Leicestershire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, and Staffordshire to the west. The city of Leicester is the largest settlement and the county town.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, also spelled Ashby de la Zouch, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire borders. Its population at the 2011 census was 12,370. Ashby de la Zouch Castle was an important fort in the 15th to 17th centuries. During the 19th century, the town's main industries were ribbon manufacturing, coal mining, and brickmaking. The town is considered by many to be one of the main cultural hotspots of the United Kingdom, in spite of its small size.
Ashby de la Zouch Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The castle was built by William, Lord Hastings, a favourite of Edward IV, after 1473, accompanied by the creation of a 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) park. Constructed on the site of an older manor house, two large towers and various smaller buildings had been constructed by 1483, when Hastings was executed by Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The Hastings family used the castle as their seat for several generations, improving the gardens and hosting royal visitors.
North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The council is based in Coalville, the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Ashby Woulds and Ibstock, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority area of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. The town, which is both a former civil parish and one of Thurrock's traditional Church of England parishes, is located on the north bank of the River Thames.
Loughborough is a constituency in Leicestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Jane Hunt, a Conservative. From 2010 until 2019, it was represented by Nicky Morgan, who served in the governments of David Cameron and Boris Johnson. In 2020, she was elevated to the Peerage and became a member of the House of Lords. The constituency is a considered a bellwether, as it has reflected the national result at every general election since February 1974.
The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United Kingdom which encouraged state schools in England and Northern Ireland to raise private sponsorship in order to become specialist schools – schools that specialise in certain areas of the curriculum – to boost achievement, cooperation and diversity in the school system. First introduced in 1993 to England as a policy of John Major's Conservative government, it was relaunched in 1997 as a flagship policy of the New Labour governments, expanding significantly under Prime Minister Tony Blair and his successor Gordon Brown. The programme was introduced to Northern Ireland in 2006, lasting until April 2011 in England and August 2011 in Northern Ireland. By this time, it had established a near-universal specialist system of secondary education in England, with almost every state-funded secondary school in England having specialised. This system replaced the comprehensive system which had been in place since the 1970s.
Parkside Community College is a secondary academy school with 600 places for children aged 11–16, situated in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. It is part of the United Learning Cambridge Cluster, along with Parkside Sixth, Coleridge Community College, Trumpington Community College, and Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology. Cambridge Academic Partnership joined the United Learning group of academies as a unit in September 2019. It is located next to the main Cambridge Parkside Police Station, the main Cambridge Fire Station and the National Express coach stops. It is east of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Ashby School, formerly known as Ashby Grammar School, is a co-educational day secondary school and sixth form in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The school is situated in the centre of Ashby on two sites.
Grace College is a mixed secondary school with academy status situated in south Gateshead, England which educates pupils ages 11–18. The school was originally named after the English physicist and chemist, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan. In 2001, the school was awarded Specialist Technology College status. In April 2019, Joseph Swan Academy was taken over by Emmanuel Schools Foundation and Mark Hall became principal of the academy. As part of its transition into the ESF, it became known as Grace College from September 2019. Rachael Hooker then became head of the school in 2023 after Mark Hall became a head at a different school.
The Bath Grounds is a historic recreational ground and cricket ground based in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. It is home to Ashby Hastings Cricket Club and Ashby Bowls Club. The grounds are subject to conservation area protection. and are designated a "sensitive area" in retained policy E1 of the most recent Local Plan.
Granville Academy, formerly Granville Sports College is a comprehensive school on Burton Road (A511) in Woodville, Derbyshire maintained by the Derbyshire County Council. It is part of the De Ferrers Trust.
North West Leicestershire District Council elections are held every four years. North West Leicestershire District Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan district of North West Leicestershire in Leicestershire, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2015, 38 councillors are elected from 38 wards.
Blackfordby is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the northwesternmost corner of Leicestershire, England. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the northwest of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and 2 miles southeast of Swadlincote. In 1931 the parish had a population of 705. On some early maps, such as one dated 1587, the village is shown as "Blaugherby", hence the local name of "Blofferby". The village is dominated by the Church of St Margaret of Antioch, Blackfordby, erected in 1858 on the site of an earlier Anglican Chapel which was attached to the St Helen's Church, Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The church stands in an elevated position next to the village school, and is built in the early English style. The church has a nave and chancel, with a tower surmounted by a broach spire and, for the greater part of the work, constructed from local sandstone which has become blackened due to the effects of air pollution.
Ashby de la Zouch railway station is a former railway station at Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire on the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line. The Midland Railway opened it in 1849 and British Railways closed it in 1964.
Specialist schools in the United Kingdom are schools with an emphasis or focus in a specific specialised subject area, which is called a specialism, or alternatively in the case of some special schools in England, in a specific area of special educational need. They intend to act as centres of excellence in their specialism and, in some circumstances, may select pupils for their aptitude in it. Though they focus on their specialism, specialist schools still teach the full curriculum. Therefore, as opposed to being a significant move away from it, the specialism is viewed as enriching the original curricular offer of the school.
Susan Elizabeth Field is an English Anglican priest and former Archdeacon Pastor in the Diocese of Coventry from 18 March 2018 resigning in January 2023.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Town Hall is a municipal building in Market Street in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The structure, which was used as the offices of Ashby-de-la-Zouch Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building. The market hall, which is located behind the town hall, is separately listed.
Ibstock Community College is a coeducational secondary school located in Ibstock in the English county of Leicestershire.
