Best year yet for Duke’s awards


MORE youngsters than ever in the Maidstone area have received Duke of Edinburgh awards. Fifteen picked up gold at the presentation evening – all from Maidstone Girls Grammar School, apart from Kathryn Bunyon, a former pupil who completed her studies at MGS. DoE local field officer Elaine Gladwell said:


“It’s been a top year. MGGS has a new unit leader,Michelle Starns, and she made sure they


Gold Maidstone Grammar School for Girls: Katie Allsopp, Sineade Brown, Alicia Clark, Althea Dove, Rachel Farrer, Claudia Hogan, Aayushi Pandya, Lydia Payne, Georgia Powell, Bethan Sweeting, Marianne Thompson, Nicole Rus- sell, Zoe Warren and Catherine Wyatt.


Maidstone Grammar School: Kathryn Gunyon.


Silver Maidstone Grammar School for Girls: Emma De’Ath, Sian Cooper, Francesca Downey, Sophie Farrow, Hope Frost, Grace Hayward, Laura Hogan, Lucy Jeffrey, Ellen Kirk, Alexa Le Moine, Jaimee Mallion, Alexandra McLeod, Felicia Odun- tan, Chloe Palmer, Samantha Rid- dell, Sophie Rideout, Charlotte Rushton, Laura Taylor, Francesca Underdown, RebeccaWest, Alexan- dra White and Rosie Whitlock- Bain.


Shepway Manor Youth Centre: Holly Cook and Zoe Sturgess.


Independent: Sally McConchie and BethanyMorse-Wolfe.


Bronze Five Acre Wood School: Sam Ashby, Mandy Baulch, Rhian Blake, David Bowles, Gary Chap- man, Samuel Doe and Harley-Anne Everest, Anna Filmer, Kitty-Sue Hayes-Watkins, Billie Hemphill,


Gold winners from Maidstone Grammar School for Girls with Everest expedition leader Mike Trueman


Lottie Heron, Ross Johnson, Re- becca Kidd, Chelsea Kirby, Georgia Leggatt, Jack Ornee, Luke Rayman, Siobhan Read, Sarah Robinson, Leia Sinfield, Benjamin Triggs and Rebecca Tucker.


InvictaGrammar School: Eleanor Bryant, Harriet Burke, Holly Cook and Brooke Mahoney.


Maidstone Grammar School: Francis Berti, Andrew Burrows, Stephen Hibberd, Matthew Kemp, Alexander Love, Thomas Morgan, James Parker, Jack Ray andWilliam Ringer.


Cornwallis Academy: Taralyn Phillips.


Maplesden Noakes School: Thomas Arnold, Steven Blythe, Aishwarya Chauhan,Harriet David- son, Jessica Grice, Chloe Hubbard, Josef Huntington, Danielle Jesshope, Connor Kent, Daniel


McGuire, India McMorrow, Alexan- dra Reid, AmyWebster and Amber Wright.


Maidstone Grammar School for Girls: Nicole Anderson, Daisy An- drews, Elizabeth Andrews, Natalia Berriman, Rebecca Blackburn, Eliz- abeth Blenkinsop, Katherine Buck- ley, Sophie Burn, Amy Checksfield, Abigail Cook, Melissa Cooke, Isabel De Knop, Siobhan Deverill, Ruth Farrer, Hannah Feneron, Rebecca Foxell, Eleanor Francis, Hope Frost, Lauren Gilchrist, Chloe Green, Vivien Hadlow, Emily Hale, Mikaela Hale, Zoe Hardie, Eliana Harrigan, Eleanor Hays, Ellen Kirk, Georgia Knight, Megan Lowery, Clara Matthews, Juliet McGill, Eleanor Meek, Jessie Ochello, So- phie Oram, Katie Parker, Amy Pea- cock,Alice Rogers, Carolyn Rogers, Joanna Spreadbury, Kathryn Stock-


THE issue of A-board advertising outside shops may have been resolved, but a Maid- stone campaigner for the blind still thinks businesses could do more to de-clutter pave- ments. The highways authority, KCC, has launched


an initiative that balances traders’ interests with the safety of vulnerable pedestrians, such as mums with baby buggies, the partially sighted and elderly people. Shopkeepers, cafe owners and firms


(L to r): Pat Edwards, KCC’s Bryan Sweetland, Cllr Malcolm Robertson and campaigner Neville Butteriss with his guide dog


who want to use an A-board must comply with certain guidelines – only one, close to their premises and no bigger than a specified size. They will then be entitled to display a window sticker to show they are “A-board aware”. KCC cabinet member Bryan Sweetland said:


“Wewant to balance the interests of businesses with people who can have problems on


Sutton Street home back on agenda


ASHFOLD Estates has submitted a further proposal for a de- tached home on land next to The Cottage, Sutton Street, Bearsted. The scheme includes a garage to the rear of the site. Last year, the developer withdrew a similar application


after a planning case officer raised concerns about the de- sign of the three-bedroom property. According to the plan- ning statement: “The dwelling has been completely redesigned and its scale substantially altered so that the building takes on a definite agricultural flavour with strong links to the adjacent converted barn complex to the south.” Maidstone Council will rule on the application.


Last year, Ashfold Estates outlined an intention to build up to 70 homes on flood land at nearby Cross Keys. No ap- plication for this has yet been submitted.


32 East


all had their books in and signed off.” MGGS also collected 22 silvers and 46 bronzes. A total of 22 bronzes went to Five AcreWood School for youngsters with severe learning dif- ficulties. Guest speaker for the evening, held atMaples-


den Noakes School, was Everest expedition leader Mike Trueman.


ton, Laura Taylor, Zoe Waghorn, RosieWhitlock Bain, MollyWillett, PiaWilliams and LucyWright.


Oakwood Park Grammar School: Jacob Amos, Joe Atkinson, Thomas Bates, Robert Beale, Ryan Boorman, Oliver Burman, Matthew Burton, Luke Bury, George Clarke, Alexan- der Cox, Alexander Cutress, Jacq Dennison, Daniel Dunmill, Andrew Elphinstone, Aria Fard, Pierre Flasse, Bashishta Gaire, Gregg Harfleet, George Hazelden, Andrew Hunt, Nicholas Hurn, Christopher Iddiols, James Ireland, Sam Jamaa, George Jones, Duncan Kesby, Christopher Laister, Christopher Letchford-Jones, Alexander Midg- ley, ThomasMorrison, Callum Mur- ray, Laurence Murton,Michael Part, Nicholas Penny, Robin Potter, Thomas Robinson, Thomas Rowe, Jamie Russell,William Starks, Josh Tapley, Alexander Taylor, Simon Vanderhook, Liam Walton, James Weaver, Ryan West, Samuel Whit- taker, JamesWilson and SamWood- berry.


Valley Park Community School: Polly Tomlin and Chloe Tompsett.


Aylesford School: JamesAger, So- phie Aldridge, Christopher Browne, Annabelle Goff, Mervyn Hemphill, Alice Longstaff, Joe Man- ley, Rachel Patch, Aimee Roddam, Matthew Rothwell and George Thomas.


Holmesdale Technology College, Snodland: Mickala Coates, Kather- ine Cook, Tyler Fletcher, Brogan Hayward, Charlie Hood, Zac Matthews, Chloe Moss, Phillip Nicholls, Hollie Olding, Thomas Veness and Louis White.


Swadelands School/ Lenham Youth Centre: Jemma Boswell, Liam Jane and Danny Kenyon


Wrotham School: Lewis Kemme- noe and Jack Marchant-Deadman


‘A-board aware’ stickers a street-wise solution


crowded pavements. “If they want to put an A-board outside their premises, then they should do so in a respon- sible way by complying with our guidelines – based on Department for Transport advice. Cllr Sweetland added: “Where we do find an A-board placed inappropriately, we will ad- vise the owner to re-site it and encourage them to sign up to our scheme. But if the owner doesn’t take action, we will remove it.” Neville Butteriss and Pat Edwards,who have


been campaigning against A-boards, wel- comed the initiative. ButMr Butteriss also sug- gested that business could consider using different forms of advertising. He said: “It would be nice if more businesses


could trade without advertising blocking up the streets. My argument has always been, ‘let’s have signs hanging from walls outside


Charity ball at castle MAIDSTONE-based charity Kent Youth celebrated 75 years with an an- niversary ball at Leeds Castle. Around 200 guests attended the


event, which included live music and a silent and live auction that helped raise over £25,000 for the charity. KentYouth supports over 200 youth


clubs across Kent andMedway. It was adopted by Leeds Castle as one of its five annual charities and received a range of support including hosting of the AGM and a medieval Olympics event for affiliated youth clubs.


Visit Downs Mail’s website — downsmail.co.uk


shops’.” Jo James, of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, wel- comed the initiative: “I am de- lighted that KCC understands the balance that has to be struck between the benefits advertis- ing boards bring traders and the requirement to make sure po- tential hazards areminimised.” Highways scrutiny committee vice-chairman Cllr Malcolm Robertson, KCC member for Maidstone Central, said: “I am very pleased with this new vol- untary policy and I would urge shopkeepers to sign-up to it.”


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