Summary

  • Updates on Monday 4 April 2016

  1. Family's tribute to 'beautiful baby girl'published at 14:57 British Summer Time 17 August 2020

    Police say inquiries into the death of one-year-old Elaina Rose Aziz are continuing.

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  2. A-level row in pictures: Students protest 'huge injustice'published at 10:56 British Summer Time 17 August 2020

    Pressure is mounting on ministers to resolve the exam grades crisis.

    They face calls to delay the results, change the grading algorithm or use the grades estimated by teachers, after complaints of unfair A-level results.

    Students protested in Coventry's Broadgate on Sunday saying they had faced a "huge injustice".

    ProtestImage source, Alan Van Wijgerden
    ProtestImage source, Alan Van Wijgerden

    One of the event organisers, Yaqoub Imran from Sidney Stringer Academy, said due to the downgrading of marks he had missed out on a scholarship to the University of Birmingham.

    Students across Coventry and the whole country have faced a "huge injustice" he said.

    "I want the government and Ofqual to acknowledge their mistake and have the courage to make a change."

    ProtestImage source, Alan Van Wijgerden
    ProtestImage source, Alan Van Wijgerden
    ProtestImage source, Alan Van Wijgerden

    In England, 280,000 A-level results were downgraded from teachers' assessments on Thursday, almost 40% of the total. In Wales, 42% of A-level results predicted by teachers were lowered by the exam watchdog.

    The government has defended the approach it used to determine grades.

  3. A-level grades row: MP backs student demonstrationpublished at 09:52 British Summer Time 17 August 2020

    A Coventry MP says this year's A-level results were decided by a "rigged algorithm".

    It comes after almost 40% of A-level grades awarded on Thursday in England were lower than teachers' predictions.

    Student protestImage source, Zarah Sultana MP

    Zarah Sultana, Labour MP for Coventry South, is calling on the government to use teachers' assessments for marks after protests by students in Coventry on Sunday.

    The government has defended the approach it used to determine grades.

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  4. Wasps return with win at Northamptonpublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 16 August 2020

    Wasps reach the top four for the first time this season as they return to action with a deserved 34-21 bonus-point win at Northampton.

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  5. Woman charged in murder probe as victim namedpublished at 13:10 British Summer Time 15 August 2020

    Nicola Bray, 45, was found dead at her home in Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday.

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  6. Salon's phone 'ringing off hook' as lockdown easespublished at 14:43 British Summer Time 14 August 2020

    From Saturday, beauty salons can resume facial treatments as lockdown restrictions ease.

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  7. Fallen tree 'causes £80k damage' to fun parkpublished at 11:55 British Summer Time 14 August 2020

    BBC CWR

    A fallen tree's caused about £80,000 worth of damage to a fun park in Warwickshire, its owner's said.

    Work to remove the fallen tree

    The tree came down on Tuesday night at St Nicholas Park, Warwick, and smashed through several pieces of equipment.

    Jay Wheatley is company director of owner Green Space Leisure and says the company is hoping to reopen early next week.

    "We're devastated, particularly with it being in the summer holidays and particularly this year after all we've suffered with Covid as many have."

  8. Food bank demand 'trebles in a year'published at 09:46 British Summer Time 14 August 2020

    Demand for food parcels from a food bank has nearly trebled in a year, its manager has revealed.

    Food in a foodbank

    Staff at the Stratford-upon-Avon facility handed out 692 parcels in July which manager Marian Homer said was almost three times the number in July 2019.

    She added demand for children's parcels had also risen from 76 in July 2019 to 378 last month.

    “No parent wants to depend on charity to feed their children but it’s clear that our food bank is becoming the only option for a growing number of struggling families."

  9. A-level moderation 'doesn't make any sense'published at 18:32 British Summer Time 13 August 2020

    BBC CWR

    As anger grows over the A-level grades awarded today, a Coventry head teacher has been highly critical of the way teachers' assessments have been altered.

    Exam boards asked schools to predict the grades pupils would have achieved if they had sat exams.

    While nationally, 40% of grades are lower than teachers' predictions, Clare Turpin from Sidney Stringer Academy says 60% of her pupils' grades have been marked down.

    students taking an exam

    "They haven't really used the calculated grades that teachers have submitted." Clare's told BBC CWR this afternoon. "In maths alone, as an example, 28 out of the 29 calculated grades have been reduced."

    She added: "Last year 88 of our pupils achieved A* to B [in maths]. We calculated this year it would be 86% and they awarded us 44%, so it just doesn't make any sense."

  10. Wasps sign ex-Bath second row Douglaspublished at 15:07 British Summer Time 13 August 2020

    Wasps sign lock Levi Douglas on a deal until the end of the 2019-20 Premiership season.

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  11. Staff at banana supplier to be tested for Covid-19published at 14:33 British Summer Time 13 August 2020

    An outbreak among 10 workers at Fyffes in Coventry leads to the whole workforce being tested.

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  12. The young people saving money without a bankpublished at 00:14 British Summer Time 13 August 2020

    With finances stretched by Covid-19 these young people are supporting each other to save money.

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  13. CWG2022: University 'ready to go' to host athletespublished at 17:12 British Summer Time 12 August 2020

    BBC CWR

    "We're ready" - officials at the University of Warwick have reacted positively to news they will be hosting hundreds athletes for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

    University of WarwickImage source, Google

    Organisers of the Games announced yesterday they were abandoning plans for an athletes' village and instead would use the NEC and student accommodation at the universities of Birmingham and Warwick.

    The new proposals will see 1,900 athletes and officials stay at Warwick , externalwhich will also mean they are near to the venues for rugby sevens, lawn bowls, judo and wrestling.

    The university's director of sport, Lisa Dodd-Mayne, said it was "fantastic news" and it was well prepared to host the competitors.

    "We've got the fantastic conference facilities, our colleagues in conferencing understand the needs that athletes have, they can relax and focus on the competitions and we've got the sporting facilities set up and ready to go so we've got no problems at all, we're ready."

  14. New Covid-19 test centre set uppublished at 16:06 British Summer Time 12 August 2020

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    Tom Davis

    A coronavirus-testing walk-in centre is being set up in part of Coventry after a small rise in the rate of new cases, health officials have said.

    A test centreImage source, Reuters

    At a city council meeting last week, director of Public Health Liz Gaulton said the north east of Coventry was seeing “slightly higher rates than elsewhere across the city”.

    The centre will open for advance bookings next to the Broad Street GP surgery on Thursday.

    The rate of Covid-19 cases across Coventry has dropped slightly in the latest figures for the seven days to 7 August with 14.0 per 100,000, compared with 14.5 for the previous seven days.

    That is still well below the rate of 20.1 in Sandwell; while Pendle in the north of England has a current rate of 96.6 new infections per 100,000 people in the same period.

  15. Park amusements closed after storm brings down treepublished at 13:34 British Summer Time 12 August 2020

    An amusement area at a park has had to be closed after a tree came down on a ride overnight.

    The severe weather caused the tree fall at St Nicholas Park, Warwick, the town council said., external

    The park in Warwick
  16. Venues signal 'red alert' for live eventspublished at 12:43 British Summer Time 12 August 2020

    Theatres across the West Midlands and Cheshire joined a day of action around the UK to highlight the crisis facing the live events scene.

    Crewe Lyceum lit upImage source, Crewe Lyceum

    Venues including the Crewe Lyceum, Lichfield Garrick, Bedworth Civic Hall and Rugby Theatre turned their lights red as part of the Red Alert campaign.

    The Red Alert movement and #WeMakeEvents marches aimed to raise awareness about the threat of job losses in the sector.

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    Last month, the government announced a £1.57bn support package aimed at protecting theatres, galleries and museums.

    The government has previously said that will lead to more work for freelancers. The furlough scheme and support for self-employed people are due to end in the coming months - and many freelancers were not eligible for them at all.

  17. New dinosaur related to Tyrannosaurus rex discoveredpublished at 10:22 British Summer Time 12 August 2020

    BBC News England

    A new species of dinosaur has been discovered.

    A CGI image has been created of an impression of the final moments of the Vectaerovenator inopinatusImage source, Trudie Wilson

    Palaeontologists believe four bones found at Shanklin on the Isle of Wight last year belong to a new species of theropod dinosaur.

    Some of the bones were found by Robin Ward, a regular fossil hunter from Stratford-upon-Avon, who was visiting the area with his family when they made their discovery.

    "The joy of finding the bones we discovered was absolutely fantastic," he said.

    Click here for more about the find.

  18. Positive tests could lead to 20-0 losspublished at 08:54 British Summer Time 12 August 2020

    Any Premiership club unable to field a team due to positive coronavirus cases when the season resumes could be handed a 20-0 loss.

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