News

Herts secondary school places

Secondary School Applications for September 2026 Open

The new school year may just be about to start but it’s already time for parents and carers in Hertfordshire to start planning for next year as the application process for transfer to secondary schools opened yesterday (Monday 1 September). If your child starts secondary or upper school next year, or wishes to apply for […]

Izzy King

Dancer Cartwheels Her Way to Paris

A young dancer has been going head over heels to raise funds in a bid to perform at Disneyland Paris. Isabella King, seven, has been training at HW Dance based at Victoria Hall in Tring for two years. The dance school has been invited by its sister school APPAS (Adele Peters Performing Arts School) to […]

Helping Hand at Mudpack Challenge

Celebrating Ten Years of Muddy Fun

The Hospice of St Francis’s filthiest fundraiser of the year, The Mud Pack Challenge, is celebrating its tenth year in October. The seven or fourteen kilometre obstacle course through the beautiful but very muddy grounds of Ashridge House takes place on Sunday 12 October and is open to anyone who wants to step out of […]

Victoria Collins MP

MP Calls for Profit Cap on Private SEND Providers

The Liberal Democrat MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, Victoria Collins, has criticised ‘profiteering’ by many private special educational needs providers, as the party calls for a cap on their profits to end the scandal. House of Commons Library research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, has revealed that the top private equity companies providing SEND schooling […]

Boxer pupfish at Whipsnade Zoo (c) Whipsnade Zoo

Whipsnade Zoo Launches Global Conservation Project

Wading through the calm waters of Lake Chichancanab in Mexico, aquarists from ZSL’s Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire were looking for any signs of tiny Mexican pupfish – but sadly, their surveys confirmed their worst fears; six of seven unique pupfish, including the boxer pupfish (Cyprinodon simus), are likely extinct in the wild. Following the frightening […]

Eric Knowles Antique Valuation Chiltern Open Air Museum

Get Your Antiques Valued at Chiltern Open Air Museum

Do you have a hidden treasure at home? Ever wondered what that family heirloom, car boot find, or curious collectible might really be worth? On Saturday 3 September 2025 from 2-5pm, Chiltern Open Air Museum invites you to a special antique valuation event with renowned antiques expert, broadcaster, and Museum Patron Eric Knowles, together with The […]

Christina Risbridger weighs male Bactrian camel Oakley (c) Whipsnade Zoo

Whipsnade Zoo Annual Weigh In

Lions, penguins, and a pygmy hippo were just some of the animals who had their vital statistics recorded at Whipsnade Zoo’s 2025 annual weigh-in last week (Thursday 21 August), as the conservation zoo brought over 11,000 animals to the weighing scales.  Among those measured were a pride of ten northern African lions, including their seven […]

Tom Chambers Inspector Morse

Inspector Morse Cast Revealed for Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Melting Pot and Birmingham Rephave announced full casting for their thrilling co-production, Inspector Morse: House of Ghostscoming to Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Tue 25-Sat 29 Nov 2025. Led by the previously announced Tom Chambers (winner of BBC 1 Strictly Come Dancing’s series six and Inspector Edgar Sullivan in BBC 1’s Father Brown), who will play the beloved detective Inspector Morse, the production will play for one week at the Buckinghamshire […]

Living Magazines Hertfordshire Constabulary

Ninja Swords Surrendered During Amnesty

Seventeen ‘ninja’ swords were surrendered in Hertfordshire during a month-long national amnesty which ran during July. The amnesty was carried out as part of a change in the law which came into force on 1 August, making these kinds of weapons illegal to own in the UK. As part of the surrender scheme owners were […]

Victoria Collins MP at Berkhamsted Train Station

MP Calls for Rail Fare Freeze as Fares in Berkhamsted Set to Increase

Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat MP for Harpenden & Berkhamsted, has called for a rail fare freeze as ticket prices look set to increase again next year. This means commuters between Berkhamsted and London face an eye-watering increase of £299 per year, making the overall cost £5,459. New figures released indicate that regulated rail fares are […]

Cllr Steve Jarvis Leader of Hertfordshire County Council

Fair Funding Review 2.0 Plans Could Cost Hertfordshire £50m a Year

Hertfordshire County Council has formally responded to the Government’s Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation and called on Ministers to rethink proposals which could remove around £50m from the budget and lead to consequential adverse impact on services. In an open letter to Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for […]

Tring Park School students celebrating GCSE results

Tring Park School Celebrates GCSE Success

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts proudly announces another outstanding year of GCSE results, marking continued academic excellence and renowned vocational training. An impressive 84.2% of students achieved grades 9-4, with 97.8% securing A*-C, significantly outperforming the national average of 67% for grade 4/C and above. Notably, 50.4% of entries were awarded grades 9-7, […]