We are a nation steeped in alcohol; it’s arguably Britain’s favourite drug, and its use is not without consequence and cost to our health and our wealth. These effects are felt at both a national and personal…
Pupils in London do better at school than the rest of the country, but why? Sam Freedman, a former adviser to Michael Gove and now head of an education charity has called this “the biggest question in…
While teaching unions continue their campaign for higher pay for teachers, there is less clamour for headteachers to earn better salaries. With reports that 40 headteachers are paid more than the prime…
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the regulatory agency with primary responsibility for enforcing health and safety law across British workplaces, has released its latest annual statistics. According…
Autumn is awash with alcohol, and not just because of the new vintage. Oktoberfest plays a part, too, the 16-day festival in Munich that we associate with massive beer mugs and plenty of debauchery. Its…
No need to beat about the bush. There is another tech bubble in the United States. The relationship between the share prices and profits of US tech companies like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is at unsustainable…
Generation Y, the youngest adult generation, have recently been called Dave’s No 1 Fans, Thatcher’s Children, The Boris Generation or just plain Generation Right. Much of this discussion draws on an analysis…
We should be concerned about our children’s diets. In 2011, nearly 10% of four to five-year-olds in the UK were classified as obese. By the time they leave primary school, nearly 20% of children are obese…
We have heard a lot about the implications of independence for Scottish business. According to the latest government statistics Scotland has 340,840 micro, small and medium-sized businesses, representing…
Halls full of 18-year-old freshers running riot? Bragging tales of gap year misadventure? Older students starting a university course can sometimes find it hard to fit in. But a growing number of mature…
Public bikesharing schemes are sprouting up in towns and cities worldwide. The bikes are generally provided without helmets, and this has led to concerns regarding the risk of serious head injuries. It…
Bognor or Borneo? Penzance or Paris? Scarborough or Sao Paulo? The decision of whether to spend your annual leave holidaying in a foreign clime, at a campsite in the UK, or even just in your back garden…
On Thursday July 17, 298 people lost their lives when Flight MH17 was downed in eastern Ukraine. Almost immediately accusations were made that the aircraft had been shot down by pro-Russian separatists…
Everyone’s favourite property expert and house hunter extraordinaire, Kirstie Allsopp, raised some eyebrows when she recently suggested that women’s fertility “falls off a cliff” when they hit 35. Her…
When are children “ready” for school? There is much debate about when the transition between play-based pre-school and the start of “formal” schooling should begin. The trend in the UK primary school curriculum…
Home advantage is writ large in sporting folklore – partisan crowds cheering the home favourite to victory. After all, Team GB won a record-breaking haul of medals at London 2012, Australia turned an away…
Everyone’s heard it, but nobody knows how true it is. The old adage that the Scots support anyone the English are playing during football internationals crops up every World Cup. This year, with the independence…
The role grammar schools should play in English education is still hotly contested, more so today than it has been in years. This is despite the fact that there are only 164 grammar schools operating in…
Ever wondered what the World Cup is worth? When Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga designed the current trophy in 1971, it was worth US$50,000. Now the trophy is estimated to be worth US$10m. The World…
One of the most heavily reported outcomes of last week’s elections for the European Parliament has been the “revolution on the right” – the large numbers of people who opted to vote for far right, Eurosceptic…