Latest Homes Sussex magazine

Ricky and Bianca may back in Walford, but Patsy Palmer and Sid Owen prefer the sea air

Sussex is fast becoming one of the most talked about Celeb housing counties – take one week in the news for example. Hove based Heather Mills-McCartney (soon to become Mills again) literally blasted the media in a quite spectacular outburst whilst perched on the GMTV sofa. (If you didn’t get to see it then you can log onto gm.tv – it is worth it). This of course caused unprecedented tabloid coverage on exactly what Heather was trying to stop. Heather is now trying to pass a bill in the European Parliament to make the British press more transparent about their sources when they print stories. She claims to be a victim of a hate campaign by the media as well – of course we all have opinions on the press in this country, but sometimes maybe it is better to keep a demure silence!

Also in the headlines was the welcome return of two sorely missed characters in BBC1’s Eastenders. Ricky and Bianca first appeared in 1993 and were played by actors Sid Owen – who has just moved to Rottingdean (where I live and now see all the time in Tesco Metro!), and Patsy Palmer who lives in Brighton. The couple who had a traumatic break up which culiminated in one off special – having millions glued to the screen. Ricky returned to Walford in 2002 but moved on again in 2004. In real life Sid learned how to cook, wrote a book and lived in France, while Patsy married and bought up three children. The couple are likely to appear on screen later this year – we can’t wait!

Finally top tv chef Jamie Oliver is to bring his new venture to the tastebuds of Sussex. Pukka Pasta will open in Brighton’s Lanes in July 2008, the restaurant will be serving Italian food from £5 to £8. We are told that he will be incorporating high quality ingredients plus fresh bread baked on the premises daily by artisan bakers! The location is Black Lion Street and the restaurant will be part of a new development by Karis (the peeps behind the proposed King Alfred Development in Hove).

Jo Brooks is director of Brighton-based PR company JBPR Ltd
01273 622555, www.jb-pr.com

The sporting facilities at St Mary’s Hall are a big draw

People often refer to St Mary’s Hall as a ‘greenhouse’ rather than a ‘hot house’. They nurture their students’ growth to give them a high sense of self-esteem and self-confidence. One of the advantages of being a small school is that they know each one of their students personally and the aim is to instill a sense of success in every one of them and develop each individual’s potential.

Gloucester House is the purpose-built new junior school at St Mary’s Hall, Independent Day and Boarding School, Eastern Road, Brighton. They ensure that in the Junior School your child’s needs are recognised and fulfiled and that each child reaches their individual targets through a carefully structured curriculum.

To meet the needs of parents and to allow the pupils to take full advantage of extra-curricular activities, St Mary’s offer an extended day with pre-school care from 8am and after-school care until 6pm. The nursery is also now open 50 weeks of the year and nursery vouchers are accepted.

St Mary’s Hall is pleased to be able to offer 25 per cent awards to pupils joining the junior school in years 1 and 2 in 2007 – 2008. This can provide parents with up to £10,000 savings in fees throughout their children’s junior school education.

The sixth form day centre; Elliott House is celebrating its first anniversary. With state-of-theart facilities, the centre provides the students with a great sense of independence and prepares them for the transition from school to higher education and the world of work.

Elliott House is also the boarding house for the senior students who come from all over the world. St Mary’s Hall offer full, weekly or flexi-boarding from age 8.

The students really give off a good impression, even through the rather surprising medium of volleyball.

After a recent volleyball victory, one of the students, Lesley Tian, told us how she decided to move to the school based purely on the effect that the St Mary’s Hall volleyball team had had on her when she played against them.

St Mary’s Hall can make an amazing difference, especially when it comes to sports thanks to their wonderful modern facilities such as the indoor heated swimming pool and the newly resurfaced tennis courts.

Join the senior school in years 7, 8 or 12 in 2007 – 2008 for only £3,100 per term. Some spaces still available.

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For more information go online to www.stmaryshall.co.uk or contact St Mary’s Hall, Eastern Road, Brighton, BN2 5JF, telephone 01273 606061, email info@stmaryshall.co.uk.

Hurstpierpoint College praised for its supportive community spirit

Every five years, independent schools in the UK are rigorously assessed by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. Their judgements deliver important insights into the quality of education provided by a school. Hurstpierpoint College was assessed early in 2007.

Inspection Teams visited the College and examined pupils’ work, observed lessons and interviewed students. They held discussions with staff and governors, and observed extra-curricular activities.

Michèle Finnegan, Head of Hurst Pre-Prep, Tim Manly, Hurstpierpoint College Headmaster, and Heather Beeby, Head of Prep School

“We are, of course, not perfection but the Inspection Reports are very encouraging indeed”, commented the College’s Headmaster, Tim Manly. “The inspectors recognised that all our pupils learned and achieved well in relation to their ability and in line with an educational ethos that encourages challenging targets. Further, it was judged that all are well prepared academically, and in many other ways, for the next stage in their education”

Teaching throughout all three schools was judged to be good, excellent or outstanding. It was therefore no surprise to read, for example, in the Senior School report that, “Pupils are very well educated considering age, ability, gender, and ethnic origin and circumstances. They achieve good levels of knowledge, skills and critical and creative understanding in their subjects and activities, and they learn to apply them effectively”.

The inspectors’ long and comprehensive reports covered every aspect of school life and clearly identified the College’s many core strengths. Pastoral care, extra-curricular activities (including the creative and performing arts) and sport were described as outstanding.

“I am particularly pleased that the Inspectors recognise the extraordinary friendliness that, for so many, is the lasting impression they retain of the school”. The inspectors’ reported, “Relationships between staff and pupils and among pupils are outstanding. An excellent and supportive community spirit together with an appreciation of common values permeate the college; pupils have mutual respect and are happy, courteous and relaxed in their dealings with each other”.’

Tim Manly became Headmaster of Hurstpierpoint College at the beginning of 2005. Michèle Finnegan has been Head of the Pre-Prep for just under 3 years and in September 2006, Mr Manly appointed Heather Beeby as Head of the Prep School. The reports make it clear that these three ‘outstanding’ leaders, supported by their respective management teams and staff and the School’s Governors, have achieved a great deal in a remarkably short period of time. Tim Manly is the first to acknowledge that there is more to do and concludes “I am very pleased with the Inspectors’ findings; not only do they serve to remind us of the school’s great strengths but they also confirm our own judgement about how we can continue to improve the already exceptional quality of the education we provide here at Hurst.”

Award-winning store Velvet launches new furniture website

Velvet is launching its new website on the back of the huge success of its furniture store on Bond Street. Velvet was set up in Brighton nearly seven years ago by Emma and Nick Harrop and Iris Draper. They started with gifts and accessories and over the years have expanded to three shops in Brighton and Hove with a very hard-working team of 20. On George Street in Hove and Bond Street, Brighton there are Velvet gift and clothes stores. Bond Street is also home to the furniture store.

The Velvet furniture store sells a huge range of furniture, lighting, mirrors, home accessories and gifts from French chateaustyle, art deco, contemporary, shabby chic, painted, boudoir, funky and modern to mirrored and Venetian, all at accessible prices.

Customers travel from all over the country to visit because of the store’s very competitive pricing and they have lots of celebrity customers, from actors and politicians to former Big Brother housemates and pop stars.

Velvet has just won the prestigious ‘Best Independent Retailer’ award at the Brighton and Hove Business Awards for its three stores. This is a huge accolade as Brighton is now one of the busiest shopping areas in the UK. Velvet won because it has really pushed the boundaries of retail excellence, with new stock arriving daily, beautiful displays, ‘wow factor’ windows and shop layouts, a huge mix of gorgeous products appealing to all ages and tastes, excellent customer service and a loyal following of customers.

There is also a huge range of mirrors, from French to ornate to modern and from small to very large as well as hundreds of different lights, ranging from modern to classic chandeliers, funky lights and lamps. They also sell beautiful gifts and home accessories – everything from frames to doormats to signs to over 150 different styles of glass, ceramic and metal door knobs and hooks.

Velvet are a family business who really care about their staff and customers. Staff are very friendly, always offering plenty of advice and suggestions to customers if they want it (but NO pushy sales). The staff enjoy working there and that gives the shops a lovely atmosphere. They voted Velvet ‘The Best Place To Work In Brighton’ no less!

The buying team spend a great deal of time sourcing new original products from all over the world and from hundreds of different suppliers. They will be updating their website on a regular basis with new stock. If you can’t find what you are looking for in the shops or on the website call or email, as they may well be able to find it from their hundreds of suppliers.

Velvet, 27 and 29 Bond Street, Brighton and 10 George Street, Hove. For more information call 01273 326322, email info@velvetstore.co.uk

Visit www.velvetstore.co.uk