Birmingham Post

Metro Is Shunted Into Wall of Silence

The routes of future West Midlands Metro lines could be decided with negligible input from the public after just two per cent of people responded to a consultation exercise. Public transport body Centro and the West Midlands district councils affected by four suggested tram lines distributed almost 100,000 brochures to people living along or near the proposed corridors.

Melody Classes

Piano lessons for seven-year-old Ziekel Wallace-Fitzpatrick mean more than just musical pleasure. Ziekel, who has Down's Syndrome, has been going to Melody classes organised by Rose Cross, one of thecountry's few piano teachers for children with learning difficulties. The classes help the youngsters express themselves creatively and Ziekel, from Kings Heath, Birmingham, has alreadycomposed a piece of music to play in front of friends, relatives and classmates at a workshop.

New Exams a Raw Deal, Says Cbi

Replacing traditional GCSE and A-level examinations with Baccalaureate-style qualifications would be a 'damaging distraction' for students, the head of the CBI will tell a Birmingham conference today. Business leaders have urged the Government not to change the education system, claiming changes would divert from the real priorities of education.

Relatives Await Hajj Deaths News

Hundreds of West Midlands families were waiting anxiously last night for news of relatives taking part in a Muslim pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia after at least 244 worshippers were killed in a stampede. They died during the hajj which has been attended by an estimated two million people, including thousands from the West Midlands.

How Strawberries and Bananas Can Help Put Spice in Your Sex Life

It used to be chocolates or oysters. But couples searching for a libido boost now need look no further than their local greengrocers' for the new aphrodisiac -fruit.

Hain Backs 'Ideal' Midlands

The West Midlands can offer better quality staff than London to entice the Civil Service out of the capital, a senior Minister has claimed. Peter Hain, leader of the Commons, told an audience in Birmingham that civil servants had to be relocated because the capital was 'full to bursting point' and the West Midlands was an ideal location to be their new base. Mr Hain's support for the relocation policy was made at a meeting, held at Birmingham Council House, of West Midlands MPs, transport cam...

Europe Counting On British Campaign to Beat Voter Apathy

Fewer than one in five West Midlands voters are planning to vote in this year's European elections, a survey has revealed. The poll was commissioned by the European Parliament, which today launches a campaign to convince people the EU matters. Dermot Scott, director of the UK office of the European Parliament, said: 'There's a lot of sense talked about the European Parliament and a lot of nonsense.' Only 19 per cent of people in the West Midlands said they are certain to vote in the European ...

Planners to Decide On Moseley's Future

The future of Moseley Rugby Club will be decided this week when councillors vote on whether to approve its move to a new base so houses can be built on its former site. The controversial scheme has upset many local residents who believe proposals by developers Bryant Homes to build 83 new homes at The Reddings will spoil the unique character of the Birmingham suburb.

Making Music with Rosie Creates a Special Melody ; Crashing Sounds, Fists Banging On the Notes -at First Sight Just a Child 'Messing Round'. But Birmingham Conservatoire Piano Teacher Rosie Cross Knows It Is Much More Than That Emma Pinch Reports

The boy, face shining with rapt attention, is making hail, thunder and sunshine into sound, and gaining as much joy as the most gifted of Rosie Cross's Conservatoire pupils. Mrs Cross is one of only a handful of teachers in the UK who teaches piano to children with learning difficulties.

Sighting of Missing Girl in Midlands

Police from Wales are searching the West Midlands after a possible sighting of a missing 15-year-old girl. Officers suspect Tammy Leanne Lane went missing from her South Wales home after arranging to meet someone through an internet chat room.

Student May Have Been Killed, Police

Detectives investigating the death of a student from Walsall yesterday said they could not rule out murder. Lincoln Elliott, who was in his first year of his course at Derby University, was found dead by his flatmates at their university home at about 10am last Tuesday. He had stab wounds to his chest.

Gang Rampage

Five Hurt in Road Crashes

A teenage motorcyclist suffered serious injuries after he collided with a car in Staffordshire at the weekend. The 16-year-old was taken to University Hospital in Stoke- onTrent following the crash in New Road, Uttoxeter, on Saturday evening.

Former Dj Muff Launches Pounds 5m Appeal to Help Preserve Cathedral's Heritage

A former top radio DJ is heading an appeal to raise more than pounds 5 million for Worcester cathedral. Muff Murfin was familiar to thousands in the West Midlands as the voice of BBC Birmingham from the 1970s to the 1980s.

Education Matters: North-South Divide Set to Split Schools in Solihull

Schools in the north of Solihull have been pitched against those in the south of the borough in a battle for nearly pounds 100 million. The contest could, this month, see schools in one half of the borough being told they will get a significant slice of a pounds 5.1 billion Government modernisation scheme while those in the other get nothing.

Education Matters: Switch Off Television and Talk to Children

Parents should turn off the television and have more conversation with their children, a charity has claimed after a poll showed nine out of ten nursery workers believe children's verbal skills are getting worse. The poll by speech therapy charity I CAN showed 96 per cent of nursery staff had at least one child with 'communication difficulties' in their class and 92 per cent blamed lack of conversation between adults and children.

Education Matters: More Schools Specialising in Standards Push

Seven more Birmingham secondary schools have won specialist status, meaning more than half in the city now have an area of expertise ranging from business to the performing arts. The status -which comes with substantial extra cash -involves schools placing extra focus on one of ten designated subject areas to help raise overall attainment.

Education Matters: Whitehall Rejects Teen Pregnancy Rules Plan

The Government has rejected renewed calls from its advisers for sex education to be compulsory on cutting teenage pregnancy rates, it has emerged. The Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy caused a stir last year when it said all primary and secondary schools should teach children about sex and relationships.

Education Matters: Teachers Told of New Drugs Laws

Birmingham teachers have been given a drug awareness update following Government moves to soften laws on the use of cannabis. Teachers from the city's Central Collegiate Academy of six secondary schools have undergone the training to get them up to speed with the latest legal developments.

Education Matters: Employers Told to Mind the Skill Gap

Regional employers have been told a lack of basic skills among the workforce is costing their businesses millions of pounds a year and threatening the future prosperity of the local economy. The warning came during a meeting hosted by the Birmingham and Solihull Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in Birmingham last week.