BBC NEWS DAY 13TH MARCH 2008

 

INTERVIEW WITH SCOTTISH MINISTER

BBC School News reporters Kyle, Laura and Ritchie visited the Scottish Parliament to interview Adam Ingram, Minister for Children and Early Years on Tudesday 11th March. Mr. Ingram spoke to us about his life and work. He told us that he had just attended the launch of a new Young Scot website that morning Wow which is to help to young people find out about things to do in their area.

To hear the interview with Adam Ingram click here

 

We had a great day at the Scottish Parliament which is a magnificent building in Edinburgh. The journey from Dalmellington was very long and tiring and we went on four trains but it was well worth it as Mr. Ingram was really interesting and informed us about his work as a Minister.

We also had a tour around the Parliament and saw the debating chamber and the committee rooms where important meetings are held. 

Click here to hear th rap we did for the BBC.

BUDGET REACTIONS

By Steven and Ryan.

The budget has changed this year with cigarettes and alcohol going up in price. Cigarettes are up 11p per packet and hopefully this will help people to stop smoking. Beer is up by 4p a pint. Wine is up 14p a bottle and spirits 55p a bottle. This is good news for reducing under age and binge drinking but it will have an effect on people just looking for a sociable tipple.

The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has altered road tax pricing with the lowest polluting cars paying no road tax and higher polluting cars paying higher road tax. This is bad news for 4x4 drivers. Good news for drivers in that the 2p increase in fuel duty is postponed until October this year.

Good news also for pensioners this year as winter fuel allowance goes up from £200 to £250 for the over 60s and £300 to £400 for the over 80s.

The Government says that every school will be an improving school by 2011. Science teachers will be jumping for joy as there will be a £30 million budget to improve teaching in science.

From October 2009 things will get tough for people on benefits as new council and housing tax rules will mean they will be better off working.
People claiming incapacity benefit will have to attend work capacity programmes from April 2010.

Good news for parents in that child benefit however will be increased to £20 a week.

Opposition Conservative leader David Cameron speaking about the budget has said the "cost of living is going up and Labour is making it worse". He said the Chancellor and Prime Minister were " living in an entirely different world from everybody else" and that "This government and this prime minister took all the credit when the global economy was growing, but now there are difficulties they will not take any of the blame."
All in all the budget had small give-aways for the good guys like parents, elderly, savers and the environment but smokers and drinkers were hit hard, with extra taxes on alcohol, cars and tobacco.

We asked teachers in our school their opinion on the budget. Our maths teachers said “wine prices shouldn’t have gone up by 14p but we think they have gone a bit easy on cigarettes.” Mr Power our ICT teacher said, “the price of diesel is ridiculous.” Mrs. Cassidy and Mrs. McLay said,’ We need our 4 x 4’s due to the area we live in and we are not happy about the road tax’. Mrs. Bax said’ The proposed tax on plastic carriers will help the environment. I think they should be banned’. Mr. Paton in English said’ I am in favour of the plans to help low income families with fuel bills’.

We really enjoyed reporting on the Budget and learning about issues concerning money and tax.

WIND TURBINES

By Kelsey

I am very interested in the wind turbines as renewable energy sources.  I have been doing some research on them. I went to visit a wind farm I stood underneath one and found that they are not as bad as everyone thinks. There is a great deal of controversy about wind turbines and about whether they are good for the environment or not

Noise concerns

Wind turbines only give a slight sound, my parents both work at Whitelee Wind Farm, I have stood under a turbine before and there is only a slight wooming sound. I can honestly say a turbine can’t hurt you because there too tall and they don’t go very fast.

Do wind turbines hurt livestock?

Sheep and cows are not very bothered about the wind turbines; farmers are quite into the idea of having wind turbines near them. Some farmers might want to visit the wind turbines with their animals.

Do windfarms affect tourism ?

Some people believe that the turbines do not affect the environment and that people will visit to see the turbines in the area. Others state that they are an eyesore and should not be on green land. Some people would think that they are very interesting but some people don’t care about them.

Why do they not make the wind turbines look like old-fashioned windmills?

I think that the old fashioned windmills look safer and less dangerous. To make old-fashioned ones it would cost much more money and they are too expensive on electricity and they don’t have a lot of money to make them.

Are wind turbines big?

I would say they are very big and they won’t touch you because they’re so high up. They can be as high as 80 metres! I stood below a wind turbine and felt like an ant they are so big.

In my opinion renewable energies are needed and needed now. The proposed wind farms will benefit everyone in the long run. They are not the eyesores that people would like to or lead us to believe. In my opinion it is time that people stopped complaining. What are the alternatives? Pollution, rising oil prices. People need to stop and think long and hard the pros outweigh the cons.

 

LOCAL NEWS IN WEST OF SCOTLAND

By Rhianne  Lauren and Marc

Women Threatened During Robbery

On Tuesday night at 1945 a robbery took place in the Tote bookmakers on Dumbarton Road, Glasgow. Two men threatened two female staff with something that looked like a firearm and demanded money. The two men made off down the road with a four-figure sum of money. The women were badly shaken. They described the man as being in his thirties, white, approximately 5ft 3in tall, wearing a black baseball hat, black jacket and black gloves.

CD Pirates Told To Repay £400,000

Two men, Peter Cruikshank , 47, of Glasgow and Wilfred Siddle, 56, of Dundee were found guilty of possessing illegal CD’s. They were sentenced last week at Stranrear Sheriff Court last week. They were found with 2,351 illegal CD’s. Cruikshank has been ordered to pay £375,000 and Siddle £25,000.

Murder Over a Lawnmower

29 year old John Clawner murdered 18 year old James Thomson over a lawnmower. Clawser believed that Thomson had stolen it and stabbed the teenager 5 times. Thomson later collapsed not far from his home. The 29 year old has been sentenced to at least 15 years and 4 months before the thought of parole. Despite six and a half hours of emergency surgery and 45 pints of blood, medics were unable to save James Thomson's life.

Two Deaths After Car Tragedy.

a crash happened between Guardbridge and St Andrews at about 2200 GMT on Tuesday. Duncan Beaton and Robert Jamieson both aged 18 tragically died following the crash. A woman driver was also seriously injured and another motorist hurt. The young men were both in the Renault Clio, which was in the accident, which collided with a Renault Megane travelling in the opposite direction. A third vehicle was also involved in the car incident. The boys both attended Elmwood College, Cupar. The woman who was driving the Megane was later taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee with injures which although quite serious not life-threatening. The man that was in the third vehicle was also slightly injured and taken to the same hospital.

 

STACEY HUNTER

By Kyle and Ritchie

We interviewed by phone Stacey Hunter who is the Programme Manager for the Six Cities Design Festival at the Lighthouse in Mitchell Lane, Glasgow.

Who came up with the idea for the 6-city design festival?

The original idea came from Jack McConnell who was the First Minister at that time and we hope that Alex Salmond will continue this.

What happened at the festival?

We presented a wide range of Scottish designers ranging from Inverness to Glasgow and celebrated the Six City Design Festival in Inverness, Dundee, Stirling, Edinburgh and Glasgow. It showed a range of work from fashion to jewellery design to traffic design to architecture and illustrations.

What are your favourite pieces of architecture in Scotland?

One of my favourite building is the School of Art in Glasgow designed by Charles Rennie Macintosh. We should also be proud of our Parliament building.

Do you like any of Charles Rennie Macintosh’s work?

They have an interpretation centre in the Lighthouse. I also really like Scotland Street School in Glasgow.

Apart from the exhibitions, what else is held at the lighthouse?

There are education programmes and an entrepreneurs club, which is mostly on the net, and they talk to each other about prices and business in general. Its also a good opportunity to socialise.

What do all the staff do?

The staff change from place to place and there are four main categories that they can work in: - Education Exhibition, the Design Shop and the Conference Team. Even if they aren’t working on one particular job they can help out each other. There are currently 75 people working in the Lighthouse. They also work internationally between different countries so they can swap art exhibitions. To do that they have to visit the different countries to measure and take pictures of the objects they wish to transport.

Would a qualified architect be able to work at the lighthouse?

We currently have two architects currently working for us who are there to show how to make a building. 

 

LOCAL RALLY DRIVER REVEALS HIS SECRETS

By Kerry

I was delighted to be able to interview local rally driver Allan McDowell.

On Sunday the 9th March I went to Mr McDowell’s house with my dad. I spoke to Mr McDowell in his garage, which was freezing because he was working on his rally car.
I spoke to him about how he prepares his car for the rallies and where he goes rallying.

Who or what inspired you to become involved in rally driving?

I have always been interested in the sport, I watched it when I was a young boy. So I thought I would give it a try and that’s how I stared rallying.

What is your greatest achievement in rallying?

My greatest achievement in rallying would have to be winning the 2006 Scottish Rally. I have won other rallies but that’s my biggest achievement.

Which about places you have visited during your rallying career?

I have been to all sorts of places in the UK. I go up Oban in the west of Scotland a lot. Up into the highlands and down to England. We do gravel and tarmac rallying.

Have you ever been seriously hurt during rallying?

We have made a few attempts to get our self hurt but the biggest one was when we were doing a day and night rally. It was early the next morning and there was a big straight bit in the road and because our headlights were on we thought the road was wet, but it wasn’t. So we were going down the road well over 100 mph and there was a corner and I braked for a dry corner and it was a wet corner so we left the road about 104 mph. W went through a fence, a dyke and a small tree and then crashed into a small tree, and by this time my feet were trapped below the pedals and my fingers were stuck. My Co driver Gavin was winded. After that rally we had to rebuild the car from its normal shell and start from there.

What are your future plans for rallying?

My future plans are to keep on rallying when ever I can and win more championships, and I hope not to have another accident.

 

It was great meeting Allan and interviewing him for the BBC School News Report. I am going with my Dad to watch Allan racing at his next rally in Scotland.

A VIEW FROM FRANCE

By Gail, Jennifer and Kerry

We interviewed our French Assistante Marjorie who is at Doon Academy for 9 months helping in the Modern Languages Department. Marjorie is enjoying her time at the school and being in Scotland. She will return to France in June where she hopes to become an French teacher or to teach French as a foreign language.

Click here to hear our interview.

 

 

SPRING SPECTACULAR CONCERT 2008

By Ryan

On Thursday 28th February East Ayrshire Council held a concert in the Grand Hall, Kilmarnock. This concert involved pupils from schools all over East Ayrshire. There was a concert Band, Jazz Band, senior choir and Intermediate choir.

I was in the Intermediate Choir alongside fellow BBC school news reporter Laura. The event was organised by Dorothy Lees of East Ayrshire Council.

We spoke to two East Ayrshire music teachers, Miss K Donnelly and Mr D Sullivan who helped with conducting the Intermediate Choir. They said that young people could get a sense of achievement and enjoyment, social interaction and an experience they will never forget in singing in a choir. Mr Sullivan added in “I think this has been the best choir ever”. 

We then asked them what they thought was the best part of their job to which they both replied “The pupils”.  We then asked them if they could tell us more about the work they do. Mr Sullivan said “ I teach keyboard in Primaries and Piano and Singing in secondary schools.”  Mrs Donnelly said, “ I go round 7 schools a week, Primary and Secondary, Teaching singing in small groups, individual pupils and choirs.   It was then time to go on stage and I was really pleased with my performance. We were delighted at the response of the audience and we all had a really good night. I cannot wait until the next spectacular concert.

 

JANET PAISLEY VISITS EAST AYRSHIRE

By Gail and Jennifer.

As part of East Ayrshire Schools' Spring Read programme we went to visit famous author and renowned poet Janet Paisley at Cumnock Academy on Friday 7th March.

Janet spoke to us about her life and work. Janet bases her poems and books on real people she knows and she collides two situations together to create an exiting story. She told us she wrote poems as a child that she did not show to anyone.

Her real writing career began in her 30s after the birth of her fifth son. She was really ill after the birth and it was the fact that she nearly died made her rethink her life and work.

Janet has written scripts for the BBC for River City that pays well but she prefers to use your own imagination and inspiration for her work.

One of her most famous books is White Rose Rebel which won Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month for July 2007.

Janet likes to write at night and in the early hours of the morning as it is very quiet and relaxing with no distractions. As Janet said ’No one will phone me at 2am in the morning’. She writes on her computer as she finds this the best method. Janet does not have any particular hobbies but she really enjoys lounging around her home.

We really enjoyed meeting Janet Paisley and we thanked her for taking the time to speak to us.