Isle of Wight ferry services War four of the SW&BRCSPS paddle steamers were commandeered by the Royal Navy as minesweepers leaving only two behind. The PS "Duchess of Richmond" was lost to a mine in the Mediterranean Sea. On 1 January 1923 the SW&BRCSPS was taken over by Southern Railway which had been created in the Grouping ordered by the Railways Act 1921. Isle of Wight ferry services There are currently three different ferry companies that operate vessels carrying passengers and, on certain routes, vehicles across the Solent, the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England. These are Wightlink, Red
Education on the Isle of Wight of Wight and other less formal educational venues. The Isle of Wight now conforms to the general pattern of education in the United Kingdom in which pupils at state schools change schools at the age of eleven (see Education in England). Pupils at both of the island's independent schools also change school at the age of eleven. State schools on the island now uses a two-tier system. The following types of school now exist: There are two independent schools on the Isle of Wight, which educate pupils from the early years to the age of 18: In 2006, the regional