School radio stars perform


Annual crime rate down


CRIME rates in Tonbridge and Malling have dropped by 5.9% in the past year, despite a rise in theft and handling stolen goods. Tonbridge and Malling has


the third lowest crime rate in Kent and the seventh best de- tection rate. However, the council’s com- munity safety advisory board heard that the ongoing reces- sion had brought some addi- tional challenges, which had impacted on crime rates within the borough.


STUDENTS from Unit Radio Productions at The Malling School’s Tydeman Centre took to the stage in their unique comedy “The Scattered Path”, in front of parents, pupils, staff and governors. The radio play follows the


story ofWill, a young man who sets out on a journey to fulfil his grandfather’s dying request and meets an array of colourful characters. During the interval the audience met the cast and crew, and at the end, the cast of knights, evil kings, trolls, gob- lins and dwarves signed auto- graphs. The play was created, per- formed and recorded by the stu- dents and their teacher, Giles Whitehead. They make the radio programmes in a lunchtime club called Unit Radio.


Garage refused PLANS to convert and extend a garage in Willow Road, Lark- field, to living accommodation and build a replacement, have been refused by Tonbridge and Malling councillors. Officers had recommended ap- proval of the scheme at number 22, despite residents’ objections to the “overbearing” size of the addition and loss of privacy due to differences in land levels. Some neighbours had raised concerns about the possibility of the new garage being used for storing racing trucks and work- ing on them, but the applicant had said the use would be do- mestic.


ST Mark’s Primary School in Ec- cles is a satisfactory school where staff, governors and par- ents work well for the benefit of pupils, say Ofsted inspectors. The school, which was in- spected in January, was found to be recovering from a period of staffing problems, and there was a concerted approach to improvement. The quality of teaching and achievement was satisfactory. Inspectors were impressed


by the provision for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where children quickly developed basic skills. How-


12 Malling


THE East Malling Research Sta- tionMusic Club has announced its forthcoming programme for 2012. The club, which meets at Bradbourne House, East Malling at 8pm, has regular classical concerts from local and visiting musicians, cover- ing a wide range of music. On Thursday, May 31, Re-


bekka Hartmann and Caroline Bergius – performing as Duo Is- aria, on violin and harpsichord, will entertain with sonatas by Geminiani, Fux, Tartini and Bach and Bach’s Partita in E


Although Tonbridge and Malling is considered to be gen- erally affluent, there are pockets of deprivation within the bor- ough, the board was told. Substance misuse continues


to be of concern, particularly in East Malling and Aylesford. Although violent crime was


down by 8.2 per cent and crim- inal damage down by 6.8 per cent, theft and handling went up by 1.3 per cent – a reflection of the rise in metal thefts. Car crime saw the biggest fall,


Classics for music lovers


major for solo violin. The Bavarian State Opera Quintet will play quintets by Bruckner and Bruch and the great Brahms Sextet in Op36 on Tuesday, June 19, while on Thursday, July 12, Straight Eight, conducted by Peter Brice, will stage a concert of a capella choral music including Palest- rina’s celebrated Missa Papa Marcelli and an unusual set of Shakespeare songs by the American Matthew Harris. For further information, email sgsh24@gmail.com or telephone 01732 843129


£8.5m pathology lab leads way A NEW £8.5m cellular pathology laboratory has been officially opened at Maidstone Hospital by Derek Bishop, president of the Institute of Bio- medical Science. The lab, on two floors


in the main hospital building, provides adiag- nostic pathology service forhospitals acrosswest Kent, processing more than 100,000 samples a year, ofwhich half are for cancer diagnosis for the county’s oncology service. The lab transferred to Maidstone from dilapidated buildings at Pre-


ston Hall Hospital, Aylesford, as a result of which the service has been able to dramatically reduce its results turnaround times by up to half. Since March this year, the laboratory has been responsible for provid-


ing a county-wide service testing for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Eli- giblewomennowhave these tests carried out at the sametime as their cervical smear examinations. MrBishop said the£8.5 million lab showedMaidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trustwas at the forefront of innovative pathology practice.


School trying hard to improve, say inspectors Pupils were polite, well-be-


ever, in years 1 and 2, progress was found to be not quick enough for pupils to reach above average levels. The gap between boys’ and


girls’ achievement in mathe- matics was closing and teach- ing was consistently good. However, pupils did not do enough practical problem-solv- ing and opportunities were being missed to extend pupils’ writing skills. Leaders are focused on im- proving writing and had made progress in improving reading levels. However, some targets were not challenging enough.


haved and enjoyed school. At- tendance was high and pupils said they felt safe in school. Leaders had taken action to eradicate inadequate teaching. Some teaching was now good, but further improvement was necessary. In order to improve, the school should raise pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching to good by January 2013. They should ensure that writing targets are more chal- lenging and that pupils have more opportunities to do ex- tended pieces of writing.


with a 22.6 per cent decrease on the previous year, but Insp John Philips told the board that the decrease in car crime was largely due to the more sophis- ticated nature of vehicles, mak- ing them more difficult to steal without a set of keys. The board’s priorities for 2012


will be tackling domestic abuse, anti-social behaviour, substance misuse, violent crime and road safety, with an emphasis on is- sues relating to young people.


Water safety


course at pool CHILDREN can learn how to stay safe in water this summer on a one-day course at their local swimming pool. Larkfield Leisure Centre and


Tonbridge Swimming Pool are both running the Get Safe 4 Summer course on June 7. Run in conjunction with the


Royal Life Saving Society, it will show children how to stay safe in open water, basic life- saving and water survival skills. There will also be some fun challenges. The course costs just £16, and


runs from 10am to 2pm at Lark- field and 9.30am to 2pm at Ton- bridge. Participants must be aged between 7 and 14, and be able to tread water and swim 20 metres comfortably. Places are limited – to book


call Larkfield on 01622 719345 and Tonbridge on 01732 367449.


Affordable art THE Rotary Club of Malling is presenting the Kent Affordable Art Show at Tearnden Farm, Bethersden, when local profes- sional artists will be offering their work for viewing and sale at affordable prices. The show will be in a unique setting – a 17th century framed barn – on Saturday and Sun- day, June 16 and 17, with free admission and car parking. Opening times for the public


are 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Paintings, sculpture, pottery


and more will be on show, and there will be opportunities for “budding” artists to have a go. Refreshments will be available. All commission profits will


be donated to Rotary’s global campaign for the eradication of polio. For details go towww.rc- malling.org.uk/kass.html.


Marathon couple WEST Malling couple Allan and Deborah Clark hope to have raised more than £3,000 for Kent Association for the Blind by running the Brighton marathon. Allan finished in 3 hrs 53


mins, and Deborah crossed the line in 5hrs 6mins.


Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735


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