Helen Goodman MP

A statement from Helen Goodman MP following the change to timetabling for Year 10 and 11 students at Greenfield Community College’s Sunnydale Campus.

“Following messages from parents in Shildon about the changes to Year 10 and 11 timetables at Greenfield Community College (Sunnydale Campus), I went to see the headmaster, Mr Priestley, to discuss the situation.

“Since the merger of the two schools, children’s exam results have been improving, but the school still faces a number of problems.

“Firstly, thanks to the Tory Government’s ruthless school cuts, the school budget has not been increased in line with inflation and costs which the school must meet. And of course, running a school of two sites is more expensive. Secondly, OFSTED have made some criticisms of the school and said it requires improvement. Thirdly, the number of children starting in the school has significantly decreased from five years ago. 

“This means, that in order for the school to be able to offer the pupils a wider choice of GCSE subjects and for children to get most from their lessons, Years 10 and 11 will be based mostly at the Newton Aycliffe campus. Up to now, three quarters of the children have already been traveling for some subjects.

“The Tory Government’s failure to increase school budgets has made the situation far more difficult, and while recognising the community benefits of the current situation I do understand that the school is acting to give the children the best chances.

“The specialist facilities at the Sunnydale campus, including the art and photography resources, the running track and RE teaching, will continue to be available to all students."

This afternoon, Helen will lead a debate in Parliament on the potential of geothermal energy in the UK with hopes that investment from the Government can generate huge change for the towns in her constituency.

Helen wants the Government to commit to more investment into using our deepwater sources of hot water to provide heating to our homes. Warm water in old coalmines has been investigated by the Coal Authorities and Durham University.

Helen explained: “There is a lot of potential for the use of geothermal energy available to us that we are not fully utilising.

“The oil and gas industry, which employs more than 38,000 people in the North East, is already struggling because of low oil prices. Developing our geothermal resources will give us enough energy to heat a quarter of UK homes for an entire century. We could generate that energy here, and bring investment and jobs to Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor.

“The environmental benefits are extremely significant too. If the 7 million homes in coalfield areas – which includes a significant amount of North East homes - switched their gas boilers for a heat pump, 11millon tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided every year, and we could reduce our carbon footprint drastically.

“I really believe that the Government should exploit this alternative, clean energy source more effectively to give my constituents and the environment a fairer deal.”

Helen’s debate on the potential for geothermal energy resources in the UK will take place in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 19th June at 2:30pm – 4pm. You can watch live on Parliament TV.

Public transport users in Bishop Auckland and Darlington could benefit from a new joint train and bus ticket. The ticket, which was launched last week, gives passengers unlimited all day travel on Northern rail services and Arriva buses between the two towns.

The new ticket comes at a crucial time for summer tourists with thousands expected to travel to the region to visit The Auckland Project and the annual Kynren festival – two of the biggest attractions in the North East.

Visitors will now be able to travel to Bishop Auckland by train and return to hotels in Darlington on later Arriva buses.

Helen, who is a strong advocate of integrated transport options, praises the introduction of this product following discussion with Northern Rail and Arriva Bus last year: “I have fought hard for better integration between our rail and bus networks to give people better access to Bishop Auckland. Now, with our public transport systems working better together, we’re going to see more people using our trains and busses to visit Bishop Auckland town centre and all it has to offer.”