• Compressed critical reading image
    Essay preparation: critical reading
    30th November 2010

    Reading a novel or magazine is one thing, but when you read as a student you put a whole range of different skills into use. Before you begin to write your essays, you need to read widely and critically. This becomes more important when you approach your masters dissertation and higher levels of study. Here are some points to keep in mind as you approach academic reading.

  • Liberal Democrats and NUS divided over Tuition Fees
    30th November 2010

    As the protests against tuition fees continute, splits have emerged on both sides of the debate, with NUS president Aaron Porter criticised by students for his lack of public support of the protests following small outbreaks of violence at the first march. Meanwhile, prominent Liberal Democrats are calling on Nick Clegg to break from Cameron’s politics and stay faithful to party policy, in a petition for Lib Dem MPs to vote against tuition fee hikes in parliament. The pressure is on.

  • National Student Protests Ignored by Government
    25th November 2010

    In spite of tens of thousands of students organising peaceful protests, sit-ins and demonstrations across the country, the government still refuses to budge on tuition fees. Worst of all, in a cowardly act of self-preservation, the government has chosen to heavily imply that the student protesters are yobbish, ignorant thugs who do not deserve a response, rather than acknowledging or addressing their legitimate concerns.

  • School Children Should Be Banned From Facebook
    23rd November 2010

    A recent study has shown that an “obsession” with social networking is having a devastating effect on the literacy and learning of school children across the country. Social networking is distracting them in class and when they should be doing their homework, whilst their general world view and cultural awareness is not developing properly. Isn’t it time to ban school children from Facebook?

  • Free Schools: A blessing or a curse?
    20th November 2010

    As Michael Gove announces the award of ‘free school’ status to 25 new schools, we examine the proposed system and look at those arguing for and against its implementation. Will ‘free schools’ be a blessing for our society, giving parents greater control over their children’s education, or a curse, diverting important funds from state schools and allowing any organisations to set up schools indoctrinating children with their own ideology?

  • In Defence of the Liberal Democrats
    17th November 2010

    Throughout the coverage of the planned rise in tuition fees and the public reaction to it, the Liberal Democrats have been universally condemned and vilified for their part in forming the government’s education policy. However nobody has stopped to actually consider the facts of the Liberal Democrats’ current political situation, or to acknowledge the steps they have taken to make the government proposals much fairer and more lenient for poorer students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

  • Violence erupts at tuition fee protests
    15th November 2010

    Students protesting against the rise in tuition fees have clashed with riot police in a conflict that ended in the demolition of the glass front of the Conservative party headquarters in London. We ask what direction the protests will take next and examine the contradictory reactions to the violence. Though many have condemned the use of violent protest, others have praised the actions of those students prepared to go to any lengths to defend their right to education.

  • Graduate Unemployment Rises Again
    10th November 2010

    With the announcement that graduate unemployment has risen once again, we ask whether a university degree costing £40,000 of debt is a worthwhile accolade when it won’t even guarantee you a job. Would today’s school-leavers be better off going straight into work or practical apprenticeships rather than aiming for higher education?

  • University Fees Rise to £9000
    05th November 2010

    The government has now unveiled its plans to raise tuition fees to a potential £9000, devastating students across the country, including many prospective applicants who may no longer be able to apply to university at all. We examine their decision and the impact it will have, on universities, students and the coalition government itself.

  • University Access For All?
    02nd November 2010

    Is university in the UK really accessible to all? We examine the results of recent studies into the numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds being accepted to top universities and consider potential ways of solving this perpetual problem.