A group of students in Oldbury have been selected as special representatives at their Academy – after putting their names on a ballot paper in a special election.

Twenty students were elected as Excellence Leaders during an election at the Q3 Academy Langley

The students put their names and “manifestos” forward in a new move to elect representatives who will pass on the views of other students to Academy bosses.

Councillor Steve Trow, cabinet member for core council services, said: “I was very pleased to get along to Q3 to meet students who have got involved with democracy at this young age and to present badges to the winning candidates.

“I also wanted to congratulate the other young people who put themselves forward and were not successful. I am sure that the winning candidates will enjoy representing the views of the students.

"This early introduction to the democratic process may help to create some budding politicians at Q3 Academy Langley."

The election process was supported by Sandwell Council’s elections participation officer Surinder Singh.

Mr Peter Lee, the Academy’s Head of School, said:“Twenty students from Year 7 and 8 were successful and they will meet regularly and represent the student body views to the Academy.

“They will be in charge of various initiatives during the year, including matters of the environment and local community.

“They will also support our Head Boy and Head Girl who were elected last year in various Academy events, including for example the New Intake Evening.”

Mr Lee said the democracy initiative had been very interesting, with all students in Year 7 and 8 being able to put themselves forward for election.

“Voting took place, using real-life ballot boxes, after the applications were vetted with candidates pitching their manifestos to their peers.” he said.  Q3 Academy Langley, built on the former Langley High School site on Moat Road in Oldbury, opened its doors to the first pupils in September 2016.

Currently the school has nearly 400 students in years seven and eight and will eventually accommodate 1,500 students.

Building work continues on-site and is due to be completed by September 2019.

Forget the seasonal John Lewis advert and Slade playing in supermarkets…the festive season will really get underway at the Tottenham Winter Festival on December 2.

The annual event on Tottenham Green will see a mouth-watering variety of stalls alongside festive, family friendly entertainment and the official Christmas tree lights switch on led by Spurs legend Ledley King.

This year’s community celebration, organised by Tottenham Green Market and Haringey Council, will also coincide with an Etsy Made Local Tottenham event that will see Tottenham Town Hall packed with craft stalls offering plenty of present-buying-opportunities.

“This day will start the Christmas season for you,” said Tom Fowkes, musical director of the New Tottenham Singers which will be performing at the event. “It’s a wonderful, positive event for people to come to where you can meet neighbours and friends, enjoy a glass of mulled wine and some food and hear some lovely singing. We’ll be singing some festive favourites and giving folk a sneak preview of what’s coming up at our annual Christmas concert.”

Other entertainment includes: a ten-piece Afrobeat band, the Haringey Young Musicians Junior Choir, a brass band called Brunk!, a funky Colombian-influenced band and a ‘panto medley’ from the Musical Theatre Academy (MTA) based a few metres away in the Bernie Grant Arts Centre.

“This year our panto is Mother Goose so people will enjoy a medley of songs from this as well as a special Christmas medley,” said MTA’s principal, Annemarie Lewis Thomas. “It’s important for us to be involved in community events such as this and you can either sit at home and be miserable or come along and see some of the stars of tomorrow provide a bit of feel-good!”

Tottenham Green Market stalls will boast a variety of international street food as well as showcasing some of Tottenham’s finest including: Prestige Patisserie (adding a Christmas Cake Shop and mulled wine to their regular treats), honey from Tottenham Marshes, beer from Brewheadz and hot drinks courtesy of Craving Coffee.

Tottenham Etsy Made Local organiser ‘Crafty North Londoner’ aka Nonia Jeroh, said: “We will have over 35 stalls and over 60% of them are Tottenham vendors. “it will be a great opportunity for people to do some Christmas shopping and buy homemade items made with love. These aren’t mass produced but objects made on someone’s kitchen table or in a studio and it promises to be a great family day out.”

Katarina Line, winner of the “Best Croatian DMC” award, announced that its 2017 fundraising drive to help the Down Syndrome Associations of Dubrovnik and Rijeka in Croatia raised nearly $35,000. As part of the drive, launched early in the year, the company donated one Euro – approximately one U.S. dollar – for every guest who booked a cruise with them in 2017. The contribution reflects the nearly 30,000 passengers who booked with Katarina Line this season – a record for the company as it continues to expand its presence in North America and Europe.

Katarina Line presented checks of equal value – approximately $17,500 each – to the two Down syndrome centers in Dubrovnik and Rijeka in a special ceremony recently. The money will help to improve the quality of life for people with Down syndrome, providing them with improved medical care, education and employment.

“Down syndrome affects nearly one in 700 births of all races and nationalities, so we all probably know someone who has been impacted by it,” said Daniel Hauptfeld, marketing director for Katarina Line. “We felt that contributing to this worthy cause was one of the best ways for our company to celebrate 25 years of success in business.”

Hauptfeld noted that customers, partners and friends are still contributing to the drive. Therefore, the additional funds will be presented to the Down syndrome associations during the company's 25th anniversary celebrations in Opatija on November 25th.

The clock tower at Smethwick Council House has been given a new lease of life.

Missing and broken timberwork has been fixed, the metalwork on the clock face has been repainted and the tower itself has been returned to its original colour scheme.

The work is part of the refurbishment of the Grade II-listed building in the town’s High Street. It was built in the early 20th century.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for core council services Councillor Steve Trow said: “The tower was looking a little tired and in need of repairs. We’ve carefully restored it and even matched as best we can the original colour scheme based on the layers of paint found on the woodwork and panels.

“The clock itself is historically important and one of the last of its type still in existence – so we’re pleased that the tower now does it justice.”

The clock is known as a rare “three-train Smith of Derby flat-bed with gravity escapement”. It’s regarded as an important piece of horological history.

Clock enthusiasts have visited it to admire its workings – as most of its kind were converted with electricity many years ago.

An academic from Birmingham City University has been selected by the Thai government to lead a team of 60 artists from around the world, as part of a major contemporary art exhibition opening in Thailand next year.

Professor Jiang Jiehong, Head of Research at Birmingham School of Art will curate the inaugural Thailand Biennale, which will exhibit various works under the theme ‘Edge of the Wonderland’.

As the foremost international exhibition of contemporary art in Thailand, the Biennale is being supported by the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC), part of the Ministry of Culture, which is based in Bangkok. As a national initiative of contemporary art, the institution behind the Bienniale will choose different cities and sites in Thailand for each edition.

Unlike conventional art museum exhibitions, the Thailand Biennale will be staged outdoor and organisers have selected the country’s Krabi Province for the inaugural exhibition.

Located on the west coast of the southern part of the country, the area is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations and is known as ‘the emerald of the Andaman Sea’. Its unique natural beauty will provide opportunities for artists to develop site-specific work at a range of outdoor locations, and to turn beaches, streams, waterfalls, caves, cliffs and rainforests into art spaces.

Discussing the theme of the Biennale, Professor Jiang Jiehong, Birmingham City University, said:

“Different versions of a ‘wonderland’ derive from different cultures. In the West, we have learnt the renowned English story of Alice’s adventures, where the young girl falls through a rabbit hole into a world of fantasy. This land connects to our everyday reality and yet, it is somehow hidden and can only be visited through dreams and imaginary journeys.

“In the East, for example, a compilation of geographical and cultural accounts are the origins of Chinese mythology and first appeared in the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’, or ‘Shan Hai Jing’, in the fourth century BCE. Furthermore, in South Asia, surrounding the base of Mount Meru in Hindu mythology, the legendary Himmapan Forest is believed to be the home of many supernatural beings, which are blessed under the heavens, invisible to the human eye and inaccessible by mortals.”

In this curatorial project the wonderland will be revisited from its very edge. The term ‘edge’ included in the title has three signifiers. First, it is simply geographically indicative. Similar to other provinces of Thailand on the west coast, Krabi – and the venues of the Thailand Biennale in particular – are situated on the coastline and can be seen as part of the edge of either the mainland or the Andaman Sea. It is the start and at the same time, the end of a territory, from which it belongs and departs.

Secondly, edge has its own historical and cultural significance in the region, since two ancient swords (‘krabi’ in Thai) were unearthed in the late 19th century, and are seen sacred above all natural existence.

The third signifier will explore that, conceptually, in the context of wonderland, edge is precisely the borderline between in and out. It is a pivotal point; like the rabbit hole in Alice’s adventure, between reality and fiction, the existent and the imagined, the material and the spiritual, the experienced and the unworldly, and ultimately, the known and the unknown.

Under Professor Jiang’s leadership, the inaugural biennale in Thailand aims to engender a new way of thinking, stimulating dialogues and conflicts at a point when the global meets the local, and invites all to take a creative journey through art, nature, tourism or everyday life, starting from the ‘Edge of the Wonderland’.

Professor Jiang was annoaunced as the curator of the inaugural Thailand Biennale at its launch, which took place at West Bund Art Center in Shanghai, China on Friday 10 November.

The RSPCA is on the hunt for 20 dedicated animal-lovers from across England to join the charity’s cohort of rescuers working on the frontline of animal welfare.

The charity - the oldest and largest in the UK - has just over 100 animal collection officers (or ACOs) working across England and Wales rescuing injured animals, helping abused or abandoned pets, and responding to welfare concerns from the public.

The officers support the charity’s inspectors and help rescue tens of thousands of animals every year.

The charity has the following vacancies to fill across the country:

South Yorkshire (two officers)

South Shields, Tyne & Wear (one)

Gateshead or Chester Le Street, Tyne & Wear (one)

Wythenshawe / South Manchester (one)

Wigan, Greater Manchester (one)

Liverpool, Merseyside (one)

Coventry, West Midlands (one)Banbury, Oxford (one)Stretton, Rutland (one)Harrow / Barnet, London (one)Uxbridge / Hayes. London (one)

NE London (inside M25) (one)

Kingston upon Thames / Slough, London (one)

Burgess Hill / Brighton, East Sussex (one)

Reigate / Dorking, Surrey (one)

Kingston upon Thames/Slough (one)

Bristol (one)

Gosport / Portsmouth, Hampshire (one)

Gloucester (one)

Worcester (one)

Dermot Murphy, RSPCA assistant director of inspectorate, said: “Our ACOs are absolutely vital to the RSPCA’s overall work and our efforts to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome or release animals in need.

“We have an extremely dedicated workforce made up of ACOs, animal welfare officers and inspectors who rescue around 130,000 animals every year.

“But the RSPCA can only fulfill this important role thanks to the commitment and passion of our staff and we’re now on the look-out for 20 more animal-lovers to join the team and help us, help them.”

The charity is expecting thousands of applications for the coveted posts but warns that the job is extremely physically and emotionally demanding.

“When we advertised for 24 new inspectors to join our training programme earlier this year we had over 4,000 applications so we’re expecting a huge number for these roles too,” Mr Murphy - who worked as an RSPCA ambulance driver, inspector and chief inspector in London for 16 years - added.

“Anyone considering this job needs to apply with their eyes wide open. It is not easy and you need to be strong mentally and physically to cope with the role. But for the right person, this could be the chance of a lifetime to get their dream job working on the frontline to improve animal welfare.”

ACOs are responsible for collecting, rescuing and transporting animals, giving first aid as required; assisting inspectors; working with pet owners and the public to improve welfare for animals.

Applicants must have a full, valid UK driving license; a good level of physical fitness, confidence handling animals, experience working with the public and as part of a team, emotional resilience, and flexibility to work unsociable hours.

If successful, candidates will undertake a five-week training course before hitting the road.