International News

Reading will be getting a new secondary school built next to the festival site and leisure centre despite several concerns. Plans for a new secondary school in Reading have been in the works since 2018, when the council identified a site for the new school next to Rivermead Leisure Complex. The latest approval means work on the 1,500 pupil school can now go ahead. Within the 1,500 pupil capacity, there will be 300 sixth form students and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)...

People hoping to find a property to rent are going to ever greater lengths to secure a home. As well as having to put up more cash in advance, they're offering landlords CVs for their children and photos of their well-behaved dogs. That's because a shortage of available homes is pushing up monthly rents, deposits and leading to bidding wars. Industry body Propertymark says the number of rentals on the books of lettings agencies has fallen sharply. Propertymark surveyed over 4...

PROPERTY prices in Reading, Slough and Wokingham have doubled thanks to the newly built Elizabeth Line. Rightmove’s new Elizabeth Line study reveals asking prices have more than doubled over the past decade in the local areas around Twyford, Reading and Slough. A new study of millions of datapoints from the UK’s biggest property website Rightmove shows how local market activity in areas surrounding stations on the newly launched Elizabeth line has changed over the last ten yea...

London’s long-delayed new underground service, the Elizabeth line, finally opened to passengers on Tuesday (24 May). The project, also known as Crossrail, was originally scheduled to open in December 2018 but has suffered a series of delays and has ended up costing almost £19 billion to complete. The initial opening of the line sees trains running every five minutes between Paddington and Abbey Wood in southeast London, with journey times reduced from 58 to 29 minutes. Londo...

Responding to today’s announcement that Reading has been unsuccessful in its Platinum Jubilee City Status bid, Council Leader Jason Brock said: “This is obviously hugely disappointing news for Reading, the Council and everybody who backed the bid. “As we said from the outset, however, this bid was about showcasing Reading, everything it has to offer and everything we love about it, from our rich history, our Royal connections, our diversity, our cultural scene and our eco...

Phenomenon last seen in March could turn sky orange with thunderstorms, high winds and downpours A cloud of Saharan dust could create a “blood rain” effect across the UK later this week, as it turns the rain from thunderstorms a shade of red, forecasters have predicted. “Blood rain” occurs when high concentrations of red-coloured dust or particles combine with rain, giving it a red appearance as it falls, according to the Met Office. The red or orange rain is expect...

It’s been more than two years since the start of the pandemic, and the importance of our homes has never been more in focus. Covid rules and lockdown restrictions have had a lasting effect on what we prioritise when we’re looking to move. We’ve seen big shifts in demand from home-movers, as many buyers and renters swapped cities for the open space of the countryside, and bigger homes. Some of these trends look set to stay – bit of green space, anyone? – but so...

The total - more than 23,000 - is a record high and comes as the UK has struggled to increase the number of home-grown nurses joining the register. Nurse leaders questioned whether international recruitment on this scale was sustainable. The Nursing and Midwifery Council data for 2021-22 also showed the numbers leaving the profession had risen. More than 27,000 left the register last year, up 13% on the year before and reversing a downward trend in leavers over recent years. In many ...