North west news update 25 July 2023: The ultimate end-of-term treat

Digital reporter Sian Jones with today's top north west news headlines and weather

Transcript

00:00 Hello, my name is Sian Jones and these are the latest headlines from our newsrooms across

00:04 the North West. A secondary school in Preston has been awarded its best Ofsted rating in

00:10 15 years. For Wood Academy, it has been rated good across the board by Ofsted following

00:16 a visit to the school in June. It's best rating since it converted to an academy school in

00:21 September 2009. It's an impressive return to form for the school in Blackpool Lane,

00:27 which has found itself placing special measures just three years ago.

00:33 Work has started on a new bar which looks set to open in Cleveland in September. Music

00:39 venue boss Ian Fletcher plans to bring something different to Cleveland when his new bar opens

00:43 later this summer. Ian, well known on the Far Coast for running a clay and waterloo

00:49 music bar in Blackpool, was granted planning permission this year to turn the former CJ

00:55 Cycles bike shop on Victoria Road West into a bar.

01:01 In other news, a timber and building merchant has unveiled its new Morecambe branch following

01:05 a £250,000 investment. Holden Fisher Morecambe, located at the former Broad Oak Home and Garden

01:12 Centre premises, was officially opened as part of a celebratory event attended by staff,

01:18 partners, customers and leading local figures. The development of this new branch forms part

01:25 of Holden Group's long-term growth strategy, which will see over £50 million spent on

01:31 the whole group development over the next five years.

01:35 Thrill-seeking students from a Burnley school were rewarded for all their hard work with

01:39 a funfair and festival spectacular. The sun shone for BHS Fest at Burnley High School,

01:45 which saw daredevil pupils take to a selection of fairground rides, as well as a slip and

01:50 slide. The event at the Byron Street School is held annually to celebrate and reward students'

01:56 good behaviour, attendance, resilience and school ethos.

02:00 And finally, a Wigan mum has created a unique countdown for her daughters while their dad

02:06 is away with the military. Lauren Whittaker-Ferraro has put together a container of activities

02:11 mainly for her daughter, Sasha Highland III, but also for eight-month-old Lila Highland.

02:17 To see how long it is until the dad and mat returns home from their four-month military

02:21 deployment. Titled 'An Activity A Day While Daddy's

02:25 Away', the jar contains numerous things to do on three types of coloured paper. Green

02:30 for activities, yellow for days out and pink for notes from a mat.

02:36 And now for the weather. Many areas starting dry with some sunshine, with cloudy skies

02:41 and scattered showers developing across the northwest, with highs of 18 degrees.