Report on two Focus Groups with Teenagers,
aged 12-16

Summary

• The two groups, one all boys and one all girls, were remarkably unanimous in their key concerns and in the main things that they would like provided in the future. In fact, age was a bigger discriminator than gender.
• Boys and girls aged 12/13 all wanted a skatepark, a drop-in café in the village to go to after school and at weekends, and more opportunities to share in the sports facilities already provided in Wedmore- especially the football pitch and tennis courts.
• This age group was broadly satisfied with the provision of public buses, mainly because they had little use for public transport at night.
• By contrast, the 15/16 year olds (all girls), were desperate for some transport out of the village on Friday and Saturday nights - 7pm to 11pm. They also wanted a skatepark and a drop-in café, but envisaged it being run by them and not by adults.
• All ages, and both genders were equally interested in a skatepark, and in Village Hall music gigs, featuring live music by local school bands.
• All ages, and both genders, complained at Wedmore adults’ - especially elderly adults - apparent attitude of disapproval towards them. They felt that they were ‘stereotyped’ as inferior, unimportant, or just plain rowdy. There was some resentment of the fact that a small number of teenagers - usually from other villages - come to Wedmore and give them a bad name by misbehaving whilst here.
• There was some perception that the authorities were reluctant to spend money on any facilities for them - rather that the money was lavished on facilities for the elderly and the very young.

Conclusions and recommendations

By far the most important issues are:

1. A skatepark
2. Transport out of the villages on Fri/Sat evenings.

Next, and of slightly lower importance (although still keenly advocated) are:

3. A drop-in café in the centre of the village
4. The chance to use some of the main sports facilities in the village, especially the football pitch and tennis courts.

Possible solutions

The new games/internet café at the George sounds as though it already comes close to providing a drop-in café, so long as the George management could provide soft drinks, snacks and simple, low-cost, filling food such as chips and pizzas.

The Community Bus could be used to take teenagers out for Friday and Saturday evenings to such nearby centres as Cheddar, Wells or Glastonbury; leaving the village centre at around seven and returning before eleven.

A smallish, but lit and well-equipped skatepark could be built on land adjacent to the existing car park and YF bonfire field, with a simple and indestructible shelter, and a possible separate

hard-standing with basketball hoops and volley-ball net.

Negotiations could take place with Wedmore Football Club and Wedmore Tennis Club to see if young people could use the facilities occasionally, when members are not doing so.

Group 1 - teenage girls

Sample and methodology

A 1½ hour focus group was held in a converted barn in the centre of Wedmore. The seven respondents fell into two age-groups: 12/13 and 15/16. The session included refreshments, and was recorded. Each respondent was given a gift of a voucher for £3 redeemable at The Paper Shop.

The sample consisted of three 12/13 year olds and four 15/16 year olds. Two of the younger girls were from farming families who had been in the Isle of Wedmore for generations. Overall, five lived in Wedmore, one in Cocklake and one in Latcham. Schools represented were Kings of Wessex, Hugh Sexeys and Wells Cathedral.

What’s it like, living in Wedmore?

Wedmore is "insular" (16 yr old); too many people look inwards, are unaware of what life is like outside of the village, and resist change. Older people, especially elderly women, seem to resent and disapprove of teenage girls. Respondents had experience of rude looks and comments when walking in the village during the day, for example on the subject of skirt lengths, and rudeness or lack of respect when serving customers in shops, or shopping - "they watch you all the time, like you’re going to steal something"(13 yr old).

"Old ladies are so unfriendly when they pass you in the street. They look you up and down like you’re nobody. The old men are much nicer, they usually smile and doff their caps" (16 yr old)

Is this a problem unique to Wedmore, or are older people inclined to disapprove of the young, no matter where they live? "No, it’s Wedmore" (unanimous). People who live in Wedmore are "snobby" and "upmarket". "Just because they live in Wedmore they think they’re better than other people". At Kings of Wessex, the Cheddar pupils tease the Wedmore pupils for being "rich", and at Sexeys, pupils from Rooksbridge and Biddisham do likewise.

On the plus side, they thought that Wedmore was "very pretty", because of the adjacent farmland, particularly in contrast with Cheddar which they found ugly, urbanised and too big. Those who had moved here from city or town environments thought Wedmore was quiet, with little traffic at night, and street lighting not too bright. The preservation of surrounding farmland was unanimously supported:

"We need to keep the farming. It’s good for Wedmore, and there’s less and less of it now" (13 yr old, farming family lived here for generations)

There was a feeling that there are "too many hairdressers and dress shops for posh old ladies", and some support for the idea of a clothes shop selling fashionable and affordable clothing for their age group. But then, it was doubted whether anyone would use it, as "buying your clothes in Wedmore wouldn’t be the right image"(16 yr old). Everyone’s favourite shop was The Paper Shop, partly because "Peter York is nice, and treats you like a proper customer, equal to adult customers". There was felt to be a need for a shop "where you could nip in and get last minute birthday presents". The Gifted Co. was recognised as partly fulfilling this, but was expensive and limited. Also, when you go in there "they watch you".

Opinion was divided on the subject of everyone in the village knowing your business. Older girls thought it "creepy" (15yr old) but younger girls liked it and said it made them feel "safe, like its one big family" (12 yr old) and the fact that everyone knew each other made it feel "friendly". Older girls wanted privacy and anonymity, to be left to get on with their lives without neighbours being nosy and finding fault.

Crime

Interestingly, however, all conceded that the probable reason for Wedmore’s apparently low level of youth crime is, indeed, the fact that everyone knows what everyone else is up to! They felt that the village was largely a self-policing community, and that police involvement in the village was sporadic and largely benign.

"They came into the Swan Gig one night and busted two people for dope. In Cheddar, they’d have had to bust the whole pub" (15 yr old).

"They do come to the Swan quite often, but they’re usually just keeping an eye on things" (16 yr old)

The fear of nosy neighbours telling their parents that they had been seen misbehaving whilst out and about was by far the greatest disincentive "because you’re scared of your parents, but you’re not scared of anyone else" (15 yr old)

The feeling, amongst the older girls, was that drug usage in the village was no higher than in other communities and was largely confined to "smoking weed". They viewed injecting heroin and snorting cocaine as " a completely different matter" (16 yr old) and absolutely unacceptable. One older girl had seen needles and empty vodka bottles in the public toilets which she found disgusting and alarming. The consensus was that such drugs are expensive, and so likely to be taken by young adults who are in work and so have the money to pay for them (or, possibly, by Millfield pupils, for the same reason!). The selling of soft drugs at Kings of Wessex and Wells Cathedral School is apparently fairly widespread - "you can’t stop it" - and similar to secondary schools all over the country.

Places to go and things to do, for Young People in Wedmore

Here there was a clear divide between the two age groups. The younger group wanted ‘things to do’, whilst the older group wanted ‘a place to go’. One 12 year old said:

"In Wedmore, there’s loads of things for very young children, because of the First School and the Toddler Group, and the pubs and gigs for older teenager, but nothing for our age group, so we just have to stay at home or go to our friends’ houses"

What about the Youth Club?

"Youth Centres have got a bad reputation, because they’re always run by adults, who think they know what you want. But all you get is ‘good wholesome fun’" (16 yr old)

What do the younger ones want to do? "Sport - but not the same ones as we do at school. Different ones like volley ball and basketball - we could play that on the tennis courts. All the team sports are for boys - like football and cricket. A girls’ football team would be popular" .(12 yr old) and it was felt by all that there would be sufficient other girls’ teams to provide competitive fixtures. The advantage would be that a football pitch already exists in the village.

" A swimming pool would be popular". But not a leisure centre like the one at Cheddar, because that would be too big for Wedmore "it wouldn’t fit the atmosphere, and it might have to be built on farmland, and we need to keep the farmland around the village"(13 yr old - everyone agrees). They felt they should be able to use the Hugh Sexey pool during the holidays, but that the First School pool would be too small and shallow for their age group.

"Trips, like there was one to Alton Towers, that was good" (15 yr old).

What would be a good place for young people to go to? "A skate park" (unanimous). Do they skateboard? "No, but it would attract boys, and we could sit on the grass and watch them" (15 yr old - laughter and agreement all round). What about indoors, in the winter? "Somewhere like this - a barn - quite central" (15 yr old). What would it be like?

"Not run by adults, run by us."

"We could have a committee. Three boys and three girls. Changing once a year. They would be responsible for getting the grant and spending it. And they could set the rules, like no fourteen year olds getting wasted"

"You’d need it divided into different rooms, for different music, otherwise there’d be fighting over the stereo".

"Actually, you would need one adult there, otherwise stuff would get nicked. And you’d need someone to clean the place up sometimes. But not someone to tell us what to do, more like a caretaker."

"A pool table would be nice"

"You’d need a bar, otherwise people would bring their own drink. You could have strict enforcement of ID cards. You can’t expect them to change the law on under-age drinking, but you’d have to watch for older people buying drinks for younger ones".

"A coffee bar would be good. A café. But you’d need some alcohol, otherwise the older kids wouldn’t go."

"Live music, like they have at Biddisham Village Hall. All the school bands play there. Yeah. They could make money. They only charge a couple of pounds to get in".

"If there’s music, and pool, then people wouldn’t need the alcohol so much, because they’d be having a good time anyway, with their mates".

"It should be open every evening, as a drop-in centre, with maybe live gigs at the weekend. You wouldn’t want to be out late drinking on weekday evenings anyway, because you’ve got school the next day".

"Or the regular gigs could be in the Village Hall, that would be great. It’s much better than the one at Biddisham, that’s tiny".

What do they do at the moment? Where do they go?

The Swan Gigs are seen as the only place to go at the moment, for the older girls, although it is seen as "awful, full of fourteen year olds getting wasted, and vile people from Cheddar and Burnham, who only come here because the pubs in Cheddar won’t let them in"( 16 yr old) One 15 year old thought the Swan Gigs "keep us off the streets", although this was disputed by others who observed that "it always spills out onto the road, and that’s what people object to".. The Swan publicans are seen as turning a blind eye to obviously under-age drinkers - "they’re doing it to make money" - although the George is deemed to be "very strict" about age. The New Inn is not seen as a young person’s pub.

The group recognised that young people out on the streets at night represents a problem for other residents - "I wouldn’t like it if a crowd of people came outside my house at night making a noise". Apart from the noise, they acknowledged that the closing of the public toilets and the churchyard after dark is justified, because young people were congregating there to drink and take drugs. The graffiti problem was also recognised, and it was felt that a skate park would help this, as people could then use this space - their own space - in which to do more creative graffiti.

The cinema is seen as an attractive leisure activity, although the Wells Film Centre is not liked because the screens are "tiny", and you can hear the soundtrack from the next door auditorium (!). The Weston Odeon is liked, as are cinemas in Bristol. Here, though, the problem is transport.

Transport

"The worst thing about living in Wedmore is that there are no buses" (15 yr old)

"I’m only here because I want one thing - more buses" (15 yr old)

The biggest complaint about the bus service is that it doesn’t run in the evenings.

"The last bus comes back at 4.20! I’d have to turn round and come straight back as soon as I got there!"(15 yr old)

"To go to Glastonbury for a Saturday evening, I have to get a bus early in the day, and then either get my parents to come and fetch me, or stay overnight with a friend. And, even then, my parents have to fetch me on Sunday morning, because there are no buses on a Sunday!" (15 yr old)

"I would really like a bus direct from Wedmore to Bristol. To take you shopping during the day and then a gig in the evening. Everything you need is there"(15 yr old)

"On a Friday and Saturday evening, there should be one bus to each of Wells, Glastonbury, Cheddar and Weston, leaving Wedmore between 7pm and 8pm, and returning at the end of the evening - 10.30 to 11.30" (unanimous).

There was little or no awareness of the existence of the Wedmore Community Bus. Those who were aware of it thought it was "for old people". The prospect of booking the Community Bus to take groups of young people to and from, say, Cheddar on a Friday or Saturday evening was received with much interest.

"I think I’d prefer a public bus, then you could come home when you wanted to. This would be like a taxi"(15 yr old)

"What’s wrong with that? You could all agree what time you wanted picking up. I think it would be better than a public bus. You could fill it easily from Wedmore." (16 yr old)

The younger girls were less keen on a public bus service, on the grounds that neither they nor their parents would want them going out alone on a public bus at night. "It would depend - if there was a crowd of you it would probably be alright, but I wouldn’t want to go alone" (12 yr old). Possibly the Community Bus solution would overcome this, and be seen as safer.

The Future

Did they see themselves as staying on in Wedmore after they had finished their education and were working? Unanimously, they would not. Mainly because they wanted to move somewhere where there were "things to do".

"I think in your early twenties, when you’re deciding what to do, you’re drawn to the big cities, because that’s where everything is" (16 yr old.

"People think London is too scary, but it’s not, it’s brilliant" (12 yr old, farming family lived here for generations)

"I would never consider pursuing a career in Wedmore. I’d set my sights much higher than that" (15 yr old)

"I think it would be a good place to bring up a family. But not before that"(15 yr old.)

"It’s a retirement place, isn’t it? for old people"(13 yr old)

There is a sense in which they are marking time until the current phase of their lives is past, during which time they want the right facilities to provide them with a good social life and the opportunity to be outward-looking and, unlike older people in Wedmore, not "insular". And, when the next phase begins, on reaching their twenties, they will leave. Some may come back to bring up a family, but that is unpredictable. The prospect of being able to pursue a career and find an affordable house in Wedmore simply did not cross any of their minds.

Group 2 - teenage boys

Sample and methodology

A 1½ hour focus group was held in a converted barn in the centre of Wedmore. The four respondents were all aged 12-14. The session included refreshments, and was recorded. Each respondent was given a gift of a voucher for £3 redeemable at The Paper Shop.

Two of the boys lived in Wedmore and two in Blackford. Schools represented were Kings of Wessex and Hugh Sexeys.

What’s it like, living in Wedmore?

The two from Blackford liked it very much, because it is quiet and rural, with nice scenery and everyone knows everyone. The two living in Wedmore found it "a bit busy", particularly in respect of the traffic.

"When I was younger it used to be a lot quieter, and I used to be able to walk from my house down to the village without a car going past, and now it’s really busy and there’s a lot more houses here than there used to be. It ruins the countryside. Where I live there used to be fields all around". (14 yr old)

"It’s in danger of losing what it stands for. It’s in danger of becoming commercialised, and stuff like that". (13 yr old)

All the boys used their bicycles extensively - notably the Blackford boys to get to Wedmore to buy sweets or to skateboard at the car park. The road between Blackford and Wedmore was seen as extremely dangerous, and there was much regret over the fact that one or two landowners had prevented the creation of a continuous, off-road cycle track to join the two villages. In particular, it was noted that crossing the road at Sexey’s School was extremely dangerous and it sometimes took ages to get across it safely - "they should put a crossing there, or have a lollipop lady."(13 yr old).

Overall, Wedmore was thought to be "small", "friendly", "quiet", "safe". One boy living in Blackford said "I don’t like Wedmore". Why is that? "They don’t like children". In what way? "They look down on us, like we don’t matter or we’re just a nuisance". Who does? "The older people", "the bowls club". Why the bowls club? "because they don’t like us skateboarding in the car park". Why not? "Because of the noise, I suppose". The boys conceded that there had been trouble with crates being left over the car park, having been used as skateboard ramps, and swearing at adults. However, they claimed that this behaviour was down to five boys who were identifiable by name and were spoiling it for everyone else, and causing the rest of them to be included in the blame, even though they had done nothing. "People stereotype us. Not all people. The older people at the bowls club." (14 yr old).

"The bowls club people. They’re the main opposition, really".(13 yr old)

There was also a feeling that adults complaining about their using the car park to skateboard in was ill-founded, on the grounds that it’s hugely under-used, except on a few large occasions.

"We asked the council if we could section off part of the car park, for skateboarding, and they said no. And it was only about four car parking spaces."(14 yr old)

"They only ever use about a quarter of the spaces. The only times I’ve seen it full is at the fireworks and the Harvest Home" (13 yr old)

"When you come to think about it, the kids are the main users of the car park!"(13 yr old)

"They (the council) don’t spend any money on what we want, they spend it all on the little kids’ playpark, the bowls club, and the tennis club, but they won’t give us a skate park." (13 yr old).

They are all too aware that Mark, Cheddar, Axbridge and Wells all have skate parks. They believe that the Council will not let them have a skate park because they expect it to be vandalised, covered in graffiti, and attracting ‘druggies.

Like the girls, they commented on the alleged profusion of hairdressers and clothes/shoe shops for old ladies. Some would welcome a shop selling clothes for their age group, and all would most like a shop selling skateboarding kit! One boy living in Blackford would welcome any shop there, and a number were aware that Blackford had once had many shops, rather as Wedmore does today.

Places to go and things to do, for young people in Wedmore

All the boys emphasised that ‘things to do’ was most important, but having their own place to go to, to do what they wanted without fear of adult or police disapproval, was also vital.

"There wouldn’t be any point in having our own place to go to, if there was nothing to do there"(13 yr old).

"Well, I can find things to do around Wedmore, but they wouldn’t be happy with me doing it. But a place to go, that would be somewhere you’re allowed…. We just need a place where we’re allowed to be."

What about the Wedmore Youth Club? Only one 14 year old attended regularly, and it was seen as for boys aged 14-15, which explained why the younger boys did not attend. The boy who went to youth club described it as thriving "we had twenty eight there last week", and as providing a good range of activities: pool, football, table tennis, karaoke, Playstations, skateboarding, computer games, etc. The skateboarding can now only take place in the car park, as they are no longer allowed to do it indoors. Why? "they think it damages the wooden floor". Does it? "No!" "I think a door got damaged". There is, apparently, a rumour that ‘they’ are going to close down the Wedmore Youth Group, because it only meets once a week, unlike the Axbridge one, which meets twice a week. Nobody could work out the logic of this.

So, what would be the best place for them to go? "A skate park" (unanimous). "That’s the only thing we need, if we had that we’d be happy" (13 yr old). Where should it be? "In the field next to the car park, next to where the young farmers have their bonfire". What sort of size? "It doesn’t need to be all that big an area, but it must have proper ramps and equipment". One boy had helpfully brought some photographs of his ‘ideal’ skate park, taken on holiday, showing a wide range of ramps, jumps and so on.

What else? "It should be floodlit", "there should be a covered area, like a large bus shelter, where you could hang out with your friends when you weren’t skating. It could have lockers, where you could leave your kit while you were skateboarding". "It would be a good meeting place".

They were at pains to emphasise that they didn’t want much. Just a small skate park with a lean-to shelter.

"Not a sports pavilion, that would be too much. It would cost a lot. We’d just really like to get the basics."(14 yr old ).

It cannot be overemphasised how badly these boys want a skate park! When asked about other needs, or changes they would like in the village, the answer was always "no, nothing else, just a skate park. If we get that, we’ll be happy, it’ll keep us quiet for at least five years!". "Just a skate park, nothing else - is that too much to ask?"

They were very keen to offer modest, practical solutions. Discussing the ‘shelter’, they felt it should not be made of wood, because this would be an invitation to arsonists. Was this really a risk? "Oh, yes, definitely". It was generally felt that nothing of value, or flammable, or lacking robustness, should be included in the project, as it would be bound to be " nicked, trashed or burnt down" by vandals. The subject of graffiti was discussed at some length, and the consensus was that it is actually harmless, in the right place. All skate parks incorporate graffiti of quite a high artistic standard, often involving intricate and graphic design elements (here we were again treated to the photographs). The boys conceded that graffiti involving swearing or name-calling was offensive to adults and should therefore not be allowed.

There was mention of ‘older boys’ pushing younger boys off the equipment and preventing them using it. Bullying? No, not bullying, more like the natural pecking order - something that just had to be lived with.

Eventually, after persistent prompting, the boys turned to the subject of other things to do, apart from skateboarding. Sport is top. Again, they had absolutely clear ideas of what they wanted, and how it could be achieved. Use of the existing football pitch for small-scale, informal football games - i.e. not strictly eleven a side, just as many as wanted to play; also, a scaled down rugby pitch marked out on the existing football pitch (some debate about whether the goals should be H-shaped with a football net under the bar, or simply the football net as is, but with the rugby kicks going over the top - a bit technical for this report-writer!). Some kind of hard standing, adjacent to the proposed skate park, to incorporate basketball hoops. Hockey and roller-hockey were also mentioned. The hard standing was conceived as an outdoor version of the Cheddar Leisure Centre’s sports hall, a flexible multi-purpose area for use by all. Like the girls, they did not feel an indoor leisure centre would be appropriate for Wedmore.

Tennis is also liked, but the cost of membership at £30 a year was thought to be prohibitive. It was assumed that they would not be allowed to use the Tennis Club’s facilities, although one boy was sure that you could buy a ticket for 50p at the Post Office, to use the court for a game. This idea generated some interest, although someone else felt that rackets and balls would need to be provided.

Swimming was quite liked, although, like the girls, the boys felt that the First School facility would only be suitable for mums with little children. The Hugh Sexey pool was thought to be suitable, however, although they still felt it would appeal to younger children . They sometimes went swimming at the Cheddar Leisure Centre.

What about an indoor place to go, in winter or when it’s raining? "A café, like the one in Cheddar that’s run by the church - it’s just called The Café, and it’s for young people. You can go in there to do your homework, and there’s a couple of tellies, and some computers, and they serve snacks and soft drinks, although they don’t mind if you don’t buy anything". Would they like a similar place in Wedmore? "Yeah, and you could buy basic things like a bag of chips or pizzas, and a Coke, and just hang out, or watch TV or do your homework." It should be open weekday evenings after school, and at the weekend".

Had they heard about the forthcoming Games/Internet Café in the George Skittle Alley? "Yes, it’s run by IT for the Terrified", "Oh, that’s for old people". "It’s to teach them how to use a computer". It was explained to them that this would be a place for young people to go, and where you could play games, and use the internet to do your homework.

"That sounds good"

"Yeah, pretty good"

"Cool!"

"Homework at my school basically revolves around the Internet. I’m doing the Civil War for History, and if you don’t have a computer you’re quite stuck". (12 yr old)

"Oh, it could have a library - a library would be great in Wedmore!"(13 yr old)

Overall, a high level of interest in the new venture at the George (could the chips, pizzas and Cokes also be provided by the George? And a vending machine with soft drinks and sweets would go down well).

There was some discussion about the girls’ suggestion of having music gigs in the Village Hall, like the ones at Biddisham VH.

"I’ve been to one of those gigs at Biddisham and that didn’t get trashed. There’s no alcohol allowed there. And if there are adults supervising, you can’t see them. They’re not like bouncers"

"Yeah. I’d like that to happen. But there’d have to be refreshments as well as music."

"There’s fire extinguishers in there, which people would let off. They cost about fifty quid each. There was a gig there once, and everything got trashed. There was a clock there in memory of someone who’d died, and that got trashed as well. I know that they probably wouldn’t allow a gig at our village hall."

Again, the emphasis was very much on searching for something subdued and responsible that would be "allowed" ( e.g. without alcohol), and a certain amount of gloomy anticipation that it probably would not be allowed, because of previous vandalism by others.

Crime

These boys were aware of the Swan Gigs, although none had ventured in there. They did know that the music played was ‘drum and bass’, that they were full of Cheddar, Mark and Axbridge people, and that the custom was for older kids to buy the drinks on behalf of the younger ones. They apparently had little interest in alcohol, and therefore these events were not particularly appealing.

Like the girls, they felt that drug-taking in Wedmore was largely confined to "smoking grass". Only one had heard of needles having been found, although all were aware of break-ins to the churchyard.

And, again like the girls, their view of the police was of a sporadic and benign presence. "Sometimes they come to the car park in a squad car, but they just sit in the car and watch us for a while, then they drive off".

Transport

Bikes were used by all, for getting around the villages, between villages and to school. All of them also used the public bus service quite extensively and thought it was good. "It goes every two hours, I don’t need it to be more frequent than that". Some also used the train system, by taking the bus to Highbridge, and catching a train there for Taunton or Weston.

These boys did not share the girls’ pre-occupation with the failings of the bus service, simply because they did not have a need to go out at night - at least, not out of the village. In this respect, the variable is principally age - the 12/13 year old girls were equally unlikely to use public transport for an evening out.