Stories of the week

Click on the links to read the full stories.

Here is our choice for this week:

Story one:

Two students with cerebral palsy have been given the life-changing ability to clearly communicate through speech for the first time in 50 years.

Epping Forest College’s Gavin King and and Susan Collins have spoken of their joy after funding was found for the £3,000 Allora 2 text-to-speech devices.

Story two:

One of the biggest names in British diving has spoken out against plans by Waltham Forest Council to get rid of a 5m diving board as part of a multi-million pound sports centre refurbishment.

Olympic medal winner Peter Waterfield learned to dive at Pool and Track in Chingford Road, Walthamstow, aged just nine.

Story three:

Primary school children met the most successful British gymnast of all time yesterday as they helped to launch a national enterprise initiative.

Children from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Chingord gathered at the Olympic Park with Beth Tweddle to hear about how she has opened her own gymnastics academy.

Story four:

A teenager who honed his football skills playing bare feet in the streets of war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo has been signed by Watford.

Max Makaka, 16, of Clarendon Street, Leytonstone, who is a pupil at George Mitchell School in Leyton, was granted asylum in the UK seven years ago after fleeing his homeland with his mother.

Story five:

Residents of Waltham Forest are among the most likely to lose their home in London, according to charity Shelter.

Today it was revealed that the borough is one of ten in England in which residents are deemed at serious risk of repossession or eviction.