LOCAL ELECTIONS
Clockwise from top left: Matty Courtliff (Conservative), Glynis Hales (Green), Trish Philpot (Labour), Julie Jones (Independent) and Chris Shepherd (Lib Dem) are standing in Lydiard and Freshbrook Forming one of the boundaries of Swindon with the rest of Wiltshire, Lydiard & Freshbrook is a mixed bag of a ward. As its name suggests the ward contains the jewel in Swindon’s architectural heritage – Lydiard House. The parkland that goes with the Palladian stately home is one of the most popular places to visit in the borough – and particularly over the last year has a been a lifeline to those in Swindon who needed a space to be outside but who were not willing, able, or legally allowed to travel further afield.
AN award-winning headteacher is taking over as the new chief executive of The Park Academies Trust. Benedick Ashmore-Short was the was executive director of education for four years for a number of schools in South Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire. This week he will be taking up post of TPAT, which runs Lydiard Park Academy and Abbey Park School and Red Oaks and Orchid Vale primary schools in the town. Mr Ashmore-Short is a former winner of Headteacher of the Year in the Pearson National Teaching Awards He takes over from Clive Zimmerman, the founding principal of the Trust at Lydiard Park Academy, who is retiring.