Latest news with #Tees
BBC News
09-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Stockton post-Covid school absence effect needs 'reversing'
A "post-Covid" effect needs to be reversed to improve attendance in a town's schools, councillors have Borough Council official Mandie Rowlands said there was a generation of children who felt like they did not need to go to school and instead had a "choice".She said the issue needed "reversing" but it was not going be solved overnight."It's probably a five to 10-year plan," she said. According to latest statistics, secondary state schools in Stockton had a 9.6% absence rate in the week starting 9 was compared to a 8.4% rate across secondary schools in Rowlands said: "We want to improve our attendance figures, reduce suspensions and permanent exclusions."She said there needed to be better communication between schools and parent carers, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. "[We also need to] raise the aspiration of children that they actually want to come to our Stockton schools as well," she said. 'Upskill school staff' She said her team, which go into schools to support families, was not a "blue light service"."We've got 73 schools in Stockton, five advisors - it's quite a stretch," she said. "That's why we need to target those ones with the highest level of need now."She said the team was looking to work better with schools to prevent the issues that families face escalating "too quickly".She said it was trying to upskill school staff to recognise signs of issues at home earlier, such as children arriving late, to enable faster interventions."That does mean a change within schools as well, because not all school staff feel confident in having conversations with parents about those changes," she said. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
27-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'The games that mean something have disappeared'
With rivals Leeds United and Sunderland rising to the Premier League, former Middlesbrough midfielder Neil Maddison feels that this season may seem lacking for Boro when it comes to the big derby game atmosphere."When you talk about games, fixtures, coming up that mean something, they've kind of disappeared," Maddison told BBC Radio Tees."The nearest one now, is it Hull? Or Sheffield Wednesday?"It's a little bit of a disappointment that you haven't got a team that there's a little bit of a rivalry for both sets of fans. But it is what it is."Middlesbrough missed out on a play-off spot in May, concluding their 2024-25 campaign in 10th place in the Championship Maddison believes the side will be looking to make amends with a better run this season, he also thinks there will be some dangerous teams looking to do the same."For me, the teams that missed out this season will be eager to get into the top six. Obviously, the teams that have come down will always be favourites to come back up, rightfully so," Maddison added."I think Norwich will be strong, I think they will come good."There will be a few clubs that will be aiming and trying to get into that mix and we will certainly be one of them - otherwise, what's the point?"Listen to the full reaction and more on BBC Sounds.
Indian Express
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar: You're all very mean to Arjun Kapoor; all he needs is a great director to guide him
A bad performance in a hit film will be remembered, but a great performance in a flop won't. This is the harsh reality of commercial Hindi cinema, where quality is inconsequential to success. Arjun Kapoor would know; his finest performance came in a movie that nobody watched. And those that did, misunderstood and mischaracterised it. Either in an act of deliberate vindictiveness or casual apathy, the theatrical release of Dibakar Banerjee's Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar was pushed numerous times, with the pandemic finally presenting itself as the rug it could be swept under. It was an unfortunate blow for everybody involved; Kapoor's career, one can observe, never really recovered. But that isn't because he's bad at his job. Far worse actors have enjoyed far greater success. It's because, as a person, he projects an inherent vulnerability that simply doesn't align with the Hindi film industry's idea of leading men. But this vulnerability is perhaps what made him such an ideal candidate to play Satinder 'Pinky' Dahiya in Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. Pinky is a suspended cop from Haryana, who, in a desperate effort to be reinstated, agrees to drive a young woman named Sandeep to her death. Conscience strikes when she tells him she's pregnant and on the run because she was about to expose a massive scandal at her workplace. Together, they hide out at a border town in Uttarakhand and plot to cross over into Nepal. Also read – Tees movie review: Dibakar Banerjee's unreleased saga is ambitious, intimate, and incendiary Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar didn't earn particularly positive reviews after its theatrical debut; it was only after the movie was unceremoniously dumped on Prime Video — even Kapoor wasn't told about it — that it found its true audience. This was perhaps the pandemic era's first real sign of changing times and tastes. There was a clear distinction between a streaming audience and a theatre-going audience. Kapoor himself had experienced something like this a couple of years earlier, albeit in a second-hand fashion. He played a cameo in Vikramaditya Motwane's Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, which found similar success after its streaming debut. It is clear from the very first scene of the film that Pinky isn't the sort of rowdy Haryanvi character that Hindi cinema typically typecasts in henchman roles. He's easily provoked, but also a pookie; every fibre of his being appears to be in a constant battle with the patriarchy he's grown up around. He's the sort of person who probably got fit only because he didn't want to stand out in the community he came from; he instinctively grabs Sandy by the throat on a couple of occasions, perhaps because his behaviour has been programmed by the men around him. But he also has the sensitivity to recognise the hurt that this behaviour likely caused his mother, whom he seems to care about. These are the sort of details that you gather when excellent writing — shout-out, Varun Grover — is married with a good performance. It's one thing to appreciate the hard work that Kapoor probably put into his dialect and disposition, but accents and affectations are mere accessories. When a performer draws you in with a silent expression, when they make you wonder what's going on in their mind, that's when you know that they've hit the jackpot. You could admire the way Pinky chews his food, or the way he yawns without covering his mouth. The Salman Khan bracelet on his wrist says so much about who he is. But he communicates so much more when he's simply wrestling with himself; a wannabe alpha who was probably belittled by his father in front of his cousins. In an interaction with Pinkvilla not too long ago, actor Rashmika Mandanna spoke highly of her Pushpa 2 co-star Allu Arjun's 'alphaness', in reference to a 20-minute sequence in the movie where he wears a saree. 'Imagine someone who has the guts, power, and alphaness to wear a saree, dance in a saree, perform action sequences in a saree, and deliver dialogues in a saree. For 21 minutes of the film, he is wearing a freaking saree. Tell me, what man can do that?' she asked. Why, besides Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi and so many others? Arjun Kapoor. It's important to give credit where it's due. In an on-the-nose metaphor for Pinky finally shedding every last vestige of the patriarchy embedded in his soul, he disguises himself as a woman in the film's memorable climax, and finds himself emancipated, both literally and otherwise. Read more – Stolen: The rare Hindi movie that isn't afraid to insult its own audience, and you know what, we deserve it Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar finds Banerjee revisiting a couple of his favourite themes: systemic corruption and middle-class apathy. He's a particularly unlucky filmmaker, whose frustration at his never-ending misfortune was recently unleashed in the rather unwatchable Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2. Kapoor seems to have been cursed with similar bad luck. There's only so much good work going around in Bollywood. His issue isn't a lack of talent, but a complete inability to discern a good project from a bad one. Nothing else could explain Mere Husband Ki Biwi, Sardarji Ka Grandson, and Ek Villain Returns. In times like this, it is important to remember that even someone as blazingly gifted as Colin Farrell latched onto colourful supporting roles when the lead offers dried up. It worked out well for him. Going on a victory lap for Singham Again isn't the answer. If there's one movie that Kapoor should be screaming from the rooftops about, it's this one. Post Credits Scene is a column in which we dissect new releases every week, with particular focus on context, craft, and characters. Because there's always something to fixate about once the dust has settled. Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police. You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More
BBC News
23-06-2025
- BBC News
Family tribute to Jacob Rutkowski, 20, after river death
The family of a 20-year-old man who died while swimming in a river have paid tribute to his "beautiful soul".Jacob Rutkowski from Darlington was found in the River Tees near Gainford in County Durham on Friday, hours after it was reported he had got into difficulty in the supported by search and rescue experts, carried out extensive searches of the river throughout the family said his death was a "devastating loss" and they were "heartbroken beyond words". "He was a son, brother, uncle, loving boyfriend - and above all, a beautiful soul taken far too soon," they said, in a statement released by police."We ask for privacy while we grieve and try to come to terms with our unimaginable loss."Durham Police said there were believed to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident and a report was being compiled on behalf of the coroner. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Middlesbrough hospital consultants charged 108% more for parking
Consultants and some doctors at a hospital have seen staff parking charges increase by more than 100%, a union rises accompanied the introduction of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.A University Hospitals Tees (UHT) spokesperson confirmed £1.8m would be invested in car park improvements over the coming British Medical Association (BMA) has described the new charges as "shocking and unacceptable". Some members of staff on lower salaries would see a decrease in charges but consultants would pay a tariff for a dedicated car park for them, said the BMA has said charges for consultants at the hospital have gone up by 108%, with some doctors on specific shift patterns seeing increases in excess of 125%.The price changes will bring the South Tees hospitals in line with the policy of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, which has had varied prices for staff over the last 10 years. 'Lack of understanding' Dr Andy Thornley, representing the BMA, said: "Charging staff who are just trying to come to work to care for patients at the hospital to make financial gains for a struggling trust is wrong. "Worse still is the unfair charges that patients and their visitors are being forced to pay, with no choice in order to access the hospital."This is just the latest in what can only be described as chaotic implementation of new parking measures at the hospital, impacting not only consultants but also resident doctors who are still unsure what the new charges will mean for them."We want assurances that staff who are members of the parking scheme will not be fined additional charges for simply coming to work to care for patients."A UNISON spokesperson reinforced this message, stating that imposing higher parking charges on NHS staff and patients "shows a shocking lack of understanding" of the financial struggle many are trust has said it is the first increase in two years and that any surplus funds will be diverted into patient care.A spokesperson said: "We understand the price rise is not welcome news, but we have kept the increase as low as possible."We would like to reassure all our patients and visitors that the income from car parking is used to maintain our car parks including the costs of repairs and maintenance, lighting, gritting and security, all of which helps us to retain our 'Park Mark' Safer Parking Scheme accreditation."This coming year will see us invest £1.8m in improvements to our car parking." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
