Friday 16th August

Friday, 16 August 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Eye surgery under general anaesthesia is now available at Yeovil Hospital for the first time. There's been an increase in the number of students in Somerset getting an A star or A grade at A level this year. Staff at the Jones building group in Yeovil are taking on a cycle challenge, raising money for Children’s Hospice South West...and more.

Eye surgery under general anaesthesia is now available at Yeovil Hospital for the first time. It follows the opening of a new state-of-the-art day theatre replacing the need for patients to travel to the Yeatman Hospital in Sherborne for general anaesthesia for eye surgery.

There's been a rise in the number of students in Somerset getting an A star or A grade at A level this year. The number of passes is up 26.5 percent on last year, with 82 percent of students getting places at their first choice university. Students at Holyrood Academy in Chard achieved a 100 percent pass rate in grades A star to E. At Sexey’s school in Bruton, 71 percent of students won a place at the university or college of their choice. Somerset’s FE colleges say they’ve seen more students choosing not to go to university but take up an apprenticeship or employment with training.

Chard councillor, Connor Payne, is urging the government to support a new railway station for Chard in the face of a review of major infrastructure projects. He says the new Labour government is giving mixed signals over its plans for building new railway stations, including plans to return a station on the main line through Somerton and Langport. Councillor Payne has written to the new transport secretary, Louise Haigh, asking her to commit funding to take the Chard project forward.

A new dance group from Ilminster, preparing for their first carnival season, is raising funds for sound equipment and lighting. The Ilminster Icons Carnival Dance Team are planning several fund-raising events over the next few weeks.

Staff at the Jones building group in Yeovil are taking on a cycle challenge to mark the start of a five-year partnership, raising money for Children’s Hospice South West. The cycle challenge which starts on September 25th, and is open to anyone wanting to take part, starts from the Little Harbour Children’s hospice in St Austell and finishes at Yeovil Rugby Club, a circuit of 280 miles.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.