Well done to successful youngsters

AS I write this column, we are still awaiting details on GCSE results, but the A-levels are in and I’m really pleased to see that local students have once again performed brilliantly.

With an overall 2017 pass rate of 98.3% across grades A*-E, they’ve maintained the significant improvements achieved last year, and have really earned their success.

Well done to them all – and good luck to our GCSE students, too.

This year’s electoral canvass is under way, and the first registration deadline recently expired, with 17,315 responses out of a potential 63,000.

Reminder letters and a new deadline have been issued to households that have yet to respond, so I would urge you to look out for them.

As well as enabling voters to have their say during elections, being on the electoral register helps avoid problems with obtaining credit or applying for things like mobile phone contracts, mortgages or passports.

Registering is quick and easy. You can either fill in and post back the form that we are sending out, register online by entering a special code featured in your letter, telephone us on 01656 643643 or send us an SMS message.

So far, online registration has proven to be the most popular method – 11,174 people have registered this way, while 3,414 have done it by phone and 2,187 via SMS messaging.

Next month, canvassers will be calling at households that don’t respond to the reminder letter, but with the register set to be published on December 1, the final deadline for making sure that you are included is November 20. So don’t miss out – register now and make sure that you can have your say.