Birmingham Post

Bike Fanatic Dies On Racetrack He Loved

A Birmingham IT consultant who had a lifelong passion for motorbikes was killed when he crashed during a practice run for the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man. John Loder's grieving family last night said the 56 year-old had lived for motorbike racing and had become a stalwart of the island race, having competed every year since 1979.

Rory Murder: Body Found

Police hunting the killer of schoolboy Rory Blackhall yesterday discovered a body at a house they were searching in connection with his murder. The 11-year-old's body was discovered in woods a week ago near his school, prompting one of Scotland's biggest murder hunts.

Let M6 Get Worse, Says Toll Road Boss

The Australian owners of the M6 Toll have been criticised after suggesting the company wants congestion on the M6 to get even worse in order to help their business. The annual financial report of the Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) reveals it is to concentrate on raising M6 Toll revenues this year.

Party Mum Shot Dead

Two Teenagers Dead, Three Injured in Country Road Smash Horror

Two teenagers, one of them a schoolgirl, died and three others were seriously injured when a car careered off a Midland road and smashed into a tree. All five people were trapped in the wreckage of the Vauxhall Calibra, which crashed on a country road close to the British Sugar Beet factory at Allscott, near Telford, Shropshire, on Saturday.

Coping with Schizophrenia ; Living with a Schizophrenic Can Rip Apart Even the Most Tight-Knit of Families. But, As One Birmingham Couple and Their Son Discovered, with the Help of a Therapy Being Pioneered in the Midlands It Does Not Have to Jessica Shepherd Reports

Rob Strawford's parents prayed it was just drugs that were triggering their teenage son's odd behaviour. Perhaps, they thought, all teenagers went through periods of elation followed by depression.

Group to Back Pounds 7m Travel Info Scheme

A pounds 7 million plan to put timetable and route information at every bus stop and interchange in the West Midlands is set to be approved by councillors on the Passenger Transport Authority. The plan, the first step towards the long-talked about Network West Midlands scheme, will complement the well-used Traveline telephone service and real time information displays being steadily introduced to bus shelters on key routes.

They're Litter Picking Good

A team of street wardens from Sandwell has been shortlisted for a national award. The team has been entered in the 'environmental' category of the National Warden Achievement Awards 2005, run by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Italian Job has Best Movie Chase Scene of All Time

It featured one of Britain's motoring legends and a sewer in the West Midlands stood in for a tunnel in Turin. The Italian Job has always been a classic movie and its reputation has again been reinforced with a poll to establish which film has the best car chase.

Bird Boffin's Habitat Map

A Birmingham University academic has created a map showing where each species of bird lives in the world. Biosciences researcher Dr Tim Blackburn worked with three other academics to chart where varieties of birds settle. Their research shows mountainous mainland areas are the richest in bird species, but islands and island archipelagos are where most endangered species inhabit.

Major Rescue Operation Mounted in North Sea

Five lifeboats and two helicopters were called out yesterday after high winds capsized a large number of small sailing boats in the North Sea, leaving sailors clinging to their hulls. The RNLI said two all-weather lifeboats and three inshore lifeboats were launched after the laser-class dinghies taking part in a race off Teesside began capsizing with some of the craft ending up more than two miles from the shore.

Parents Pay Tribute to Two 'Wonderful' Boys

The parents of two brothers swept to their deaths as they waded in the sea have paid tribute to their "wonderful" boys. James and Matthew Hole, from Worcestershire, were playing in the sea off Llandanwg Beach, near Harlech, north Wales, on Thursday evening when a freak current dragged them under the water.

Education Matters: Games Time Is Leaving Boys Trailing Girls When Exams Come

Boys are falling further behind girls at school because many spend their spare time playing games consoles while girls use computers for homework, according to Government research. Pupils who used computers for their school work scored higher grades in their GCSEs and national tests than those without access to computers at home, the study found.

Education Matters: Helping to Catch Visual Stress Early

Education authorities and schools in the West Midlands have come under increased pressure to screen pupils for "visual dyslexia". Experts believe as many as 20 per cent of pupils may suffer from the condition - also known as "visual stress" - to some degree.

Education Matters: Charitable Status Risk for Independents

West Midlands private schools may lose thousands of pounds if they fail to prove they deserve the title "charitable institution" next spring. The region's private schools will have to show the Government organisation responsible for registered charities - the Charity Commission - that the money they receive partly helps the public when the Charities Act is passed.

Education Matters: Mp Wants Nationalised School-Run

A Midland MP is urging the Government to reduce rush hour congestion by setting up a national school bus service. Geoffrey Robinson (Lab Coventry North West) said a bus network of the type common in America would put an end to the school run, where parents cause traffic chaos at peak times.

Education Matters: Never Mind the Bullock - Are Children Being Given the Message Not to Take School Seriously ; Plain Speaking From Ex-Teacher Brenda Bullock

Generally speaking, those obsessed by a blind dogma don't have much of a sense of humour. I don't expect the Hitlers and Stalins of this world were uproariously comic companions - but it does seem to me that the low-grade "egalitarian" dogma prevalent in education today does seem to have rendered its practitioners and apologists entirely without humour or a sense of the ridiculous. Lewis Carroll knew the ridiculous all right. He had the White Knight propounding his theory on how to avoid hair...

Education Matters: Cost of a Private Education has Tripled

Independent school fees have increased at more than three times the rate of inflation over the last 20 years. The average cost for day pupils had risen by 364 per cent since 1985, to pounds 8,388, while the rate of inflation over the same period was 103 per cent, according to research by the Halifax bank.

Education Matters: Council Aims to Build On Good Grade

Solihull Council is aiming to build on a recent Ofsted report showing nearly two-thirds of its child day care centres are on a par with the best in the country. Sixty per cent of all full day care services currently offered in the borough have been ranked as "good", the highest level given in the "Early Years: Firm Foundations" study.

Old Man Scared to Death by Burglar

A pensioner who collapsed and died near his home may have been scared to death by burglars. Detectives launched a murder investigation after 70 year-old John Mountford was found on the pavement close to his Shifnal house in Shropshire just after 11am on Friday.