The council says the existing catchment arrangements no longer reflect changes in housing, population growth and planned residential developments.

A public consultation on proposed changes to the catchment areas of four primary schools in Hamilton has been approved by councillors.

At the Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday (June 24), councillors agreed to begin the statutory consultation process on plans aimed at balancing pupil numbers across St Mary’s Primary, St Paul’s Primary, St Peter’s Primary and Our Lady and St Anne’s Primary.

The council says the existing catchment arrangements no longer reflect changes in housing, population growth and planned residential developments, with St Mary’s Primary in particular facing increasing pressure on capacity.

The school currently has 451 pupils despite having a planned capacity of 450, with projections suggesting its roll could rise to more than 520 if all known housing developments within its catchment are completed.

Under the proposals, part of St Mary’s catchment would be transferred to St Paul’s Primary School, including the site of the proposed redevelopment of the former University of the West of Scotland campus. Around 350 new homes are expected to be built there, potentially generating around 34 additional denominational primary pupils.

Several existing residential areas would also move into the St Paul’s catchment, including parts of Bothwell Road, Arthur Street, Hamilton Park and The Furlongs development.

The report states that St Paul’s has sufficient capacity to accommodate both existing pupils from the proposed rezoned area and those expected from future housing developments.

The council is also proposing to remove two long-standing “optional catchment” areas where families have been able to choose between two Catholic primary schools.

One proposal would permanently assign an area currently shared between St Mary’s and St Peter’s Primary to St Peter’s. Council figures show around two-thirds of families in that area have already chosen St Peter’s over the past two school sessions.

The second proposal would remove the option between St Peter’s and Out Lady and St Anne’s Primary, assigning the area permanently to Our Lady and St Anne’s. Around 70 per cent of families in the area have already opted for Our Lady and St Anne’s in recent years.

Council officers say the changes would make better use of available school capacity while easing pressure on St Mary’s and providing greater certainty over future school planning.

If the proposals are approved following consultation, the new catchment arrangements would apply to children enrolling in primary one for the 2027/28 academic year.

The council has confirmed that children already attending any of the affected schools will be able to remain there. Families with younger siblings enrolling between 2027 and 2032 will also be able to choose to send them to the same school, regardless of any catchment changes.

As part of the statutory consultation process, public meetings will be held to allow parents, residents and other stakeholders to give their views before any final decision is made.

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Flooring issues and the theft of sprinklers has caused plenty of disruption at the popular family attraction this year

Blackpill Lido will be reopened to the public “in the coming weeks”, Swansea Council has said. The popular family attraction is currently out of action since May 26, when temporary fencing was erected after flooring had come away in some areas.

Before that issue, the actions of thieves forced its opening to be postponed after four stainless steel water fountain sprinklers were stolen on April 19. It prompted a police investigation with officers appealing for anyone with information on the theft to come forward.

Swansea Council has now confirmed that contractors are nearing the end of their work to repair damage. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here.

The council’s cabinet member for development, Andrew Williams, said: “The theft of the sprinklers at the attraction, along with the need to complete emergency repairs, has left us all frustrated that families cannot enjoy this popular attraction during the recent spells of hot weather.

“However, the good news is that we are coming to the end of these issues.

“Contractors have informed us they are nearing completion of their works.

“Once this has been done, we can start the process of refilling the pool, which takes a few days.

“Our aim will be to reopen the Lido within the next few weeks and ensure families can enjoy the attraction throughout the school summer holidays.”

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An explosion at a residential building in Monaco has left three people injured, including Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, in an incident that the authorities say was almost certainly an attack targeting the tycoon.

Mr Yermolaiev and his wife were fighting for their lives in critical condition after the explosion, according to reports, while a 13-year-old child was also badly injured.

Authorities said four other people were suffering from shock and cuts as a result of broken windows.

Two adults and a child were taken to hospitals in France with injuries, minister of state Christophe Mirmand said.

The blast happened shortly before 9pm local time after a bag was left outside the entryway of a residence on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla, near the border with France.

He said it was “very likely an attack”, adding that French and Monaco authorities are searching for the attacker, whose motive is under investigation.

Following the apparent attack, a suspect was seen crossing the border into France on foot, and identified via video surveillance in both Monaco and the neighbouring French town of Beausoleil, Mirmand said.

Monaco’s leader Prince Albert II called it “an odious act” and said all the country’s services were mobilised to ensure security.

Christopher Cave has been jailed

A former police officer has been put behind bars after he admitted forming a sexual relationship with a crime victim while on duty.

Police said Christopher Cave’s relationship with the victim was a ‘blatant abuse of trust’ with his conduct ‘falling well below the standard expect’ of officers. Cave, from Formby, began the relationship in 2004 while working at Nottinghamshire Police.

This lasted around seven years before the relationship ended in early 2011, reports the Liverpool Echo. The 62-year-old then joined South Yorkshire Police, where the accusations emerged in 2022.

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He was arrested and suspended from his position in June 2022 while employed as an evidence review officer for South Yorkshire Police. Prior to assuming that role, he had worked as a police officer with the force between 2010 and 2017, according to Nottinghamshire Live.

Cave officially resigned from South Yorkshire Police in December 2023. Yesterday (Monday, June 29), Cave was jailed for one year and nine months at Sheffield Crown Court after admitting two counts of misconduct in a public office.

He will now be subject to an internal misconduct hearing once the criminal proceedings have concluded. The detective in charge of the investigation, Detective Constable Nicola Milner, said “Cave crudely and blatantly abused the trust placed in him as a police officer and the victim in this case remains at the forefront of our minds.

“His conduct fell well below the standard that is expected of our officers and we welcome the result of the sentencing in court.”

It sleeps six, has no spa and no concierge.

What it has is possibly the most dramatic position of any holiday rental in England, a history involving a Prime Minister and a pot of tea, and a view from the bedroom windows that sells the place instantly.

The Howick Bathing House is quietly becoming one of the most coveted stays in the country.

The cliff edge nobody was supposed to know about

The Bathing House stands on the clifftop above the rocky cove of Rumbling Kern, a name that captures what happens when North Sea waves surge into the steep-sided chasms in the rock face below and bellow a deep, thunderous noise.

The cove is south of Cullernose Point near Howick, sheltered behind small cliffs that face inland from the sea, and it was once a favoured drop-off point for whisky smugglers working the Northumberland coast.

It is the kind of place you would not find unless you are looking for it.

From the house, the view north takes in the majestic ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle on the horizon. South, on a clear day, you can see Coquet Island.

The surrounding coastline is designated both an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with 100 miles of protected coast running from Berwick in the north to the mouth of the River Coquet in the south.

The Prime Minister who built it for his children

The Bathing House was built in the early 19th century by Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey – Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834, the man after whom Earl Grey tea is named.

His ancestral home, Howick Hall, sits a short distance inland and has been in the Grey family since 1319.

Grey had 15 children with his wife Mary, and having been deeply unhappy at school himself, he educated them all at home at Howick.

Sea bathing was fashionable among the Georgian aristocracy, and Rumbling Kern was the family’s favoured spot on the coastline, so the Earl built them a house there. He then had two rock-cut pools constructed on the foreshore below the building, with a channel carved into the rock to feed the pools with fresh seawater at each tide.

A second pool was given a rock-cut seating area and metal hooks to erect a canopy.

The design of the house was considered. A large upstairs sitting room – now the master bedroom – was positioned specifically so that Lady Grey could sit and watch the children bathing in the pools below while the caretaker, who lived on the ground floor, served tea.

The upper room commands the entire seascape.

Both the Bathing House and the rock-cut steps leading to the pools are Grade II listed structures, protected for their historical and architectural importance.

What the house looks like today

The building is managed by Howick Trustees Ltd, the charitable trust that also owns Howick Hall, and lets exclusively through Howick Holiday Cottages.

It sleeps six across three bedrooms. The master bedroom occupies what was Lady Grey’s upstairs sitting room, with a super-king bed and a view directly out to sea over the rocks.

The second bedroom looks along the coast towards Dunstanburgh Castle.

The third has two single beds and views south towards Coquet Island.

The interior has been sympathetically renovated. Large original sash windows flood the rooms with light.

An open-plan kitchen, dining room and lounge occupy the ground floor, with a large country table, ample seating and a log-burning stove set within an inglenook fireplace.

Oil central heating, Wi-fi and a private grassed terrace garden are included, along with a private drive and parking for two or three cars.

Two well-behaved dogs are welcome at a supplement of £25 per dog per week. Guests receive a free pass to Howick Hall Gardens and its 65 acres of gardens.

Reviewers describe it simply. “A fabulous house to stay in, above all for its magnificent location so near the sea,” wrote one couple in October 2025.

“Inside it’s warm and cosy even in strong winds and rain.”

Why the waiting list keeps growing

The Bathing House is bookable only by approaching Howick Holiday Cottages directly, and it is currently taking bookings for 2028.

On social media, photographs of the building – its white walls against grey sea, the rock pools below, the castle on the horizon – circulate constantly, drawing fresh attention each time.

Facebook groups devoted to Northumberland history and photography return to it repeatedly, each post generating hundreds of responses from people saying they have been trying to book for years.

It is also on one of the finest walking routes in England.

The Northumberland Coast Path passes within metres of the house, and the walk south along the cliff to Craster – home of Robson’s smokehouse and the world-famous kipper – and then on to the ruined towers of Dunstanburgh Castle is considered one of the great short coastal walks in Britain.

The Coast and Castles cycle route passes nearby too.

The result is a rare combination: a genuinely historic building, an irreplaceable setting, and a letting policy that keeps supply fixed at precisely one property.

There is nothing else like it on the Northumberland coast, and an increasing number of people know it.

How to book

Enquiries for the Bathing House are handled by Howick Holiday Cottages at howickholidaycottages.co.uk with a one week stay in April 2027 setting you back more than £2,500.

The site notes that bookings for 2028 are now open.

Occasional cancellations are announced via the Howick Holiday Cottages Instagram account, where rare short-break availability is sometimes released at short notice.

An explosion at a residential building in Monaco has injured three people, two of them critically.

The blast occurred shortly before 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) after a bag was left outside the building on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla, near the border with France.

Minister of State Christophe Mirmand told AFP it was “very likely an attack” and police were investigating.

He said the blast had been caused by an explosive device which appeared to contain bolts and pellets. The Monaco government said a suspect was seen on a video surveillance system fleeing towards France.

More than 100 police and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene.

“This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality,” Mirmand, the head of Monaco’s government, said.

Mirmand told local media that two of the victims had suffered “life-threatening” injuries, but did not disclose the identities of any of the victims. The Monaco government said the three injured people had been taken to hospital in the nearby French city Nice.

Monaco’s Prince Albert II described the incident as a “heinous crime” and “a shock to the entire Monaco community”.

He said “all concerned state services are currently being mobilised” in co-operation with the relevant French authorities.

Officials are expected to provide an update on Tuesday local time.

In the midst of one of the most famous World Cup shootouts interventions of all, with so much focus on him, Tim Krul was only looking to one place. That was into the eyes of the Costa Rica players.

“You can see which ones are more nervous,” Krul smiles. “They’re not able to put the ball where they want.”

So it proved with Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana, as Krul saved from both to send the Netherlands through to the semi-finals in 2014.

That moment of history came just minutes after Louis van Gaal had specifically brought on the goalkeeper as a penalty specialist, the first time that had happened in the competition’s history.

If it has consequently entered World Cup lore, but arguably had a much wider influence on how the competition is now played, that we are going to see over the next few days. It marked a moment where the focus for shootouts – at least as regards what the most important element is – shifted from kickers to keepers.

For years, after all, most of the thinking had been dominated by whether players could step up, whether they had the “bottle”, whether they could handle the psychology of it all.

The evolution of sports science and superior technical coaching has long moved us past the point where penalties are “a lottery”, but a lot of evidence has since evolved to show that goalkeepers have now introduced much greater variation.

They have become the true differential, as Emiliano Martinez has shown for Argentina and Jordan Pickford for England.

It got to the point with Martinez, and the extent of his proactivity, that Fifa had to change the rules on keeper movement.

Hugo Loris arguably showed it from the other side with France, since he wasn’t even getting close to any of those penalties in the 2022 final. The contrast in the keepers was the difference between winning the shootouts – and winning the World Cup – and not.

If players are confident they can beat a keeper, it’s on. If there’s doubt, the impact can be much greater.

So, while the loneliness of the kicker is still very much what most emotionally resonates with shootouts, the fact they can only take one kick is part of the point. The goalkeeper is involved in all of them.

“I loved the shootout,” Krul says. “Loved it, because I had five chances, minimum. And that’s why I felt the percentages were so much more in favour of me, because I knew one or two of them would be so nervous.”

In other words, they might feel the loneliness of the kicker; goalkeepers can play on that.

“I had a moment in Salvador for that shootout where I was walking to get ready, then looked up and saw the Dutch flag, saw the World Cup flag. And then the spider-cam came down and I saw myself on the screen,” Krul explains. “And just the realisation, ‘this s*** is real’.

“That’s what you dream of as a young boy, to play in a World Cup and have an impact for your country.”

And that’s also what kickers are fearing, to feel that impact in the wrong way.

One illustrative approach that coaches use to think about shootouts is that, if elite players wanted to, they could easily stick a ball in a top corner – where goalkeepers physically can’t reach – at will. All of Diego Maradona, Leo Messi, Roberto Baggio and Michel Platini especially could. And yet all of them have missed big shootout penalties.

“I spoke to all the strikers and all the midfielders in our squad and even the best were impacted by psychology,” Krul reveals. “I was even thinking, ‘my goodness, you’re a guy who’s killed the biggest Champions League matches and you’re impacted by this.’ So there’s so much going on.”

That’s precisely why Krul and goalkeepers like Martinez definitively moved away from the old approach of pre-emptively deciding where to dive, so as to give yourself the best chance of saving if you went the right way. That is certainly too much of a lottery. Hence, Krul looked into their eyes.

“Players now change their mind in the last split second. And you can see the ones that are more nervous. They are not able to put the ball into the top corner or the bottom corner. That’s the one you go for, where they are hitting it with 85% conviction rather than 100%.

“You have to be able to read and react, of course. You need the explosiveness and the experience, but it’s more and more psychology.

“It is a unique situation, basically.”

Hence, Pickford is now treating his approach as if they are trade secrets. When asked whether he’d come up with anything new on Saturday, he asserted he wasn’t getting into that as if this was an attempt at industrial espionage.

“It’s my job to make the saves and in tournaments, time and time before, I’ve always come up with a save in a shootout for England and I’ll hopefully continue that,” he said. “We believe in each other – they have confidence I can save a penalty and I have confidence they can score them.”

But that’s where Krul and other goalkeepers are now fully conscious of the twist.

“The pressure is all on the taker. And that’s why emotional control is key with these kinds of moments.”

The goalkeeper, to a far greater degree than ever before, has consequently become the real difference.

In 2024, I flew on a microgravity, or zero G, parabolic flight with the European Space Agency (ESA). The aeroplane flew big arcs up and down in the sky. At the top of the arc I experienced 22 seconds of weightlessness, just like an astronaut.

On the flight were some of ESA’s newest astronauts, training on the Microgravity Science Glovebox: a see-through box for doing science experiments in space, with gloves to let astronauts use their hands while the box stops the experiment from flying around. I was carrying out research on how to keep astronauts healthy in space.

Piloting us was ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who made floating around look easy: he hung serenely in the cabin while the scientists and trainees crashed about.

My career path to those moments in microgravity looks more like a maze than a straight line. I did an engineering apprenticeship, then an undergraduate degree in physiotherapy, then a Master’s degree in space physiology and health. Finally, a PhD on how to keep astronauts’ backs healthy combined all three.

There is no one way to be an astronaut – you can’t go to astronaut school. You need to pick up skills along the way before applying to be an astronaut candidate. The good news is there are many pathways to becoming an astronaut, or to be floating alongside them, like me.

The Stem and pilot routes

The most obvious and well-known routes are to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects, while also becoming a pilot – these paths often intertwine. Exactly which Stem subject, and which kind of flying, counts depends on the space agency or private company you apply to, and on your nationality.

But most of the world’s current astronaut corps took this Stem pathway. Thomas Pesquet is one example: he qualified as an aerospace engineer and a transport pilot before becoming an astronaut candidate in the 2009 class.

The multidisciplinary route

The second, and increasingly common option, is the multidisciplinary route. It includes astronauts who have studied two or more fields that might not seem obviously related to each other, or to spaceflight. Combinations of life sciences and physics are popular, as with Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. He trained as a biomedical engineer, astrophysicist and then as a medical doctor before becoming an astronaut.

ESA’s John McFall, who was with me on the 2024 parabolic flight, was a Paralympic sprinter and an NHS orthopaedic surgeon before he became an astronaut in 2022. Some combinations are more unusual still: Jessica Meir brought together marine biology and extreme-environment physiology before joining Nasa.

Each of these astronauts offers a unique mix of skills, valued in the complex, problem-solving world of spaceflight. That mix will matter even more on future planetary missions, where one person may need to fill several roles depending on which phase of the mission they are in.

The super-specialist route

The third path is the exact opposite. Instead of going broad, you dive deeply into one topic and become a world-leading expert. For example, ESA’s Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate in radiation-tolerant electronics. He then worked at Cern, where he became responsible for the day-to-day running of the Large Hadron Collider, before being selected by ESA in 2022. Sometimes being a specialist
and being really, really good at what you do is itself a pathway to space.

It is worth saying that you don’t always have to decide young. Canadian Jenni Sidey-Gibbons was a combustion engineer and university lecturer before she was selected. Japan’s Makoto Suwa was an earth scientist and senior disaster risk management specialist at the World Bank before he was chosen by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in his forties.

There is no expiry date on the dream, and no single moment when you must decide. It is even fine to stumble along the way. Astronaut Scott Kelly had poor grades at school and failed at least one US Navy exam before becoming an astronaut. He never gave up.

The career path that doesn’t exist yet

Then there is one final route, which none of us knows, because it doesn’t exist yet. When it comes to who they might choose to go into space, commercial spaceflight companies are writing their own rulebooks as they go and are deliberately widening who qualifies as astronauts. We genuinely do not know who the career astronauts of the 2040s will be, or what they will have studied.

However, a strong grounding in mathematics, a science, English and another language is a great start. You will train and live alongside international crews as well as solve problems in space. Whatever you study, your hobbies are the final ingredient. Hobbies make you a rounder, happier, more capable person – the kind of person who makes a interesting crew member.

Get that foundation, do it brilliantly and the rest of what you study is up to you.

The Met Office has forecast the weather for Wales today.

It writes on its website: “Tuesday will start mostly dry with bright spells, especially in the east.

“However, patchy rain will affect west Wales and as the day progresses locally heavy showers will break out, reaching eastern parts by the afternoon.

“Pleasantly warm. Maximum temperature 21 °C.”

Ripon Grammar School (RGS) has been named the North of England Grammar School of the Year in the LUXlife Private Education Awards.

The accolade recognises the school’s success in providing both academic excellence and high-quality boarding within the state sector.

Jonathan Webb, headmaster of RGS, said: “We are incredibly proud to receive this award.

“It is particularly meaningful because it recognises that a state school can deliver an educational and boarding experience that rivals the very best in the independent sector.

“Our boarding community enriches the whole school and creates opportunities for students from a wide range of backgrounds to thrive.”

The LUXlife Private Education Awards, launched in 2021, celebrate excellence in teaching, innovation, leadership, and student support worldwide.

Melissa Bramall, awards coordinator, said: “We’re proud to recognise the commitment of such compassionate, empathetic, and caring individuals who form the integral teams within the private education market around the globe.

“I want to wish our winners all the best for the future ahead and another sincere round of applause for their accomplishments thus far.”

This latest recognition adds to the school’s accolades, reinforcing its status as a leading provider of state education with a broad national and international reach.