A pioneering federation which educates nearly 1,600 students in West Devon has achieved a clean sweep of highly positive judgements from school inspectors.
The Dartmoor Federation was formed three years ago and has one governing body running Okehampton College and Lydford, Bridestowe, Boasley Cross and Exbourne primary schools.
The schools all share their educational expertise and the federation provides some coordinated back office support.
All five schools were inspected separately by Ofsted last month and have all passed with flying colours.
Devon County Council leader John Hart has demanded that the Government provides more support for the South West following the latest wave of storm force weather.
In his message Mr Hart calls for the Government to ensure that the South West is not “left to pick up a massive bill” in road repairs.
In recent years many local authorities, including Devon, have seen the amount of money available for travel maintenance fall below the cost of repairs.
Last year Devon’s roads received only £3million pounds in Bellwin funding despite a bill of more than £18 million in road...
Have you thought about volunteering but haven't made that first step?
Sarah Schmitz, House Steward at A la Ronde, the quirky 16-sided National Trust property near Exmouth, is seeking volunteers to join the friendly team.
“A la Ronde is a unique house with a fabulous story to tell. Becoming a volunteer here will give you opportunities to learn new skills or share your own life skills with us. We are looking for room guides, people to help in the shop and visitor reception, as well as fundraisers to sell raffle tickets which fund conservation at the property."
Chagstock Festival have announced that million-selling alt-rock legends, The Waterboys, will headline their main stage on Saturday night.
Formed 30 years ago by Mike Scott, The Waterboys became famous for their powerful live performances and majestic albums such as A Pagan Place and This Is The Sea, which included their biggest hit The Whole Of The Moon.
After the recruitment of Irish fiddle maestro Steve Wickham, the band created their million-selling Fisherman's Blues album, on which Scott's original and unusual songwriting was merged with older musics - country, trad,...
Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival will be set in the glorious grounds of Powderham Castle, making the most of this historic Devon location on the banks of the Exe estuary. The variety of plant nurseries, talks and demonstrations will reflect the unique landscape from ancient parklands to walled kitchen gardens, making this the perfect festival for every type of gardener.
The festival will bring together celebrity gardener, horticulturist and author, Toby Buckland, Powderham Castle and the leading South West specialist gardening magazine Country Gardener in a gardening event unique to...
Local charity Hospiscare are looking for last minute runners to fill the remaining spaces for Exeter’s Rock Solid Race on Saturday 15 March at Escot Park.
The race is currently 83% full and set to sell out before the day. Training for an event like Rock Solid Race can be tough, especially in the wet and cold, but the challenges involved make taking part in the event all the more rewarding.
Raising sponsorship for a local charity such as Hospiscare is a fantastic way to support a charity and acts as an incentive to keep supporters focussed on their training: making sure they...
An Okehampton farmer has been convicted in Exeter Magistrates Court of breaching the ban that was imposed on him by Exeter Crown Court in November 2012.
He was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £500 plus a £30 victim surcharge. So a total of £1030. The prosecution was brought by Devon and Somerset Trading Standards Service.
The court heard that Leon Smith kept a collie dog in a livestock trailer on his land at Meldon, near Okehampton for at least six days. The court was told that a local resident heard the dog in the trailer on 24th March 2013, took photos, and...
A charity based in Exeter has been awarded bronze in the Access for All category at this year’s South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
Countryside Mobility was presented with the award at a black tie ceremony held at the Holiday Inn in Plymouth last week.
Run by charity Living Options Devon, the Countryside Mobility scheme helps to make some of the South West’s top tourist attractions and countryside locations accessible to people with limited mobility.
The scheme has already successfully sited all-terrain mobility scooters known as ‘Trampers’ and wheelchair...
The Prime Minster, David Cameron has said he is determined to give the public “a proper alternative service and solution” to the destroyed train line in Dawlish.
The train line which was destroyed when Tuesday night’s storm breached the Dawlish Seawall is not expected to be functionally repaired until at least the 18th March despite full scale repair works.
Many of the services between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot are running limited replacement bus services until this date. However rail operators have said that the service is dependent on local road conditions....
Exeter Racecourse has announced today that it will now stage an all hurdle card at its Bathwick Tyres-sponsored fixture this Sunday.
With 50 per cent of the chase course waterlogged and more rain expected, the decision has been taken to give the popular fixture the best chance of going ahead.
Clerk of the course Barry Johnson said: “We have had 32mm of rain in the last 24 hours which has left the chase course 50% waterlogged. With a forecast of at least another 30mm of rain before racing on Sunday the decision has been made to run an all hurdle card.
