tom matthews' portfolio
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Tom Matthews' PortfolioTRANSCRIPT
TOM MATTHEWS: CURRICULUM VITAEThe Beeches, Mornick, South Hill, Callington, Cornwall, PL17 7LU
Phone: 07810 566 581 // E-Mail: [email protected]
OBJECTIVE
To gain a position with a broadcaster where my experience and enthusiasm will enable me to progress
PROFILE
An ambitious, hard working and enthusiastic individual, with valuable experience in public speaking, journalism and broadcasting. Able to communicate complex issues in a succinct and precise manner. Reliable, even under intense pressure, and a meticulous organiser.
EDUCATION
Royal Holloway, University of London (2007 – 2010) BA Poli?cs & Interna?onal Rela?ons
CHOSEN MODULES: Democracy in Britain; Comparative Foreign Policy; Political Behaviour; War and Security Studies; Politics of Toleration; Social Justice; US Foreign Policy; Democracy and Authoritarianism in India and Pakistan
DISSERTATION TOPIC: The relevance of military power in the age of global terrorism
Kelly College, Devon (2000 – 2007)
A LEVELS: English Literature (A), Business and Economics (A), Philosophy of Religion and Ethics (A)
GCSES: English Literature (A*), English Language (A*), History (A*), Geography (A*), Physics (A*), Chemistry (A*), Religious Studies (A), German (A), Biology (A) Mathematics (B)
CAREER HISTORY
June 2010 – Present FREELANCE: BROADCAST JOURNALISTDuties: Relief staff: ITN Productions (Direct.gov News/Teachers TV News)
Key Skills/Responsibilities Experience with both QCut and Avid Newscutter video editing software, as well as iNews script editing software. Writing, voicing and editing packages and articles for the direct.gov website and Teachers TV News
May 2010 ONE-WEEK INTERNSHIP: ITN PRODUCTIONSDuties: Researching, writing and producing reports for Teachers TV News Key Skills/Responsibilities Experience with Avid Newscutter video editing software and iNews
script editing software. Scripted, presented, voiced and edited a two-‐minute package within the week, having had no prior experience with video journalism. Researched and wrote articles for the website. Gained valuable experience at tailoring reports to a speciYic audience. Experience of working to tight deadlines and integrating information from a variety of sources, including press releases and news wires.
November 2003 – Present FREELANCE: RADIO PRESENTERDuties: Presenter: GCap Media, Plymouth Sound (2003 – 2007)
Relief Presenter: Global Radio, ‘Heart’ South West (2003 – Present)Relief Presenter: Atlantic FM Cornwall (2008 – Present)
Key Skills/Responsibilities: Production of music-‐based entertainment programmes with an informative and engaging speech component. Coordinating different sources for input into the programme. Experience with a range of studio technology including Alice and Sonifex studio mixing desks, and Maestro, Genesys, RCS and Myriad playout systems. Developed skills in audio editing using Adobe Audition. Experience of interviewing, conducting vox-‐pops and audience interaction.
August 2003 – March 2009 GLOBAL TRAFFIC NETWORK UK: AIRBORNE TRAFFIC BROADCASTERDuties: Presenting reliable trafYic reports for the area’s most listened-‐to
Breakfast and Drivetime programmes. Included live broadcasts from a trafYic plane.
Key Skills/Responsibilities: Coordination and assimilation of data from a range of sources including trafYic cameras, sensors, ofYicial sources, aircraft visuals and listener reports. Ability to analyse rapidly changing situations and adjust live reports as appropriate. Also developed the valuable ability to continue live broadcasts under a variety of conditions whilst airborne. Experience with satellite linkups and two-‐way off-‐air communications with presenter.
INTERESTS
Sailing, surYing, hiking, photography, scuba diving, gig rowing, independent travel, local traditions
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Editor/News Editor: The Founder (Independent Student Newspaper), 2008 – 2010Founder and Presenter: The Founder News Podcast (Listenership: 1,200 students), 2008 – 2010Duke of Edinburgh Award Gold Awarded 2009LAMDA National Awards in Communication and Performance 2004: Runner UpDevizes to Westminster 125 Mile Canoe and Kayak Marathon, 2005: Junior Doubles
REFERENCES
Dr Michael Williams, Lecturer in International Relations: Royal Holloway, University of LondonMail: Department of Politics and International Relations, Royal Holloway, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0TD. Email: [email protected]
Jack Lenox, Editor-‐in-‐Chief: The FounderEmail: [email protected]
Others available on request
Podcast Founder and Editor: 2008 - 2009News Editor: 2008 - 2009
Editor: 2009 - 2010
• Set up The Founder News Podcast, September 2008• Produced monthly• Scripted, voiced, edited and produced the entire podcast• 1,500 monthly listeners• A range of interviews and in-depth reports on issues affecting students, including
• The environmental impact of Royal Holloway• Royal Hollowayʼs involvement in NUS ʻKeep Your Cap Onʼ Campaign, including
interviews with NUS President and College Vice-Principal• Debate between students and local residents on noise and anti-social behaviour
• News Editor, 2008 - 2009• Managed team of nine journalists• Delegation of articles on a fortnightly basis, then copy-checking the submissions• Continued to write own articles during this period• Covered a range of stories, including:
• League table updates• High profile campus events• Student attacks in local area• Death of a student
• Editor, 2009 - 2010• Overall responsibility for each issue, including decisions on submission and print
deadlines, resolving editorial issues, chairing board meetings, liaising with editorial and design staff to assure the creative direction of the publication
• Implemented new Editorial Board structure to increase editorial efficiency• Copy-checking the entire paper for legibility, factual accuracy and legality• Continued to write both News and Comment and Debate articles during this time
thefounderthe independent student newspaper of royal holloway, university of london
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TESTIMONIALS: THE FOUNDER
JACK LENOX: FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The Founder has come on leaps and bounds under the editorship of Tom; he has done a fantastic job in the 18 months he has spent as Editor.
I want to say on behalf of everyone who has been involved during Tom's involvement with The Founder, that you've done a fantastic job and we'll miss you. I genuinely believe that we've seen almost all of The Founder's best editions under Tom's editorship and he leaves with the bar set very high for our incoming editors.
Under difficult conditions, Tom has always performed and always put in the hard work when necessary. As a start-up, The Founder is still an unsteady and volatile beast at the best of times, but I think Tom firmly took the reigns and has, to some extent, tamed it!
So Tom, thank you and good luck. You're a very talented man and I'm absolutely certain that you will go far.
IN RELATION TO ARTICLE ON DEATH OF STUDENT
“This is a professional and responsibly reported piece.”- Alison Denyer, Press and Public Relations Manager, Royal Holloway
“An excellent article. Many thanks.”- Christopher Butler, Head of Student Support and Advisory Services
“May I add my thanks, too.”- Professor Adam Tickell, Vice Principal, Royal Holloway
3The Founder | Friday 19 September 2008
Further disappointment for Holloway in league tables
Tom Matthews Chief News Editor
ROYAL Holloway has again slipped in the university rankings, following last year’s signi!cant slide down the league tables."e 2009 Times Good University
Guide sees Holloway ranked 30th, having dropped 6 places since last year and a worrying 18 places since the 2007 tables, where the univer-sity ranked a respectable 12th. "e Guardian University Guide 2009 provides some respite, ranking RHUL 35th, two places higher up the table than last year.
Interestingly, however, the most signi!cant drop can be seen in "e Complete University Guide, pub-lished in association with "e In-dependent and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. It is the ranking from this table that RHUL has promoted in the past year since its poor per-formance in the Times and Guard-ian tables. However, this year Royal Holloway has dropped a staggering 9 places to 22nd."e chief concern is not RHUL’s
actual place within the table, af-ter all, we are, at worst, 35th out of nearly 120 institutions. "e main cause for concern is the general downwards trend being shown in the league tables.
Last year, "e Founder published an anonymous letter from an Un-dergraduate student who also held an administrative job on campus. "e letter stated that “human error paved the way for Royal Holloway to drop dramatically…” Readers were informed that Holloway had
submitted incorrect information to the o#cial panel, and that the information sent would have indi-cated a ratio of almost 400 students per lecturer. "e author of the letter reassured fellow students that, had the mistake not been made, RHUL would in fact have climbed two places in the tables.
In light of the latest !gures from the various League Tables however, it would appear that either another error has been made, or that some-thing else is causing Holloway to drop down two of the main league tables.
However, looking through "e Times League Table it is hard to see exactly what could have made such a di$erence. "e only signi!cant changes were in Student Satisfac-tion (down 4% on last year) and the number of Good Honours achieved (down almost 5%). "e Services and Facilities Spend has increased notably, whilst the Research Qual-ity of RHUL (rated in the top 3 in the country in 2007) has remained unchanged.
Perhaps the most interesting !g-ure, however, is the Student: Sta$ Ratio. In the 2008 table this stood at 13.9 Students per Academic Sta$ Member, whereas in this years’ ta-ble, the !gure has actually increased to 14.7 – meaning there are more students per sta$ member. "is throws doubt on the “error”
quoted as the reason for last years’ sudden drop in the league tables for Royal Holloway: not only was our ratio !gure not dramatically higher than other institutions last year, it has also increased this year.
Of course, there are many who
Position
Year2007 2008 2009
10
20
30
question the importance of league tables, and even those who believe the race to be top of the table may detract from other more important aspects of university life.
What is not disputed, however, is that the league tables are, to some extent, a factor in almost every ap-
plicant’s decision. With this year’s A Level results better than ever be-fore and Holloway dropping further down the league tables, surely we should be wondering – exactly what will attract potential students to Royal Holloway in the [email protected]
13th
22nd
24th
30th
37th
35th
NewsIN BRIEF
Want to join our reporting [email protected]
Life sentence for Green killerTHE husband of murdered Engle-!eld Green resident Gabrielle King has been given a life sentence for beating her to death in December 2007.
David Angel was sentenced at the Old Bailey on August 8th for the vi-olent murder of his wife at her home in Engle!eld Green. "e Court was told how Angel,
44, had arrived at her house on Boxing Day, having been drinking heavily. King’s death was the result of numerous, blunt force injuries to the head, neck and face, all in%icted by Mr Angel’s bare hands.
Detective Inspector Paul Rymarz stated that the “wealth” of evidence at the scene le& Mr Angel with “no viable option” but to plead guilty to murder.
Any Questions Holloway?
OVER the summer, Royal Hollo-way hosted the topical debate pro-gramme “Any Questions” in the Windsor Building. "e panel for the show, broadcast
live on BBC Radio 4 on the 1st Au-gust, included Lord Hattersley, the former Deputy Head of the Labour Party and Ian Duncan Smith MP, the former Leader of the Conserva-tive Party.
Over 400 sta$, students and local residents turned out to participate, and the event was deemed a great success by panel, audience and pro-ducers alike.
PhD student helps Vietnamese rural poorCHARLES Howie, a PhD Student from the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway has pioneered a new degree programme designed to bene!t the poor rural population of Vietnam."e degree, which teaches English
Language, as well as skills in work-ing with people and ICT pro!cien-cy, is designed to help decrease the gap between the relatively wealthy urbanites and the 56 million people living in comparative poverty in the countryside.
A&er 6 years of work, the degree is !nally ready to be implemented at An Giang University in the Mekong Delta, where a large proportion of the country’s rural population re-side.
News
thefounder »Read the College’s reaction to the latest league
tables on page 18
Volume 3 - Issue 1: September 2008
3The Founder | Tuesday 7 October 2008
NORTH Surrey Police detectives are appealing for witnesses a!er a female student was sexually assault-ed on Prune Hill late at night on Sat-urday 27th September."e 19 year old Holloway student
got o# a train at Egham station at around 10pm and was approached by two men, who tried to engage her in conversation. "e student ignored the men and walked along Rushman Park Avenue."e victim then passed along ei-
ther Braywood Avenue or Daleham Avenue before turning right onto Whitehall Lane. Upon reaching Prune Hill, the student once again saw the men who had approached her at the station."e o#enders pushed the girl to
the ground, physically and sexually assaulting her. "e victim was able to free herself and ran away towards the A30.
Police have released a descrip-tion of the two male o#enders, both white and in their early twenties. "e $rst is described as being of thin build, around 6! tall and wear-ing a dark hooded top with a zip and jeans. "e second man is described as being of larger build, around 6! 1in tall, wearing a dark hooded top with a jumper over it and jeans. Po-lice released a second statement on
Wednesday 1st October saying they believe one of the o#enders may have sustained a cigarette burn to his right forearm during the attack."e victim is a white female, with
straight brown hair, of slim build and was wearing a blue short sleeved v-neck cardigan, a white shirt with blue and purple stripes and grey leg-gings.
Police are carrying out a detailed investigation, which includes look-ing at CCTV footage from the area. Anyone who believes they may have seen anything to do with this un-provoked attack are asked to contact Staines CID on 0845 125 2222, quot-ing Crime Reference RM/08/3810 or to call Crimestoppers in con$dence on 0800 555 111.
College emailed all students im-mediately, urging all members of the Royal Holloway community to be vigilant and take care. Copies of the “Safe and Secure” handbook are available around campus and online. "e College also advised students to use taxis or the non-res bus, or if this is not possible to stick to well lit main roads, many of which are cov-ered by CCTV. Students are remind-ed never to walk alone at night.
Both Royal Holloway and the Po-lice are keen to point out that “of-fences of this nature are thankfully very rare in the borough”, and that it is not being linked to any other of-fence.
Student attacked on way home from Egham train station
Holloway amongst high-achievers in National Student Survey
THE results of the National Student Survey 2008 show that 85% of Hol-loway third years were satis$ed with the quality of their course – 4 per-cent above the national average.
In the same survey, some of the top universities in the UK, such as Edinburgh, Bristol, the LSE and Manchester all fell into the bottom 25 for student satisfaction, despite high overall rankings in the uni-versity league tables. "is news has recon$rmed the view held by many that league tables are not always the most important factor in choosing a university.
Almost 70% of last year’s $nal-ists took part in the NSS, something which has been attributed at least in part to the incentive of a £5 College Card Topup from the College."e University was rated highly
in many areas, achieving a score of 70% or above in 16 of the 22 ques-tions, and only dropping below 60% in two categories."e poll, conducted by the leading
research $rm Ipsos MORI, showed Holloway’s Classics department rated in the top 5 in the country for student satisfaction in the subject."e Music, Geography, Science,
Computer Science, Geology, Hu-man Geography, Psychology, His-tory and Languages departments were all given 90% or above for stu-dent satisfaction. Holloway’s lowest scoring department was the Media Arts Department, although this still
achieved a very respectable 70%.Overall, Holloway’s highest marks
can be seen in the Course Teach-ing section. 89% of students felt that sta# were “good at explaining things” and 80% felt the sta# helped make the subject interesting. 84% felt that teaching sta# were “enthu-siastic” and 85% felt the course was intellectually stimulating."e University underperformed
slightly on the quality of assessment and feedback, with the highest score being 72% agreeing that assessment arrangements and marking are fair. "e lowest mark of the whole survey was seen when only 53% of students agreed that feedback on work was prompt, followed closely by only 54% agreeing that this feedback helped clarify things not previously understood.
Academic Support was highly rated, with 72% of respondents be-lieving they had received su%cient advice and support, 84% suggesting they had been able to contact sta# when necessary, and 69% agreeing that advice on study choices was readily available.
Holloway again scored highly for Organisation and University Man-
agement, particularly for the ef-$ciency of timetabling and course organisation."e IT services were rated as ex-
cellent, with 83% of students agree-ing that they are able to access IT re-sources when necessary. "e Library looks to be an area in need of invest-ment, with only 69% of students be-lieving the resources available to be good enough for their needs. It is, of course, important to bear in mind that the NSS 2008 was conducted before this summers’ £1 million in-vestment in Bedford Library.
Finally, the College scored well in Personal Development. 75% of stu-dents agreed that their course had given them con$dence in presenting themselves and tackling unfamiliar situations, as well as improving their communication skills."e NSS is an important tool for
the university to gauge where they must invest in the coming years.
It is reassuring to note that, con-trary to the University’s overall per-formance in the league tables over the past 3 years, student satisfaction scores are showing a marked im-provement year-on-year.
Tom Matthews Chief News Editor
Nicholas Stylianou News Editor
NewsIN BRIEF
Want to join our reporting [email protected]
Fee !ghtsTHE Labour decision to look into raising tuition fees further could lose them the next election, research by the Universities and Colleges Un-ion has found.
More than two thirds of adults polled think university education has become far less attractive since the introduction of tuition fees, and three in $ve said they would be more likely to vote for a political party that promised not to increase fees further.
Only 12% of those polled believe universities should be allowed to raise fees further.
New law to end ‘studenti!cation’ of townsTHE government has proposed new laws to disperse student populations within university towns. "e recent growth in UK student
numbers to 2.5 million has led to many residents $nding themselves priced out of the local housing mar-ket, as well as schools and churches being forced to close due to under-use."e ideas will be put to govern-
ment in a green paper later this year.
SSHH!THE SU has given its Silent Stu-dents Happy Homes campaign a faceli! with a new Non-Res bus and a new logo."e scheme, which begun 3 years
ago, aims to ensure continued posi-tive relations between students and locals by encouraging students to be quiet and respectful of others late at night, as well as promoting student safety."e Non-Res bus drops students
at their door for just £1 a!er Union nights.
News
Volume 3: Issue 2 - October 2008
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Tom Matthews Chief News Editor
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THE “Keep Your Cap On” Cam-paign was launched in style on Monday 24th November with 330 Holloway students attending a de-bate in the Windsor Auditorium.!e debate followed a high pro"le
advertising campaign by SURHUL and a day of campaigning around campus which saw hundreds of Holloway students sign bed sheets, all of which will be sent to local poli-
ticians along with an o#cial letter of petition.!e panel at the debate consisted
of Students Union President Liz Owen, RHUL Vice Principal (Re-sources and Planning) Geo$ Ward, NUS Vice President (Higher Educa-tion) Aaron Porter, NUS National President Wes Streeting, and Adam D’Souza, a Classics Student.!e SURHUL campaign is part of
a national NUS campaign to prevent the government either increasing or
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completely li!ing the cap on top-up fees next year when the scheme comes up for review."e NUS “Broke and Broken”
Report, published over the sum-mer, points to some of the problems which would arise should the cap be raised. "e report claims if the cap is raised to £7,000 per year, many students will graduate with a debt of over £37,000. "is was discussed in great detail at the debate by NUS Vice President for Higher Educa-tion, Aaron Porter."e primary cause for concern
here is not necessarily the cost of the degree alone, but the fact that such a cost would make many degrees eco-nomically pointless. "e “Graduate Premium” is the lifetime di#erence between the amount a graduate will earn compared to someone with 2 A Levels. With Arts degrees, this $g-ure is just £34,000. If an Arts degree costs £37,000, there is a £3,000 de$-cit which will never be regained.
Another important factor, dis-cussed by NUS National President Wes Streeting, is that by raising the cost of university education, the sys-
tem is at risk of becoming increas-ingly elitist or divided.
If all universities increase their top-up fees dramatically, students from poorer backgrounds will not be able to attend university at all, making the system incredibly elitist.
On the other hand, if top universi-ties such as Oxford and Cambridge are able to charge higher fees than, for example, ex-Polytechnics, there
is a risk of the system being divisive, with students from richer back-grounds able to attend the univer-sity of their choice, but those from poorer backgrounds having their choices severely curtailed.
Professor Geo# Ward, Vice Prin-cipal (Resources and Planning) represented Royal Holloway at the debate, and told "e Founder: “If fees are increased there would need to be visible bene$ts to the student
experience and signi$cant $nancial support to ensure Royal Holloway could continue to recruit the bright-est and best students from all back-grounds.”
In an exclusive interview, Pro-fessor Ward also told "e Founder Podcast Royal Holloway is not amongst the institutions pressuring government to increase the cap on fees.
Students’ Union President Liz Owen encouraged all students to “take ownership” over the issue, en-couraging students to continue to take an active role in the campaign. Liz pointed out that whilst she felt students should pay for at least a proportion of their own education, she did not feel her own degree was worth £37,000.
Student Adam D’Souza made a number of contentious points, prompting a great deal of reac-tion from the audience. He argued that there is an “educational elite” and that we should “stop concern-ing ourselves with our social con-science”.
SURHUL President Liz Owen disagreed, stating that the system would not mean an educational
!"#$%&'%()*"+,$-"+,$%&"./0) elite, but a “social and economic elite”, opening the %oor for the au-dience to put forward their personal experiences.
A number of students comment-ed on their own inability to pay in-creased fees, with one student tell-ing of her own particularly emotive story, claiming her brother, a young boy with his heart set on a career in engineering, would not be able
to attend university and follow his dreams if fees were to be raised.
Another student raised the is-sue of where the money is actu-ally spent, stating she was “fed up of being able to get more Sushi than books in Bedford Library”. "e rau-cous applause from the audience demonstrated the strength of feeling on this issue, and Vice Principal Ge-o# Ward promised to take the com-ments away with him. “If the books
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aren’t there, something has gone wrong”, he told "e Founder.
One area in which all participants were united was the importance of this issue, the need for a sensible, pragmatic campaign, and most im-portantly the need for the millions of students in the UK to make their voices heard in the General Election next year.
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Want to know more?For more on this story, including analysis, in-depth interviews with the panel, and further coverage of the debate and issues, down-load The Founder Podcast.
www.thefounder.co.uk/podcast.php
feeds.feedburner.com/thefounderpodcast
Volume 3: Issue 6 - December 2008
!"##"$%&'(")*+,'-.%/0'"1',/)-.+/Tom Matthews Chief News Editor
It has been con!rmed that the body of a young woman discovered in the "ames is that of missing Royal Holloway student Miranda Tennant. "e body of the second year Me-
dia Arts student was found near Barnes Bridge in south west London on 28th December by a member of the public.
Surrey Police were !rst noti!ed of Miranda’s disappearance on the 9th December, when she went missing from the Richmond #at she shared with her boyfriend of !ve years."e Police informed the Missing
Persons section of the Metropoli-tan Police who, alongside Miranda’s family and friends, immediately be-gan actively searching for the miss-ing 25 year old. Miranda’s details were also uploaded to the website of charity missingpeople.org.uk.
A Facebook site, entitled “Mi-randa is Missing” was also set up by concerned friends to inform every-
one of the students’ disappearance. "e site has now become an open memorial to Miranda, with over 1,600 members.
In the !rst of two all-student emails, sent on Monday 15th De-cember 2008, Senior Vice-Principal Rob Kemp alerted all students to Miranda’s disappearance and ap-pealed for anyone who may have any information to contact the Met-ropolitan Police.
A further email was sent on Tues-day 6th January 2009, informing students of the tragic outcome of the search for Miranda. “"e Principal of the College and the Head of the Department of Media Arts have of-fered their condolences to Miranda’s family” wrote Senior Vice-Principal Rob Kemp.
Miranda’s body was discovered on the 28th December, and was recovered from the water by the Chiswick RNLI Crew. A member of the lifeboat crew told media: “She could have entered the "ames ei-
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ther upstream towards Richmond, or downstream, nearer Hammer-smith”. !e Police con"rmed the body was that of the missing student on 2nd January.
An inquest into the students’ death was opened on December 31st, but was adjourned soon a#er to allow Police investigations to continue. Whilst Police are not treating the death as suspicious, investigations are continuing into how, where and why Miranda entered the water.!e College provided !e Found-
er with an o$cial statement: “We were extremely shocked and upset to learn that Miranda’s body has been recovered from the !ames. We had been working closely with the Met Police since her disappear-ance and very much hoped that she would be found alive. She will be greatly missed by her tutors and fel-low students. We o%er our deepest sympathy to her family and friends.”
Alongside the original Facebook site “Miranda is Missing”, set up shortly a#er the students’ disappear-ance, a further group has now been opened, “Remembering Miranda”. Whilst Miranda’s family have asked for the funeral to be restricted to family and close friends, the Face-book group, with 209 members, is being used to plan an appropriate memorial to Miranda.!e College has made a donation
to the Missing Person’s charity in memory of Miranda, and have also con"rmed that they plan to assist friends and family in arranging a "tting tribute to the student. Sug-gestions so far have included a tree, memorial service in the quad, "lm screening, and a display of some of Miranda’s artwork, for which she was well known amongst her
friends. !e Students’ Union released a
statement, saying: “It is with great
sadness that we have learned of the death of Miranda Tenant. !e Students’ Union wishes to o%er its
condolences to Miranda’s friends and family…Miranda was a val-ued member of both the university
and the union and will be greatly missed.”
Tributes have been le# on the Facebook memorial groups for Mi-randa, described by her mother as “beautiful [and] one of the funniest people”.
One classmate wrote, “I’ll miss you. You made class more fun. Your brain was truly awesome.” Another spoke of another of Miranda’s loves: “We’ll miss u so much..who am I gonna talk to about our cats?”
Others expressed their sympathy for Miranda’s family, holding them in their hearts and prayers, whilst another student, although having never met Miranda, summed up the feelings of many students: “She seemed very much loved, and that’s a great thing to see.”
Both the University and the Stu-dents’ Union have o%ered their sup-port to anyone a%ected by this tragic incident. !e SURHUL Student Advice Centre can be found on the "rst &oor of the SU building, and is open Monday to Friday, 9:30am un-til 6pm.!e University Support and Advi-
sory Services are located in Found-ers West Room 151, or can be con-tacted by email at [email protected] or by telephone on 01784 443394. !e entire Founder team wishes
to express its condolences to Miran-da’s friends and family at this most di$cult of times.
RHUL Support and Advisory Services
The University Support and Advisory Services are locat-ed in Founders West Room 151, or can be contacted by email at:
Or by telephone on:
01784 443394
SURHUL Student Advice Centre
The Student Advice Cen-tre is open between 10am and 5pm, Monday – Friday and operates an open door policy exclusively to stu-dents. Or telephone:
01784 486300
1)23
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Volume 3: Issue 7 - January 2009
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,".5$)&#-$6#.5"*&7$8#.($9&*$6&::&7./;Tom Matthews
TRANSPORT Secretary Geo! Hoon announced on 15th January 2009 that the government has given the go-ahead for the extension of London Heathrow Airport."e decision to build an extra
runway, as well as the airport’s sixth terminal, was met with anger from many residents who live on the Hea-throw #ight path, as well as environ-mentalists and MPs of all parties."e news is a mixed blessing
for Holloway, Egham and the sur-rounding area. Mr Hoon did an-nounce that the Cranford Agree-ment, which limits planes taking o! to the East of the airport, would end. "is would bene$t settlements to the West of the airport, including Windsor, Egham and Staines.
At the same time, the con$rma-tion of the extension could have dis-astrous results for tra%c in Egham, as it means the proposed Air-Track train line, which would pass through Egham, is more likely to be given the go ahead. "e current plans would mean the level cross-ings in the town would be closed for up to 45 minutes in every hour."e Conservative and Liberal
Democrat Parties have already said they oppose the plans, with the Conservatives stating that if they win the next General Election they
will not allow the expansion to con-tinue. Mayor of London Boris John-son said he planned to launch a legal battle against the expansion.
In any case, the plans will have to go before a planning inquiry com-mittee. If they are successful, it is thought construction of the new runway and terminal will begin in 2015, and would be completed by 2020.
A Parliamentary Debate followed the announcement in Parliament. When Mr Hoon con$rmed that Par-liamentary custom did not require a vote on such issues, John McDon-nell MP for Hayes and Harlington, whose constituency includes the airport, walked to the front of the House, picking up the Parliamen-tary Mace and shouting “Disgrace”.
Mr McDonnell walked out of the chamber and was promptly banned for $ve days. "e Mace represents the Royal Authority of the house, and anyone manhandling it is deemed in contempt of Parliament. Speaking in a BBC interview, Mr McDonnell said: “I was hoping the government would allow us a demo-cratic debate and a vote, and to deny that I think undermines our Parlia-mentary democracy.”"e worst hit group will be the
residents of the village of Sipton, which will be demolished in its en-tirity, including a Church, grave-yard, school and 700 homes.
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THE owners of Daisy Chain #orist in Egham High Street are battling to reopen the shop in time for Valen-tine’s Day a&er it was hit by a #ood and gutted by $re in the space of a month.
Owner Jo Hornsby, who opened
the shop six years ago with her mother Wendy, is not allowed into the shop, such is the extent of the damage.
Just before New Year, the shop was #ooded a&er a pipe in an upstairs #at burst. "en on January 16th,
a $re destroyed half of the shop as eighteen $re $ghters battled to bring the blaze under control. "e blaze is not being treated as
suspicious. "e owners are hoping to reopen in time for Valentine’s Day and Mothers Day.
5&$*#&<#($9&*=.:#(5>(#?-$@./
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Volume 3: Issue 8 - January 2009
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6(7#*#-7As Britain su!ers its worst economic downturn in 28 years, Editor Tom Matthews assesses what the crunch means for students in 2009
( saw a very funny cartoon in !e Times back in October. It was approaching Hallow-een, and the cartoon showed
three children dressed up, all ready to go trick-or-treating. One child says to another, “If you really want to scare the adults, just mention the economy.” Oh to still be full of that childish innocence. !e fact is we are now “the
adults”. By August this year, thou-sands of Hollowegians will join the 300,000 graduates of UK universi-ties in the big job hunt. Others amongst us will still be collecting debt through our student loans like it’s going out of fashion.
Gone are the times when the only money concerns we had were whether we got a bag of chocolate coins in our stocking at Christmas. We’re students now. But should we be worried about the economy in 2009?
In the past fortnight, it has been announced that some of the UK’s biggest "rms, including Barclays and Microso#, will take on some of the 300,000 graduates leaving university this summer.!e move is designed to prevent
the graduates falling straight into unemployment amidst the eco-nomic downturn. Recent "gures have shown unemployment levels to have reached two million people, the highest for twelve years.
Universities Secretary John Denham revealed the plans in an interview with the Daily Telegraph. He told the newspaper the intern-ship schemes would last for three
months and could lead to full-time employment in some cases.
It is thought the interns will be paid at a rate slightly above the income from student loans and grants.
In the interview, Mr Denham commented that graduates who worked hard during their intern-ships would be more likely to gain full time employment, saying that “employers won’t want to let good people go”.
Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills David Willetts MP, who recently spoke at Royal Holloway, com-mented that although the intern-ship scheme was a step in the right direction, it would not be enough.
Universities have commented that many "rms known for employ-ing graduates have been cancelling spots on the annual “milk round”, where these "rms visit institutions to recruit students.
It is thought the economy is already in its worst state for 28 years, with the Bank of England cutting interest rates in January to just 1.5%, the lowest level since the Bank was founded in 1694. Interest rates have now been cut by three per cent in as many months.
Analysts are also predicting that in$ation, or the growth in the economy, could drop well below the government target of two per cent, with some predicting 2009 could even bring de$ation to the UK for the "rst time in almost half a century.
Other economic experts are pre-
dicting that 2009 could be the year where we see negative interest rates on savings accounts. Banks, then, could e%ectively charge you a fee to look a#er your money, and even when faced with that problem, who is really going to hide £1,000 under the mattress in Engle"eld Green?
Mind you, before I get a reputa-tion as a scaremongering pessimist, the crunch is not all bad news for students. Whilst it is true that the job market is no longer in students’ favour and savings could soon end up costing you money, the reduced rate of in$ation does provide a glimmer of hope for those with student loans. !e interest rate on student loans
is calculated at the rate of in$ation, and so low or even negative in$a-tion (de$ation) could mean 0% in-terest on student loans in 2009. At the end of the day, it’s the cheapest loan you’ll ever get: spend it wisely and you shouldn’t need to worry.
As for jobs, a very interesting piece on BBC Breakfast News a few days ago encouraged students to look at the current job market in a positive light. “If you can’t get straight into the job you want, use your time wisely,” recommended the expert. “Don’t sit at home watching Countdown and drinking tea; get out and expand your CV and your mind”.
Travel to a faraway place and volunteer, or get a job you never thought would interest you. A#er all let’s face it, now Carol’s gone what’s the point in watching Count-down anyway?
2009: A Students’ Economy
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Volume 3: Issue 8 - January 2009
!!"#$%&'()#*$+$,#)(#-)./$00$1.*2"$3445
!"#$
6(#$(78"9:$9"*##$.99.2;-:$&(#$&<<=>)79&*$%&'()*++,"#$$.--#--#-$"&?$-.<#$9"#$@*##($*#.AA/$7-$<&*$-9')#(9-!e College advice on Personal Safety informs us that “Surrey is one of the safest counties in England”, with a quote from Surrey Police tell-ing us that crime here is 40% below the national average.
On the other hand, we have seen a number of serious incidents involv-ing students in the area, including a student being viciously attacked with a hammer in St Jude’s church-yard in 2005. Since September 2008, a number of students have been the victims of attacks. In September a female student was attacked on her way home from Egham train sta-tion. In December a male student was punched repeatedly and then had a Rottweiler set on him when he attempted to move his car away from vandals. Over the Christmas holiday a number of student prop-erties in the area were broken into. Students regularly experience verbal abuse from members of the public, and many have complained of being followed home. One student even reported that a man had driven alongside her and exposed himself to her as she walked home. Now we hear that three female students have been approached in Engle"eld Green early in the evening.
Having said this, it is all too easy to blow incidents out of all proportion, particularly in a relatively close-knit community of some 8,000 students. Rumours spread faster than facts, and an attack on one student is seen as an attack on us all. Certainly we all get to hear about any incident, whereas perhaps if we were 8,000 people simply living in the same area and not having the shared ex-
perience of attending Royal Hol-loway these incidents would go by relatively unnoticed. At the same time, the incident log speaks for it-self: there are undoubtedly risks to our safety. So how safe are we in our neighbourhood? !e Police have recently made
Crime Maps available to the pub-lic for the "rst time, allowing any-body with internet access to view the crime rate in their local area. It may come as a surprise to some that the Crime Rate for Egham and Engle"eld Green is actually average for the UK. Rates of robbery, vehicle crime, violence and anti-social be-haviour are all average for the UK. Only in the number of burglaries does the area score above the na-tional average.
In general, crime in the area has increased slightly in the past year: in March 2008, there were four crimes
per 1000 people in the area. In February 2009 (the latest available "gures) there were "ve crimes per 1000 people. However, the increases have not been signi"cant. Even the rate of burglaries has not increased signi"cantly: in March 2008 there were 0.5 incidents of burglary per 1000 people; the rate is now around 1.1. Whilst this represents a dou-bling in the number of incidents, the crime rate is still relatively low. Rob-bery rates have remained incredibly low, with less than 0.10 incidents per 1000 people. Vehicle crime has #uctuated throughout the year, but has an average rate of approximately 0.60 per 1000. Violent crime also remains relatively low, with around one violent crime per 1000 peo-ple. Finally, antisocial behaviour has remained relatively constant at around four incidents per 1000 peo-ple. Interestingly, there is a sharp
increase in incidents of antisocial behaviour during the warmer sum-mer months.
Whilst some of these "gures may look concerning on the face of it, particularly those which show an increase in crime, it is important to remember that the general crime rate in the area is average for the UK.
Surrey Police’s Runnymede Neighbourhood Inspector Rog-er Nield told !e Founder: “!e number of o$ences is very low and students at the college should be reassured that they remain in an extremely friendly and safe environ-ment. Targeted Patrol Team and the Engle"eld Green Safer Neighbour-hood Team carry out regular high visibility patrols in the area.”
Whilst !e Founder has received reports of crimes going unreported to students, these have been large-
ly uncon"rmed, and reports are sketchy. A statement from Surrey Police speaks of “a small number of mostly low level incidents both in and around the Royal Holloway campus” in November and Decem-ber last year. Despite this, it would seem then that we do indeed live in a very safe area. !e Police, working alongside Royal Holloway Security and the Students’ Union do a fan-tastic job keeping us, along with the other residents of the area, safe.
Naturally, incidents such as those in Engle"eld Green last week do present cause for concern. A little common sense can, however, make a big di$erence to your safety. Take a look at our top ten tips for stu-dent safety, and for more informa-tion pick up a lea#et from Founders Security, the Support and Advisory Service, or the Students’ Union.
We do live in a very safe area. Crime can sometimes appear worse than it is: a%er all, the good news rarely gets reported, and is certainly never the subject of campus rumour and hearsay. In a large and diverse community, where students and permanent local residents live in close proximity, there are bound to be tensions. We can do our bit by being considerate to those who live around us and by taking sensible precautions to ensure our own safe-ty. !e rest is beyond our control. However, rather than being a cause for concern, this should encourage caution and common sense.
For more advice, see the College Support and Advisory Service or the SU Advice Centre
%&-(./(%0-$(1&2(3&42(5*6"+71. Never, never walk alone during the hours of
darkness.2. When walking at night always use well lit and
populated routes. Never use isolated, unlit short cuts such as the alley along the side of the graveyard.
3. Get an attack alarm (£3 from the SU Reception) and carry it with you.
4. At night always travel in groups, or use taxis/the Non-Res bus (£1 door to door).
5. If you are threatened, make as much noise as possible to attract attention.
6. If you ever think you are being followed cross the road. If you are followed, cross back again to be sure, and then go to the nearest public place (pub,
shop, house with lights on etc) and phone Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222 (999 in an emergency).
7. Be alert. Avoid listening to iPods or chatting to friends on your phone. Not only could these items attract muggers, but you are also unable to hear anybody approaching you.
8. If somebody tries to take your possessions, let them: do not resist. Possessions can be replaced; robberies and muggings will rarely turn violent unless people resist.
9. Keep the number of a reliable taxi "rm with you, and when using a taxi check it is licensed.
10. Use common sense. If you think an action could put you in danger, follow your instincts and avoid it.
of one suspect. On !ursday morn-ing, a male student was verbally abused near Elmbank Avenue. It is not known if this incident is thought to be connected to the incidents on Wednesday evening.!e incidents on Wednesday
night occurred before eight o’clock, prompting SU President Liz Owen to send out a text message, asking recipients to forward the message to all of their friends. !e message stated there had been “three attacks in the Engle"eld Green area” and asked all students travelling to the SU function night to use taxis and the Non-Res Bus. !e Non-Res, which usually takes
students home from the SU to their door for just £1, was running dou-ble the normal number of buses, and was also free for the evening as SURHUL and Royal Holloway Se-curity attempted to get students to and from campus in safety. !e free Non-Res bus service was extended until Friday evening.
Liz Owen, SURHUL President, told !e Founder “As soon as the information reached us from the police we…ensured that all students were aware of the situation and ei-ther taking the non-res home or, if insistent on walking, travelled home in groups.” !e incidents have once again
raised questions amongst students about the safety of the area, with one student telling !e Founder: “What has the place come to when we can’t
walk 20 minutes through a heavily populated village without fearing for our safety?”
Questions have also been raised about how College and the SU keep students informed when such in-cidents occur. Many students con-tinued to walk to and from campus alone a%er the attacks as they had not heard about the incidents.
One student suggested Royal Holloway should keep a voluntary database of students’ mobile phone numbers for use in an emergency, whilst others have suggested more use of Facebook groups. However, some students have criticised both ideas, saying they would breach student privacy. One idea many students agreed on was that Secu-rity should have been posted at ex-its from campus to advise students
against walking home alone.Both Royal Holloway and
SURHUL have been keen to reiter-ate the importance of not walking around the area alone at night. Liz Owen said SURHUL “would advise students not to travel to or from campus alone at any time of the day or night, and would especially en-courage those that are travelling by foot to stick to the well lit and main road routes. We encourage students to use the non res bus service when getting home late at night, or to take a licensed cab.”
Any students concerned about safety can contact RHUL Support and Advisory Services on [email protected] or the SU Vice President for Education and Welfare, Adam Cadoo on [email protected]
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Volume 3: Issue 10 - March 2009
CommenttfDebate
e’ve all been brought up (well, some of us dragged…) to know that
meat should not be green. Green meat is mouldy meat, which is not good for us in any way, shape or form (unless you’re my mum, for whom it is more a case of ‘A bit of mould never did anyone any harm…’).
When editing an article in the News section of this issue of !e Founder, however, I came across an article on climate change and the new ’10:10’ initiative, aimed at cutting our carbon emissions by ten per cent in 2010. !e article also mentions another initiative: ‘Meat Free Monday’ (MFM), supported, strangely enough, by vehement vegetarians Sir Paul and Stella Mc-Cartney.
Now, I’m just as green as the next man (or woman, of course). I recycle as much as I possibly can, I switch the lights o" when I leave a room, and I try to keep my person-al gassy emissions to a minimum (by which, of course, I mean I tend to take public transport rather than using a car).
One area, however, in which I refuse to alter my habits in order to help what has recently in this publication been labeled the ‘Holy Church of Global Warming’, is my eating habits. Now, before I get strung up and masqueraded as a proverbial Beelzebub to the most holy of modern Churches, allow me to explain myself. You see my stance is not nearly as sinful as may #rst appear.
Catchy, cleverly titled initiatives such as ’10:10’ and ‘MFM’ are all very well; a$er all, they make good headlines (and yes, I am aware of the irony of me making this statement). However, has anybody considered the e"ect this will have on the farmers? I’m sure MFM supporter Sir Paul McCartney, who recently paid out £29m to Heather Mills a$er she threw water at his divorce lawyer, wouldn’t miss a few thousand pounds a year. One thing is for sure though, my neighbours at home in Cornwall, and thou-sands of others like them, who have been livestock farmers their entire
lives, certainly would. In fact, they probably make a total of a few thou-sand pounds a year. I am a vehe-ment hater of the greed culture we seem to have wandered blindly into in the past few decades. Yes, the cli-mate is important, and no, I do not think life is all about money. Here, though, we are talking about the livelihood of thousands of farmers already living on the breadline; in 2008, one farm went out of busi-ness every day. Can we really a"ord this economic cost to the country simply to save a negligible amount of greenhouse gas emissions?
Before the scientists out there start quoting facts and #gures at me, I say negligible with full intention. I am not here to dis-
pute the research quoted on the MFM website, which suggests that between 13.5 and 18 per cent of Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) is produced as a result of the livestock industry. What I would dispute, however, is the validity of the idea that everyone deciding to go meat
free once a week will have any impact on this.!e research talks about the
volume of methane and manure emitted from livestock. Methane and manure that would be pro-duced anyway, irrespective of a few hundred thousand people choosing
not to eat meat once a week. Un-less, of course, the McCartney’s are suggesting that the whole country turns veggie and we cull every single animal in the land?
Another point mentioned in the research, however, is one that I be-lieve we can all agree on: the clear-ing of rainforest to allow animals to graze is callous and indeed very harmful to the planet. Associated with this, then are ‘food miles’ – the distance your food must cover from farm to fork. Last time I checked, we had no rainforests in this country, meaning the meat being discussed in this section of research is clearly from abroad; somewhere like South America for example.
So, if we have established that cows will keep on mooing and pooing even if a few of us turn into part-time veggie’s, but that the real problem is food miles and careless production in foreign lands, I think we can come to a sensible conclu-sion.
If you really want to help the environment, and indeed local producers, why not buy local? At the end of the day, all something like ‘Meat Free Monday’ actually achieves is that people will keep the joint of beef in the freezer one day longer, or will buy a bag of pasta and a jar of Alfredo sauce which, combined, probably have twice the ‘food miles’ as any meat.
If we really want to reduce ‘food miles’ and stop the rainforest being destroyed to give Daisy room to graze, we should concentrate on buying local, not blaming meat and boycotting it in favour of other food produce which is, to the holy Church of Global Warming, probably just as sinful in actual-ity. Buy from your local butcher, or at the very least check you are buying certi#ed British Meat in the supermarket. !is is a far more sen-sible approach than a new catchy-named fad which, to all intents and purposes, will achieve very little in what is likely to be a limited lifespan before the disciples of the Church of Global Warming #nd a new deity to worship.
Mind you, I guess the problem is that ‘Locally Sourced Food Mon-day’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it…
Tom Matthews, Editor, suggests that we’ve all perhaps got a bit carried away with ‘Meat Free Mondays’ etc.
Volume 4 - Issue 5 - December 2009
budget through ‘external funding avenues’. However, contradictory statements from various sources in-terviewed by !e Founder indicate that this may not be the case.
A further announcement at the General Meeting indicated further problems at the publication, with Deputy Publications Editor Keta Hunt resigning from her position with immediate e"ect, stating she had been “demeaned” and “over-looked” by Publications Editor Nick Stylianou.
Mr Stylianou, who took over as Editor of the publication a#er an unopposed election last year, made the decision, against the will of some within SURHUL, to change !e Orbital to a Maga-Newspaper format, printing two publications in place of the previous one. Yet barely six months a#er this decision, Mr Stylianou cites environmental con-cerns as one of the primary reasons for the change to an online-only for-mat.
Whilst the change of format did not signi$cantly raise printing costs, the increase in publication fre-quency and a lower-than-expected advertising revenue meant that the publication has now hit severe $-nancial trouble. David Cummins, Vice President (Communications and Services) at SURHUL told !e Founder: “!e Orbital has not run out of money. !e budget line for the publication is still above zero, by approximately £2,500.” He also stat-ed that concerns were raised “last term” that !e Orbital was not gain-ing enough advertising revenue to continue in the current format. SU President James Pidgeon told !e Founder the Union had “tightened !e Orbital’s $nancial expenditure.”
Former Deputy Editor Keta Hunt revealed: “David Cummins has re-quested that the remaining money be le# where it is to fund the $rst is-sue that the new Editorial Board will produce in the summer.”!e statements from Hunt and
the SU seem contradictory to the comments made to !e Founder by Editor Nick Stylianou, who stated “We merely feel that it is the perfect
time to engage with students in a new form, one that is far more sus-tainable and friendly to the environ-ment…We would like to re%ect the changing demands for media today.” Clearly this is contradictory to state-ments from Ms Hunt and SURHUL, stating that the Union had inter-vened and requested that no more money be spent.
Mr Stylianou’s words in recent days also seem contradictory to those made both prior to, and shortly a#er, his election win. In his speech at Candidates Question Time, Mr Stylianou stated his aim was to “improve how [the publica-tion] is running at the moment: on-line and in print”. !e Orbital web-site also clearly states, in a passage written by Stylianou, how the aim of the publication is to “inform the students of Royal Holloway, both online and in print.” So why the sud-den change of heart?
In a conversation with a member of !e Founder Editorial Board in September 2009, Mr Stylianou stat-ed that he would need “about £1,000 in advertising” for every edition of the publication, in order to make it $nancially viable. With the credit crunch still biting business hard, the advertising market has notably de-creased in the past 12 months, with companies as big as ITV and Chan-nel 4 expressing concerns about the future of their funding.
It thus remains unclear as to why, in such a tough economic climate, members of the Editorial Board did not decide to reduce expenditure, rather than to increase the frequen-cy and size of the publication.
Former Deputy Editor Keta Hunt told !e Founder: “Nick will main-tain that he chose to print !e Or-bital on a more frequent basis in order to ensure that the publication remained up-to-date and relevant…!is is a fantastic aim but only if it could be maintained throughout both terms.”
Whilst the publication will con-tinue as an online-only publication, it seems strange that the former Deputy Editor, the VP ComServ and the President of the Students Union all seem to disagree with Mr
Stylianou’s insistence that the move to an online format was made purely to embrace new media technologies, and out of a recently-found concern for the environment.
Mr Stylianou also informed !e Founder he had managed to se-cure a Benefactory Grant from the RHUL Annual Fund in order to purchase new equipment to “set up !e Orbital for years to come”. How-ever in a statement, Royal Holloway told !e Founder: “We had not heard that the Orbital would not be producing any more issues this year and can assure anyone who asks that the agreement to give this money will be re-examined in light of the development.” Students we spoke to questioned why a publication which simply failed to properly manage its $nances should be bailed out by a College fund.
Mr Stylianou told !e Founder the money would be used to ensure the publication “can o"er up-to-date training to budding journalists for the next decade and beyond”, but re-jected claims that this amounted to providing “journalism training for a select few” with College funds.
According to the minutes from the last SURHUL General Meeting, Mr Stylianou insists he is develop-ing a new form of publication and is ‘so excited might wet himself ’.
At the same General Meet-ing, Deputy Editor Keta Hunt an-nounced her resignation, with im-mediate e"ect, sparking fears of deeper problems within the Edi-torial Board of the publication. A letter of resignation, read out by VP ComServ David Cummins stated Ms Hunt had been “unable to achieve [her] aims” due to being “demeaned” and “undermined” by Editor Nick Stylianou.
In her letter of resignation, Ms Hunt claims the duties of the Dep-uty Editor were severely curtailed by the alterations to the constitu-tion made by Mr Stylianou, and also maintains that “the Editor has shown very little public respect to me…I have been demeaned by the Editor on several occasions, both in person and via email, to a point that has made other board members feel uncomfortable.”
Mr Stylianou insists that some of the points raised by Miss Hunt
about the operation of the publica-tion “are erroneous, and should be taken with a pinch of salt.” He also states he believes Ms Hunt resigned due to “personal constraints”, which Ms Hunt vehemently denies.
Ms Hunt, in a statement for !e Founder, said in response to Mr Stylianou’s comments on her resig-nation: “Nick was very much aware that I was not happy with the way that he was acting towards me…I explicity told him that his actions had upset me during the summer but he chose to, in his words, ‘poli-tiely ignore’ that information.”
Mr Stylianou has wished Ms Hunt all the best in her next endeavors, whilst Ms Hunt wished “everyone at !e Orbital the best of luck” say-ing how “everyone on the Editorial Board works really hard and they have been doing a fantastic job of producing a publication to a very high standard.” Ms Hunt’s replace-ment will be elected at the next Gen-eral Meeting on 2nd February.!e Orbital will continue to be
available to students as an online-only publication through their web-site: www.theorbital.co.uk
Tom Matthews Editor
!e announcement, made at the SURHUL General Meeting on Tuesday 12th January, stated that the move to an online-only format for the student-funded publication would only be temporary whilst the Editorial Board increased their
Volume 4: Issue 6 - January 2010
Schools budget to be protected until 2011Published: 24 May 2010
The Chancellor has confirmed that the schools budget will be protected until 2011. George Osborne has announced limited details of the Treasury's plans to make £6.2bn of savings in a move to tackle the £156bn deficit.
The Department for Education will be forced to make £670m in efficiency savings. Mr Osborne and Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws pointed out this would allow funding for schools and education for 16-19 year olds to be safeguarded as part of efforts to protect frontline services.
Mr Osborne said: "Schools will have to become more efficient, like everyone else, but their savings will be reinvested in the classroom this year".
The cuts will include £80m of savings in education quangos such as the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency and BECTA, which have a combined budget of over £190m and employ 750 people.
BECTA, tasked with ensuring the effective implementation of technology in schools, will be scrapped under the proposals, saving £10m immediately and £65m in the future. In a joint statement, Graham Badman, Chairman and Stephen Crowne, Chief Executive, said they were "very disappointed" with the announcement. They also expressed concern that the Treasury moves may be short-sighted, stating that BECTA's "procurement arrangements save the schools and colleges many times more than BECTA costs to run".
The QCDA, which regulates public examinations and qualifications, had been expected to face immediate closure but instead faces an estimated £8m in efficiency savings. However the agency still faces an uncertain future after David Cameron remarked in a speech last year that the agency "must go". According to the Department for Education, the QCDA will close in the future, pending the passing of relevant legislation.
A number of other quangos are expected to face efficiency cuts, including the National College for School Leadership, which faces £16m in savings and the Training and Development Agency, which will be forced to cut £30m from its spending.
There will be cuts of £311 million to the money handed to local authorities for education services like school transport. Authorities will need to decide whether to cut these services or find other savings from their overall budgets.
A further £110 million from the costs of other programmes, including £47 million running costs from one-to-one tuition. It is understood this will not affect youngsters as that frontline money has already been invested.
Dr John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said: "As we face the tougher funding climate of the next few years, the government's top priority for education funding must be to get the maximum amount into the core budgets of schools and colleges. All education expenditure outside school and college budgets must continue to be rigorously reviewed against this priority".
Plans for Free Schools announced in Queen's SpeechPublished: 25 May 2010
Two major education bills were at the centre of the Queen’s Speech this week as she outlined the legislation to be proposed by the new coalition government.
The Academies Bill, which aims to allow more schools to opt out of Local Education Authority (LEA) control, has been proposed for immediate introduction, with the first new academies expected to open in September. The Education and Childrens Bill, which seeks to enable parents and charitable groups to set up state-funded Free Schools, is scheduled for introduction following Parliament's summer recess.
The academies scheme was originally devised by Labour in 2000 to help struggling inner-city state schools, encouraging them to provide solutions to improve academic and behavioural standards.
The new Academies Bill aims to substantially increase the number of academies by allowing any school - including primaries and special schools - to apply for academy status. Applications from schools deemed 'Outstanding' by Ofsted will be automatically pre-approved, marking a significant change from the previous scheme which targeted failing schools. Under the proposal, around 600 secondary schools and up to 2,000 primaries would be eligible for academy status. Local Authorities will no longer have to be consulted as part of the process.
Academies can be set up and sponsored by private organisations and businesses, but are provided with funds directly from Whitehall. The funding is allocated on a level with other schools in the area, but the academies are granted greater freedom in how they spend their money.
John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the opportunity is likely to appear attractive for many schools, which under the scheme would be entitled to the proportion of their budget currently held back by LEAs for support services.
The second Bill announced during the Queen's speech, to be discussed in the autumn, supports and underpins the academies proposal. The Education and Children's Bill will enable "new providers" - including teachers' and parents' groups - to set up schools. The Bill also sets out changes aimed at making schools more accountable and less bureaucratic, whilst granting teachers more control over how they teach and additional powers to tackle behaviour. A 'Pupil Premium' will also be introduced which will see funds being channelled to the most disadvantaged students.
Teaching unions have warned that a mass exodus of schools from the control of LEAs and the National Curriculum would create fragmentation and could have negative impacts on those schools which remain part of the traditional state-run system. Mary Bousted, General Secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, branded the move "irresponsible".
Why will parents and teachers set up schools?Published: 26 May 2010
The two education bills announced during the Queens Speech on Tuesday will make it easier for parents, teachers, charities and other voluntary groups to set up and run their own schools.
The 'free schools' will be state-funded but will form part of a more open independent education market. The schools will not be overseen by Local Education Authorities, but will instead be ultimately responsible to the Department for Education.
Current legislation does allow independent state-funded schools, but the startup process has been hampered by planning and education legislation. Groups frequently face challenges surrounding the acquisition of suitable buildings and planning permission. Only one free school has been opened in Britain so far.
The new bills will aim to make the process far easier by removing planning barriers and the veto power currently held by LEAs. Michael Gove, the new Education Secretary, will now be the sole judge on whether new schools can be set up and existing ones can declare independence from LEAs.
Dame Margaret Eaton, Chairwoman of the Local Government Association, said: "Expanding school choice for parents and pupils is a move that councils support.
"This does not mean, however, that schools can just be left to look after the education of our children without someone keeping an eye on their performance. When things start to go wrong only prompt, joint action by the council and school provider will put things right."
The Education and Children’s Bill, to be tabled in the autumn, also proposes a slimmer curriculum and enhanced powers for teachers to deal with problematic behaviour.
The idea is based on the Swedish education system, which was opened up to independent providers in the early 1990s. Under this system, the state funds an open market of independent schools and parents are able to choose which school they send their children to. Around nine per cent of Sweden's school-age children attend a Free School.
Funding for free schools will be provided directly to the school, rather than being distributed by LEAs as under the current system. Under the Pupil Premium scheme, schools will be apportioned funds according to pupil numbers and will see the most funding channelled towards the poorest pupils. It is currently unclear how much money will be spent on the premium, although it is known that the funds will come from outside the education budget.