News: Students should apply to university after results, Ucas declare

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This is an article written for X-Media Online on Thursday. I'm News Editor of X-Media Online and you can check out the section and website at www.xmedia.ex.ac.uk :)

Students should apply to university after results, Ucas declare

Photo from gettyimages

A-level exams are to be sat at Easter and students will wait until results day before applying to university, the University and College Admissions Service (Ucas) has proposed.


Under plans, pupils would only apply for a degree course once they have received their A-level results to replace the current system where offers are made based on predicted grades. 


From 2016, exams would take place before the Easter holiday with results being released in July.


Ucas chief executive, Mary Curnock Cook, proposed the changes in a presentation to vice-chancellors in London last week.


The changes would prevent pupils being predicted the wrong marks. At the moment, many students do not apply to universities with high entry requirements fearing they will not make the grade, only to find out on results day they have exceeded their expectations. It is thought up to half of predicted grades are wrong.


The move would bring an end to pupils’ uncertainty but those against the proposal argue there is not enough time for university admissions teams to consider thousands of applications between July and the start of the university term.


Teaching unions are also expected to oppose the change, as it would reduce necessary time spent in the classroom.


But the plans would prevent students missing out on university places due to examiner errors. This year, a pupil from Uppingham School in Rutland missed out on a place at Exeter to study medicine after getting an A and two Bs. These grades were quickly remarked to three As but Exeter refused to accept her at the university for this year, only offering a place for 2012.


Government ministers backed the proposed changes, expressing “real interest”.


Ucas is to invite schools and universities to comment on its proposal, as part of an internal review of its admissions service.


What do you think?

IB

Cuttings: Articles I wrote while doing work experience at The Suffolk Free Press

Hello,

Here are a few articles I wrote while doing some work experience with The Suffolk Free Press on 30th June and 1st July. I was then asked to come back and work a full week at the paper in August and hopefully will put the articles I wrote on my longer placement on the blog shortly. For now, here are the articles from June/July.

Space: The Final Frontier by Imogen Blake (p4 of Suffolk Free Press 07/07/11 with own byline)

Photo from thelivingmoon.com

THREE self-proclaimed "space nuts" are to launch a weather balloon to capture Sudbury, the UK and the curvature of the Earth on an HD video camera.

Simon Grice, John Burch and Mark Newby-Robson, who together form the Sudbury Space Society, will release the balloon in about a month.

The weather balloon cannot be sent off from Sudbury due to flight path restrictions. Instead, it will be released just south of Cambridge in the early hours of the morning.

Most of the equipment required for the launch has already been built or bought but the trio are still waiting for the arrival of sensors before the release can take place.

Simon described how the group came up with the idea of sending a weather balloon into space.

"We're a bunch of space nuts and we always have been," he said. "It started when Mark got this great little HD video camera, which sits in the palm of your hand, and we thought: let's send this into space.

"The society was only formed about a month ago and, after some discussions, we agreed we were actually going to go ahead with the plan and send a weather balloon up into space."

The 10ft weather balloon can carry up to 2kg but the society's payload will weigh less than 500 grams. The payload includes an HD camera, a GPS tracker and solar panels.

The launch will cost nearly £600 with subsequent launches only costing £100 each.

In early August, the society hopes to launch a rocket 100km into space but Simon admits this plan needs some careful thought before it can go ahead.

Donations can be made at www.sss.dev.ideas.org/donate. All proceeds go to the Suffolk Air Ambulance and with every donation made, the society will allow the donator to choose a lightweight personal item to send into space.



River walk gets facelift (p4 of Suffolk Free Press 07/07/11 - no byline)

HALSTEAD ramblers and cyclists will be able to enjoy a new-look river walk once a narrow and overgrown path beside the River Colne is transformed.

As part of the Green Heart of Essex campaign, Braintree District Council has agreed to invest £64,000 into the area’s riverside landscape, updating old paths and tracks for the public to use.

To celebrate the scheme, Halstead mayor David Hume and councillor Joanne Beavis, cabinet member for communities, joined volunteers from Halstead in Bloom on Tuesday to begin hedge-cutting along part of the route.

Mrs Beavis said the updated path was great news
for Halstead. She said: “The new river walk really makes the most of the town’s natural asset – the River Colne which runs through it.

“It will be a joy for local people and visitors to the town to know that at any time of the year they will be able to enjoy the tranquillity of the riverside landscape whether on foot or by bike.

“This is just the start of a bigger initiative to improve access along the river and I look forward to seeing the project grow.”

The first phase of the project will see a 2.5-metre wide path laid along two stretches of unsurfaced track:
between Parsonage Street and Nether Court, and from Broughton Drive industrial estate to Chapel Street.

The work is due to start on Monday and will last for six weeks.

Artist’s joy at winning gallery slot by Imogen Blake (p13 of Suffolk Free Press 07/07/11 with byline)

Photo from matthewwebber.co.uk

AN ARTIST has spoken of his delight after one of his paintings was chosen for the country’s largest contemporary art exhibition. 

Matthew Webber, from Great Cornard, beat off competition from 12,000 other entries to have his artwork included in the Royal Academy of Arts’ 2011 summer exhibition in London. 

Matthew submitted his painting – Junction I – after failing to have his work accepted last year. 

The 37-year-old was delighted when he heard the news that his painting had been selected second time 

round. 

“I was a bit pessimistic about my chances,” he said. “But I had a positive response and it was a really exciting day when I received the letter telling me I’d got a painting in the exhibition. 

“Seeing my work on the walls next to such established artists is an honour. It’s been a real boost to me and my career.” 

Junction I was sold for £725 soon after it went on display in the exhibition – a feat which Matthew described as the “cherry on the cake”. 

The former Great Cornard Upper School student added: “I did my art A-level there and the teachers gave me a real passion for art.” 

The 2011 summer exhibition is open until August 15 in the main galleries of the Royal Academy of Arts. 

Tickets are £10 and can be bought by calling 0844 209 0051 or by going online at royalacademy.org.uk. 

More of Matthew’s work can be viewed on his website at matthewwebber.co.uk. 

Swimmers team up to help charity by Imogen Blake (p64 of Suffolk Free Press 07/07/11 - with byline)

TWO Sudbury men have swum to success after completing two fundraising events for a stroke charity close to their hearts. 

Andrew Tinsley, 29, from Great Cornard, and 40-year-old Shaun Boldock, from Ballingdon, swam in the Great East and Great London swim events to raise money for The Stroke Association. 

Shaun’s father died from a stroke in 2008, while Andrew’s grandfather is currently in hospital recovering from his second stroke in two years. 

Andrew, who works at the Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Sudbury, is Shaun’s personal trainer and encouraged him to take part in the Great East swim as part of his fitness programme. 

Andrew said: “I had no idea that Shaun’s father had died as a result of his stroke, so when I mentioned that I was swimming in aid of The Stroke Association, Shaun 

immediately signed up too. 

“It makes it even more poignant that both of us have very good reasons to support this hugely worthwhile charity and cause.” 

The two men completed the two-mile Great East swim event in Alton Water reservoir near Ipswich on June 11 and were back in action at the weekend at the Great London swim in the capital’s Royal Victoria Dock. 

In Suffolk, there are estimated to be just under 1,500 strokes a year, a third of which are fatal. Around half of those who survive are left with a long-term disability. 

The Stroke Association has 20 groups and clubs across Suffolk which support those affected by strokes. 

If you would like to sponsor Andrew and Shaun, visit justgiving. com/Andrew-Tinsley1. 

For more information about stroke support groups in the region, contact The Stroke Association’s support coordinators Elaine Monsen on 01473 743976 or Wendy Jephcote on 01284 760006. 

Thanks for reading!

IB

News: Exeter students welcome end to gay blood donation ban

This is an article I wrote for X-Media Online which was published on the site yesterday.


Exeter students welcome end to gay blood donation ban

Picture from NUS website

The Students’ Guild and LGBTQ Society join the NUS LGBT in praising the removal of the ban which permanently prevents men who sleep with men (MSM) from donating blood.

The Students’ Guild and LGBTQ Society join the NUS LGBT in praising the removal of the ban which permanently prevents men who sleep with men (MSM) from donating blood.

Gay and bisexual men can now become blood donors after Monday, 7 November if they have not had anal or oral sex for at least one year, even if a condom is worn.

Government ministers decided to lift the ban after a review by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of the Blood, Tissues and Organs (Sabto) found the ban was no longer defensible.

The Students’ Guild supports the scrap of the ban, but warned that the one-year deferral period for MSM donating blood is still discriminatory.

Emma Payne, Students’ Guild Vice President Welfare and Community, said: “We welcome the decision to end the lifetime ban - it is a great success for the NUS LGBT.

“However we find it disappointing that the lifting of the lifetime ban is followed with a twelve month deferral period. The one-year ban does not differentiate between men in a long term relationship, and those who have had multiple partners and therefore is still very prejudiced against a large proportion of homosexual men.”

The NUS LGBT are delighted progress has been made towards eliminating discrimination and the perception of HIV and AIDS as a “gay disease” after five years campaigning for the end to the ban on MSM donating blood.

They now seek government justification for the one-year deferral period.

Vicki Baars and Alan Bailey, NUS LGBT officers, said: “Ending the lifetime ban has been a key objective of the NUS LGBT campaign and we welcome the government’s action on this. Donating blood is a responsibility - one in which low risk MSM should be able to exercise without fear of prejudice or discrimination.”

“We are disappointed that the Government has chosen not to publish research to support its decision to introduce a one year deferral for MSM donating blood. It is absolutely critical that organisations such as the NUS working together with the LGBT community have the opportunity to look at and properly analyse the research used to justify the deferral period.”

The University of Exeter LGBTQ society also supports the end to the ban.

Andrew Kidd, a third year undergraduate and member of the society, said: “I think lifting the lifetime ban on MSM donating blood is a positive step towards ending discrimination. It may have seemed inconsequential, but the ban fostered a misleading view of the homosexual community.”

IB

The Return! And an article... Exeter student accused of looting

Hello hello!


I have returned to the blog after a lengthy hiatus but will soon start writing the Round-Up once again.


In the meantime, here is the first article I wrote for X-Media Online as News Editor... enjoy!

Flickr photo by Dave Hooker

Exeter student accused of looting in London riots

Exeter undergraduate Laura Johnson was charged with looting a London superstore in the riots that have plagued the country’s cities.

The 19-year-old appeared in court on Wednesday 10 August accused of thieving goods worth £5,000 from a Curry’s shop in Charlton.

Miss Johnson, who is reading English and Italian at the University and has just completed her first year of study, pleaded not guilty to five counts of burglary at Bexleyheath magistrates’ court.

The Exeter student was granted bail on the condition she wears an electronic tag, adheres to a strict curfew from 7pm to 6am and does not enter London.

The University said it will decide whether to take action after Miss Johnson’s trial has taken place.

Laura Johnson was accused of looting along with two others, a 17-year-old boy and 18-year-old Alexander Elliot-Joahill.

A separate hearing tried Miss Johnson’s co-defendants where a court heard that £5,000 worth of electrical goods and £500 worth of cigarettes and alcohol were found in a car Miss Johnson was driving.

A first-year English undergraduate, who wishes to remain anonymous, offered their thoughts. They said: "[Miss Johnson's] not only letting herself down but the university too. You'd think someone who's a student would care about the impact she has on society."

However, another anonymous English first year believes the university should offer its support. They said: "I think it's important to remember she's only 19 and I think, as her friends, we shouldn't isolate her if she returns.

"If she does return, we should give her as much support as we possibly can because she still has a future. By showing her our support, we give ourselves an edge. I think, regardless of how horrible her actions were, we should give her some time to learn from what happened."

Miss Johnson will appear at Inner London Crown Court on 21 September.

Thanks for reading and keep watching the blog!

IB