News Coxheath plot
up for auction A GREEN-field site in Coxheath will come up at auction this month. The land – next to a site that has
been given planning permission for housing – is offHeath Road. It totals 1.72 acres. The auctioneer, Clive Emson,
has offered a guide price of £35- £40,000, plus fees. The auction will be held at the
Kent Showground atDetling, near Maidstone, on Wednesday, June 12.
Watch set up
NEW Neighbourhood Watch group has been set up in Boughton Monchelsea in re- sponse to criminal activity in the area. The group has already at- tracted the support of 62 mem- bers. Those interested in joining are asked to email BMNeighbour-
hoodwatch@gmail.com or bmpc-
clerk@outlook.com.
More
information is also available on the group’s new Facebook page ‘Boughton Monchelsea Neigh- bourhoodWatch’.
Loosemeeting
AN open invitation is issued to Loose Community Coffee Morn- ing onWednesday, June 12. So, if you’ve nothing planned
between 9am and noon, a warm welcome is promised at the KGV Pavilion inWalnut Tree Lane. Children and dogswelcome. For further details contact Liz McLaren on 07921 809161.
Memorial day
LOCAL members of the Royal British Legionwill attend the 79th Battle of Britain memorial day at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, on Sunday, July 7. The date is the official “start” of
the battle, which raged in the skies above Kent for several months, and remembers the brave pilotswho gave their lives.
Health funds
SERVICES supporting mental health needs have received a fur- ther £136,000 from Kent Police and Crime Commissioner MatthewScott. Mr Scott announced that a
number of projects which have demonstrated their benefits in previous years are again receiving funding in 2019/20 fromhisMen- tal Health and Policing Fund.
20 Maidstone Weald June 2019
downsmail.co.uk
Astrid aiming to help slum‘untouchables’
AN INVICTA Grammar School pupil plans to raise much- needed cash for slumchildren in India. Astrid Finlay (17), of Leeds,
met staff and pupils of Ashray School whose 120 plus primary school age children live in some of the worst poverty in the Uttar Pradesh state. Ashray aims to give the pupils
the education they need to get them into better paid jobs and help pull their families out of poverty. Rakesh Saraogi, spokesman
for the Ashray Charitable Trust (ACT), which helps to fund the school, said pupils come from the 3,000 slum-dwellers (the so- called Dalit ‘untouchables’) in Varanasi. He added that most are from
“less than under-privileged” homes, which are mostly shanty shacks and where the principal breadwinner may make £1 or so per day fixing rickshaws or sell- ing fruit. Astrid arranged the school
visit to coincide with a family holiday to Delhi, Agra and Moradabad. She said: “The work Ashray is
doing is truly inspirational but what shows it is now working is that three of the teachers are for- mer pupils of the school. The dif- ference an education has made to their lives has been truly in- spirational. The school has
Astrid Finlay with pupils of the Ashray School in India’s Uttar Pradesh state and, inset, Rakesh Saraogi
begun to give basic evening classes to the
parents who are so poorly edu- cated that they can’t read price labels or fill out basic forms.” Astrid hopes to raise funds via
the Invicta’s charitable giving scheme –which can raise £50,000 in a year for multiple charities – or by her own endeavours. Mr Saraogi said: “Donations
are always welcome and we re- ceive no government assistance. If people want to help I’d rather receive 1,000 rupees (approxi-
mately £9) a month than 12,000 rupees in one go.” The school provides uniforms
for the children but does not feed them. It does, however, pro- vide some basic medical help. School management found
that teaching children the proper use of soap can slash the rate of illness, such as tuberculosis, and infection in slums. Although the concept of an
“untouchable” class in India has been outlawed for decades, the stigma attached to the caste sys- tem remains.
Tears at Invicta year’s early ending
YEAR 13 pupils at Invicta Grammar School were left sobbing in the play- ground after staff brought their Leavers’ Day forward by 24 hours. The students were told at an assembly
on May 15 it would be their last day to- gether before sitting exams. Pupils suspected itwas shifted to head-
off possible pranks after concerns about dangerous stunts a few days previously at Maid- stone Grammar School for Girls. One Invicta pupil said: “Girls have been crying
in the playground. They feel as though they have been denied what is an important day in any pupil's school life. They were scared that some of the girlswere up to something and pulled it." But head teacher Julie Derrick, pictured, said:
“The only tears we saw were ones of happiness and emotion at coming to the end of their school journey.”
One parent declared he would report
the matter to the exam authorities amid claims art and photography A-level stu- dentswere “pulled out” of their exams to attend the assembly. A school spokesman said: “Photogra-
phy and art students attended our cele- bratory assembly in a standard break during their examination. All students
going back into examinations following the as- sembly were checked by staff, and were calmand well. “At Invicta Grammar School, it is our priority to
ensure our students are happy, supported and well-looked after, at all times." Earlier in May, Maidstone Grammar’s head,
Deborah Stanley, pulled the plug on Year 11 proms because she considered a series of last day pranks, notconsidered to be unusual in schools, went too far.
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