Archive

  • 93 per cent of household burglars are getting away with it

    WILTSHIRE Police are so bad at catching burglars that only one in every 16 household break-ins is ever solved. From 2015 to 2016 there were 1,318 dwelling burglaries across the county and only 80 resulted in the criminal responsible being held

  • Teenagers arrested over hard drugs find

    FOUR teenagers were arrested last week after police found them in a stolen car with suspected class A drugs.On August 17 a Volkswagen Golf was spotted off Courtenay Road with four 18-year-old men inside. The four men, who are all local were arrested on

  • Poppy Ball 2016 set to be a winner

    THE Rotary Club of Swindon Thamesdown has announced the return of the popular Wiltshire Poppy Ball and Gala Evening later this year.The event, which is part remembrance ceremony part charity fundraiser, will be held for the third year running on November

  • GCSE results 2016: Tears of joy at Commonweal

    SCREAMS of joy rang out and tears flowed at The Commonweal School as students celebrated their exceptional results. Chloe Mae Trollope from Old Town cried tears of delight when she opened her envelope to reveal two As, two Bs and three C grades

  • Fourth successive record for GCSE results at Bradon Forest

    PUPILS and staff at Bradon Forest School achieved a fourth successive record for GCSE results.A total of 70 per cent of students earned five A* to C grades including maths and English – a seven per cent increase on last year.Ethan Brown, Michael Harris

  • GCSE results 2016: Chloe is Lydiard Park Academy 'A*' pupil

    A LYDIARD Park Academy pupil said she was ‘shocked and delighted’ as she achieved seven A* grades in her GCSE results. Chloe Lewis from Grange Park also achieved three A grades and two Bs and even beat older brother James' impressive results from

  • It's showtime for the Summer Youth Project

    THE T-Birds’ quiffs are greased up to a mirror-like sheen, the Pink Ladies are preened and set for some heart-breaking and Danny and Sandy are poised to pick up their Summer Lovin’ where they left off. The countdown to the premiere of the Summer Youth

  • GCSE results 2016: Budding doctor celebrates top grades

    A BUDDING doctor celebrated as she received top GCSE grades at Swindon Academy. Karuna Upadhyay, from Pinehurst, ripped open her brown results envelope to reveal four A* and six A grades, which are among the best results in the town “I feel

  • Warrant issued for woman on string of fraud charges

    A WOMAN facing a string of fraud offences will be arriving at court in a police car after she missed her day in court on Wednesday. Thirty-six-year-old Christina Rushton of Morse Street faces ten charges of fraud by false representation and an additional

  • GCSE results 2016: Mum, 34, proves it can be done

    A MOTHER-OF TWO set herself on the path to her dream career today as she scooped a maths GCSE at age 34. Budding nurse Kirsty Stewart, from Royal Wootton Bassett, only started studying maths at New College Swindon in January and has achieved a

  • Head pays tribute to hard-working students

    NEW head teacher of Churchfields Academy Sandra Muir paid tribute to pupils and staff who had taken booster classes and after school sessions in the run up to their GCSEs.The school recorded a significant increase in the number of pupils achieving A*

  • 'Leave the land alone,' residents warn developers

    COMMUNITY groups are uniting in opposition to a planning application for 48 homes near Lydiard Park. They say they have been spurred on by a ‘deep sense of outrage’ at the proposal from Taylor Wimpey to build the development on land south of Tewksbury

  • Responsible gambling conference brings in £300 for hospice

    A LONG-STANDING Prospect Hospice supporter who won £300 after a virtual bet has ensured that his good fortune has benefited his favourite local charity.John Roberts from Swindon was attending the Local Government Association annual conference in Bournemouth

  • Slice of five-star heaven on historic paradise isle

    A million miles away from the stag and hen parties of Magaluf, Mallorca is turning over a sophisticated leaf with the opening of Park Hyatt's first European resort. Rachael Burnett jets off to the island's north-east coast to find out more LOOMING

  • Album of the month: Ellipsis by Biffy Clyro

    Ellipsis by Biffy Clyro The new Biffy Clyro album is a gritty reaffirming of the band's undeniable stature in the rock world. Kicking off with the hit single Wolves of Winter, which is a glorious stadium anthem of power and strength, replicating

  • A licence to love, says Gill Harris

    THIS Friday is a very special day for all the hounds out there – it’s National Dog Day. I imagine dogs across the nation will be having a lie in. Then, when that last, twitching dream in which they eventually catch that pesky rabbit ends, they

  • Get on your bike, says council chief

    ACCORDING to one famous US president ‘nothing compares with the simple pleasure of a bike ride.’ John F Kennedy was absolutely right, and I’m sure plenty of families have been making the most of the summer to get out on their bikes and enjoy the simple

  • Date set for unveiling of blue plaques for brave brothers

    TWO of the town's bravest brothers will be honoured when the Swindon Heritage Team unveils not one but two commemorative blue plaques in the heart of the town. Harold and Norman ‘John’ Starr were born in the Central Hotel, Regent Street, which was

  • Slice of rock from Shepherd's Pie

    Shepherds Pie, are five local musicians who got together to play their favourite classic rock tracks covering the last 40 years. From AC/DC to ZZ Top the musicians play blistering guitar breaks, thundering drums and lung-busting vocals. On Saturday

  • All about... Black Sheep Apprentice

    All About ......Black Sheep Apprentice.Obviously you can’t really write objectively about something you are closely attached to but having made the decision to not re-join the ranks as the rallying cry ended their hiatus about a year ago, I am now able

  • It's NERF guns galore in new adaptation of Macbeth

    Young actors and stage hands have been busy across Swindon this month... and the fruits of their labour can be seen this weekend NERF gun cocked, Macbeth slinks towards his target. To his right, one of the three witches, reinvented as a fearsome

  • Wormhole's World: Stranger Things have happened

    Joe Theobald, aka DJ Captain Wormhole, Looks at all things vinyl  SOMETIMES things don’t always come together like you wanted. Like this week’s edition of Wormhole’s World, which was supposed to be another exciting interview. Maybe I should

  • Sounds around town with Dave Franklin

    I occasionally wander through the on-line pages of the NME just to check out anything new and intriguing (obviously I don’t pick up the print version anymore just in case someone sees me…the shame of it!) I knew things were bad, but I didn’t realise just

  • Letters: August 25, 2016

    PLEASE keep your letters to 250 words maximum giving your name, address and daytime telephone number - even on emails. Email: letters@swindonadvertiser.co.uk. Write: Swindon Advertiser, 100 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3BE. Phone: 01793 501806.

  • Reggae’s Empress set to empower revellers

    In the world of reggae royalty, Askala Selassie is the uncrowned Empress. The singer/songwriter will be performing tracks from her debut album, Warrior Empress, at Swindon's fifth Reggae Garden. Amidst the trees in the Old Town Bowl, Town Gardens

  • Peep behind the scenes at Tim's art studio

    Tim Carroll is coming out from behind his painter's easel to welcome guests to his own home as part of Swindon Open Studios. On Saturday and Sunday September 3 and 4, and the following weekend, Tim will be showcasing his 100 Views of Swindon series

  • Summer romance blossoms into passion for reggae

    Singer Emmy Fearon met bass player Jon Salmon at Swindon's Summer Breeze Festival in 2014. It was love at first sight, and first sound, as Jon was in the reggae band, King Soloman. "It took me back to when my dad would play reggae cassettes

  • GB ace Ben Davies to join the Wildcats on a short-term deal

    SWINDON Wildcats have made a sensational late addition to their roster with the arrival of Great Britain international Ben Davies on a short-term contract. The 25-year-old forward heads to the Link Centre for what will be a four-week stay before

  • TENNIS: Heaps of success for Rebecca by the sea

    TENNIS starlet Rebecca Heaps has topped off her summer holidays by winning the LTA 10U Summer National Tour finals. The 10-year-old, from Lydiard Millicent, put in a magnificent performance in Bournemouth last Friday to claim the title. Heaps

  • RUGBY LEAGUE: Whincup proud of St George

    SWINDON St George’s season ended with a 36-24 defeat to the Portsmouth Seahawks in the West of England Grand Final. Head coach Ben Whincup admits he was disappointed not to win the final, however, he found it hard to be unhappy with the season’

  • ‘Darcy has come so far,’ says Nick Morris

    TUESDAY marked a year to the day since the accident that ended Darcy Ward’s speedway career but rather than lament the cruel twist of fate that robbed his friend of so much, Nick Morris prefers to concentrate on just how far his close friend has come

  • JUST SAYING: A night of mixed fortunes

    MONDAY’s victory against Poole was a night of mixed fortunes, with the team doing really well but me personally suffering a mechanical problem. It was one of those things, Jason Doyle and I were winning the first heat and I broke down. It is frustrating

  • BOXING: Young aims to give the trilogy a perfect end

    BOXER Kelvin Young is confident he can complete the trilogy with a win over Sam Couzens when they meet at the Oasis in November. The pair have won one bout each and will now get the chance to have a decider on November 26, with Young coming out

  • Smith looking to help Cats’ youngsters

    IMPORT D-man Mark Smith believes the import limit could be a good thing for the development of British players in the English Premier League. With the quota rising to five imports allowed in the league this season, Swindon Wildcats filled the hole