Universities need to give students support after intimate partner abuse

May 18, 2018, 2:55 am

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This form of harassment disproportionately affects young people. Educating them on the warning signs could save lives

Intimate partner abuse, or IPA, is highly damaging, extremely dangerous, and very common. It affects one in four women during their lives as well as many men and non-binary people. Every week in England and Wales, two women are murdered by their partners or ex-partners and three women commit suicide as a result of IPA. While it has received much-needed attention in England since the police made it a priority in 2015, universities are lagging behind.

The age group most commonly affected by IPA is 16-24, the group to which most students also belong. Cardiff University recently published figures showing 43 incidents of IPA since last October, and there have been several well-publicised cases among students in the last few years. Yet, even with the current shift towards abuse and harassment being taken more seriously, most universities are still not talking about IPA.

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Home Office-sponsored survey on foreign students is withdrawn

May 18, 2018, 4:49 am

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Migration Advisory Committee poll circulated by universities open to abuse, say critics

A Home Office-sponsored survey that asked students how many of their friends at university were from overseas has been axed after criticism that it was flawed and open to abuse.

The survey by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), as part of its inquiry into the impact of international students, was circulated to students by British universities earlier this week. But the survey quickly drew criticism that it was vulnerable to manipulation, with any internet user able to access the survey and respond multiple times.

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The way you're revising may let you down in exams – and here's why

May 7, 2016, 1:00 am

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Most people practise the wrong tasks, reveals a psychologist. Take your head out of those textbooks for a few minutes and read his advice

Even the most dedicated study plan can be undone by a failure to understand how human memory works. Only when you’re aware of the trap set for us by overconfidence, can you most effectively deploy the study skills you already know about.

As a psychologist who studies learning and memory, I know quite a few scientifically informed revision tips: space your practice out rather than cram it all together, practise retrieving information rather than recognising it, reorganise what you’re trying to learn. Probably you’ve heard these before, maybe even from me.

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The ultimate guide to Cockney rhyming slang

June 9, 2014, 10:00 am

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From 'apples and pears' to 'weep and wail', an A to Z of Cockney rhyming slang and the meanings behind the east end's most famous linguistic export

Many of us know that "brown bread" is Cockney rhyming slang for dead, "china plate" for mate, and "bubble bath" for laugh. But how many know the meaning of the phrases? The historic native wit of this east end community (and its followers from around the world) often has an interesting logic to its phrases. Rather than simply a rhyming association, the slang reflects meaning in the expressions themselves. Here's a guide to the most commonly-used Cockney rhyming slang:

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Graduation – a guide for parents

June 30, 2015, 1:49 am

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From sorting out practical arrangements to avoiding faux pas, follow our guide to graduation day

“At my first graduation I got my boyfriend and best friend to pretend to be my parents,” says doctorate student Lindsay Jordan. “My friend dressed up like Jackie Onassis. It was pretty funny, but I’d rather my real parents had been there.”

Jordan’s parents didn’t attend either her undergraduate or master’s graduation ceremonies, as “they hate travelling and formal occasions”. While they may not be for everyone, graduation ceremonies are a chance for parents to celebrate their child’s achievements – and mark the end of university life. But they can also be expensive, stressful and the cause of family arguments. Here’s how to make your student child’s graduation day a happy one.

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Cambridge University lays bare the secrets of its library tower

April 30, 2018, 9:28 am

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Exhibition to reveal truth about books hidden in 17-storey tower said to include pornography

To avoid disappointment, an exhibition opening this week at the Cambridge University library should carry the warning sign: “These books contain no pornography”.

Despite undergraduate folklore there is no secret stash of pornography among the almost a million books in the 17 floors of the tower, which rises 157 feet above the library. The building, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was completed in 1934 to mixed reviews, with the former prime minister Neville Chamberlain calling it “a magnificent erection”.

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Sir Roger Elliott obituary

May 18, 2018, 10:24 am

≫ Next: Our children are over-stressed. This is how we can protect them | Gaby Hinsliff

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Specialist in theoretical physics who investigated the structure of matter

On Roger Elliott’s 60th birthday, a conference in his honour displayed beneath his photograph the title: “Disorder in Condensed Matter Physics”. This reference to his speciality in theoretical physics, where he made important contributions to theories of optical, magnetic and semiconductor properties of the solid state, was ironic, for Elliott, who has died aged 89, was a man of the soundest judgment.

His opinion was widely sought and highly regarded, as professor at Oxford University (1974-96), as chief executive of Oxford University Press (1988-93), and in national affairs, as physical secretary and vice-president of the Royal Society (1984-88) and vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (1990-93).

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Our children are over-stressed. This is how we can protect them | Gaby Hinsliff

May 18, 2018, 9:10 am

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Governments can do more; so can social media companies. We parents might stop projecting our anxieties too

Poor Twiglet the dog. Her short-lived career as a comfort animal for anxious Cambridge university students ended prematurely this week, after unprecedented demand to take her out for soothing walks left her feeling rather overanxious herself. At her peak, the jack russell was being booked out for eight hours a day, which says something about stress levels approaching finals.

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Poorest and brightest girls more likely to be depressed – UK study

May 18, 2018, 10:00 am

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Research into 14-year-olds renews concern over rising rates of teenage mental illness

Brighter girls and girls from poorer families are more likely to be depressed by the time they enter adolescence, according to a study triggering fresh concern about soaring rates of teenage mental illness.

The government-funded research identified the two groups as being most at risk of displaying high symptoms of depression at the age of 14. In contrast, more intelligent boys and boys from the most deprived backgrounds appear not to suffer from the mental troubles that affect their female peers, the academics discovered.

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Inside story: Who betrayed Anne Frank?

July 29, 2002, 2:09 am

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Who really turned Anne Frank and her family over to the Gestapo? As Dutch historians reopen the archives in search of fresh evidence, one man claims to know. Anton Ahlers says his anti-semitic father betrayed them - for money. He talks for the first time to Ori Golan

On a warm summer's day on August 4 1944, four Gestapo policemen raided a canal warehouse at 263 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam. The eight Jewish people hiding in the annex there were arrested: Otto Frank, his wife and two children; the van Pels family of three; and Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist. They were taken to Westerbork Kamp and from there herded into cattle wagons bound for Auschwitz. Of the eight, only Otto returned.

During the raid, a policeman emptied Otto's briefcase to fill it with the fugitives' valuables. In his haste, he dropped a batch of papers and a small diary belonging to Otto's daughter. This diary, the diary of Anne Frank, was to become the most widely read document to emerge from the Holocaust.

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Top 10 podcasts to help you learn a language

February 9, 2015, 4:45 am

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From videos in Japanese to news in German, language blogger Lindsay Dow recommends her favourite podcasts to keep you motivated and inspired while improving your skills

I became a language addict way back in the early noughties thanks to Shakira. Since then I’ve gone on to pursue a degree in French and Spanish with the Open University, and I’ve also studied Mandarin, Italian, German and various other languages along the way. With formal studying never quite being enough, I’m always looking for other methods to engage my language learning brain, podcasts being one of them. Here’s a few of my favourites:

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University guide 2018: league table for law

May 15, 2017, 11:00 pm

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The study of criminal legal systems – includes criminology and jurisprudence

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Shouting at your kids can damage their brains

March 21, 2001, 8:19 am

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Shouting at your kids can damage their brains, as well as hurting their ears, according to US child psychiatrists. Ouch, says Anne Karpf

I thought I was impervious to those "research shows . . ." scare stories, but this one got to me. Shouting at children, according to a recent study by psychiatrists at a hospital affiliated to Harvard Medical School, can significantly and permanently alter the structure of their brains. It was only inordinate self-restraint - of the kind I never display towards my kids - that stopped me marching them straight off for a brain scan.

Ours is a Sturm und Drang household, with shouting matches, screaming fits, and temper tantrums - and that's just the parents. The neighbours have been warned, even the kids have been warned. At two, my first-born could do a passable imitation of me yelling (and she did, to all-comers). And one of her sibling's early sentences was: "You're a lovely Mummy, but a shouty one."

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10 things teachers want to say to parents, but can't

June 9, 2014, 11:20 pm

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The long school year is coming to an end and one primary teacher has a few things to share

• 10 things parents want to say to teachers

1 Your kids are not your mates

Something I'm starting to hear with worrying frequency within the primary school setting is "my daughter's my best friend". Often, this rings alarm bells. Your kids aren't your mates. You're their parent, and your responsibility is to provide them with guidance and boundaries, not to drag them into your own disputes. Your nine-year-old doesn't need to know about your bitter feud with his friend's mother, or which dad you've got the hots for at the school gate. In the years to come he or she may realise that some of their own problems (social alienation, in its various forms, being a prime example) might have something to do with exposure to that sort of talk at an early age. Continue at your own risk.

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Ten things I wish I'd known before starting my dissertation

April 18, 2014, 1:56 am

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Are you putting the final touches to a dissertation? Let's pass on some tips to those who'll be doing them next year

The sun is shining but many students won't see the daylight. Because it's that time of year again – dissertation time.

Luckily for me, my D-Day (dissertation hand-in day) has already been and gone. But I remember it well.

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Focus: ecstasy after-effects that could last a lifetime

January 20, 2002, 2:54 am

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Britain's half-million pill-poppers could face after-effects that last a lifetime. Anthony Browne reports

Staring intently in the dim light, the music rocking his body, James snapped the little white tablet in two. Pressed against the wall, his back sheltering them from the dancing crowds, he took half for himself and gave half to his girlfriend. They swallowed, and the weekend's clubbing started.

'It makes you feel so positive about everyone and everything. You feel so open - you can talk to strangers like they are your closest friends. You feel so sensual, so tactile. I want to touch people's skin, stroke their clothes. And I want to dance, dance, dance,' gushed James. 'It's the best, the most positive experience in my life. It's life-enhancing.'

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Secret Teacher: I hated teaching – until I realised my school was the problem

May 18, 2018, 11:30 pm

≫ Next: Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the royal wedding cellist, and other young musicians on a life-changing day

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Stress almost drove me out of the profession. But a change in leadership has helped me fall back in love with education

Read more from the Secret Teacher

Not so long ago, I was ready to quit teaching. Now, I’ve got my sights on leadership. The difference is my headteacher.

Under my previous head, I got the point where I couldn’t go on. I was signed off work with anxiety and stress. At school, we’d been under intense pressure to get more children to expected levels to show the school was improving – and were always on edge thanks to drop-in observations. As a member of the school leadership team, the headteacher expected me to remain distant from the rest of the staff, meaning I was isolated from my colleagues.

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Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the royal wedding cellist, and other young musicians on a life-changing day

May 19, 2018, 5:03 am

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One overslept, one played in cowboy boots and one’s next gig is the royal wedding … five past winners of BBC Young Musician relive the thrill of the competition

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello, 2016 winner at 17

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10 things academics say students get wrong in exams

April 30, 2013, 12:46 am

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From lack of analysis to regurgitating lecture material, don't let these 10 common mistakes scupper your chances of exam success

Not many students would admit to enjoying taking exams or writing essays, but if you want to get a degree, they're an ordeal you have to survive.

So we've worked out how to make the whole thing a little less stressful. We've persuaded four academics from a range of subject areas to tell us the top 10 things students get wrong in exams and coursework. This is what they've told us:

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Parents: not happy about something at school? Here’s how to complain

February 23, 2015, 11:30 pm

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Your daughter’s homework isn’t being marked. Your son’s been put in detention for no real reason. What’s the best course of action? A teacher writes …

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was from a friend in the restaurant business. If I were planning to complain about any part of my meal or service, he said, I should wait until I had eaten all I was going to eat that night. He illustrated this warning with examples of what can happen to food prepared for awkward customers, and so I’ve followed this advice ever since. It’s a good principle: don’t complain to people on whom you’re relying – unless there’s no way they can wipe your steak on their bum or drop a bogey in your soup.

As with restaurants, so with schools. The difference with schools is that you’re likely to be stuck with them for a lot longer than one meal. So think carefully before putting on your Mr Angry face and marching into the school for a spot of ranting.

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