Isle of Wight it hosting three prisons: Albany, Camp Hill and Parkhurst, all located outside Newport near the main road to Cowes. Albany and Parkhurst were among the few Category A prisons in the UK until they were downgraded in the 1990s. The downgrading of Parkhurst was precipitated by a major escape: three prisoners (two murderers and a blackmailer) escaped from the prison on 3 January 1995 for four days, before being recaptured. Parkhurst enjoyed notoriety as one of the toughest jails in the United Kingdom, and housed many notable inmates including the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, New Zealand drug lord Terry Clark
Education reforms on the Isle of Wight the main towns of Newport, Ryde, Shanklin and Sandown. A final decision was made in May, announcing which schools would be closed. The decision was made based on all three options put forward, instead of going down one definite path. The reforms were first implemented in September 2008, with everything aimed at completion by September 2010. In 2004, the Isle of Wight Council undertook a consultative process aimed at changing local education structure, to a two tier school system which would bring the island in line with the rest of the country. The move was opposed by a lobby known