Merton

Merton Council is calling on all adults living in the borough to get reading as part of this year’s Six Book Challenge.

Everyone over the age of 16 is eligible to take part in the challenge to read six books by June, and can register through any of Merton’s libraries.

Along with a book of their choice selected from the library, readers will be given a reading diary in which they record throughout the challenge how they feel about their reading, if they feel they are improving with each book they read and what they feel about the stories they are discovering.

A few months on from the launch of its ‘Stop Hate’ campaign, this week the Safer Merton partnership is confirming its dedication to fighting hate crime by announcing details of a conviction.

The Safer Merton partnership, including the council, the police, victim support and many others work across the borough to reduce crime and disorder. This includes working with criminal justice agencies to bring people to justice.

Merton Council is joining the latest Keep Britain Tidy campaign to clean up dog mess from its streets.

Posters have gone up around the borough displaying the strap line It happens…clean it up or face a fine up to £1,000. Council animal welfare officers will be out on the road offering residents free micro-chipping for their dogs, free dog waste bags and advice on responsible dog ownership.

Merton Peace Week, as part of London Week of Peace, takes place from 19-26 September and will see a variety of events taking place around the borough to help bring the community together and celebrate diversity, equality and social harmony. The theme of ‘Giving Back’ hopes to inspire people to volunteer or get more involved in their local community.

The week will bring something for everyone with events ranging from a community cricket match, a peace walk, sessions about volunteering to workshops for young people on crime and a big family fun day.

Merton Council celebrated the many achievements of the borough’s young people yesterday with a special event for secondary school pupils at the top of their class.
Top secondary school pupils in Merton attended the event on Tuesday, 7 September held at the Civic Centre in Merton where they were given praise by the Mayor of Merton and Councillor Peter Walker for their outstanding results and individual successes.

This year’s Celebrating Age Festival 2010 launched today (Friday 27 August) at SavaCentre in Colliers Wood.

Performers from a number of community groups for older people in the borough showcased dances from different cultures as the festival got off to a leaping start.

Merton schools have had another good year of results in GCSE exams with 8.6% more students achieving 5+GCSEs A*-C, exceeding 2009 national average by 7.8%.

The increase takes Merton's secondary school students attaining 5+GCSEs A*-C to 77.8%, up from 69.2% last year and above the national average 2009 of 70%. This represents an improvement of 29.6% over a five-year period.

Merton Council extends its sympathy to the victims of the Pakistan flood disaster and would like to offer condolences to the many families who have lost loved ones in this very tragic circumstance.

The council supports the national effort to raise funds to aid the victims of the flood disaster and would encourage staff and local residents to donate to the Disaster Emergency Committee to help improve the lives of the Pakistani people who have suffered so greatly due to this natural disaster.

Adult students across the borough are celebrating a successful year of studies at Merton Adult Education (MAE) having achieved fantastic results in both AS level and GCSE exams.

This year, 91 per cent of students at MAE achieved passes in GCSEs with one in four exams scoring an A* - A grade. French, Spanish and Italian language students at the college passed with flying colours this year as 93.8% achieved A*- B passes.

Merton Council saw McMichael Estate Limited fined at Wimbledon Magistrates Court on 2 July 2010 for fly tipping offences on 25 January this year.

The letting agent, based on Upper Tooting Road, London, was fined £1760 for the two offences and ordered to pay costs of £740 and a victim surcharge £15.

The crimes committed by McMichael Estate Limited consisted of two offences. The company gave building waste to an unauthorised person to dispose of which subsequently was deposited on land in front of garages at the rear of Westway, London SW20 in Raynes Park.