JANUARY

Students and school pupils from Oxfordshire have joined a campaign to help children in Africa obtain high-quality text books. The Read Book Project Oxford is a student-led group which collects the books from schools to send them to schools and libraries in Tanzania.

Students from Oxford Brookes University collected books from more than 100 Oxfordshire schools, among them St Birinus School in Didcot and Didcot Girls School, along with the Dragon School and Magdalen College School, Oxford.

The students have been fundraising to pay for a £10,000 six-week expedition to Tanzania to deliver the books later this year.

To date, the project has donated almost 150,000 text books to 140 Tanzanian secondary schools and five libraries. The books will be used b children working toward their Key Stage 3 and GCSE equivalent exams.

It was reported that a three-acre strip of playing field at Peers School, Littlemore, could be sold to developers for £6m.

The land was being offered for sale to the highest bidder in an effort to raise cash for the soon-to-open Oxford Academy. John Green, 57, chairman of the Rose Hill Tenants' and Residents' Association said: "The last thing we want to see is more housing because we haven't got the services for the existing population, let alone more."

The academy plans contain no provision for a swimming pool or squash courts, despite the facility being marketed as a "centre of sporting excellence".

Cowley and Littlemore county councillor John Saunders, who is in favour of the academy, said the council would sell the land "over my dead body".

Ten Oxfordshire schools dropped out of the top performing bracket across the country when results for GCSE and A-Levels were released. Only two of the county's schools, Cheney and Cherwell had retained their place in the national top quarter this year.

Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for school improvement, Michael Waine, said: "I can't say why there has been such a drop, but we have written to all secondary schools where appropriate."

According to the Department for Children, Schools and Families the schools which dropped out of the top 25 per cent nationally were Bartholomew School in Eynsham, Blessed George Napier Catholic School and Sports College in Banbury, Carterton Community College, King Alfred's School in Wantage, Langtree School in Woodcote, Matthew Arnold School in Cumnor Hill, St Birinus School in Didcot, St Gregory the Great Catholic School in Oxford, Wallingford School, and the Warriner School in Bloxham.

Woodeaton Manor Special School, which was also in the top quarter, is no longer included in the county's league table results as it had too few pupils.

Government figures showed that 48.1 per cent of the county's pupils achieved five or more A* to C grades including maths and English compared with 46.7 per cen nationally. And 47.5 per cent achieved five or more A* to C grades including English and maths compared with 45.8 per cent nationally Topping the county GCSE results for the second year running was the independent girls school of St Helen and St Katharine, in Abingdon, where pupils again achieved a 100 per cent pass rate.

Truancy figures revealed Larkmead School in Abingdon had the highest rates of unauthorised absences from Oxfordshire secondary schools. The figures are based on the percentage of unauthorised half-day absences at each school.

Larkmead saw an increase from the previous year's truancy rates, of 2.6 per cent of half-days missed, to 2.8 per cent, double the national average of 1.4 per cent.

Oxford's Peers School also had higher than average truancy levels. The school, however, saw figures fall from 3.4 per cent of half-days missed to two per cent.

St Peter's CoE Infants School in Alvescot, west Oxfordshire, was judged "outstanding", with friendly children who have excellent behaviour in an Ofsted report. The school was given top grades in 26 categories covering its overall effectiveness, achievements, personal development, quality of teaching and management. The school caters for four- to seven-year-olds from Alvescot and nearby villages - including many from RAF families based at nearby Brize Norton. Headteacher Sam King said: "We are understandably very proud of ourselves and it is due to a lot of hard work by the staff and governors and support from parents and the community."

FEBRUARY

Oxford's Ruskin College launched a major fundraising campaign for a new library to honour former Prime Minister Jim Callaghan, who died in 2005. The library will be one of the centrepieces of Ruskin's £20m scheme to modernise its 20-acre site in Old Headington.

Parent power prompted Rose Hill Primary School to rethink a plan to serve only halal meat. It was the first school in the county to ask school meals provider Food with Thought to provide a purely halal menu. After protests from parents the school decided to offer youngsters a choice of meat from animals slaughtered after being stunned, plus a halal option or a vegetarian dish, and will use a wristband system to make sure pupils get the correct meal. Some parents were opposed to their children eating halal food, because they felt animals were slaughtered in a cruel way.

After statistics showed that many of the county's black and mixed race children were failing to make the grade when it comes to secondary education, Oxford mum Sue Funge, 53, was inspired to start running a free course on black history from her home in in Greater Leys. Mrs Funge used her experiences as a single mother to create the course, which teaches young people of African Caribbean origin about their heritage, and encourages them to explore their own potential. Student Cameron Jones, 16, said: "Before I joined the course I hadn't heard of many of the important people from black history because I had never learned about them in school. Knowing about my history has inspired me."

It was reported that a squad of super heads was to be sent into Oxfordshire's under-performing schools in a bid to improve GCSE results. Oxfordshire County Council decided to spend more than £1m to bring in successful heads from outside the area, who would act as advisers to secondary school headteachers. The news followed warnings from the county's education chief, Janet Tomlinson, that complacency in schools was holding back the speed of improvement. The decision to bring outside help resulted from Oxfordshire persistently finishing bottom of league tables.

Oxford's largest secondary school became the first in the county to be rated "outstanding" by education watchdogs. Ofsted inspector Peter Limm told the 1,777 pupils at the Cherwell School, in Marston, Ferry Road, north Oxford, they received a top education from dedicated teachers. Oxfordshire County Council education chief Janet Tomlinson said: "The Cherwell School is an example of what can be achieved by strong leadership, rigorous assessment, support for under-achieving pupils and excellent teaching."

MARCH

Nine out of ten pupils starting secondary school in Oxfordshire in September have been allocated their first choice of school. Oxfordshire County Council said 90 per cent of the 6,158 children due to start secondary school go their first choice. But three per cent of Oxfordshire 11-year-olds - 191 in total - will not be going to their first, second or third choice of school, with 440 children being allocated their second or third choice.

Four ten and 11-year-old children from Ashfold School, near Thame, won this year's Ideal Home Exhibition's Innovation Nation competition, a nationwide search to find the most ingenious solution to an everyday household frustration.Alex French, Angus Haines, Cameron Hughes and Thomas Schmidt's invention, the Speed Searcher, designed in their DT lessons at school, uses the latest technology to help you find anything you have lost around the house - keys, wallets, mobile phones. It works by putting microchip tags on anything you think you might mislay and uses computer software to scan each room in your home. The challenge the children and their parents now face is whether or not to spend their £2,000 prize money on setting up a company to develop their concept commercially.

Botley Primary School finally opened its educational after-hours club after a four-year wait. The school, in Elms Road, received a £10,000 grant from Oxfordshire County Council's childcare fund four years ago, but was unable to open the club due to building work at the Elms Road Children's Centre, used by Elms Road Nursery and the school.

Hundreds of student scientists showcased their work in a American-style science fair and competition at Cherwell School, Marston Ferry Road. Pupils (pictured left) spent a week producing projects on everything from the science of cooking, eco-tourism and what colour seeds chickens prefer. Prizes for creativity and scientific rigour were presented by Professor Pete Atkins, of Oxford University, who also gave a public lecture at the school on the nature of energy. It is hoped to make the event, which was part of the school's science and engineering week, an annual event.

APRIL

Proposals to turn Oxford Community School into the city's first foundation school were given the go ahead. Following a six-week consultation period, governors decided to push forward with the transformation in the autumn. Chairman of governors, Frank Newhofer, said the governing body had made the decision unanimously. Foundation status will give the headteacher and governors greater control over pupil admissions, teacher recruitment and the school's buildings and grounds. OCS is the city's first foundation school - and only the third in the county.

Parents of children with special needs won their a four-year battle to get post-16 education in Oxfordshire's special schools. Previously it was the only county in England without post-16 special needs education, with teenagers being sent to school outside the county or integrated into mainstream colleges. The county council decided that nine special schools would in future offer post-16 classes. The council estimates the move will cost £590,000 in 2008-9 with a £1.3m one-off grant from the Learning and Skills Council to help fund it in following years. The county is also set to spend about £4m in special schools over the next four years.

Four struggling schools in Oxfordshire came under scrutiny after the Government called a Whitehall summit to tackle poor GCSE results. Peers School, Oxford Community School and St Gregory the Great VA Catholic School and Banbury School, all fell short of the benchmark of 30 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and maths. Education secretary Ed Balls planned to bring together senior officers and councillors in June t0 insist on better results. Nationally, Mr Balls is targeting 638 schools. In 2007, Gordon Brown warned any school failing to meet the 30 per cent mark by 2011 would be shut down or taken over. The Government said closure was one option for schools failing to reach the 30 per cent threshold.

Pupils at Fitzwaryn School, in Denchworth Road, Wantage, celebrated a £2m cash boost which will help create brand-new facilities The school, which educates children with special educational needs, several with severe learning disabilities, will soon be accessible to all children with mobility problems. At the moment the school is on three different levels, which has caused difficulties for staff and pupils. Michael Waine, county council cabinet member for school improvement, said: "It time for such an outstanding school to have an outstanding building."

Dr Lorna Robinson, who teaches ancient languages at 15 of Oxford's state schools, set up special groups to teach adults Latin - following interest expressed by parents of her pupils. Dr Robinson, 29, began holding lunchtime Latin sessions in South Park, Oxford, on Thursdays and Sundays. She said: "Several parents started coming up to me saying how they would like to learn Latin, but were a little scared about embarrassing themselves."

The Higher Education Funding Council for England reported that Oxford University was one of six universities consistently rated as among the best in Britain. But the HEFCE warned that there were "questions about the quality and impact of such league tables. Chief executive, Professor David Eastwood, said: "It is important that the information used by prospective students is both informative and accurate."

MAY

A major campaign to secure the future of Oxford University was unveiled with the target set at a minimum of £1.25bn. A host of famous university alumni, including Michael Palin, Richard Dawkins and Sir Roger Bannister, were at the launch in London, where it was announced that donations of £575m had already been made. The university says the campaign "will bring some of the most important changes to the physical face of Oxford for a generation" with plans for new buildings to house some of the world's most advanced research centres and teaching facilities.

Police in Didcot seized dozens of cans and bottles of beer and wine from children, some of it as they left school. Officers confiscated the alcohol from more than 100 pupils. Nearly all of them were believed to be 16-year-old Year 11 pupils from St Birinus School, in Mereland Road, and Didcot Girls School, in Manor Crescent. Almost 170 cans and bottles of lager, 14 cans of cider, two bottles of wine and three bottles of alcopops were seized from about 60 teenagers at Ladygrove Mounds, the town's skate park Edmonds Park, and even the school gates.

Wallingford School pupils are to teach their elders how to send text messages and use computers as part of a joint effort by the school, Age Concern and Oxfordshire County Council's social services department. The Mind, Body and Health sessions, believed to be the first in the county, will see 30 students putting OAPs through their paces. In turn, it is hoped the youngsters will learn about respect and trust from their elders and build friendship across the ages. If the scheme proves successful, it could be rolled out elsewhere.

A plan to give a failing Oxford school a £5m makeover was scrapped after a bid for funding fell through. Rose Hill Primary School in The Oval, Oxford, was set to become the first school in Oxford to be granted Fresh Start status - meaning it could reopen under a new name, with new buildings staff and facilities. The buildings at the 300-pupil school have been described as "unfit for purpose" by its headteacher. But Oxfordshire County Council's bid to secure Government money to pay for improvements fell through because the school did not fit the criteria.

Schools across Oxfordshire were urged by Thames Valley Police to introduce airport-style metal detectors to screen pupils for blades after an increase in knife crime. Latest figures show knife crime in Oxfordshire has risen from 270 to 286 incidents in two years. Inspector John Fox, who is running Operation Blunt - an initiative to stop knife crime across the region - said he wanted to introduce arches at schools across the county to catch children who might be carrying knives. He said: "We have done a awful lot in schools with presentations and in groups to get across the message that it is not cool' to carry a knife. A lot of youngsters think it is fashionable to carry a knife, but a knife can be turned on you. Compared to other places Oxfordshire does not appear to have a knife culture. That said, incidents are growing. And it is something we continually need to look at to ge this message across."

Government education watchdog raised concerns about progress of plans to transform Oxford Peers School into the city's first academy. In a report, Her Majesty's inspector of schools, Paul Brooker, said plans for the development of the academy were "not as advanced a they need to be". The academy is due to open in less than four months. Mr Brooker said: "The timescale set for the school's transition to a academy has been challenging and plans for the development of the academy are less well developed than might be expected. Mr Brooker also raised concerns about admission figures for the new academy, which is part of a £25m building project, and is sponsored by the Diocese of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University.

JUNE

Children at Kings Sutton Pre-School are doing their bit to reduce their carbon footprint and help the environment thanks to a £5,000 grant. Their nursery will get a green-makeover after winning a contest organised by children's favourite Bob the Builder and building supplies firm Travis Perkins. New windows will be installed as well as loft insulation, which will help lower utility bills. Lisa Hawtin pre-school supervisor said: everyone was "chuffed to bits" to have won a makeover.

"We are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year and we asked each family to write to Bob the Builder and tell him what they would like as a present - our local MP even joined in. To be able to make the building more energy efficient came out on top." Local MP Tim Boswell praised staff and children for their efforts conserving energy and reducing the impact on the environment. He said: "The funding will undoubtedly make a vast difference to the environment in which the children play, learn and develop."

When a group of girls at Chipping Norton School voiced their disillusionment with PE lessons, their teachers took a different course of action than might normally be expected. Four of the girls found themselves taking part in sports alongside double Olympic gold medallist and athletic superstar Dame Kelly Holmes. The girls - Tess Biles, Laura Quick Alex Hardy and Kelly Caswell - said Dame Kelly, who won gold in the 800 and 1,500m at the Athens Olympics in 2004, has since inspired them to get involved in sport and encourage their friends to do the same. Laura, 14, said: "Meeting Kelly was brilliant. When I first told my dad he couldn't believe it, but Dame Kelly joined in with some of the sports with us and was encouraging us all to do well. She encouraged us to stick with the activities we like and lead an active lifestyle.

It really inspired us."

Combe CofE Primary School, classed as one of the best for results in the country, is getting a £1.45m building investment. Oxfordshire County Council has announced the money is available for a new school hall and two classrooms to Foundation Stage and Key Stage One. At present, the school hall is used as a classroom and furniture has to be removed to enable assemblies and dining to take place. The new buildings will also have green technology features, including a ground-source heat pump for underfloor heating solar panels and wind-catchers to provide natural ventilation.

Crowmarsh school cook Sandra Dick was in exalted company when she donned he whites and worked with three celebrity chefs during a special evening which raised £10,000 to improve the school kitchens.

Celebrity chefs Paul Clerehugh, of the Crooked Billet, Stoke Row, Antony Worrall Thompson, who has The Lamb, Satwell, and The Greyhound Gallowstree Common, and Mark Robinson of The Pot Kiln, Yattendon, worked in the kitchens at Benson parish hall to provide a meal.

They came up with courses featuring seasonal local produce, all served by local teenagers.

The £60-a-head black tie event also had an auction which raised money for new kitchen equipment.