Skipton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Skipton is a town in North Yorkshire, England that lies along the River Aire and Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It forms part of the Craven district of the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, but is within the historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. An open-air market is held four times a week on the high street (Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday).
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[edit] History
[edit] Twin city
Skipton is twinned with the Bavarian town of Simbach, and every year schools from the two towns (Ermysted's Grammar School and Skipton Girls' High School from Skipton, Tassilo Gymnasium from Simbach) embark on a student exchange programme.
[edit] Education
[edit] Primary education
There is a wide variety of choice for pupils at ages 5-11:
- Roman Catholic:
- St Stephen's Catholic Primary School
- Church of England:
- Christ Church
- Parish Church (informally known as Brougham Street) Primary School
- Non-denominational:
- Ings Community Primary School
- Greatwood Community Primary School
- Water Street Community Primary School
[edit] Secondary education
As well as Aireville Specialist PE School (ages 11-16), there are two single-sex selective grammar schools - Ermysted's Grammar School for boys, and Skipton Girls' High School. Both schools have comparable A-Level scores.
[edit] Further education
[edit] Sport
Skipton is the home to Skipton Town A.F.C., a football team, and Skipton R.F.C., a rugby union side.
[edit] Road and rail
Skipton is on the Leeds-Carlisle Railway. There are regular services to Leeds and Bradford on the electrified Airedale Line. Nearby towns and villages include Bradley, Kildwick, Stirton, Carleton, Gargrave, Embsay, Cononley, Lothersdale and Farnhill. The north section (A65 & A59) of the £16.4m Skipton Bypass opened in December 1981. The rest of the six-mile bypass (A629) opened in October 1982, to greatly reduce journey times to the Dales.
[edit] Shops and services
Skipton is home to the Skipton Building Society. Skipton is served by Airedale NHS Trust. The local paper is the Craven Herald. The train station is next door to a Tesco and a Morrisons. There is also a theatre located not too far from both the railway station and the town centre. There is a Little Chef and a Travelodge at the roundabout where the A59, A65 and A629 meet.
[edit] Radio stations
Fresh Radio, the local radio station for the Yorkshire Dales, broadcasts programmes from studios based in Skipton. Fresh Radio launched on the 4th of May 1997 as Yorkshire Dales Radio, with the strapline "May the fourth be with you". The station was re-launched in 1999 as Fresh Radio. James Wilson, the station's Head of News and News Editor, is the only surviving member of the original on-air team. He is also a founding director of the station.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
