ASHDOWN FORESTERS OAK SMOKED POTATO, LEEK AND MUSHROOM GRATIN

Recipe by Caroline Whiteman

serves 2-3

250g Ashdown Foresters Oak Smoked

1kg Maris Piper (or similar) potatoes

500g leeks (sliced)

500g mushrooms

2 cloves garlic (finely diced)

500ml organic double cream

4 tbsps breadcrumbs

Salt and Pepper

• Peel and slice the potatoes into 3-4 mm slices
• Sweat seasoned leeks, mushrooms and garlic until soft
• In a gratin dish place 2-3 layers of potato slices and cover with some of the seasoned double cream
• Add a layer of the mushroom and leek mix and top with grated Ashdown Foresters
• Repeat until you have used all the vegetables in layers
• Top with cheese and breadcrumbs
• Cover with foil and bake for 45mins at 150 degrees C
• Remove foil and turn up oven to 180 degrees, bake for a further 15 mins

Jonathan Morris: Village People

As the new head of Warden Park Academy Jonathan Morris has a large school to take care of and big boots to fill, taking over from Steve Johnson in January. Warden Park head boy Luke Mitchell talks to the new man about the new role...

Full story on p.16 of Feb/Mar issue of Cuckfield Life

For local man (and newly appointed head of Warden Park Academy) Mr Morris, a new challenge involving people and education has never been something to shy away from. Moving around the area throughout the years, Mr Morris has seen various successes in many different places; starting off in the property business and then working with adults with special educational needs. Mr Morris took his teaching qualification before moving on to specialise in Theology, and has held many Assistant and Deputy Headships at schools in the south of England. Now, moving on from a seven year Head Teacher post at St Wilfrids in Crawley, he has come to Warden Park with a wonderful, ambitious (yet achievable) vision: to make Warden Park ‘world class’.

This concept is a very important one for Mr Morris and he’s presented it to every year group since taking post around three weeks ago. This was playing on the minds of the student body, and indeed mine, so I sat down to ask exactly what the vision of ‘world class’ was. Mr Morris explained that, perhaps most importantly, a world class school is “rooted in ethics” and takes great care in benevolence amongst the school community. Naturally following behind this is pride in appearance, work and the idea of achieving exceptional exam results across the board – all of which are achievable given the commitment of staff, parents and students that Mr Morris was greeted with. 

Cuckfield Youth Club

By Claire Cooper

The well-loved youth club and playgroup building in Cuckfield looks set to welcome village children and young people for many more years, if a sale can be agreed with West Sussex County Council.  The Parish Council has taken the first steps to secure its future by agreeing at an extraordinary meeting to negotiate with West Sussex to acquire the freehold for the site. 

The little building in London Lane was originally built as part of Warden Park’s outbuildings, but was transferred by West Sussex and became a base for the youth club and playgroup. It has evolved over the years and is now home to several groups offering activities for a range of children and young adults. West Sussex now wishes to dispose of the site to raise funds and notified the Parish Council they wish to sell it as quickly as possible.

The Parish Council took the first steps towards protecting the building just before Christmas, registering it as a community asset. The Parish council now has six months to put forward a bid to buy the land and building and preserve it for future generations, with the risk that West Sussex County Council will sell it off for development if they don’t get their asking price of £200,000.

Parish Council Chairman Nigel Page explained: “This important community facility is key to the social fabric of the village, due to the playgroup and other activities which run out of it and its proximity to other services in the village, such as the Medical Practice and Holy Trinity Primary School.” 

The Cuckfield Pre-School Playgroup has been based in the building for more than 20 years. The group, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, is run by a management committee made up of local parents and a team of experienced staff and meets every weekday morning and on two afternoons each week.

The playgroup has invested in the property over the years, obtaining a capital grant to build a patio area. The patio was built on the site of an old portacabin and has provided a well-used outdoor space both for pre-school children and young people.

Although old and in need of replacing, the building is accessible and ideal for wheelchair users, which has made it a popular meeting place for members of Orchard House who use the building on two evenings each week and for day care sessions during the school holidays.

A karate club meets on Saturday mornings and the Baptist Chapel is currently using the building as a temporary base for its Friday night youth club. A local tutor also runs Maths and English classes there twice a week.

In addition, the building is a popular venue for private parties and other events and is regularly rented.

The Parish Council proposals have the backing of local residents. “Our recent Neighbourhood Plan consultation showed that more than 80% of residents were in favour of retaining the building for youth purposes,“ said Nigel. 

If the bid is successful, the Parish Council will have to begin raising funds to replace the building. “A survey has estimated that it will cost a further £250,000 to replace the building,” added Nigel. “That will be hard given what West Sussex is demanding but at least then the community will be able to control its own future.”