On 18 Sep, 19:12, Steve J wrote:
A bit embarassing, but this is a press release issued by the school
today:

BABLAKE SCHOOL PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate Release

BABLAKE SCHOOL'S WEATHER STATION CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF READINGS

As we near the 30th anniversary of the Bablake Weather Station on
Wednesday 19th September, no-one can deny its very humble beginnings.
A Fairy Liquid bottle as a rain gauge and a few other basic tools were
all the station had to its name 30 years ago. Back in 1977, wind speed
and direction were based on human observation, the first records were
scribbled in a small exercise book by the eager students and the
station ran on a mix of enthusiasm and generosity; even the school's
Vice-Principal chipped in to buy a £5 barometer.

By 1979, the local paper, The Coventry Evening Telegraph, was using
our weather data and by January 1984, after advisory visits from
weatherman Ian McCaskill, the Met Office officially registered the
station. Until 1998, the statistics had to be recorded in person 365
days a year, in all weathers. The dedication of the many student teams
and the enthusiasm of the station's founder, geography teacher Steve
Jackson, have been immense.

With a website, chatroom for enquiries, 24/7 webcam and state of the
art equipment to capture the information, our Weather Station already
provides forecasts and Met Office approved data for the local region
and handles individual enquiries by phone and email.

The BWS is already the most established and longest-running Met Office
registered school weather service, but its future is even more
exciting. Next year the Met Office will be upgrading the equipment and
taking on maintenance of the station, while allowing the school and
its students to continue recording the data and handling enquiries

30 years on, the weather station is still under the expert guidance of
its founder, and we have no doubt Steve will be the proudest man in
Bablake on the official birthday.

Further Notes:
· Website address for Bablake Weather Station is:www.bablakeweather.co.uk
· Mr Steve Jackson, Head of Geography, has been at Bablake since 1975.
· Key dates: BWS set up- 19th Sept 1977; Coventry Telegraph using
data-1979; Met Office recognition- Jan 1984; website 1995; webcam
March 2007.

Media Notes:
· Telephone contacts: Mark Woodward (Press Officer) 07968-263610,
024-7627-1220; Bablake Weather Station/ Steve Jackson 024-7622-3141 or
07971-616103

· Email contacts: or
;

· Address: Bablake School, Coundon Road, Coventry CV1 4AU

Written by Faith Hannon (current L6th/ Year 12 student) and Mark
Woodward (Head of Careers/ Webmaster/ Press Officer/ i/c School
Magazines)

17th September 2007

Congratulations, and all the best for the future. I rather wish I had
been fortunate enough to attend a school such as Bablake.

Ian,

Raunds, East Northants.