A team of 20 Students from Years 7 and 8, and also supported by Sixth Formers have spent the 16th March taking part in BBC News School Report. They have ventured into the local community to find out what is happening in Knutsford and below we have published seven news items. A great effort from the team.
The automotive industry is forever changing. Driving experiences are gradually becoming more indulgent. For silent thrill seekers, that is. Tesla (an all electric American car company) are on track to unlock the door to the future. However, they have to stand out over the likes of McLaren to make a name for themselves.
In the small suburb that is Knutsford, Tesla and McLaren share almost back-to-back garages, facing the citizens of Knutsford a debatable decision: electric or petrol? McLaren have a long-standing reputation for being exquisitely designed and engineered. From the M6GT to the recently released 720s McLaren have upheld that title.
A member of staff at McLaren Manchester said, ‘McLaren are the leading edge of supercars’, releasing at least one uniquely designed car a year. With a top speed of 202 mph coming from a 3.8 Litre V8 the high class McLaren 675lt spider has serious stats as well as aerodynamic beauty. But the draw back is, so does it’s challenger.
The Tesla’s electrical approach is extremely efficient as well as elegant to match its peers. Its many thousand batteries produce around the same amount of power as the McLarens classic V8 with an even more positive effect on the environment and performance. With a 0-60 time of 2.5s on the most exclusive model s the tesla p100d beats the 675lts 2.8s by 3 tenths of a second. Also, the S.U.V. version (model x) is only 1 tenth of a second slower.
When you purchase a Tesla you can upload a significant app in which you can pre-heat your car and even drive your car from your mobile phone. One of the only down sides compared to the McLaren is the limited top speed of 155mph. However; the models has a cheap start price (for what it is) of £66,500, compared to the McLarens £285,450.
When asked, the majority of the public believed that electric cars hold the key to the future. Will McLaren try to keep the petrol tradition? Will there come a day when the much-loved raw exhaust sound will be replaced with silence?
Reported by Ben Senior and Benjamin Moore.
As it is National Nutrition week we thought it we would be a good idea to see if any people knew the purpose of this event and it was about. So, our intrepid investigative journalists went forth into Knutsford to find out about local nutrition.
First off, we visited a local café manager to see if she was aware that this week it was National Nutrition week. Bianca Reeve, the café manager at Church Hill Café, replied ‘I didn’t know about the week. No one has told me about it.’
Bianca did say, however, that she makes sure that her customers know that the food is fresh. She stated that young mums seem to be choosing the healthier options, including the popular chicken salad.
Bianca did think it was important to know where the food was coming from that she prepared. ‘I get fresh deliveries from the market for vegetables and dairy from Sheldon’s, I always source food locally.’ She makes sure that her customers know where the food is from and that it is fresh.
After that, we went to Waitrose and talked to one of the bakers. Mel, who worked in the bakery section, said that she was also unaware that it was Nutrition week. We asked what she considers healthy she said ‘I know what’s healthy but do not always choose the healthy option as I have a weakness for chocolate.’ She also informed us that all the food had the calories on the labels also has where it is from; which is a very important thing for the national nutrition campaign.’
We then asked one of the Jill, a worker in Knutsford Academy’s canteen. She also did not know about Nutrition day. She said that at home she cooks from scratch and cooks healthily, she also said that the food at the canteen is checked.
We also wanted to hear from other people other than food suppliers so we asked the Executive Principle of our school, Mr Cladingbowl, and he said that since January he has become more careful on what he eats. Like the others, he was also unaware about Nutrition week. He said ‘The health service and local communities should really try to make people aware of National Nutrition day.’ He also feels strongly about raising awareness in the recent famines in Africa and the on going food crisis across the world.
Next we asked some six formers said that they would choose food, which looks nice rather then looking at how healthy or unhealthy something is. They also did not know about Nutrition week, only one of them knew how many calories on average they should eat in a day.
This is surely not right that all these people were in the dark about this major event. They had received no information about it from the media and we think that the public and
food suppliers need to be more aware on the subject and real meaning of nutrition week.
The campaign is designed to focus on the importance of actions to promote optimism nutrition through best food choices for health. Don’t you think we should all raise awareness about food choices. Later this year, Knutsford Academy will create our own Nutrition Week and we’ll let you know how it goes.
By Anabel Reeve and Sophie Tillotson
International Day of Happiness is quickly approaching, are you ready? The day was introduced by the General Assembly of the United Nations during 2012 but was first celebrated in 2013. Days Of The Year website says ‘through seminars and educational tips and tools, our aim is to educate and increase the public awareness of the psychological benefits of happiness.
We journeyed into Knutsford town and visited a range of shops to ask people our questions about international day of happiness. First on the list, Knutsford’s favourite shop Booths and spoke to a lady behind the till. She said she hadn’t ever heard of it so we explained what the aim was. Our next question was, what does happiness mean to you? She answered saying that happiness made her life feel content and family, friends and animals make her happy. She also mentioned ‘It is important to be cheerful because I like to make other people around me happy.’
In Boots we asked the lady at the cash register the same three questions and she hadn’t heard of it either. She was very comical for the next answer we asked her “ what does happiness mean to you?” she said “A day off work.” The lady also said that it is important to be happy otherwise you will be miserable and won’t take many opportunities.
Another lady answered that happiness means to her ‘not worrying and being content.’ Laughter and family make her happy and that it is important to be happy because it makes everything seem great.
Next we asked for some of our teachers points of views and they were: happiness is ‘ fun, laughter and relaxing and being content with who you are’ what makes them happy is ‘ friends and family and colleagues’ they also think it is important to be happy because ‘ you make the most of your life whilst being happy’.
Some of the pupils at our school said that enjoying themselves, sleeping and puppies is what makes them happy, Also that having fun and being with friends is there idea of happiness. The sixth formers said: “happiness means being content with yourself”, that childhood memories make them happy and that happiness is important to them because you can function more easily and you get to experience more opportunities in life with it.
Happiness is very important to everyone and makes you think more and appreciate everything. Definitely remember to be nice to everyone and, most of all, be happy!
Also happy International Day Of Happiness on the 20th of March on Tuesday and share the happiness with everyone.
Reported by Isabella Jackson and Gabby Nuttall.
On the A50 near Toft there have been serious traffic problems because of a road collapse that has heavily disrupted Knutsford traffic for a few days. We headed into Knutsford to ask the public what they thought about this problem and how they were coping with the ever increasing traffic.
There seemed to be a recurring answer between the people we asked, that being, it is annoying and it is disgraceful that it has not been fixed sooner.
Firstly we asked what people thought about it. The most common answer was “ I think it is a big problem“. The second question we asked most of these people was “how does this make you feel” and the most common response was annoyed and frustrated. The responses are understandable with some parents claiming it took over two hours to get their children to school in Peover.
We also asked the members of staff in knutsford Academy about what they thought about local traffic in general, and the most common answers were: “its bad” and “its horrific and disgraceful.”
The road will be partially open from Thursday 16th March and although we have no idea when the issue will be fully resolved, this should relieve some stress of driving in the area and allow our schools and workforce to get back to normal.
BBC School Reporters: James Gorst and David Meaney.
Recent surges in pollution and littering have forced locals to organise previously unneeded events to repair damages done to the Knutsford Moor, 5.5 acres of stunning wildlife and beautiful nature, as well as the much used local park. This event was called the litter pick.
We spoke to a few members of the public about their views on the on-going problem of littering on the Moor. A member of the public stated: “it is a very bad problem. It is disgusting; many people care but not everyone does.” They went on to say that, “there should be fines in place and people patrolling the Moor to help stop people littering. More people should get involved. We should pull together to help the community like we saw last Saturday.’’ Others disagree – another member of the public said, “there isn’t much litter or pollution. It is not too big of a problem, but it can definitely be improved and affects the environment in a bad way. It is also bad because it makes the Moor look dirty and any of the wildlife could eat the litter, possibly damaging the health of our precious local ecosystem.’’
Last Saturday the people of Knutsford pulled together to help save the beloved Moor, the group is called ‘Friends of the Moor’, and they organise multiple events to help keep the moor clean and safe for the town’s children and animals, as well as making sure that the town’s many visitors can still enjoy what natural beauty Knutsford has to offer. These people are truly great and bring a huge benefit to the community at large. They recently organised the litter pick and in the result of the huge haul of twenty-one bags of litter they raised a symbolic green flag on the Moor; it symbolises their efforts to keep the Moor clean.
Members of the public seemed very concerned about the state of Moor, yet others offered a more cynical view of the events of Saturday, and the mistreatment of the Moor by Knutfordians and visitors alike, one even going so far as to say, “the costs are wasted as they could have been spent in many better ways other than cleaning up after ourselves”, her point being that, “this should never have to happen as bins should always be used.” Her solution was this, “Those who live in the area should care about the Moor, but clearly not everyone does, so more people should volunteer to help the community.” These views are crucial, as they show that not everyone shows the same regard for our community, and that this is why it isn’t being looked after in the way which we should expect of a land which we are collectively responsible for.
The Knutsford community has made multiple efforts to clean up the lake at the heart of the Moor. Three months ago, the fire service went into the lake in a plan to clean it up, their discoveries shocked us all. They found bikes, a twenty five year old shopping trolley, a bathroom sink and even a lamppost! Local people of the community say that, to reduce damage to the moor there should be cameras and patrollers in the area, and there should be a fine imposed on anyone who is caught dumping in the Moor, in order to deter wrongdoers. We hope that these reforms will succeed, to improve the area, and we look forward to seeing locals helping their community.
BBC School Report, Isaam Begg, Thomas Jennings and Samuel Holland.
RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) tease about the new ‘Butterfly Dome’ for this year’s flower show in July. RHS provides the North’s greatest gardening events, as well as great days out for all the family. The new dome will include exotic butterflies from South America and Indonesia. This gives the family the opportunity to walk around as they look at the many butterflies flying around them.
The dome’s purpose is to showcase a wide range of special butterflies from everywhere and teaches children about the life cycle of butterflies. It will also help kids learn about new plants and the wildlife around them along with all over the world. This gives young and upcoming garden designers to showcase their unique ideas of a new type of garden.
The butterfly dome has made an impact to the public. It is a dome that has been an inspiration to all garden designers. We spoke to a spokeswoman in the official RHS office. She said to us, “The dome in Hampton had made such a success that we decided to carry it to the north. The dome is fun for all the family and it educates children about butterflies all over the world. Tatton’s new dome will show everyone all about how wonderful these butterflies are.”
Kris Hulewicz, a show manager, interviewed by the Knutsford Guardian, said: “We can’t wait to start shouting about this year’s show. With an exotic butterfly dome, inspirational gardens, a wealth of young talent and everything in between, RHS Tatton Park is set to be bigger and better than ever before. Watch this space for more exciting announcements still to come.”
The buzz of this new dome has been all over Knutsford. Marie Johnson, a local woman has said, “I remember years ago when I went to the Flower Show. The flower bulbs were simply magnificent and I lent one to a lady next door.” Tatton is very pleased with their decision and the locals of Knutsford cannot wait to see how amazing the dome can be.
Reported by BBC School Reporters Holly Shoreman and Kaite Marshall.
On Saturday 24th June 2017 Tatton Park is holding a Pretty Muddy 5k run for women and girls to show off their amazing running and fashion skills as well as raising money for Cancer Research UK.
Amazingly just by signing up, you could help beat cancer. Everyone has a different reason for signing up – maybe you lost a loved one, perhaps you’re a survivor, or maybe you have no personal connection to cancer but want to help those who do. Plus, every penny counts so it doesn’t matter how much money you are able to collect weather it is £10 – £100. It is great exercise and you are helping beat cancer. Most people want to do it because it’s a challenge, which they want to achieve!
Manchester Evening News reporter Sam Yarwood commented on the run – “Pretty Muddy was ace! We decided to get as muddy as possible and the rain made it a lot more fun and there were some lovely people squirting water at us which was cooling and refreshing at the same time also the atmosphere was great, everyone cheered each other on and helped each other over the obstacles. We were all there for the same reason, to have run and raise money to help in the fight against this horrible disease.”2
This event if very fun and enjoyable for everyone and it is a great event that shows how you’re not afraid off getting muddy. We aske some people around Knutsford if they were interested in taking part in the Pretty Muddy 5k.one woman quoted” it is a great activity to get involved in because it look s fun! “Another woman quoted “I would do it because it is for a good cause and it raised awareness.”
Tatton Park is a beautiful location for a run, Knutsford has so much history. We love seeing everyone coming together for such a good cause, why don’t you come along?
Every woman we spoke to in Knutsford was extremely positive about the race. So many people get involved each year and hundreds of millions of pounds are raised a year across the world .We highly recommend taking part in the Pretty Muddy race for life. With so many good reviews, you can’t turn down the opportunity to save lives and make the world a better place.
By BBC school report journalists Amelia key , Becky Spurry , Ashleigh Lewis-Burgess
