Parish

Lying in the east of the Royal County of Berkshire and at the heart of the Thames Valley, Wokingham is only 30 miles from London. It offers a unique blend of countryside and town, historic features and up to date facilities, big business and market town trading. The economic prosperity of the district, together with a pleasant environment and excellent transport links make it an attractive place to live and work.

Wokingham, a town of 38,000, still retains the character of a small market town. The town's main function is to act as a shopping and servicing centre for the surrounding area. The town centre has a busy market place, specialist shops, major chains, and many restaurants. Within Wokingham there are three industrial estates providing opportunities for small and medium sized companies to expand. Further afield, Reading contains many major chain and department stores, as well as the Oracle shopping centre.

The parish of St Paul lies to the west and south of the centre of Wokingham. It is in Sonning Deanery in the Archdeaconry of Berkshire within the Diocese of Oxford. The church of St Paul, together with the Parish Rooms, are located on the main road running between Wokingham and Reading. The spire is a prominent local landmark that can be seen for miles around. To the west of the parish is the large housing development of Woosehill, with its own public open space, services, and community centre. The village of Emmbrook is in the north of the parish served by the daughter church, St Nicholas.

*Transport* Wokingham has unparalleled transport links, giving easy access to the major parts of the country. The M4 and M3 run to the north and south, while the M40 is also close by. Wokingham station is on the main Reading to Waterloo line, Reading is also on the main Paddington line. There are local bus services to all the neighbouring towns.
*Education* Schools in the Wokingham District have come top of the class in national league tables. Figures published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) regularly put the district in the top ten and often in the top five of all 150 Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in the country. The parish includes six schools, two infant, two junior, and two senior. Meadow Nursery School has been established for over 20 years and provides education for children aged two to five years. Walter Infant and Nursery caters for children between the ages of three and seven years. The majority of children move on to St Paul's C of E Junior School.
At St Paul's C of E Junior School there are approximately 360 children on roll between the ages of seven and eleven years. The school is voluntary controlled with three foundation governors representing St Paul's PCC. The school had an Ofsted inspection in July 2004 and the overall evaluation was that "St Paul's C of E Junior School is a very effective school …Pupils make very good progress and by the end of Year 6 attainment in the core subjects is well above average".
St Paul's C of E Junior School is the main feeder school for the Holt School (girls) and the Forest School (boys). Some pupils also transfer to the grammar schools in Reading, Ranelagh School (a Church of England voluntary aided comprehensive school) in Bracknell, The Emmbrook School, and St Crispin's School in Wokingham. The University of Reading and Thames Valley University in Slough are the nearest universities, although those in London and Oxford can also be easily reached. There are also a number of Further Education Colleges, including Bracknell and Wokingham College.
Recreation Wokingham has a wide range of arts, sporting and leisure facilities within easy reach, both within the immediate vicinity and at regional centres such as Reading, Oxford and London, which is less than half an hour away by train. These range from local amateur theatre and music to internationally renowned concert halls, cinemas, and theatres; facilities for diverse indoor and outdoor sports from kayaking to skiing; beautiful local countryside; good libraries and leisure-time courses at local colleges.

Population Profile
The parish, with a population of approximately 18,000, is a mixture of urban and suburban with a largely affluent population, many of whom are employed in the 'hi-tech' industries of the Thames Valley. Some facts to illustrate the general population profile are:

	· Wokingham was found to be the least deprived district in England
	· Car ownership is the third highest in the country
	The area is economically buoyant and in February 2002 only 1.6% of the population was registered as unemployed

The 2001 census shows the ethnic mix of Wokingham as 93.9% white (90.9% for England and Wales). The next highest grouping is Asian at 3.1% (4.6% for England and Wales)

The population profile of Evendons Ward (which makes up part of the parish together with Emmbrook Ward) is compared with Wokingham and England and Wales in the following graph .

Figures taken from 2001 census

The 2001 census indicates that 72.8% of the people living in Evendons Ward are Christian. The next highest category is no religion (16.5%). The number of married people is higher than the national average (61.2% compared to 50.9%). Evendons Ward has a lower percentage of retired people than the average and has a higher proportion of people under 16 (24.9% compared with the national average of 20.2%). The trends outlined for Evendons Ward are also reflected in Emmbrook Ward.