Ministers have privately raised concerns about a lack of 6,000 public buses needed to transport children to school in England for the autumn term and have called on coach companies to help fill the gap. The pandemic has led to reduced services from bus companies in rural areas due to low passenger numbers, while social distancing measures have resulted in lower capacity on public transport. Fears have been raised that a significant portion of the 750,000 children who use public buses to travel to school will be unable to reach classrooms. Councils have responded by providing extra children-only buses. However, this may not be sufficient, and some fear significant transport…

This week marks the end of a seven-year hiatus as the results of the sixth and final Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) are due to be announced. The fate of academic careers and university finances hangs in the balance. For the higher education sector, Thursday’s announcement is as important as election night results, where careers can be made or lost overnight. The RAE has also been accused of causing misery for academics and distorting research and university life. In addition to revealing the quality of British research, the results will determine how a no-strings public funding of over £1.5 billion will be allocated to universities each year from 2009. A new…

With high aspirations, I commenced my studies at Cambridge, desiring to change the world. My goal was to rewrite the Iraqi Constitution. From the beginning of my law degree, I had expressed my ambitions to Mrs. Padfield, my professor. After eight weeks, the term came to a conclusion, and Mrs. Padfield and I spoke once again. She inquired about my progress regarding the rewriting of the Constitution. I responded with resignation that nothing had been achieved, but I was now one step closer to a nervous breakdown and a caffeine addiction. At the outset, I had visions of the paradigm college experience- making new friends, finding camaraderie and romance, as…

In the satirical series Yes Minister, Jim Hacker’s well-intentioned efforts to reduce bureaucracy often ended in failure. One memorable moment occurred when Hacker learned that a new hospital had 500 administrative staff but no patients; he called the National Health Service (NHS) a case of "galloping bureaucracy." His civil servant replied that it was more of a "gentle canter." This exchange came during the hiring of new managers for the NHS to make it more efficient and business-like, a trend that has occurred in higher education over the past decade. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), in the UK higher education sector, the number of managers increased by…

Christopher Powell, my father-in-law, passed away due to a brain tumor at the age of 70. He dedicated over thirty years to teaching architecture as a lecturer. Christopher’s roots were in south Gloucestershire, where he was born and educated. He followed in his father’s footsteps and obtained a degree in architecture from Bristol University in 1964. However, he chose to forge his own path instead of joining the family business. His career began at the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, where he was involved in various housing development projects in the south-east. He later moved on to work with different agencies and practices, such as Wilson and Womersley. His…

As a teacher of 10 years, I never would have believed that I’d find myself camping out in the back of a van during the week. But here I am, parking in the darkened coastal coverts, relying on my wits to lead my class by day and my wife’s delicious packed meals by night. Looking back, I wonder if I would still have taken the leap if I knew then what I know now. I have all that I require, with two four-season sleeping bags, two goose-down duvets, a blanket, and a woolly hat. My routine is established, working from 7:30 in the morning until 8:30 at night, relying on…

Minimalism is an easy "ism" to understand and reference in casual conversation, with the term often used humorously. For instance, if someone asks for your opinion on the portions of an exclusive restaurant, you might reply saying, "It was too minimalist for my liking," implying that the servings were too small. Similarly, a student who can’t afford furniture could refer to their home as minimalist, while a colleague who does the bare minimum at work might have a minimalist approach. But what does minimalism entail, particularly when it comes to art? Many individuals associate it with avant-garde modern art: the infamous stack of bricks that the Tate bought for a…

Stacey James is an example that even the best policies may not always work out. As a student at East Brighton College of Media Arts (Comart), which was established six years ago with the "Fresh Start" policy, she was among the last pupils to take exams there before it closed down. The government’s promise to scrap failing schools and create something better was aimed at helping pupils like her. However, Comart’s closure last week proved otherwise. Sandra James, Stacey’s mother, is disappointed that Comart had to shut down. It had educated three out of four of her children under different names and management, such as Marina High and Stanley Deason…

Nobody knew how many Greek children had dimpled cheeks until recently when detailed information was uncovered. A team led by Athena Pentzos-DaPonte from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki conducted a study where they counted the dimples of 14,141 male and female Greek children and adolescents while they smiled and did not smile. The count took place in 1980, and 25 years later, the scientists published their report in the International Journal of Anthropology. The results showed that approximately 13% of Greek children had noticeable cheek dimples while location-wise, left and right-dimpled children were equally common. Additionally, only 3.5% of youngsters had dimples in both cheeks. Pentzos-DaPonte and her colleagues also found…

At Guardian Students, our goal is to offer a platform for diverse voices of students and youth. The Blogging Students section enables students to discuss anything from feminist societies in schools to the effects of spiked drinks. While we appreciate that not everyone is a natural-born writer, we recognize that they have something valuable to say. We have launched Students Express, a new avenue for showcasing your work on the Guardian. We are seeking submissions that range from various themes and plan to feature the best ones in galleries and articles on the Guardian website. Our call this week is for spoken word videos on the theme of "heat." You…