THE Children at Frome Valley First School had a visit from the Bishop of Sherborne, Tim Thornton.

Bishop Tim is a regular visit but he wanted to pop in to congratulate the children and staff about their second 'outstanding' Ofsted inspection this year.

The second inspection is related to the Church of England aided status of the school and looks at the religious ethos of the school and the provision of religious education.

Armed with a celebratory cake, Tim was extremely well received and thanked everyone who had worked so hard to achieve this great result.

A message of congratulations has also been received from Crossways Parish Council after councillors had received the printed report and a précis from Rector Jacqui Birdseye.

The school has recently introduced a suggestion box for parents as a way of helping everyone to have an input into the matters discussed by the School's parents council.

Headmistress Helen Boyce would like to thank parents and children that supported the toy sale in aid of Help the Aged who have received a donation of £100 from the school.

Some of the things that were left over were donated to Crossways Playgroup, some books to the Kingfisher Ward in Dorchester Hospital and the rest to the Help the Aged' shop in Dorchester.

From the look of the school's regular newsletters there is a huge range of opportunities for the children to participate in.

There are guitar, keyboard and recorder lessons and African dance and drum sessions.

On the sports side a very active football team and involvement in after school swimming. As if that wasn't enough a large number of children are involved in the Year 4 DASP Choral Festival which takes place in St Osmund's School, Dorchester.

  • AFTER his visit to the school, the Bishop paid a visit to the staff and residents of the care home in Dick O'Th Banks Road.

He was very interested to learn of the work which is carried out and had the opportunity of a chat with the home manager Pete Naylor.

They were able to reflect on the recent planning application for an enlarged home on the site and the reaction it caused.

The Bishop is now preparing for his sponsored walk in aid of the new church for Crossways.

Rev Birdseye receives a great deal of support from the Bishop and Archdeacon in the massive undertaking of the church building, which I know she appreciates.

Villagers and supporters are still collecting their loose change in pots and containers as part of the pennies from heaven scheme.

Although it only brings in a small monetary sum in the words of a famous supermarket Every little helps.

  • THERE was some early spring activity at the scout ground during the first weekends in April.

With a sense of relief, the ground had dried sufficiently for the earth moving equipment to get back on and dig the trench for the electricity supply.

The group has been working so hard in raising funds to bring the power onto their land.

The first quotations from the electricity supply company ran into many thousands of pounds until they realised they were looking at the wrong Brownjohn's!

Even so, it is not a cheap process and a lot of saving was required. The costs would have soared if it had not been for the dedication and brute force of Scout leaders Alex Gibson and Bob Hewish.

It isn't much fun digging a trench as you watch it fill with the pouring rain.

Hopefully now the cable can be laid, the installation finished and the lights will come on in the buildings at Brownjohn's.

On a more practical level it also means that a fridge and freezer can be made available to the groups staying.

On a boiling hot August day your milk in a bucket of water doesn't stay fresh for very long.

I guess Baden-Powell would have left his milk in the cow until the moment it was needed - not sure what he would have said about our methods today.

Once the trench is filled it is a case of getting the site ready for the first lot of campers who are due at the half term holiday.

It is also pleasing to hear of the number of groups camping at Brownjohn's coming from the more urban environments and the great experiences they have.

The camping ground is not too far away from civilisation, but also remote enough to be camping out under the stars. I met three Scouts from Enfield the other weekend who wanted to camp overnight as they were going zorbing.

This was a new one on me, but I gather it involves putting yourself inside a plastic sphere and being pushed down a hill.

I have a funny feeling that old B-P would have actually been a great enthusiast of something like that.

The sections of the Scout group are also managing to break free from their winter quarters.

The Cubs went for a nature ramble, looking for the signs of spring along the hedgerows and fields around the village hall.

They are desperately keen to get back to their camp site but there is the little matter of the big trench across the middle of it so a few more weeks yet I'm afraid.

  • MEMBERS of the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts will be taking part in the Dorchester District St George's Day Parade which is held in the United Reformed Church on Sunday, April 20.

The young people and leaders enjoy marching behind the band in their best uniforms and in previous years many people have turned out to line the route of the march to watch and give the youngsters encouragement.

  • THE next meeting of Crossways Parish Council is fast approaching and takes place in the Crossways Village Hall on Thursday, April 24 starting with public participation at 7pm.

This month also sees the annual parish meeting, which is a separate and distinct meeting which gives parishioners the chance to have their say.

No doubt they will be interested to hear from the guest speaker about the future possible developments on the land to the west of the village which is currently being worked' for gravel extraction.

I guess millions of tonnes of sand and gravel must have been taken out of the ground around Crossways over the last 50 odd years.

It is a nuisance to some and a lifeline to others who have been employed in the industry.

The restoration of the land after the extraction is now a hot topic with many more obligations on the companies to reinstate the land or create new natural habitations. The days of leaving areas so they can be used as backdrops for Doctor Who are long over.