Congratulations to the following young parishioners who have recently been awarded University degrees.

Matthew Smith B.Sc. Sports Management, Ben Shaw B.A. Hons Politics, Alex Davies B.A. Hons History, Ross Telling B.Sc. Mathematics, David Yates B.A. Hons History, Charlotte De Wilde B.A Communications and Media.

We wish them all good fortune in their chosen careers.

Just 10 tickets left for the very popular Pimms Pate and Pudding Event on Sunday 15th August 2010 at 12.30pm at, or hopefully outside, the Upton Village Hall.

If you would like a ticket and have not already purchased please call now to avoid disappointment on the day.

Advance tickets – £10.00 – Adult,  £5.00 – 5-15s and Under 5s free

We can only cater for a maximum of 70.

Celia Davies 850684 or Maggie Maytham 850126

Charmian and Derek Whitmell would like to thank the many people in Upton (and further afield) who have helped out in various ways over the recent weeks since our mishaps. We are now recovering and hope to be fully operational before long. We have been really touched by the generosity and kindness of the village community and our dogs have met lots of new, exciting walk-mates.

The big day for the change over to the new multi-bin refuse collection in this village is October 5^th.

From that day onwards you will have your rubbish and re-cycling waste collected on the same day of the week but on alternate weeks. Food waste in your separate bin/caddy will be collected every week. If you sign up for the optional garden waste collection, that will be collected at the same time as the re-cycling waste.

In this village our collecting day will be every Tuesday although the day will change for one or two weeks immediately after a bank holiday.

Your new bins will be delivered to your residence between the 9^th and the 23^rd August but the bins must not be used until after your last normal September collection and must not be put out for collection before Tuesday October 5^th.

When your bins are delivered you will find an information pack including a collection calendar inside your kitchen caddy. If your bins have not been delivered to you by 23^rd August please go on the District Council website at www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk to look up the telephone number that you need to contact or give me a call and I will sort out the number for you.

If at any time you are unsure about a collection date please go onto your village website and look on the calendar of what is happening in the village. Collection dates are one of the items kept up-to-date on the calendar.

Mike Brown 850135

Please be aware that work will start on extending and re-surfacing the car park on Monday July 12^th. The car park will be closed to all vehicles for the whole of the week starting on the 12^th but the pedestrian access to the hall, the play area and to the Recreation Ground will remain open; all persons using that access should proceed with caution.

It is requested that all children visiting the play area during that week are at all times accompanied by an adult as there will be large equipment operating and at times will be using hot material.

Alternative arrangements are being made for the Blewbury School Bus to pick up from a safe location.

On Monday 5^th July the Blewbury Energy Initiative (BEI) will be holding an information meeting to describe the very attractive investment opportunity now made available by the new feed-in tariff for generating your own electricity.

The BEI is organising a collective approach so that residents in Blewbury and Upton may club together to obtain an attractive discount by installing solar photovoltaic systems during a limited time span in 2010. To achieve the best benefit for all it is important that as many as possible come to the meeting on 5^th July in the Blewbury Methodist Chapel at 8.00 pm. If you cannot come to the meeting and you would like to partake in the opportunity please contact John Richards on tel: 850218 or e-mail: johnr@gmail.com

Endurance GB (equivalent to a marathon but on horse back) are holding their Southern Championship at Alden Farm on June 5^th & 6^th.

Between 250 & 300 horses are expected with quite a lot of these staying overnight. Some of the classes will be riding their horses over 80 Km!!! They will be riding over a very well planned route on the Downs starting and finishing at Alden, around Aldworth, Compton, East & West Ilsley with marshals, vets etc on route.

For more information go to:-

http://www.endurancegb.co.uk/ or

http://www.berkshiredowns.endurancegb.co.uk/

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

The collection in the village for Christian Aid raised £316.16, of which some £93 was Gift-aided.

Many thanks indeed to all who gave and extra thanks to those who collected.

Elisabeth and Malcolm Wright

I visited the school recently in my role as a community governor. Marion Mills, the head teacher, took me first to the Foundation class where the children, about 25 of them, were in two groups. One with the teacher, another with a teaching assistant (who was taking written notes of the activity) and the remainder working/ playing on their own. A couple of children were playing outside. I was struck by the relatively low noise level; the atmosphere was calm and pleasant and the teacher was having no problem addressing her group and winning their attention.

We joined the next class where the setting was a little more formal but, again, with the children working in groups with a scattering of adults. I was introduced to the teacher who explained that her group was learning how to explain a task to others. This activity, I was told, was important for laying the foundations for reading and writing because, “children are less articulate these days”, the theory being that children are now on the receiving end of so much entertainment that they don’t feel the need or have the opportunity to develop their verbal abilities.

In the next class the children were listening to and acting out a story being read to them in German. The teacher was holding up a German language picture book as a prompt and switching fluently between English and German as necessary. The children were clearly picking up the gist of the story and were readily interpreting the story in their actions. It was pleasing to see children being introduced to a foreign language in such a natural and matter-of-fact manner.

We visited the ICT suite, which contains about twenty computers, all looking relatively modern. Next we stopped off in the new kitchen. It being a Wednesday, roast beef was on the menu, and the cook was preparing lunch for a hundred plus children, a task I would find daunting, but which she clearly took in her stride.

We moved on to the next classroom, where there were several laptops on a table and a child was busy at the keyboard of one machine with two other children pointing at the screen and making suggestions. The children were being taught how to use an apostrophe. In the next class it was clear from the work on the board that the children were working on the spelling of longer words like “exaggerate”. At this age (nine plus years old) I can quite believe that reading (and writing/spelling) skills have reached a crucial point. Finally we visited the top class where the atmosphere was calm and studious.

So, what was my impression? That the children are being taught in a safe, warm, appropriate environment by a committed group of adults who take their jobs seriously and work diligently. Blewbury and Upton should be pleased to have such a resource and proud of the children that pass through the school.

Andrew Hewson