All posts tagged: close

Mysterious objects from other stars are passing through our solar system. Scientists are planning missions to study them up close

Mysterious objects from other stars are passing through our solar system. Scientists are planning missions to study them up close

Published by skeptic

In late 2017, a mysterious object tore through our solar system at breakneck speed. Astronomers scrambled to observe the fast moving body using the world’s most powerful telescopes. It was found to be one quarter mile (400m) long and very elongated – perhaps 10 times as long as it was wide. Researchers named it ‘Oumuamua, Hawaiian for “scout”. ‘Oumuamua was later confirmed to be the first object from another star known to have visited our solar system. While these interstellar objects (ISO) originate around a star, they end up as cosmic nomads, wandering through space. They are essentially planetary shrapnel, having been blasted out of their parent star systems by catastrophic events, such as giant collisions between planetary objects. Astronomers say that ‘Oumuamua could have been travelling through the Milky Way for hundreds of millions of years before its encounter with our solar system. Just two years after this unexpected visit, a second ISO – the Borisov Comet – was spotted, this time by an amateur astronomer in Crimea. These celestial interlopers have given us …

Don’t close nonreligious school, NSS urges council

Don’t close nonreligious school, NSS urges council

Published by skeptic

The National Secular Society has urged Southwark Council against closing a nonreligious school, warning it would “limit parental choice”. Charlotte Sharman school is the only nonreligious school in St George’s Ward. The NSS told the council that due to the lack of alternative secular provision, closing it would leave families with no option other than sending their child to a faith school. Responding to a consultation on the closure, the NSS said that whilst inclusive, nonreligious schools are appropriate for children of all backgrounds, faith schools are not, due to discriminatory admissions and hiring practices, together with the imposition of religion in the curriculum and other aspects of school life. The NSS pointed to the duty of local authorities to secure diversity in the provision of schools under the Education Act 1996, which it argued would be undermined by closing the school. Last year, plans to merge Charlotte Sharman into St Jude’s Church of England School were cancelled, following overwhelming opposition from the NSS, parents, Charlotte Sharman school staff, and the local National Education Union. …

The 1927 Film Metropolis Created a Dystopian Vision of What the World Would Look Like in 2026–and It Hits Close to Home

The 1927 Film Metropolis Created a Dystopian Vision of What the World Would Look Like in 2026–and It Hits Close to Home

Published by José

Ultra-tall high-ris­es against dark skies. A huge dis­tance between the rich and the poor. Rob­ber barons at the helm of large-scale indus­tri­al oper­a­tions that turn man into machine. Machines that have become intel­li­gent enough to dis­place man. These have all been stan­dard ele­ments of dystopi­an visions so long that few of us could man­age to imag­ine a grim future with­out includ­ing at least a cou­ple of them. We’ve all seen these ele­ments used before, and they owe much of their stay­ing pow­er to the impact they first made in Fritz Lang’s cin­e­mat­ic spec­ta­cle Metrop­o­lis, which pre­miered 98 years ago. Many imi­ta­tions have since passed through pop­u­lar cul­ture, most of which haven’t mas­tered the tech­niques that gave the orig­i­nal its pow­er. “Set in a futur­is­tic urban dystopia, the film por­trays a divid­ed soci­ety where the wealthy elite live in lux­u­ri­ous sky­scrap­ers while the oppressed work­ing class toil under­ground,” writes Pruethicheth Lert-udom­pruk­sa at the IAAC blog. “The film explores themes of class strug­gle, social inequal­i­ty, and the dehu­man­iz­ing effects of indus­tri­al­iza­tion.” One of those the­me’s strongest icons …

Britain’s Oldest pub set to close after almost 500 years | UK | News

Britain’s Oldest pub set to close after almost 500 years | UK | News

Published by Sam

One of Britain’s oldest pubs is closing after almost 500 years due to rising costs and changing consumer habits. The Hole in the Wall first served drinks to customers in around 1540 – that was the year Henry VIII married and divorced his fourth wife and explorer Francis Drake was born. Richard Rossendale-Cook, landlord of the pub in Torquay, Devon, said he is being forced to shut the venue next month. “I’m 81-years-old”, Richard said. “It’s just part of your life. “I mean, I’m very, very sad, of course I’d like to carry on. “But unless somebody comes up – a Russian oligarch or someone will give me £360,000 to go and pay off the bill, you know, you’re gonna shut and that’s the end of it.” The Hole in the Wall is being shut by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs(HMRC) as Richard can no longer afford to pay the rent for the pub which is owned by the brewery whose beer he sells. It was originally due to close in February but liquidators managed …

Our new definition will help close the school readiness gap

Our new definition will help close the school readiness gap

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles You may well argue that we don’t need a nationally-agreed definition of school readiness. Surely, you might say, every parent knows what skills and abilities their children should have developed before day one of Reception class.  Your own list might include that a child needs to be able to at least dress themselves, to tell an adult if they need help and, of course, to be out of nappies before they start school. Indeed, nine out of ten parents believe their child to be ‘school ready’ when they drop them off at the gate for the first time. And yet teachers report that around one-third of children are not toilet-trained and can’t eat or dress independently. It’s a significant discrepancy, and such a stubborn problem that the Prime Minister himself has made raising the number of ‘school-ready’ children one of his ‘opportunity missions’.  That’s why we’re launching a new national ‘Starting Reception’ definition aiming to bridge the gap between what teachers expect and what parents perceive their children to …

We can’t close a disadvantage gap we don’t understand

We can’t close a disadvantage gap we don’t understand

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles Reducing the attainment gap has been a priority for several recent governments. Today’s release of new data on secondary school attainment outcomes for 2023/24 should provide a key metric for judging their progress on this priority. Sadly, the measure just isn’t fit for that purpose. Disadvantaged pupils are identified by their eligibility for free school meals (FSM). Any eligible pupil who has claimed FSM at any point in the last six years (known as FSM6) is included in the measurement of the index.   That index was introduced in 2015. But rather than using actual attainment outcomes, it uses a ranked approach calculated as the difference in the average rank of performance in GCSEs of non-disadvantaged pupils and disadvantaged pupils. This makes the data difficult to interpret for any given year. However, we can glean insights from the trend over time. Figure 1 shows that this trend was generally downward between 2010/11 when the disadvantage gap was at its widest and 2019/20, the first year of the Covid pandemic, …

Woman’s body found close to where two sisters vanished in Scotland | UK News

Woman’s body found close to where two sisters vanished in Scotland | UK News

Published by Sam

The body of a woman has been recovered from the River Dee close to where two missing sisters disappeared in Aberdeen. Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both aged 32, were last spotted on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday 7 January. The women were seen crossing the bridge and turning right on to a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club. On Friday, it was confirmed a woman’s body had been recovered from the water east of the club. Although the body is yet to be formally identified, Police Scotland said the family of Henrietta had been informed. The force added there were “no apparent suspicious circumstances”, with searches ongoing for Eliza. The Police Scotland dive and marine unit, along with other specialist officers, are carrying out further searches of the river and the riverbanks between Queen Elizabeth Bridge and Victoria Bridge. Image: A police dive boat pictured on the River Dee at Aberdeen Harbour earlier this month. Pic: PA Image: Pic: …

Exclusive: Meghan Markle’s close friend Abigail Spencer reveals hidden side to the Duchess

Exclusive: Meghan Markle’s close friend Abigail Spencer reveals hidden side to the Duchess

Published by skeptic

Meghan Markle’s Suits co-star Abigail Spencer is ready for the world to know her close friend’s true character ahead of the Duchess’ solo Netflix debut. With Love, Meghan, her hybrid cooking and lifestyle show, premieres on March 4 and features a slew of famous faces, including Mindy Kaling, her husband Prince Harry, and, of course, Abigail herself. The Suits actress stopped by the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection Concert on Thursday night, to raise awareness around cardiovascular disease.  WATCH: Meghan Markle debuts trailer for new series on Netflix, “With Love, Meghan” HELLO! spoke exclusively with Abigail at the event, where she opened up about how much the upcoming series means to her.  “I’m so excited for everyone to get to know the Megan that I know,” she shared. “[The show is] so authentic, it’s so cool.” “It’s really beautiful, and you’re going to learn a lot,” she added. “I mean, I’ve learned a lot.” © Getty ImagesThe Duchess’ longtime friend shared insight into her upcoming series, With Love, Meghan When asked …

Brighton trust to close after ‘GAG pooling’ controversy

Brighton trust to close after ‘GAG pooling’ controversy

Published by skeptic

MAT at centre of first ‘GAG pooling’ strikes will transfer schools to other trusts MAT at centre of first ‘GAG pooling’ strikes will transfer schools to other trusts More from this theme Recent articles An under-pressure academy trust will close and transfer all its schools to alternative chains after fall-out from a “GAG pooling” controversy. Staff at five University of Brighton Academies Trust (UoBAT) schools went on strike last year over the group’s financial model. The issue landed in Parliament before Christmas as schools minister Catherine McKinnell confirmed UoBAT was “committed to ending” the policy. Schools Week had revealed one of the trust’s academies had about 20 per cent of its cash retained centrally, while another had 17 per cent held back. But today bosses announced they have “informed the Department for Education of their desire to seek to transfer the academies… to other academy trusts”. “The trustees are committed to improving the outcomes for all young people at every stage of their education and view this significant step as the best way for this to be achieved,” they added. In all, UoBAT …