AUGUST 2ND EDITION 2021 Yorkshire ONE IN FIVE WOULD DUMP A AKSHAY KUMAR'S PARTNER FOR ESPIONAGE THRILLER BEING A BAD See page 4 'BELLBOTTOM' KISSER See page 29 TO HIT SCREENS See page 35 Wear it like a boss... www.watchbosswatch.co.uk ‘JACKO SCENT’ FRAUD DENIED Batley designer in court over Michael Continued Jackson fragrance debacle on page 8 A Yorkshire fashion designer who claimed Designer Hrh Arfaq denies to own a bottle of perfume made by Michael all the charges against him Jackson worth £44m has appeared in court charged with fraud. 2 Local www.asianexpress.co.uk August 2021 - 2nd Edition Pupils celebrate GCSE results – and overall grades up CONTACT US: Over half a million pupils are Tel : 0113 322 9911 Follow us on celebrated their GCSE results on Thursday 12 August, with overall 08703 608 606 • Over half a million grades slightly up on last year. Results show 79.1% of entries Email : received a grade 4 or above – pupils receiving GCSE equivalent to a pass – increasing 0.3 [email protected] Asian Express is available as percentage points on last year. a FREE WEEKLY pick-up from Similarly, 80.9% of pupils achieved Stories: [email protected] selected supermarkets, qualification results today 4 or above in English and 77.9 in [email protected] maths, increasing by 0.7 and 0.8 retail outlets, community percentage points (ppt) Advertising enquiries: centres, boutiques, and 520,000 vocational respectively, enabling them to move [email protected] restaurants and many other on to the next stage of education or training despite the disruption of Text to mobile : distribution outlets across and technical certificates the pandemic. the Yorkshire region. This year’s GCSE grades were 07772 365 325 determined by those who know issued students best – their teachers – with students only assessed on what they had been taught, under plans to So pick-up your FREE copy ensure fairness for young people. • 79.1% of entries receive The figures show 7.7% of entries are at grade 9, 30.0% at grade 7 or of Asian Express TODAY! above – showing small increases of a grade 9-4, a small year- 1.1 percentage ppt and 2.4 ppts on 2020 respectively. ©Media Buzz. All contents are Copyright. All Rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be stored in any Ofqual reported earlier this week retrieval system or transmitted electronically in any form without prior written permission of the Publishers. Whilst every on-year increase of 0.3 effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies howsoever caused. Contributed that the arrangements have also material does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Publishers. The editorial policy and general layout of this publication are at the discretion of the publisher and no debate will be entered into. No responsibility can be accepted helped limit the widening of historic for illustrations, articles or photographs whilst in transmission with the Publishers or their Agent unless a commitment is made in writing prior to receipt of such items. gaps between groups of students percentage points and types of school. Students receiving results will have the opportunity to move on to a range of high-quality post-16 • Around 80% of pupils options, from A levels to vocational and technical qualifications. This is the second year that young people achieving passing grade can move on to study T Levels, with seven new subject choices available from September, including of 4 or above in English Healthcare, Science and Onsite and Maths Construction. August 2021 - 2nd Edition www.asianexpress.co.uk Local 3 Small increases in maths Statistics show: and English GCSE at grade 4 Comparison of grades and above, with pass rates between this year and last now 77.9% and 80.9% year showed broad stability respectively, with increases in the historic differences of 0.7 and 0.8 percentage between groups of students. points. 79.1% of entries receive a Entries into EBacc grade 4 or above, compared subjects rose by 2.4% to 78.8% in 2020. overall with 78.4% of results Secondary selective at grade 4 and above. schools had the highest Over 520,000 certificates proportion of grades above for vocational and technical 7 (68.4%), followed by qualifications at level 1/2 independent schools and level 2 have been (61.2%). There was also a issued. relative increase of 8.6% This summer’s GCSE since 2020 in the proportion grades were subject to of grades at 7 and above in quality assurance, with all academies, compared with a grades being checked by 7.1% increase in schools or colleges – and independent schools. one in five having a sample In real terms, this means of their grades checked by there are 1.10 times more exam boards – helping to grades at 7 and above in give students, parents, academies, compared to colleges, universities and 1.08 times more grades at 7 employers confidence in and above in independent grades. schools, in 2021 compared to 2020. is studying A levels or our new T about the focus of content of the Levels or taking one of the many exams for other subjects. other routes available, like an The Government has committed “ apprenticeship. to an ambitious, and long-term Young people “I also want to pay a special education recovery plan, including tribute to teachers and school an investment to date of over £3bn have worked leaders, who have gone above and and a significant expansion of our beyond to support their students tutoring programme to support this year.” children and young people to make hard despite the This year’s GCSE and vocational up for learning lost during the and technical qualifications results pandemic. challenges of the follow results for AS, A level and vocational technical qualifications, which enabled more than 190,000 last year and 18-year-olds in England to take up their first choice university place. “ they should feel Students receiving their results I also want to pay today can get advice about their next steps from the National a special tribute incredibly proud Careers Service. A wide range of post-16 options are available to this of their cohort, from the Government’s new to teachers and pioneering T levels which started Housing Disrepair? last year to hundreds of high-quality school leaders, achievements apprenticeships and vocational qualifications. who have gone Do you live in rented accomodation? today. The Government intends for GCSE and A level exams to go Do you have damp, mould, leaks, ahead next summer, and together above and Education Secretary Gavin with Ofqual recently ran a rotten windows or roof problems? Williamson said: “Young people consultation on arrangements for beyond to have worked hard despite the the assessments to recognise the If you notified your landlord of the problem and they did nothing- challenges of the last year and they disruption to students’ education support their speak to us should feel incredibly proud of their during the pandemic. The proposals achievements today. include choices about the topics Contact: Shahzad Ilyas “Every young person can now students will be assessed on for students this year. look forward with excitement to some subjects, and giving schools 0113 249 8478 taking their next steps, whether that and colleges advance information 4 Local www.asianexpress.co.uk August 2021 - 2nd Edition Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire has been successful in securing significant additional funding for the region to tackle domestic abuse. £390,939 from the Home Office’s Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme, will be shared between four projects. The funded initiatives hold offenders to account for their actions, and deliver bespoke training and guidance programmes aimed at changing their behaviour for good. Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire said: “I am extremely pleased that we’ve been able to secure these additional resources for West Yorkshire. “It’s not just a large sum of funding, it’s fewer victims of domestic abuse, it’s perpetrator’s understanding their behaviour is wrong and making a commitment to stop. It’s also children growing up in a safe environment – like they all should. “We know the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions has meant rising number of Domestic Violence incidents, and some of this money will be going to support services directly dealing with this fall out. “Tackling offender behaviour is just one element of the fight against domestic abuse and I want victims in West Yorkshire to know that they absolutely come first. For anyone needing support on these issues please contact the police, Victim Support, or my office and you will be directed to the right services.” Kate Hook, Director of Corporate Services, Restorative Solutions CIC, said: “Restorative Solutions are delighted that our domestic abuse perpetrator work, funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, has supported this successful bid. The funded projects • Kirklees Council - Caring Dads in Kirklees - A programme that has a positive impact on fathers parenting and co-parenting practices. • Restorative Solutions - Cautions and Relationship Abuse (CARA) service to meet the increasing demand to existing CARA service as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. • Restorative Solutions – Restore Families - A focused adolescent violence programme to address youth violence displayed towards family members and peers and 1-1 whole family support for both perpetrator and victim. • Yorkshire Children Centre - Recognise Reflect Change (RRC) targeting male perpetrators and bringing a focussed Mayor of session for stalking behaviours. “We are delivering two key areas of work, firstly the successful commissioned CARA programme, working closely with West Yorkshire Police, will strengthen the West Yorkshire embedded referral pathway to meet the increase in demand, over 30% higher than anticipated, and ensure that no referral is turned away and more perpetrators and their victims will benefit from CARA in the coming year.