Ealing.News

Ealing Council has warned that falling pupil numbers are putting increasing financial pressure on primary and secondary schools across the borough, and changes may be needed to keep schools financially viable. The number of children starting primary school in Ealing has fallen by more than 900, or around 20%, since its peak in 2014/15.

Year 9 students at Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls in Acton have been given an insight into careers in eye and hearing care at a speed networking event with local professionals. The event, organised by Ealing Connexions careers advisers, gave pupils the chance to meet people working in different industries across the borough. Staff from Specsavers stores in Ealing Broadway and Chiswick were among those taking part, answering questions about jobs, qualifications and training opportunities.

A Hanwell woman who lives with daily pain from rheumatoid arthritis is preparing to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon with her partner this Sunday (11 October 2026). Caitlin Duncombe, 26, who is originally from Australia and now lives in Hanwell, was diagnosed with the condition at 17 after developing severe pain and losing strength in her wrists.

Proposals to create a new town centre around Perivale Station, potentially bringing new homes, shops, community facilities and jobs to the area, go before Ealing Council’s cabinet tonight (7 October 2026). Perivale is the smallest of Ealing’s seven towns, with around 17,000 residents, and according to Ealing Council is also the only one without a clearly defined town centre. The council wants to create a new “civic heart” around the Central line Tube station.

A historic strike by hundreds of women workers in Brentford is being brought to the stage in Ealing 50 years on. The Questors Theatre is staging On the Line, a new play inspired by the 1976 Trico equal pay strike on Brentford’s Golden Mile. Around 400 women at the car parts factory walked out after discovering they were being paid on average 20% less than men doing the same work. The dispute lasted five months and became the longest equal pay strike in British history.

A book co-edited by two senior academics at Ealing’s University of West London has been shortlisted for a national educational research award. Making Equal: New Visions for Opportunity and Growth, co-edited by University of West London (UWL) vice-chancellor and president Professor Peter John CBE and associate pro-vice-chancellor for regional engagement Professor Graeme Atherton, is one of three books shortlisted for the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Book of the Year Award.

TG Jones is to close its branch inside Ealing Broadway shopping centre, with the Post Office confirming that its branch within the store will also shut on 4 January 2027. In a statement, the Post Office described the closure as “unplanned” and said it is “working hard to find a solution” to continue offering services to the “local community in Ealing”. It is also in the early stages of reviewing applications to run a branch. No replacement location has yet been announced.

Ealing Council is set to invest almost £1.6 million in community teams across its seven towns, creating nine new jobs and providing £300,000 in grants to local organisations. In its report, Ealing Council says stronger relationships between residents, local groups and public services could provide “important sources of early help”, reducing the need for crisis services at a time when housing, social care, children’s services and public health are under growing pressure.

Recorded hate crime across Ealing rose by 11% in the year to May 2026, with 846 offences in the borough reported to police, new figures have revealed. The Metropolitan Police numbers, up from 762 offences in the previous 12 months, are published in Ealing Council’s new Hate Crime Strategy 2026–2029, which sets out its plans to tackle hate crime in the borough.

Ten council homes have been recovered and two workers sacked following fraud investigations by Ealing Council, with cases valued at more than £500,000 uncovered in just three months. The investigations took place between April and June 2026, the first three months of the council’s 2026/27 financial year. Of 139 investigations completed during that time, fraud was found in 21 cases, which the council valued at £524,000.