PE GRANTS FOR TWO SCHOOLS Barbecues still being lit on fire-ravaged Cliff Walk Arklow Town FC lotto draw

COLAISTE Chroabh Abhann in Kilcoole and Woodbrook College in Bray will receive grants to support the implementation of PE as a new Leving Cert subject, it has been confirmed.

Minister for Health, Simon Harris, welcomed the news. ‘Our education can often be very exam focused,’ he said.

‘However, it is important that we recognise the opportunity that it gives us to broaden the life skills of each student.

‘I am keen to make sure that our education system keeps pace with our changing society and the evolving needs of our economy. We know how important it is to be physically active and engage in sports, not only for our physical health but also as a means to encourage team building, develop confidence and for our mental health,’ said the minister.

‘The introduction of Physical Education as a full examinable Leaving Certificate subject reflects the priority this government puts on promoting healthy lifestyles and choices.’

There will be 104 schools in the country offering the subject.

Schools offering Leaving Certificate Physical Education will receive a grant towards the purchase of digital devices for use by students in completing the course assessment components and for hardware required for central uploading of material. A grant of €350 per digital device will be payable, with one device for every two students commencing the subject in September 2018. A payment of €750 per school will be made for the uploading hardware.

There will also be training for teachers to help support the introduction of the new subject.

Topics will include skill and technique, ethics and fair play, planning for optimum performance, and other modules.

The assessment will include a physical activity project, performance assessment and written examination. BRAY Municipal District has appealed to the public to stop using disposable barbecues on the Cliff Walk.

‘We have been informed that members of the public are using disposable barbecues on the Cliff Walk,’ they said in a statement on Saturday.

‘Following the fires on Bray Head and the extremely dry weather we have been enduring we would ask that the public refrain from lighting any barbecues in this area.’

This came just one week after a massive fire enveloped Bray and Windgates in smoke, after starting with a camp fire.

A number of families fled their homes the previous Saturday, as flames came dangerously close to properties at Windgates.

On Strand Road, homes and businesses were evacuated due to thick smoke. The smoke reached most parts of the town over the course of the weekend.

Firefighters battled the blaze for days, with the assistance of the Air Corps, which dropped around 150,000 litres of sea water on the flames by helicopter.

Garda Declan Lynch of Bray Garda Station reiterated the request of the district council. He appealed for the use of common sense. He said that there could be vegetation underground which could still burn.

Garda Lynch added that disposable barbecues can be dangerous in any circumstances, as they remain hot and walkers could suffer a burn.

Whether the Bray Head fire could be a criminal matter remains to be seen. ‘Depending on a report from the fire officer, it potentially could be,’ said Garda Lynch. THE Arklow Town FC lotto numbers drawn for July 19 were 6,10,16,26. Bonus number 24.

There was no jackpot winner. Four Match Three winners each receive €75 as follows: Liz Horan, Mags Heath, Manley, Blathnaid Doyle.