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Oxfordshire weekly round-up: 25 September - 1 October 2023

BBC Jemma BerwickBBC
Jemma Berwick has recently completed a special training

The stories of an expanded coach service and special training for NHS staff are among our most read stories this week in Oxfordshire.

A variety of local issues featured on the BBC News website, BBC Radio Oxford and South Today.

We have picked five stories to keep you up to date.

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Coach service expands route with new stops

Stagecoach Oxford TubeStagecoach
The Oxford Tube will extend westwards to Carterton, Witney, and Eynsham in Oxfordshire

A coach service between Oxford and London is to expand its reach.

From 23 October the Oxford Tube will extend westwards with new connections from Carterton, Witney, and Eynsham in Oxfordshire.

There will also be an additional stop at High Wycombe.

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Labour group quits council coalition over SEND failures

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Parents of children with special needs held a protest in Oxford in November 2022

Labour councillors have quit a coalition over an Ofsted report which found Oxfordshire County Council was failing children with disabilities and special educational needs.

The leader of the Labour group on the council said its Liberal Democrat partners did not appreciate how much needed to be done to change things.

The Liberal Democrats said they were deeply disappointed by the decision.

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LTNs impacting teacher recruitment - report

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LTNs have previously drawn criticism over delays to emergency vehicles

Oxford's low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) are among the factors making it harder to recruit new teachers, a report has said.

The Oxfordshire Education Commission said, together with the cost of living and housing, the scheme was "fuelling recruitment and retention issues".

The county council said it would act on the report's recommendations.

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Murder map plots medieval student killings

University of Cambridge Oxford medieval murder mapUniversity of Cambridge
A murder map shows that Oxford students were murderous in Medieval times

Medieval Oxford had a murder rate 50 times higher than 21st Century English cities, new research has found.

The Medieval Murder Maps, assembled by Cambridge's Institute of Criminology, is a website plotting crimes based on 700-year-old coroners' inquests.

It launched in 2018 covering London, but has now expanded its reach to Oxford and York.

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The NHS staff training to save lives in war zones

BBC Jemma BerwickBBC
Jemma Berwick is ready to be deployed

An Oxford paediatric nurse is among the NHS staff who could be sent to war zones after completing special training.

Jemma Berwick,33, has joined charity UK-Med which helps save lives across the world.

She attended a special training session in the middle of the countryside, where she faced mock-ups of car-jacking, ambushes, hostile crowds and even terrorist attacks.

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