, Loddon Primary, Maiden Erlegh, Robert Piggott Infant, Shinfield Infant and Nursery*, Shinfield St Mary’s CE Junior*, South Lake Primary, St Teresa’s RC Primary, The Coombes Infant and Nursery*, Waingels College, Wescott Infant School, Whiteknights Primary, and Winnersh Primary. * all schools are members of the south west cluster.

Arena for the Arts was founded by Wokingham Borough Council in 2003 and every year, hundreds of children take part in the event with workshops in schools and youth centres throughout the borough.

Mayor Cllr Pauline Helliar-Symons said: “It promises to be a wonderful exhibition and I hope that many local people will take time out of their busy day to visit the Mall Gallery. Year on year we see how talented our pupils are and I would like to thank the schools for taking part. There is a huge range of different types of artwork on display and it certainly has brought some cheer to the Civic Offices.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Visiting the United Kingdom for the first time, a genuine Italian Market will be making its first stop in Wokingham town centre next week - Friday 4 and Saturday 5 July.

The real Italian market will be in the Market Place, Wokingham between 9am and 5pm and shoppers can be tempted with a range of Italian produce including cheese such as Parmesan, Gorgonzola, and goat’s cheese, and cured meats such as Parma ham and beef bresaola. As well as olive oils from different regions of Italy, there will also be balsamic vinegars, speciality breads and a wide range of pasta.

Also available will be olives of the finest quality including some from Sicily and large green olives from Napoli to name just a few. There will be biscuits, cakes and pastries including the classic Dolci Pasticceria and different types of strudels, crackers and breadsticks.

Also on sale at the Italian Market will be Torrone – a famous cake invented in Cremona, Italy late last century. It’s best described as soft nougat and comes in 33 different flavours.

Visitors to the Wokingham market can also take advantage of the hot food on sale including Arancini, which are rice balls filled with various fillings such as spinach, cheese and ham. As well as food, there will be clothes stalls.

Brian Newman, town centre manager, said: “This is really a great coup for Wokingham as the Italian Food Market is only touring the UK for three months and they have not been seen by anyone in the country before arriving in Wokingham.

“Visitors will be able to explore the delights of the 15 stalls and there will be something that suits all food and wine lovers’ tastes. It promises to be a great few days in Wokingham town centre.”

Wokingham Borough Council