In the now immortal words of Tony Blair: ‘Education. Education. Education.’ It is a fact without exception that we can all benefit from some form of education. In the UK (indeed, in many countries) there is a tendency to value formal education above all other. That is schooling with a set curriculum, regular lessons and … More What to do when your tutor makes you want to cut class
The last time I wrote at length about my time at Mayville High School was in 2013. Five years of my life had passed at Mayville and the school was just about ready to set me off to fly alone. Whether I was ready or not was a different question, but the school was definitely ready to get rid … More Going Back to Mayville
Earlier this week two stories dominated the news cycle – the appalling treatment of passengers by airline United, and the fact that tens of thousands of young people are being denied access to Scouting. Both of these stories were upsetting. I won’t write here about United. I will write here about Scouting. As The Scout … More The Best Job In The World
Those of you who know me will know that youth engagement in really important to me; so important that I have, in the past, said no to other things so I could take part in youth engagement events. And I take great pride in working as part of a team giving young people a voice, … More Who Needs Young People
Every year the Time to Change campaign asks us to take a little bit of time out of our day to talk about mental health. Time to Talk Day takes place on the first Thursday in February (that’s today). One in four of us in the UK will experience a mental health problem at some point … More Time to Talk Day
Dear Me, At the age of 19 I do kind of feel a little too young to be writing a letter to my younger self. However, you are younger now (then?) than I am. I hope to contain within a few elements of wisdom. They have never been my (our?) strong point – but the … More A Letter to my Younger Self
Ben Thomas is president of the group NUSceptics which aims to encourage colleges and universities to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS). The Liberal Democrat member is currently working towards a PhD in atmospheric chemistry at Reading University. Read why he believes it’s time to wave goodbye to the NUS. The National Union of Students … More The NUS is no longer of use to students
Cameron Stewart is a student at the University of West Scotland studying Politics. He believes it’s time to move on from the National Union of Students and is a member of NUSceptics, a campaign to disaffiliate universities and colleges from the NUS. He is also a member of the Conservative party. Read what he has to … More No Thanks NUS!
For the last year I have spent my time learning shorthand, law and public affairs. I have written for the Portsmouth News. I have been training to be a journalist. Today, after what I am reliably informed has been 318 days, I finished. The last 1o months have been a year of ups and downs for … More My NCTJ Experience.
The last 11 months have been like some kind of cruel social experiment. I’m told however it was not a social experiment, rather an essential part of growing up called becoming an adult. Yesterday marked 11 months since I turned 18 – a day I thought would be perfectly marked by a blog post about … More Reflections on Adulthood: 11 months in
Peter Marcus 