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Tony Collins

Tony Collins

Lifeline for job hunters

NEARLY £40 million is up for grabs in the West Midlands to help local youngsters or unemployed people get into work. Read

Pupils back teacher's quake crusade

A FORMER learning mentor at a Birmingham secondary school is to continue her mercy mission in earthquake-hit Pakistan with the help of a cash donation from former pupils. Read

Baby Troy found dumped in drain

THE body of a young child - believed to be tragic missing tot Troy Simpson - was today being examined by pathologists after it was discovered in a drain. Read

Bid to help city 'love' radio plan

LOVE will be in the air on Valentine's Day - digital love that is! Read

Blues take on stadium protesters

BIRMINGHAM City today insisted its planned casino and stadium development remained a "once in a lifetime opportunity" for everyone. Read

Cash boost for Springer opera

CONTROVERSIAL musical Jerry Springer - The Opera has been awarded a £30,000 grant by Arts Council England to help continue its national tour. Read

Two new schools for Brum

AT LEAST two new primary schools need to be built in Birmingham to cope with soaring numbers, it was revealed today. Read

Pupils admit to skipping class

ONE in five secondary school pupils in Birmingham have bunked off the classroom at some point, a national study reveals. Read

More schools closed by virus

MORE primary schools were forced to close in Birmingham today as a virulent sickness bug continued to hit thousands of children across the Midlands. Read

Christians spring on to offensive over musical

CHRISTIAN protesters across Birmingham today vowed to demonstrate outside a theatre when it stages a musical they brand "deliberately blasphemous and deeply offensive". Read

Sickness bug sweeps city

A BIRMINGHAM pupil has been admitted to hospital as a major sickness bug continues to sweep the region. Read

Show must go on for ill Malc

LEADING Midland entertainer Malcolm Stent is in hospital after undergoing a major operation. Read

School plan to fight huge debt

A CITY school with the second largest debt in the country is facing a five-year plan to overcome its crippling financial burden. Read

Woman dies after car flips over

A WOMAN driver was killed when her car ploughed into railings and ended up on its roof in Birmingham today. Read

Banned teacher back in school

A FORMER teacher who served two years in prison after clubbing a man with an iron bar is back working at a city school, the Birmingham Mail can reveal today. Read

Annie goes back to school - aged 71

MATURE student Annie Kissane has a grand design on a new hi-tech career - at the ripe old age of 71. Read

Head hits back in school results row

THE head of an improving city school today hit back at claims that its success was due to under-achieving pupils being barred from sitting GCSE exams. Read

Acclaimed city school to close

A UNIQUE Birmingham school which only teaches pupils who have been expelled or at risk of exclusion is to be closed, it was revealed today. Read

Child fatties face city fitness purge

OVERWEIGHT children in Birmingham are to be shown a fun way to get fit and healthy. Read

Head: Scrap school league tables

THE head of a city secondary school named as the best in the country today called for league tables to be abolished amid a row over academic standards. Read

Author Profile

Tony Collins joined the Birmingham Mail in 1980.After working in a couple of the Mail's district offices, he became Education Correspondent in 1994. Being regarded as something of a Groucho Marx lookalike, it is no surprise that he is also the Mail's 'Mr Comedy', responsible for interviews with many of our top comics.

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