Public Services students were invited by West Midlands Police to help with their riot training over the summer break and were also given a rare insight into the force’s training and riot tactics. Over 15 Level 3 students became disorderly football hooligans for the day, cheering and chanting at the police in a disruptive manner during a series of stimulated riot activities at Birmingham City Football ground.

The construction of a new 1,500 place secondary school in Moat Road, Oldbury is set to start later this month. Building work for the new Q3 Academy Langley is scheduled to begin on site on 19 September with the school on track to open to 150 Year 7 students in September 2016. Parents will be able to apply for Year 7 places at  Q3 Academy Langley when applications open on Monday 14 September.

Parents have the most fun with their children when they are five according to a new study of 2000 parents with children under 13, asked them to rate how much fun they have-or had- with their children throughout the different ages. The study revealed that five is the optimum age for enjoying our children’s company with 39 per cent of parents claiming it to be the most fun age for both boys and girls.

To coincide with the start of the new school term, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has unveiled an ambitious plan to put thousands of young people in England directly in touch with local businesses, to improve the quality of careers advice they receive. Long-term trends show A Level and GCSE results continue to improve, but youth unemployment is almost three times the national average – possibly highlighting a mismatch between academic achievement and work readiness.

After a year of building work, Walsall College is now opening the doors of its £11m Business and Sports Hub to students and the community. The college received the key to the prominent development on Littleton Street West this week and also announced that it will be officially launched with a community event on Saturday 26^th September.

As this year’s A Level graduates prepare to head off to university to start new lives away from home and enjoy independence for the first time, they will no doubt be full of anticipation and excitement for what lies ahead.  However, it’s a particularly vulnerable period for first time undergraduates, posing new risks to their personal safety with alcohol abuse being one of the leading causes of accidents.