27 October 2021
Vol 28 l Issue 43
5 WELD PARADE, BIRKDALE VILLAGE, PR8 2DT
£1m revamp for popular thoroughfare
INSIDE THIS WEEK: I’m ready to fight cancer diagnosis says Southport-born Radio 1 DJ, Adele RADIO 1 DJ Adele Roberts, from Southport, has revealed that she has been diagnosed with bowel cancer aged just 42. The I’m A Celebrity star, who attended Merchant Taylors’ School in Crosby, took to Instagram on Sunday, October 24 to share that she was diagnosed earlier this month and that she was due to undergo surgery on Monday, October 25 to remove her tumour, then she can ‘see if I need any more treatment or if the cancer has spread.’ In the post, which included an image of her giving a thumbs-up in a hospital gown (shown right) she revealed that her ‘outlook is positive’and urged others to see their doctor if they have any symptoms. Adele, who grew up in the resort, first found fame after appearing on the 2002 series of Channel 4’s Big Brother, and went on to forge a successful small screen TV show and radio career. In the post that she shared, she said that she had struggled for years with her digestion and after a conversation with her father, she went for a check-up and was ‘quickly’ diagnosed.
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Adele - preparing for treatment in hospital after being diagnosed with bowel cancer
She revealed that if she had delayed, she “might not be so lucky. As I’ve learned over the last few weeks, there’s no ‘normal’ with cancer. Sadly it can affect anyone, at any age, anytime. It doesn’t discriminate. Early detection can save your life.”
Continued on page 3
New police HQ opens for M’side
St Teresa’s closure is step nearer after Governors tell Sefton Council chiefs they can’t find a way to increase pupil numbers
‘ALL OPTIONS EXHAUSTED’ FOR SCHOOL
THE controversial closure of a nursery and infant school in Birkdale moved a step closer this week when Sefton Council agreed to ‘start procedures’ to propose it closes its doors for good. The Governing Body of St Teresa’s Catholic Infant and Nursery School, on Everton Road, have told the Local Authority that they have ‘exhausted all options available to increase pupil numbers’ and have requested the Council instigate a closure programme. In October 2019, staff and parents at the school were shocked to discover in a council report that St Teresa’s could close or merge with its sister school, Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, which is also in Birkdale, on Grantham Road. In January 2020, the Champion revealed that new plans to save the school from closing were discussed by offering an extra four ‘year groups’, taking pupils up to 11 years old
Report by Danielle Thompson
St Teresa’s Nursery and Infant School
instead of seven. But after the school failed to increase its number of pupils, Sefton Council is now poised to start procedures to propose the closure of the school, which is rated Good
Open 9.30am till late
by Ofsted, at the next Cabinet meeting on Thursday, November 4. Reacting to the news, Birkdale Councillor, Iain Brodie Browne, said that he was ‘less than impressed’ by Sefton’s approach to the proposed closure of St Teresa’s. He sad: “I am particularly concerned that the public has got only half the story. The Governors wanted to turn the school into a one form entry infant and junior school with nursery, serving the Birkdale village area. I along with other councillors was briefed about the plans in June. There was support for that plan from many councillors there.” Cllr Brodie-Browne added: “The governors clearly wanted to go out to consultation on their plan and were not given any encouragement. Disturbingly, key decision-makers neither managed or, nor bothered, to visit the school at this crucial time despite being asked to do so. Continued on page 5
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