• Applegarth School on Fieldway in New Addington will be shutting at 11.30am.
• Beaumont Primary School on Old Lodge Lane in Purley is closing at 1.30pm.
• Benson Primary and Nursery School on West Way in Shirley is closing at 1.30pm.
• Beulah Infant and Junior School on Beulah Road in Thornton Heath is closing at 1.30pm.
• Byron Primary School on St David's in Coulsdon will shut at midday.
• Coulsdon CofE Primary School on Bradmore Green in Old Coulsdon is closing at 1.15pm, but parents can collect children from 12.45pm.
• The Crescent Primary School in Selhurst is closing at 12.30pm.
• The Cypress Schools on Cypress Road in South Norwood is open as usual but after-school clubs have been cancelled.
• Elmwood Nursery, Infant and Junior School on Lodge Road in Croydon will close at 1.30pm.
• The Good Shepherd Primary School on Dunley Drive in New Addington was described as 'partially open', with parents advised to contact the school for details.
• Heavers Farm Primary School on Dinsdale Gardens in South Norwood is closing at midday.
• Gresham Primary School on Limpsfield Road in Sanderstead advised parents to pick up children 'as soon as possible'.
• Kensington Avenue Primary School in Thornton Heath is closed.
• Kingsley Primary School on Thomson Crescent in Croydon will close at midday.
Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School on Russell Hill Road in Purley will close at midday but parents can collect children earlier than this if required.
• Norbury Manor Primary School on Abingdon Road in Norbury will close at 1.30pm.
• Park Hill Infants and Junior schools will close at 2pm and there will be no after-school clubs.
Rockmount Primary School on Chevening Road in Upper Norwood will close at 2pm, but parents can pick their children up earlier. Roke Primary and Nursery School on Little Roke Road in Kenley is also closed.
• Rylands Primary and Nursery School on Albert Road in South Norwood is closing at 2pm.
• Smitham Primary School and Nursery on Portnalls Road in Coulsdon is closing at 1.30pm.
• St Chad's Catholic Primary School on Alverston Gardens in South Norwood is now closed, with parents being asked to collect children as soon as possible.
• St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary School on Springfield Road in Thornton Heath is due to close at midday.
• St Joseph's Roman Catholic Nursery, Infant and Junior School in Upper Norwood are closing at 1pm after the children have had lunch.
• St Mary's RC Junior School is open, but parents may collect children if they are concerned. No after-school clubs are running.
• St Peter's Primary School on Normanton Road in South Croydon is open as usual, but parents may collect children if they wish.
• Winterbourne Junior Girls' School on Winterbourne Road in Thornton Heath is closed.

Goals Eltham are proud to be holding the 5th annual Canary Wharf Contractors Fund (CWCF) 5 a-side football tournament on 22nd March 2013.

The 5 a-side tournament has now been running for five years and has raised over £100.000 but this is the first year that Goals have been involved in this very worthwhile event and we are planning to add to the success the CWCF have had in the past.

The CWCF has raised and donated in excess of £600k to very worthwhile causes such as: The Great Ormond Street Hospital, the 2012 Paralympics Weightlifting squad, The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, St Joseph's Hospice, Providence Row, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Demelza Children's Hospice, The Royal London Hospital, as well as supporting individuals who have specific needs.

The evening will be a festival of football with a 32 team champion's league style competition with a round of 16 and a 16 team plate competition. Players will also get the chance to test the speed and power of their shot by shooting into an inflatable cage with their score displayed on an LED Screen.
Each shot will receive an instant reading displaying the speed of the ball to an incredible accuracy of +/- 1 mph.

Being the fastest shot of the day is an accolade that is highly cherished. Once we have crowned a winner, they will get the opportunity to test their power against our celebrity guest!

Past winners of the tournament include:

2009 – EMS

2010 – Radii

2011 – PAD

2012 – PAD

2013 - Who will be crowned the winners this year!?

THIS Saturday is another big game for us in the Championship, but I know there will be an extra edge with Dougie Freedman returning to Selhurst Park.

The group I've inherited from him, I'm delighted to have.

It's a 'thank you' from the group for the work he did – it's as simple as that.

If I was a fan of Crystal Palace, I would be thanking Dougie Freedman for how solid he left the club and for the players he's left for the next manager.

It's different for fans, because they don't change their allegiances, they don't lose their jobs, or they don't do a good job then get the sack – it's always their club.

I know Dougie. He cares about what he does and he cares about Palace – I know he does. And I know he did.

But he's got ambitions and he wanted to move for whatever reason. It will be interesting one day if he talks about how he felt and why he did leave, because he hasn't had the opportunity yet.

I'm sure some Blackpool fans would say the same things about me.

All you can do is try and do a good job, be professional and try to leave the place in a better state than when you found it.

I'm sure Dougie has done that and I'm the lucky beneficiary.

Any fan has got every right to pay their money and have an opinion – that's the beautiful thing about football.

However, people want to know my honest opinion? Well, that is what a fantastic job Dougie and his staff did for Crystal Palace Football Club, and I'm delighted to have taken up the reins.

I'm delighted the club chose me to come in and I want to have a good go at having a brand of football here that people think is modern and that is sustainable that makes our younger players sought after and do really well.

And hopefully we can catch up to these clubs who might want to buy our best players at the moment – that's all I want.

I just want to say 'thank you' more than anything to Dougie. I understand how people might feel, but they might not know the thinking behind it.

To be honest, Blackpool fans are saying I haven't told them why I left, but with the greatest respect, when you work with a board of directors and chairman, why should you go away and talk about them afterwards? Palace came in and paid an amount for me more than I had as a player and I'm proud of that.

I'm also proud of what I did at my former club, but why the fans want me to dish the dirt on somebody, it's just ridiculous.

How wrong would it be for me to criticise anybody?

I think it would be completely derogatory. For me, I won't like it if I hear any of the Palace fans do that to Dougie on Saturday – I'd rather get on with my job.

I've always been vocal in thanking him for the way he left this football club – don't forget what he did for you and Palace.

PARENTS are preparing to take on the Government over its demands for Roke Primary School to be incorporated into the Harris Federation's academy empire.

Those close to the Kenley school have this week branded the intervention a "hostile takeover" after governors were threatened with the sack by the Department for Education (DfE) if they rebelled against orders.

At a packed emergency meeting, governors revealed they learnt about the academy demands last September, but were gagged after being told they would be removed if they broke the news or refused to sign a "resolution" approving academy plans.

The school community has been angered after their request to become part of Riddlesdown Collegiate was refused by the DfE, which instead ordered it to become part of Harris.

Recent legislative changes mean the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, can impose conversion to academy status on under-performing schools.

Becky Carrier, 31, who has already recruited 100 people to her campaign to keep the school from Harris' clutches, said: "What we're saying to Mr Gove is, 'just leave us alone.'"

The preschool worker, whose eight-year-old daughter is at Roke, added: "They shouldn't be able to turn round and say, 'right, we are going to turn your school into an academy and you can't tell your parents until we say or you will lose your job' – it doesn't seem right.

"I think it's very underhanded, it's a hostile takeover."

Parents and governors are angry at the DfE intervention following one bad Ofsted report, without another inspection being conducted before the decision to convert the school into an academy.

An inspection carried out by Croydon Council shows the school has made improvements since last June's poor Ofsted report, in which the school's leadership was branded "inadequate".

Since the report, Roke has teamed up with nearby Riddlesdown Collegiate to try to improve, with parents preferring to team up with the long-standing feeder school rather than Harris.

But the DfE want Harris to take control of Roke because it has a better record, the Advertiser understands.

Croydon South MP Richard Ottaway has spoken of his concern at the "lack of consultation" over the DfE's demands.

He revealed that in October, the DfE told Riddlesdown it was "almost certain" to be approved to take the Kenley primary school on instead of Harris, but that this has since "mysteriously" changed.

The MP called for Riddlesdown to become the school to continue working with Roke, and said he would be writing to Mr Gove to seek "further clarification" on the issue.

A DfE spokesman said: "The Harris Federation is our preferred sponsor for Roke Primary. Harris is one of our best academy sponsors, with an exceptional primary team."

A Harris spokesman said: "If we become sponsor we will engage extremely closely with parents, staff and governors.

"We have our roots as a charity in Croydon, having opened our first school here 20 years ago and two more since then.

"We are confident that we could give the staff at Roke the support they need to provide outstanding education for children at the school, which is why we agreed to become the DfE's preferred sponsor."

THE details of a drug-driving offence created following the Advertiser's Lillian's Law campaign were debated in Parliament this week.

Home Secretary Theresa May introduced the Crime and Courts Bill for its Second Reading in the House of Commons on Monday.

Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell stood up in the chamber to speak about Clause 37 of the Bill.

The debate focused on whether the new offence should take a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, one of the aim's of Lillian's Law, and an option which has been considered by an expert panel tasked with exploring the implication of new legislation.

Mr Barwell, who has been a supporter of the campaign since it was launched in August 2011, said: "Lillian's family feel strongly that the level for illegal drugs should be zero. They feel people should not be taking these substances and therefore not be driving under the influence.

"A decision needs to be made about whether the levels should be based as far as possible on similar levels of impairment to that caused by alcohol, or whether there is a case, as the family believe, for zero limits for some of the most serious substances."

Mr Barwell acknowledged the "strong counter-argument" that the decision should be led by science, with a system comparable to drink-driving.

The panel, chaired by Dr Kim Wolff, an expert in addiction science from King's College London, is believed to have found this issue particularly complex. It was due to publish its report last month but was delayed.

Cambridge MP Julian Huppert said: "I have seen comments from the Wolff panel suggesting that alcohol is far and away the most dangerous substance people can take, so although I support the Bill of reducing impairment, perhaps more work still needs to be done on drink-driving as well."

The debate follows Home Office approval of a testing kit to be used in police stations.

The police station kit, which is able to detect cannabis, will remove the need for police to call a doctor before demanding a blood sample. It is down to each police authority to purchase the devices.

If the Crime and Courts Bill becomes law, the penalty for the new offence will be a maximum of six months in prison and a fine of up to £5,000, with an automatic driving ban of at least 12 months.

Mr Barwell paid tribute to Lillian, who died after being hit by a speeding driver high on cannabis outside her home in New Addington, in June 2010, and to her family.

He said: "They took a terrible situation no parent would ever want to endure and, rather than be consumed by anger, they wanted to turn it into something positive."

Mr Barwell added: "They found a powerful and useful friend in our local paper."

OH JANUARY, such a miserable month for a variety of reasons. Not least the dreary weather and depressed huddled masses on street corners waiting for buses but, for us football fans, having the dreaded January transfer window.

This is basically a month of peddled transfer trash and Sky Sports presenters wetting themselves with excitement as the end of it slowly ticks down. No one ever got that worked up about Countdown!

For Palace, it's meant the inevitable rumours about Wilf Zaha, and for the next two weeks it will only get worse, but the desperation of the national press was exposed this week when all the nationals were duped by a fake tweet.

Yep, some joker's photo-shopped effort made The Sun, Telegraph et al believe Zaha had tweeted he was leaving for Manchester United.

"Looks like I'm on my way to the top of the Premier League," the tweet read. On closer inspection it was clearly a fake image, but that didn't stop many of our country's finest running it as gospel.

Even Wilf had to come out and say he had no idea where it came from and Palace themselves issued a statement denying the tweet was real.

So I tried to get in on the act. I found a website where you can actually create fake tweets (something the originator of Zaha's fabricated effort didn't even find as his text was all out of line).

I created the following efforts from our very own Wilf in the hope the press would run them as stories:

"Looks like I'm on my way to training."

"Looks like I'm on my way to Nandos for some peri peri chicken."

"Looks like I'm on my way to the newsagent to read James Daly's amazing column in the Croydon Advertiser."

None of them picked up. What a waste of time that was.

But it means the next two weeks will not be quiet at Selhurst, and we'll be hearing lots more transfer rumours, either real or totally made up.

TEACHERS at crisis-hit Addington High harm their students' English because they struggle with grammar and punctuation themselves, according to an official report.

Ofsted inspectors who visited the school in December have said the school is not ready to leave the special measures imposed by their colleagues in October.

In a wide-ranging report, lead inspector Christine Raeside said: "In some lessons, teachers or teaching assistants reinforce mistakes in writing because their own skills are not secure.

"The school action plan acknowledges the need to improve the expertise and confidence of staff in this area."

Chairman of governors Jo Tanner acknowledged work needs to be done to promote "high levels of literacy and understanding of grammar" among teachers.

She said: "It is something that we are working on as the governing body to tackle, we are looking at ways to support our teaching staff."

She said that she did not believe the problem of poor grammar was exclusive to Addington High nor to teachers.

The report comes as the school is set to become an academy in April, sponsored by Bromley school Ravens Wood, in a bid to improve.

The two schools have already been working together, particularly closely with Ravens Wood's former vice principal John Hernandez.

Ms Tanner rejected any suggestion that the latest poor report – which praised leaders' commitment but said progress has not been fast nor consistent enough – was a sign of things to come with the partnership.

She added: "As governors we are disappointed with the outcome of the latest inspection report.

"But what we are pleased to see is the acknowledgement of the initiatives we have put in place and that they are acknowledged to be the right ones to take the school forward.

"I think Addington High has its challenges and the pace of change expected under the new Ofsted framework was always going to be challenging.

"Our goal remains the same: to make sure that children who leave here do so with the best education they can receive."

The report looks at a range of measures including teaching, academic achievement and students' behaviour.

Forty-five per cent of students achieved the benchmark of five good GCSEs including maths and English in 2012, an improvement on the year before.

Ms Raeside said that while the school's analysis suggests Year 11 GCSE results are improving, there are still "concerns about underachievement" in other year groups, especially Year 10.

She added that students' set work was sometimes too "undemanding", but praised progress in adapting work to students' varying abilities.

She said: "In history, bright Year 9 students made rapid progress because the work challenged them to think and to produce answers of GCSE standard."

She described behaviour management as "inconsistent" with too much lateness and "drift" at the end of break times.

A VICAR who may have conducted the most sham marriages in UK history has appeared in court alongside his 79-year-old verger.

The Reverend Nathan Ntege, 53, is charged with 14 immigration offences relating to 492 marriages held over a 15-month period at the Church of St Jude's and St Aiden's in Thornton Heath.

UK Border officials are not yet certain how many of the marriages, conducted between December 2009 and March 2011, were valid.

Ntege appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday alongside Brian Miller, a verger at St Jude's, who faces the same charges.

The pair spoke only to confirm their names and addresses before a new court date was set. Neither gave an indication of plea.

The charges follow an investigation by the UK Border Agency's (UKBA) South London Criminal and Financial Investigation Unit. Ntege was originally arrested on suspicion of conducting sham marriages on June 4, 2011. The church was searched as part of the investigation and the Diocese of Southwark and Church of England were informed.

Following further inquiries Miller, of Owl Close in Selsdon, was arrested on November 17.

A third person, Gilena Petkova, 50, is alleged to have acted as a "fixer" for a number of weddings, as well as allegedly being married in a one of the ceremonies herself. She was arrested in Edmonton on December 28, 2011.

On December 14 last year the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised the UKBA to charge Ntege and Miller with one offence of conspiracy to facilitate unlawful immigration and 13 charges of assisting illegal entry.

Petkova has been charged with conspiracy and five charges of assisting illegal entry.

Claire Holder, CPS London reviewing lawyer, said: "Having considered the full file of evidence in this case, I have decided there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to prosecute Reverend Nathan Ntege, verger Brian Miller and Galena Petkova for conspiracy to do an act to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non EU person and charges of assisting illegal entry.

"The charges relate to approximately 492 marriages at the Church of St Jude's and St Aiden's, Thornton Heath, between December 2009 and March 2011."

Ntege and Miller were bailed to appear for a preliminary hearing at Croydon Crown Court next Friday.

Ntege's was bailed on the condition that he does not attend St Jude's, officiate at a religious building or service and or apply for travel documents.

Petkova is due to appear before Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court on February 7.

In 2010 the Reverend Alex Brown was jailed for presiding over 360 fake weddings in Hastings, in what the CPS described as the biggest sham marriage case it had seen.

LOCAL jobs to help the area's longer-term unemployed are on the cards if Asda gets the go-ahead for a new Thornton Heath store.

The commitment was made by the retail company while presenting proposals for the shop, earmarked for the site of the store formerly occupied by MFI and Dreams off Thornton Road, to the council's strategic planning committee last Thursday.

Asda outlined the scheme to obtain planning councillors' views prior to putting in two formal applications.

One of these will seek permission to change the conditions of use of the premises to allow the sale of food and the other will deal with alterations to the building and changes to the road system.

Asda has said the new store will employ about 200 people and Labour councillor Maggie Mansell said after the meeting she had been particularly pleased about the commitment on jobs.

She said: "We all welcomed the fact they talked about recruiting and training people who have been out of work for a while, rather than taking staff from existing shops."

Asda also answered concerns raised at the meeting about overspill parking onto nearby side streets, saying that the 105 parking spaces should be adequate to cope with the number of customers arriving.

Further talks with Transport for London about providing traffic signals at the site's junction with Thornton Road will be held before the applications are submitted.

PALACE fans wouldn't normally cross off a home fixture against Bolton Wanderers as one of the biggest games of the season.

However, when one of your former managers is now in charge of the opposition, especially in the manner they left Selhurst Park, it does become a rather big deal.

No doubt about it, Dougie Freedman was a playing legend in Palace colours. And despite the the way in which he left the Eagles for Bolton on October 23 last year, he also built a solid foundation towards the position the club find themselves in now.

Yes, it was a poor start to the season as we all remember, but a signing here and there, plus a result against Sheffield Wednesday on September 1 triggered a run of form no Palace fan would have expected.

Who would have thought that just over three weeks after guiding Palace to their first ever victory at Bolton on September 29, that Freedman would be spending time at the Reebok Stadium on a full-time basis?

What sort of your reaction will he get once he steps out of the tunnel and walks towards the away dugout? That's up to you.

Make no mistake about it, there are likely to be a few who will look to give him a bad reception, while others will remember what he did for Palace as a player and manager.

In May 2010, the club nearly lost their Championship status, and alongside George Burley, Freedman began to rebuild the club before taking on the reins himself. And leading the club to the semi-finals of the League Cup last season was an incredible achievement.

To heckle someone who gave more than ten years playing service, made more than 350 appearances and scored more than 100 goals for the club would be wrong, and as current boss Ian Holloway has said in his exclusive column this week, he would not be impressed with the home faithful if that were to happen.

On the playing field, it looks as though Wilfried Zaha will face a late fitness test after hurting his ankle on Tuesday night at Stoke City, while youngster Hiram Boateng may be given a place on the bench after an impressive performance at the Britannia Stadium.

Julian Speroni, Jonathan Parr, Dean Moxey, Andre Moritz and Glenn Murray are all expected to return to the starting line-up, although Jonathan Williams will be pressing for a start.

However, new loan signing Jacob Butterfield is also set to play some part, so Holloway must decide whether to start him on the bench or fit him in from the first minute.

When you look at Bolton's squad on paper, it is rather impressive. And since Freedman's arrival, they have been making gradual progress up the league table, plus an impressive 2-0 win at Sunderland in the FA Cup on Tuesday.

Marvin Sordell was the hero at the Stadium of Light and will be hoping to start, having had to wait for his chance from the bench in recent months, while long-term injury victim Stuart Holden could continue his comeback with a starting place in midfield.

The middle of the park could be a key battle with Mile Jedinak likely to come up against the tough duo of Jay Spearing and Keith Andrews, while Chris Eagles can be a major threat to any side on his day on the right or left flank, so Parr and Moxey will need to be on their toes come 3pm.

It's also worth noting that next weekend, it looks like Palace will have no game to play as scheduled opponents Huddersfield Town are still in the FA Cup and take on Leicester City, so a win against Bolton tomorrow will be a good way to sign off before the south London derby against Charlton Athletic on February 2.

The letter, sent from frontline A&E staff directly to the hospital's interim chief executive John Goulston, also reveals daily "constant breaches", a "bullying" culture and begs Mr Goulston and his management team – branded "the worst" countrywide – to visit the department.

It comes after Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell this week spoke in Parliament to reveal the emergency department does not have enough senior doctors, and a CQC ruling which reveals understaffing is leading to "poor" patient care.

The letter, signed by "a group of very concerned long-serving staff" on November 19, says:

"This A&E is probably one of the worst A&E departments in the country if not THE worst in terms of management, lack of infrastructure and lack of leadership.

"There are constant breaches every day and unnecessary long delays in patient care.

"All the nurses and doctors in A&E are increasingly frustrated…. being forced to work with a very poor system that is 20 years behind the rest of the A&Es in the country.

"This A&E department does not even have the very basic system for addressograph of patients. We are wasting at least ten to 20 per cent of our working time by not having this very basic addressograph. Every other hospital in the country has this system … this is unbelievable in the 21st century in London.

"You might work 10 to 4 from Monday to Friday but we work 24/7, 365 days including Christmas and New Year. All we ask is please do come to A&E and see for yourself. And please do act fast before this department collapses."

Croydon University Hospital staffing dangerously low, CQC finds The letter also comes following a vote of no confidence passed in Mr Goulston by hospital board members, who are plotting a walkout if he is handed the vacant permanent chief executive role.

Bitter in-fighting has been rumbling on between the hospital's directors for weeks. It first surfaced after the resignation of former chairman Michael Parker in December.

Gavin Barwell described the letter as "highly concerning" while highlighting the "impact" of the chaos on patient care.

He said: "First of all we know that our A&E doesn't have the right number of senior doctors.

"The second thing is, I visited the urgent care centre the other day where they said that part of the problem was also the lack of an IT system.

"And thirdly, a CQC report came out which identified Croydon as one of the hospitals across the country which is understaffed.

"It is pretty clear that governance and leadership problems have impacted on performance, and that is why they need to be resolved urgently. There has been a breakdown of relations and it has damaged the interests of patients."

Croydon North MP Steve Reed said: "This is not the first time we've heard serious complaints about the quality of care and management at Croydon University Hospital. I hope the chief executive will act quickly to reassure staff, patients and local people that the issues we know exist at the hospital are being gripped and sorted out urgently."

The spat at the hospital erupted with board members, who passed the vote of no confidence, claiming their vote to topple Mr Goulston has been overruled by NHS London – the overseeing strategic health authority (SHA).

Croydon University Hospital wards merger 'will improve services' Those overruled are now seeking legal advice on whether NHS London acted illegally, while the SHA is also seeking legal advice to defend their intervention to keep Mr Goulston in place, the Advertiser understands.

Last week we spoke to Mr Goulston at his townhouse in Forest Hill, where he denied the vote of no confidence.

After presenting Mr Goulston with the damning A&E letter he said he would step up his on-floor presence.

He said: "I am very keen to ensure that all staff feel able to contact me directly to raise concerns, and can be assured that I will respond openly and honestly. I want to increase the visibility of myself and the executive team to be out and about, regularly talking to patients and staff face to face, both within the hospital and our community services."

A spokesman for health watchdog the Care Quality Commission said: "Maintaining the right staffing levels is a massive challenge for a number of outer London trusts, but we expect all trusts to meet the national standards, regardless of those challenges.

"At the June inspection, the team identified moderate concerns about staffing levels at the hospital. While most of the feedback from patients and their relatives about staff was positive, the overall perception was that there were not enough staff around, especially at night and at the weekends."

DISCOUNT designer clothing superstore TK Maxx is to shut up shop in the town centre at the end of the week.

News that the store will close for good on Saturday (January 26) has sparked concern from independent traders nearby, who fear the closure will be bad for business.

Joe Raccagna, owner of Tony and Peter's Barbershop in Frith Street, said: "When Kwik Save closed down we lost 30 per cent of our business because just not as many people were around here.

"It's yet another nail in the coffin for Croydon.

"There are many elderly customers who use it to cut through into the centre and they will pop in here. Now, they might just not come by at all. It seems that the deal is done.

"The people that decided this don't care about us; there's nothing we can do."

Butcher Anton Tardivel, from nearby Tucker's Meat Market, is also worried about the effect the closure will have.

He said: "Shutting TK Maxx is going to really isolate us. It is very worrying. People would go into TK Maxx then visit me on the way to Surrey Street market but they won't be able to do that now.

"We are just going to have to wait and see what happens but I really think this could hurt us.

"No one is going to come by here anymore."

The closure announcement follows the opening of a new TK Maxx outlet on the site of the former Staples store, in Whitehorse Road, last October.

The company had not commented to the Advertiser as we went to press.

THE first phase of housing on the prime Ruskin Square development site next to East Croydon Station could be completed early in 2015.

Developers Stanhope/Schroders revealed the timetable when they presented their pre-application scheme to a meeting of the council's strategic planning committee last Thursday.

The scheme involves providing 161 homes – a mixture of one and two- bedroom flats – in a 22-storey tower and an attached nine-storey plinth development.

Stanhope/Schroders already have outline planning permission for the overall Ruskin Square development comprising 550 homes and 1m sq ft of offices on the site.

Thursday's meeting gave councillors the chance to comment on the scheme before a formal application is submitted.

Concerns raised at the meeting included the amount of affordable and disabled accommodation in the building; the mix of flats; ways of alleviating disturbance from the railway to homes closest to it and security of the area around the building.

The developers will be asked to address the issues when they bring the proposals back as part of an application.

Councillor Jason Perry, the council's cabinet member for planning, who chaired the meeting, said: "I think members were fairly happy with what was being put forward. There was some concern about the amount of affordable homes but they will make up 20 per cent of the development, which meets our criteria."

A spokesman for Stanhope/Schroders said the intention, following the meeting, was to submit an application within the next four to six weeks.

If the go-ahead was given, it was hoped that work on building the block would be completed in the spring of 2015.

PLANS for a new free school which would see classes taught by two teachers instead of one were submitted to the Department for Education at the end of last week.

Russell King, founder of the Advance School, said he was now waiting to hear if they would be a formal interview in March, which could lead to them getting approval by May.

He said that since the plans were publicly announced last September, he had received around 200 expressions of interest from parents keen to send their children to the school.

The 630-capacity school, eventually catering for 4 to 11-year-olds, will be based in the empty former Age UK offices in London Road, Norbury, and will initially have 90 pupils.

It would look to take in a number of pupils from deprived backgrounds or those with English as a second language.

The two-teacher idea came from Mr King's time teaching in Westminster.

He said it would enable the employment of specialist teachers who could concentrate on planning key maths and English lessons, rather than planning for all the subjects.

Mr King believes this will lead to more innovative and higher quality lessons.

The idea seems to have appealed to the New Schools Network (NSN), an independent charity which helps groups of teachers, parents and volunteers draw up free school applications.

The Advance School is just one of 32 chosen nationally to join the NSN's development plan and receive detailed, specialist advice.

In its first year of operation, 90 per cent of free schools supported by the NSN received approval from Education Secretary Michael Gove.

Mr King said: "We have been working with the NSN since July and it has been very pleased with the progress we have made.

"Its advice has been excellent and I believe we have made a really good application. Obviously, we are not counting our chickens but everything is looking very positive."

Mr King said the Advance School would fill a real need in the north of the borough.

He said: "The council's own figures show that even after it has expanded schools, and introduced bulge classes in the north of the borough, it is still 90 places short. There has to be a new school and we feel we can fill that gap."

If successful, the school hopes to open in September next year.

AN "INSPIRATIONAL" 67-year-old, known to hundreds on the New Addington estate for her work selling Avon cosmetics, has died.

Brenda Levett died in St Christopher's Hospice on January 9, after a short fight with cancer.

The former nurse had lived in Uvedale Crescent for more than 20 years, moving to the estate in search of a new life after adopting her grandson, Danny Christie.

Speaking from their home this week, Danny said: "She was my angel really and she saved my life.

"Without her I would not be here and I want everyone to know how much I love her.

"We did not have many special events but the time we had together we made special. You will never find a person like her again."

After working as a nurse, including at King's College and St Thomas's hospitals, Brenda started out as an Avon salesperson ten or so years ago.

It was a role she loved, friends and family said, as much for the social side as the chance to support the company's work to beat breast cancer.

Neighbour and co-worker Tracey Redpath said: "Everyone would see her on the parade with her little clip board. She was known as 'Brenda the Avon lady.

"She also had a lot of elderly customers and she would go and check up on them, especially when there was bad weather.

"She would sit with customers, talk to them and do their dishes."

Danny, 25, said: "It was a pleasure for her and she loved it. I also do not think she realised how much she was loved."

Brenda had also worked for the National Autistic Society as a carer at the St Edwards home on the estate.

Danny said: "She took them out, had a rapport with them and she was always there for every single one."

Most of all, friends and family said, she was a great friend and mother whose courage in the face of illness inspired them all.

Friend and co-worker Berni Dorrington said: "All she worried about was the house and Danny and getting thing sorted out.

"That sums her up really – she cared about everybody before herself. She could always make you feel better, no matter how you felt. She would just sit there and listen."

Danny and Brenda's friends hosted an early Christmas party for her in November, fearing she might not make it to the real event.

"At that point I was not really accepting it," Danny said, "but she loved Christmas and she really enjoyed it."

A funeral will be held for Brenda on January 25, at noon, at her St Edward Church.

Attendees are asked to wear something pink.

"Was there anything dull about Brenda?" Berni said.

Donations for St Christopher's Hospice and to help with funeral costs will be gratefully accepted via the church.

AN ENTERTAINING game at Lime Meadow between two well-matched sides resulted in an exciting finish and a narrow win for the home side.

Despite Old Paulines early threat, Mids dominated for 20 minutes, winning plenty of good ball and creating space.

Scrum-half Jake Bacon and fly-half Dan Crouch linked well with their backs to produce numerous opportunities, but only came away with a penalty goal from Crouch after eight minutes. Eventually Paulines broke out and produced some excellent handling to get them back in the game.

They took charge, and though Mids defended well, with centres David Stanton and Andrew Dean tackling like lions, they had no answer when Paulines took a quick throw-in.

A well-timed pass to centre Eithan Humphreys sent him in for a try close in.

The conversion was missed but the visitors had taken an unexpected 5-3 lead after 25 minutes.

There was no further score in the half, but plenty of good play, with both sides trying to run the ball. Mids started the second half well and camped in the visitors' half.

They almost regained the lead after 46 minutes when Crouch had a straightforward kick from 30 metres but it flashed wide of the post.

The home side continued to have the better of it, and prop Russell Jones entertained with a Fijian-type pass and a shimmy reminiscent of former star Paul Kember.

When Crouch found touch on the Paulines' five-metre line, Mids had an excellent platform, but they made a mess of the lineout.

Paulines were penalised twice for handling in the ruck, and Crouch made no mistakes with the resulting penalties, giving his side a four point cushion.

Paulines pack was getting on top in the scrum.

They refused more goal-kicking opportunities and looked for the try, which duly came seven minutes from the end. Number eight Toby Ejsmond-Frey crossed the line for the touchdown.

The conversion was missed but Mids were now really up against it, a point down with time running out.

They took the game to Paulines but were out-scrummaged on their own ball. They then set up a perfect position for a Crouch drop goal but he missed by inches and it seemed the chance was gone.

Paulines opted for a long drop-out, which was well fielded by Shields, and the young winger ghosted his way through several tackles to set up a great chance for Mids.

The line was well set and the ball moved quickly to give the scoring pass to man of the match Alex Scott. Crouch kicked a magnificent conversion from the touchline for victory.

• Aerodrome Primary School and Children's Centre on Goodwin Road in Croydon is expected to be open.
• All Saints CofE Infant and Junior School on Upper Beulah Hill are closed, but expected to be open tomorrow. Updates will be sent to parents by text message.
• Applegarth School on Fieldway in New Addington is open.
• Atwood Primary School, on Limpsfield Road in Sanderstead, is closed but is expected to be open tomorrow.
• Beaumont Primary School on Old Lodge Lane in Purley is closed.
• Benson Primary and Nursery School on West Way in Shirley is open.
• Beulah Infant and Junior School on Beulah Road in Thornton Heath is open.
• Broadmead Primary School, on Sydenham Road in Croydon, is closed.
• Byron Primary School on St David's in Coulsdon will shut at midday.
• Castle Hill Primary School on Dunley Drive in New Addington is open, providing the weather does not deteriorate.
• Chipstead Valley Primary School, on Chipstead Valley Road in Coulsdon is open, but parents are being asked to only take their children to school if it is safe for them to do so.
• Christ Church CofE Primary School on Montpelier Road in Purley is open.
• Coulsdon CofE Primary School on Bradmore Green in Old Coulsdon is closed.
• The Crescent Primary School in Selhurst is closed.
• The Cypress Schools on Cypress Road in South Norwood are closed.
• David Livingstone Primary School on Northwood Road in Thornton Heath is closed.
• Davidson Primary School on Dartnell Road in Croydon has not updated its records.
• Downsview Nursery and Primary School on Biggin Way in Upper Norwood has not updated its records.
• Ecclesbourne Primary School on Attlee Close in Thornton Heath has not updated its records.
• Elmwood Nursery, Infant and Junior School on Lodge Road in Croydon is closed.
• Fairchildes Primary School on Fairchildes Avenue in New Addington is closed.
• Forestdale Primary School on Pixton Way is closed.
• The Gilbert Scott Primary School on Farnborough Avenue in South Croydon is closed.
• Gonville Primary School on Gonville Road in Thornton Heath is open.
• The Good Shepherd Primary School on Dunley Drive in New Addington has not updated its records since Friday.
• Greenvale Primary School on Sandpiper Road in South Croydon is closed.
• Gresham Primary School on Limpsfield Road in Sanderstead will be open at 10am.
• The Hayes Primary School on Hayes Lane in Kenley has not updates its records.
• Heavers Farm Primary School on Dinsdale Gardens in South Norwood is closed.
• Howard Primary School on Dering Place in Croydon is due to be open.
• Kenley Primary School on New Barn Lane in Kenley has not updated its records.
• Kensington Avenue Primary School in Thornton Heath is closed.
• Keston Primary School on Keston Avenue in Old Coulsdon is closed.
• Kingsley Primary School on Thomson Crescent in Croydon will close at midday.
• Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School on Russell Hill Road in Purley has not updated its records since Friday.
• Monks Orchard Primary School on The Glade in Croydon has not updated its records.
• Norbury Manor Primary School on Abingdon Road in Norbury is open.
• ARK Oval Primary School on Cherry Orchard Road in Croydon is closed.
• Parish Church CofE Nursery, Infant and Junior Schools on Warrington Road in Croydon are open.
• Park Hill Infants and Junior schools are open, but parents are advised to avoid Stanhope Road. Breakfast Club is on but swimming has been cancelled.
• Purley Oaks Primary School on Bynes Road in South Croydon is closed.
• Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School on Pampisford Road in South Croydon is closed.
• Ridgeway Primary School on Southcote Road in South Croydon is closed.
• Rockmount Primary School on Chevening Road in Upper Norwood is closed.
• Roke Primary and Nursery School on Little Roke Road in Kenley is closed.
• Rowdown Primary School on Calley Down Crescent in New Addington is closed.
• Rylands Primary and Nursery School on Albert Road in South Norwood is closed.
• St Aidan's Catholic Primary School on Courtnalls Road in Coulsdon has not updated its records.
• Smitham Primary School and Nursery on Portnalls Road in Coulsdon is closing at 1.30pm.
• St Chad's Catholic Primary School on Alverston Gardens in South Norwood is closed.
• St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary School on Springfield Road in Thornton Heath is closed.
• St James the Great RC Nursery and Primary School on Windsor Road in Thornton Heath is open, but parents are being asked to exercise their own discretion.
• St John's CofE Primary School on Spring Park Road in Croydon will be open, but may close early.
• St Joseph's Roman Catholic Nursery, Infant and Junior School in Upper Norwood are closed.
• St Mark's CofE Primary School on Albert Road in South Norwood is closed.
• St Mary's RC Junior School is open, but parents are being advised to use their own judgement of whether it is safe to travel.
• St Peter's Primary School on Normanton Road in South Croydon is open, but there will be no after-school sports club.
• St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary School on Birchanger Road in South Norwood is open.
• Smitham Primary School on Portnalls Road in Coulsdon is closed.
• South Norwood Primary School on Crowther Road is closed.
• Spring Park Primary School on Bridle Road in Croydon is closed.
• The Wattenden Primary School on Old Lodge Lane in Purley is closed.
• West Thornton Primary School on Rosecourt Road in Croydon is open.
• Pegasus Academy Trust on Whitehorse Road in Thornton Heath is open, and parents are advised to ensure children are wearing appropriate clothing and footwear.
• Winterbourne Junior Girls' School on Winterbourne Road in Thornton Heath is closed. The boys' school, the infant school and the nursery have not updated their records and
• Wolsey Nursery and Infant Schools and the Junior School on King Henry's Drive in New Addington are all open.
• Woodcote Primary School on Dunsfold Rise in Coulsdon is closed.
• Woodside Children's Centre and Primary School on Morland Road in Croydon are closed.

• Addington High School on Fairchildes Avenue in New Addington is closed to Year 7 and 8 pupils, with years 9 to 13 expected in at 10am. The school will close at 3pm, but all GCSE exams scheduled will take place.
• The Archbishop Lanfranc School on Mitcham Road in Croydon is closed, but the Geography GCSE exam will go ahead as scheduled.
• Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School on Selborne Road in Croydon is open.
• Coloma Convent Girls' School on Upper Shirley Road in Croydon will be open at 10am, with registration at 10.30am. Exams will take place as scheduled.
• Edenham High School on Orchard Way in Shirley is closed, but the geography exam will take place as scheduled.
• Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls on Kensington Avenue in Thornton Heath will be open from 9.20am until 2.20pm, with pupils advised to wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Exams will be held as scheduled.
• Riddlesdown Collegiate on Honister Heights in Purley will be open from 9.15am until 2pm.
• St Andrew's CofE High School and Sixth Form on Warrington Road in Croydon is running lessons until 1.15pm, with exams to take place as scheduled.
• St Joseph's College on Beulah Hill in Upper Norwood is open.
• St Mary's Catholic High School on Woburn Road in Croydon is closed, but exams will take place as scheduled.
• Shirley High School Performing Arts College on Shirley Church Road in Croydon is closed.
• Thomas More Catholic School on Russell Hill Road in Purley is closed.
• Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School on Central Hill in Upper Norwood is closed.
• Westwood Girls College for Languages and Arts on Spurgeon Road in Upper Norwood is open.
• Woodcote High School on Meadow Rise in Coulsdon is open, running on Timetable 2.
• The Quest Academy on Farnborough Avenue in South Croydon is open.

• Croydon College on College Road in Croydon is open and running a normal timetable.
• Coulsdon Sixth Form College on Placehouse Lane in Old Coulsdon is open.
• John Ruskin College on Selsdon Park Road in South Croydon is open.

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