youths stoned police officers. Two women suffered stab wounds and two men suffered other injuries during the riots. Local MP, Andrew Smith, stated in 1991 that the extensive national media coverage of confrontations with the police in August and September left the wider public with a distorted picture of the problem. Some say journalists visiting helped encourage some of the action for filming. Crime levels have decreased consistently since 2004, a change thought to be due to a higher police presence on the estate, though both recorded crime and rates found in the British Crime Survey have fallen across England and Wales. Facilities Sports and leisure The Kassam Stadium is the home of Oxford United Football Club and is just within the greater boundary of Blackbird Leys in an area known as Minchery Farm. Initial construction begun in 1996 and the first football match took place on 4 August 2001. Musical groups In 2006, residents from the estate took part in The Singing Estate, a Channel Five reality TV show following their progress from amateur singers to classical choir. The Blackbird Leys Choir emerged from the original choir and continues today. Education Schools on the estate include Pegasus First School, Windale Community Primary School and Northfield School. City of Oxford College has a campus situated on Cuddesdon Way which provides further education, higher education, modern apprenticeships and community evening classes. Transport Blackbird Leys has no mainline railway station but is served by Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach in Oxfordshire which provides bus services between Blackbird Leys, central Oxford and Oxford railway station. The freight-only railway between Kennington Junction and the BMW Mini factory via Iffley and Littlemore forms the northwestern boundary of Blackbird Leys. It is part of the former Wycombe Railway that British Railways closed to passenger traffic in 1963. Religious sites Blackbird Leys has two places of worship, The Church of the Holy Family which was dedicated on 10 April 1965 and Sacred Heart Catholic Church. See also Banlieue Littlemore Brook, which flows from Blackbird Leys and through the Oxford Science Park to the south. Footnotes References External links BBC Oxford Municipal Dreams Estate Appraisal Areas of Oxford Housing estates in Oxfordshire Civil parishes in Oxfordshire