 A Level students ace results day
Sixth-form students across the borough headed to schools to collect their A Level results yesterday (17 August), with 28 per cent achieving the highest grades of A* to A.
A Levels, along with other post-16 training and education routes such as apprenticeships and BTECs, signal the end of compulsory education and the start of the next phase in life, whether that be further education or getting a job.
It was a fantastic result for students, with provisional results being higher than national average across the board. Almost 30 per cent were in the highest achievers awarded grade A* to A, compared to a national average of 26.5 per cent.
57.7 per cent received a grade of A* to B, five per cent higher than the national average of 52.7 per cent, with 80.1 per cent achieving A* to C, just under five per cent higher than the national average of 75.4 per cent.
These show the fantastic secondary schools we have across the area. Read more on A Level results and see more photos of students celebrating on our news pages.
 Have your say – grass cutting, litter bins and more
In case you missed it in Tuesday’s newsletter, this week we launched our consultation on proposed changes to grass cutting, litter bin emptying and more.
We’re proposing to reduce some services to make savings to help us deal with the ongoing triple threat of high inflation, which leads to vastly increased costs, as well as growing needs among the community and a long history of inadequate funding from the Government.
 More than £40,000 awarded to help with cost of living
Six organisations have been awarded funding to help Wokingham Borough residents struggling with the cost of living crisis.
It’s thanks to public donations, match funded by us and Wokingham United Charities, as part of the Surviving Winter crowdfund.
Almost £70,000 was raised between January and March, with support from Berkshire Community Foundation. The organisations helping residents thanks to the Surviving Winter crowdfund will be:
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The Cowshed - £10,000 to provide ongoing support for 250 residents with access to essential items
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First Days Children’s Charity - £5,000 to cover one day a week of a family support worker for one year. This would cover all of the work required to assess applications for beds and bedding and get beds into the homes of 300 children throughout the year
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Home Start Wokingham District - £10,000 to recruit, train and supervise volunteers to work with families with at least one child aged five or younger
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The Salvation Army Wokingham - £10,000 to help with community outreach to those dealing with homelessness, living in temporary accommodation, needing tenancy support or struggling to access benefits
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SHARE Wokingham - £5,000 for storage and packing, cleaning items and running costs to support 13 food sites, helping about 1,500 people each week
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Yeldall Manor Good Samaritan Fund - £3,000 to help men that cannot obtain funding to access residential rehabilitation for drug or alcohol addiction
All the latest cost of living help and advice for the borough can be found on the cost of living help hub.
 End of the line for ticket offices? Have your say
We’re urging rail users to give their views on plans to shut station ticket offices in Wokingham Borough and beyond.
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents Britain’s train operating companies, is consulting on the proposals until the extended deadline of Friday 1 September.
It says fewer people are using ticket desks because of smartphone apps or contactless cards, so they could be phased out in favour of retraining "multi-skilled" staff to help customers in other ways.
It says this is a more efficient way of working but we’re aware of possible drawbacks like the lack of some services at ticket machines, plus a likely impact on those at greater risk of exclusion like people with disabilities, mobility issues or on low incomes.
We’ll be sending a formal response before the end of the month, but until then we urge you to find out more about GWR and South Western Railway’s proposals and then give your views.
 Repair café update
Did you know that we now have two repair cafés in our borough?
They run at Lambs Lane Primary School in Spencers Wood on the third Sunday of the month and another at Spencers Wood Village Hall on the first Sunday of every month (second Sunday in January and December). Both run from 10am to 1pm.
Both will do their best to breathe new life into your items free of charge, though donations are welcomed to cover running costs and support good causes.
Reducing waste is a key part of our efforts to increase recycling and tackle the climate emergency, so please consider paying a visit.
What you might have missed
In case you missed anything, here are all our updates from the last week:
You can sign up for any of these newsletters online.
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