For the next year, minibuses at Charters School in Sunningdale   will be sporting advertising from two local companies; Ascot Travel House and Orlando Attractions.

The new artwork brightens up the buses and is the result of a generous financial contribution from the businesses. Ascot Travel House is an Independent Travel Agency which has been serving the community of Ascot and the surrounding area for over 25 years. Being independent, they offer an unrivalled choice when it comes to putting together the perfect holiday. Orlando Attractions is a holiday planning website, offering cheap discount tickets to Orlando theme parks and other attractions in and around Florida.

The 4 vehicles are used regularly by the students to attend sporting fixtures and trips and are a valuable contribution to school life.

Mr Simon Everett, the UK Manager of both companies said, "I have always tried to support local schools and with my son moving to Charters this year I wanted to do something to help. Sponsoring the mini buses was the perfect opportunity for us to advertise our local and national travel companies. We have all read about budgets at schools so I hope we have gone a little way to provide a better learning environment for the pupils at Charters".

CLICK HERE for Mane Chance War Horse Memorial Concert on YouTube Summer 2020

For those wondering what is going on in the undergrowth on the Heatherwood roundabout, a national monument has emerged !  Further to  planning application  (Application No.: 17/00188 ) -  granted in 2017, for the 'Installation of bronze war horse statue and stone plinth with associated landscape surrounds' , the Royal Borough has installled the plinth for the national Warhorse Memorial - the brainchild of charity leader and former local businessman , Alan Carr MBE.

The bronze horse, which has been sculpted by Susan Leyland  and made by Black Isle Bronze of Nairn (who also did the Frankie Dettori statue at Ascot), will be 2.59 metres high, atop the 3m high Portland stone plinth  - which will be off-white, with bronze lettering.  The horse has a coil of barbed wire around her feet, representing the horror of the WWI battlefields.  It is designed to be a high-tech statue offering an audio commentary  to visitors with smartphones.   On Racecourse land - a corner of Car Park 1, across the road from the roundabout,  there is an interpretation stone, describing the ordeal of the millions of horses who played such an heroic role in WWI, a hundred years ago.   

The statue is unveiled on June 8th this year. The memorial will be handed over to the Royal Borough for future care. 

Pictured above is the warhorse in the making; she has a close-cropped mane in the style  of the time and bears some scars of battle. Her head is suitably bowed

The valued team of community wardens  - who tackle issues that are important to residents will be expanded to provide further support across the Royal Borough.

Cabinet approved plans to grow the team from 18 to 25 community wardens on Thursday 22 March. They will continue to work in our communities tackling issues that matter most to residents.

The team will continue to carry out patrols providing vital community engagement between residents, the council and the police as well as offering crime prevention advice and having enforcement powers to tackle littering and anti-social behaviour.

 Cllr Jesse Grey, cabinet member for environmental services (inc. parking and flooding), said: “Our community wardens already do a fantastic job helping to keep our residents safe and making sure the needs of all our varied communities are being addressed.

“Expanding the team of community wardens will allow them to continue their community engagement and preventative work to support communities across the borough.

On Monday 13th November Charters School in Sunningdale fell silent to mark Remembrance Day.

Standing in year groups, the entire school joined together to remember the nation’s service men and women who have died in the line of duty.

Dexter Brown from Year 13 poignantly played the Last Post prior to Head Boy Joshua Taylor stepping to the microphone to read ‘In Flanders Field’ by John McCrae. Students and staff fell silent for two minutes before Dexter broke the silence by playing the Rouse. A wreath of poppies was then laid by two Sixth Form students. As the students returned to lessons, they passed an art installation of poppies clinging to the trees in the school’s central quad.

Major improvements to healthcare at St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey have moved a step closer after Runnymede Borough Council last week passed a resolution to approve planning permission for the redevelopment of surplus land at the hospital. The result followed on from the officer’s recommendation for approval.

The decision means that Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust can start marketing the West Site at St. Peter’s for disposal. All the revenue from the sale of the land will directly benefit the public, funding healthcare improvements and modernised keyworker accommodation. The improvements include:

• New urgent and emergency care facilities integrated with a large assessment unit delivering 21st century healthcare
• Improved mental health facilities
• A new main entrance to the hospital
• A new car park
• Modern and affordable homes on site for doctors, nurses and other keyworkers, helping the Trusts to attract and retain the best staff
• A new staff and visitor restaurant.

The application also includes proposals for new open market homes on the West Site, including family houses, smaller homes and a retirement village. The new homes, along with the keyworker accommodation, will make an important contribution to solving the borough’s housing shortage.

French History Brought to Life for Charters Students |  On Monday 6th November, year 13 students who study A-level French enjoyed an extremely interesting and poignant account of how life was in France, under German occupation, during the Second World War.

They were visited by Mrs Adrienne Sheldon, who spoke to them about her experience of leaving Alsace with her family, in order to seek safety in “free France”. Students heard about the panic of receiving a knock on the door from a German soldier late one evening, only to find that he was politely informing them that their blackout curtains were not totally covering the light from their flat that evening.