A year seven pupil at Bradley Stoke Community School has been expelled after “wielding” a knife in a corridor.

The school says the incident, involving a penknife, was “completely out of character for the student concerned”.

The head of the school, Dave Baker, has warned there will be “major consequences” for any other offences involving knifes or threatening behaviour.

He added that there will be follow up work at the school with pupils “about personal safety and attitudes towards weapons, especially knives”.

“The safety and wellbeing of our students in school is of paramount importance to us,” Mr Baker added.

The incident is the second knife incident to come to light in South Gloucestershire Schools in the past week.

A girl, 14, has been charged with stabbing a 13-year-old girl at Filton High School on Tuesday.

Bootnote: This story featured in the Evening Post on Tuesday, 24 July - five days after this website.

The Conservative leaders of South Gloucestershire Council have thrown their support behind a new sixth form for Bradley Stoke, according to the Evening Post.

They are now calling for the town’s community school, the only in the authority to not have a sixth form, to have a facility in place for 2010.

Councillor Sheila Cook, the council’s cabinet member for children, has now authorised a study into plans for the centre which was backed by a 1,000-signiture petition recently.

Headteacher Dave Baker told the Evening Post: “We are delighted that it is being given consideration and obviously we will follow the appropriate procedures, talking to the Learning and Skills Council and South Gloucestershire Council in making the sixth form a reality.”

Cllr Cook told the Post: “It is clear there is tremendous local support for a sixth form among parents and students in Bradley Stoke.

“I also know that the school itself is strongly supportive of achieving a sixth form and I am keen to do all I can to help them achieve this goal.”

Earlier this year, Mr Baker said calls from the Lib Dems to expand the school’s 11-16 intake could harm plans for the post-16 centre.

“We would like to distance ourselves from suggestions that the school should increase its capacity for 11 to 16-year-olds, which would undermine the infrastructure within the school to provide a coherent experience for our students.

“It would hamper the possible provision of a post-16 centre and would be to the detriment of local secondary schools.”

Full article: Evening Post

The head of Bradley Stoke Community School was recognised at the regional finals of the National Teaching Awards.

Dave Baker was given a distinction for his role in the Headteacher of the Year for Secondary Schools at the event which took place at Bath’s Assembly Rooms.

Darren Stanley, the deputy head of Holy Trinity Primary School, was the regional winner in the Primary School category for Teacher of the Year.

Mr Stanley will now go forward to the national competition which will take place later in the year.

Children at Bradley Stoke Community School have been warned to be careful after an incident which saw one pupil pursued by a man on rollerblades.

The Examiner has learned that the child was followed by a man in his late teens/early twenties. He was described as having short spiky black hair.

The incident follows a report of a man on a BMX bike at the weekend who had a similar description being involved in an undisclosed incident.

In the school’s newsletter, headmaster Dave Baker urged parents not to “overreact” to the news.

He said the children had been warned during assembly about being vigilant while out and about.

Bradley Stoke Community School is examining the possibility of an exchange programme with students at Collège Pablo Picasso in twin town Champs-sur-Marne.

Dave Baker, the school’s head teacher, visited France last week to discuss ways the two schools can develop links between the towns.

A programme of activities for year seven students, who are due to visit in June, was agreed. The exchange programme, which could be in place for the 2007/8 school year, was also on the agenda.

Other link-up opportunities such as communication via e-mail between students at both schools and possible future sports, music and drama visits, were discussed.

Liberal Democrat MP Steve Webb has slammed the Conservatives’ election tactics after the party delivered a faked apology letter over a row involving Bradley Stoke Community School.

The note, which at first glance looks as if it was posted from the Lib Dems, claims to say sorry for the party leader apparently blocking any expansion.

The letter, which was even printed on Lib Dem party colour yellow, was actually distributed by the Conservatives.

The Tories want the community school expanded to include a sixth form while the Lib Dems are calling for more places in the secondary intake.

The Conservatives claim any expansion to the school would break an all-party agreement which has limited the school’s intake to protect neighbouring schools in Patchway and Filton.

North Avon MP Webb said, in a letter delivered to Bradley Stoke residents, that “local residents have told me how shocked they are that the Conservatives have put a faked Liberal Democrat leaflet (even on yellow paper) in order to mislead residents”.

He continued: “The best way for the people of Bradley Stoke to show they deplore such tactics is by backing the positive Liberal Democrat campaign.”

Another leaflet from the Tories says: “The recent suggestion of increasing the number of places at the school has been ruled out by the Liberal Democrat council leader, and is not supported by the school.”

Local school pupil Ed Franklin, 13, has been named as a young correspondent at BBC Radio Bristol.

Ed beat off competition from hundreds of applicants to land the place.

He will join three others who will supply stories to the station giving them a youth-oriented slant.

The other winners were pupils from St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, Fairfield High School and Bristol Cathedral School.