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News B**P REWIND: Supporting the mental health of pregnant womenTwo and a half years ago, we featured the story below. Yet only last week it was announced that a study from Bristol University has proven that depression and anxiety have risen dramatically amongst pregnant women. 25% of pregnant women under the age of 24 have high depressive symptoms. Let’s just hope that this money […]Read Full Article
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Other Biography: Theresa MayTheresa May (née Brasier) was born on the 1st October 1956 in Sussex. She attended a variety of schools in Oxfordshire before going on to study geography at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford. After university she worked for the Bank of England in a number of roles, and stood for a number of parliamentary seats before […]Read Full Article
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Books Book review: Alone in BerlinWith more than sixty years between being written and being published in English, Hans Fallada’s Alone in Berlin certainly has a story to it. This novel, set in Berlin towards the end of the Nazi era, follows the family, friends and acquaintances of a working-class couple, Otto and Anna Quangel, whose son is killed fighting […]Read Full Article
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Editorials Analysing modern musicMusic plays a big part in everyone’s life: it’s played in shops and in public areas, and almost everyone will listen to music of their own at some point in their everyday life. But music also divides people: not just in the manner of the ongoing Spice Girls/All Saints storm of insults, but also what […]Read Full Article
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News Ponteland schools in potential overhaulA potential change in Ponteland’s school system has caused uproar in the community. Northumberland County Council is considering the possibility of altering the area’s schooling from a three-tier system to a two-tier system, cutting out the existing Ponteland Middle School, which received “outstanding” gradings in its last two Ofsted reports. The school’s building would be […]Read Full Article
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News Government challenges NUT sixth form strikeThe government is seeking to ban a potential strike from teachers at sixth form colleges across the country. Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) are planning a one-day strike to protest about inadequate funding in the educational institutions. But the government is challenging the industrial action in the High Court over claims that […]Read Full Article
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Movies Film Review: The Usual SuspectsAfter an explosion on a dock in Los Angeles, twenty-seven men lie dead, including hardened criminal Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), after what is supposed to be a drug deal gone wrong. Only two survivors, a Hungarian dockworker and small-time disabled crook Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), are brought into police custody. Questioned by federal agents, Kint […]Read Full Article
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Other Mother’s Day and Mothering Sunday: A HistoryMother’s Day is generally considered to be a day spent in celebration of the work done by mothers in raising their children. This year it fell on the 6th March – but where exactly does the event come from? Well, the British Mother’s Day, which is held on the fourth Sunday in Lent, is officially known […]Read Full Article
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News London teachers “priced out”The largest teaching union in Britain has released a statement saying that high rents in the London area are “pricing out” young teachers. The National Union of Teachers (NUT), which has over 350,000 members across the country, surveyed 1,200 teachers under 35 working in London and found that 60% were planning to leave the capital […]Read Full Article
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Books Battle of the Books: Paper or Electronic?Ever since the inception of the electronic book in the latter half of the twentieth century, the debate over e-paper versus real paper has raged. Enthusiasts champion the e-reader, now probably best represented by the Amazon Kindle, as a cheap and modern way of storing and accessing thousands of books, but traditionalists say that only […]Read Full Article
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Books Book Review: Hotel BabylonFew books have managed to combine humour and real-life scandal like the first of Imogen Edwards-Jones’s bestseller Babylon novels does. The book follows the twenty-four-hour exploits of a receptionist at a five-star London hotel on a double shift, from early morning to early morning. Hour by hour, the plot takes in death, drugs and drinking, […]Read Full Article
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News Fairtrade FortnightFairtrade Fortnight 2016 falls from the 29th February to the 13th March, and is a celebration of all things Fairtrade. The event takes place every year, and sets out to raise awareness of the Fairtrade Foundation, which co-ordinates British contributions to the Fairtrade cause – that is, making sure that farmers all over the world […]Read Full Article
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News NE charity bosses warn on effects of “Brexit”Charity bosses in the North East have warned that “Brexit” from the European Union could have knock-on effects on the region’s charitable organisations. The Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (VONNE) estimates that, if Britain leaves the EU, third sector organisations across the region will lose almost £750 million in funding that will come from the […]Read Full Article
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News Starbucks plan to open first outlet in ItalyStarbucks is planning to make one of the biggest leaps in its corporate history by opening its first coffee shop in Italy. The vast multinational chain, best known for its innovative drinks and famous green-and-white mermaid logo, will open the first of its outlets in Milan. Although this is a step in a new direction […]Read Full Article
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Other Tips for stressed studentsIt’s about this time of the year that thousands of students all over the country wake up to the sudden realisation that exam season isn’t as far away as they thought it was. In the sudden panic which almost invariably ensues (unless you’re one of the terrifying prepared ones who’ve been revising since January. Last […]Read Full Article
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Reviews TV Review: Will & GraceNo other programme in television history has ever done as much to popularise the ‘GBF’ (Gay Best Friend) as Will & Grace did. This gloriously bubbly sitcom took stereotypes and turned them on their head, following the madcap lives of Grace Adler (Debra Messing), a slightly neurotic Jewish interior designer, and Will Truman (Eric McCormack), […]Read Full Article
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Politics The EU Referendum: Who’s Backing Who?There are few topics looming any larger in the political news this week than the EU referendum. Set to take place on Thursday 23rd June, the referendum will decide whether Britain will remain in the European Union or effect a “Brexit” (British Exit) – and it looks as though it could be a very close […]Read Full Article
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News Australia asylum baby to be returned to refugee campThe one-year-old baby who has been at the centre of an immigration row in Australia will be sent to an offshore refugee camp with her mother, the country’s immigration minister has said. Doctors had refused to discharge the girl, who was being treated for serious burns, from Lady Cilento Hospital in Brisbane, citing the lack […]Read Full Article
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Editorials Lowering the voting age: why it’s a bad ideaWe’re hearing plenty of talk lately about lowering the voting age to 16: even though the next general election is a long way away, there is the EU Referendum looming on the horizon (as any news website, it seems, will never tire of telling us), as well as any number of potential by-elections and so […]Read Full Article
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News Business leaders to sleep at St James’ Park for charitySixty senior businesspeople are planning to sleep under the stars in St James’ Park for a night in order to raise money for homeless people. Homelessness charities including Changing Lives and the Newcastle United Foundation will benefit from the event on March 3rd, for which business leaders will sleep on the pitch in sleeping-bags. Each […]Read Full Article
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Books Book Review: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s NestFew novels have ever delved as deeply into the treatment of mental health issues as Ken Kesey did in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Narrated by the half-Native American Chief Bromden, whom everyone presumes is deaf and mute, this psychotropic novel takes place in a psychiatric institution somewhere in Oregon. Most of the hospital is […]Read Full Article
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News Figures show rise in self-poisoning amongst teenage girlsNew figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show a rise in the number of self-poisoning incidents with young people being admitted to Accident and Emergency departments throughout the country, with teenage girls most at risk. Self-poisoning is a form of self-harm, where sufferers take drugs in order to harm themselves. It is not […]Read Full Article
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News State schools gain on privateThe Good Schools Guide 2016 has seen state schools gain on private schools for the number of places in the guide. State schools in Britain have improved so much that some independent schools may go out of business, the guide’s editor, Lord Lucas, says. When the guide was first published in 1986, state schools made […]Read Full Article
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News Northern Powerhouse trains “a sham”Labour leaders have criticised government transport policy in the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ after it was revealed that not one railway station in the North East and Cumbria has a smart card reader. The news comes after ministers pledged to introduce “Oyster-style travel cards and simpler fares across the North” last year, but the opposition has branded […]Read Full Article
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News French supermarkets must give food to banksA new French national law will stop supermarkets from throwing away unsold food by forcing them to donate it to food banks. The law, which was voted in unanimously by the French senate, will apply to supermarkets with a floor area of 400 square metres or larger, and aims to stop the vast amount of […]Read Full Article
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Music Album Review: Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into HellThis album brings a whole new meaning to the term “rock opera”. As the name suggests, this 1993 album is the second product of the partnership between Texan singer Meat Loaf (real name Marvin Lee Aday) and songwriter Jim Steinman, who has been responsible in the past for such hits as Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse […]Read Full Article
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News Parents should look up symptoms onlineHealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been condemned by medical professionals after suggesting that parents Google symptoms before taking their children to A&E. Responding to a report regarding the death of one-year-old William Mead, who died in December 2014 after an NHS out-of-hours call operator failed to spot the correct symptoms, Mr Hunt has admitted that […]Read Full Article
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News MPs oppose cut to North East fire servicesA nationwide cut to fire services which saw almost 7,000 firefighters’ jobs axed has come under fire from MPs. As a region, the North East has experienced the third highest level of cuts, with fire service cuts averaging around 17%. Councils say the cuts were forced by a lack of funding from central government. The […]Read Full Article
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Movies Film Review: Cloud Atlas (2012)Have you ever felt that you are connected to other people by some unknown force? Well, this 2012 film, based on David Mitchell’s 2004 novel, sets out to address just that. Taking the viewer through six different stories told by different characters in locations ranging from a futuristic Seoul to the Scottish Highlands and in […]Read Full Article
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News Lottery funds care home gardensThe National Lottery has provided a large grant for care homes to build gardens. £1.3 million has been provided from the fund to help modify outdoor spaces, which charity Learning Through Landscapes says helps patients with dementia by allowing them to recall their own gardens and other time spent outdoors. Sue Cliffe from Age UK […]Read Full Article
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Reviews TV Review: Attenborough and the Giant DinosaurIn BBC One’s new documentary, Sir David Attenborough takes us around Argentina to document the discovery of a new dinosaur – the biggest ever known to have walked the earth. Throughout the documentary, the viewer meets the many researchers involved with the discovery, as well as the many locations. Sir David speaks with his usual […]Read Full Article
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News Charity aims to attract teachersA charity has announced a campaign to attract new teachers to the profession. From Monday, Teach First will urge people to consider education as a career, with an aim to attract more young professionals. The current aim is for 40 new teachers in the North East region. Teach First is a charity which trains teachers […]Read Full Article
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News Police cut antisocial behaviour in LemingtonA cross-agency plan to cut antisocial behaviour in Lemington has met with huge success, Northumbria Police says. Operation Unity, which was carried out by the police service’s North Neighbourhood Policing Team working with Newcastle City Council and Your Homes Newcastle, a company which manages council housing on behalf of local authorities, as well as local […]Read Full Article
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News North East cities are “low wage, high welfare”A major government think tank has issued a report condemning the North East region as the home of “low wage, high welfare” cities. In its report – the annual “Cities Outlook” – the Centre for Cities urged Chancellor George Osborne to invest in the North East by putting money into schools and giving local authorities […]Read Full Article
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Reviews TV Review: Britain’s Trillion Pound IslandIn BBC2’s new documentary Britain’s Trillion Pound Island: Inside Cayman, Jacques Peretti undertakes one of the first investigative reports into the secretive offshore tax haven that is the Cayman Islands, interviewing people from the most ordinary British citizens living there to the multinational corporations which make their home there for tax purposes. From a financial […]Read Full Article
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News Wealth of richest 1% equal to other 99%Oxfam has released shocking figures estimating that the wealth of the richest 1% of people in the world is now equal to that of the other 99%. The charity has used data from the financial services group Credit Suisse, which also states that the richest 62 people in the world have wealth roughly equal to […]Read Full Article
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News Help to Buy’s North East successThe North East is being recognised as an area of particular success for the Help to Buy scheme, new figures have shown. The scheme’s statistics show that County Durham is one of the top six areas for first-time buyers using Help to Buy, with a total of 803 families benefiting. Other areas of success in […]Read Full Article
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News Newcastle University leading coast projectAfter the huge success of the North East sea survey, the project will be rolled out nationally, Newcastle University says. The university’s Big Sea Survey, which was conducted from the Dove Marine Laboratory at Cullercoats, saw volunteers collect over 350,000 records over a three-year period. The project helped track changes in sea temperature and marine […]Read Full Article
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News Teaching unions appeal for better payIn an unusual move, six teaching unions – including the NUT (National Union of Teachers) – have submitted a plea to the School Teachers’ Review Body. The STRB, which regulates pay for teachers throughout the nation, has received the submission as part of an appeal to increase teachers’ pay above the proposed annual level of […]Read Full Article
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News ‘Legal highs’ cause chaos in North EastThe North East has once again affirmed its fledgling reputation as one of the centres of ‘legal high’ use in the country, as seven people in four separate incidents were taken to hospital on Sunday night after ingesting the drugs. The incident, which occurred after the men and women (who were aged between 23 and […]Read Full Article
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Reviews TV Review: Stephen Fry – A Life on ScreenIn BBC2’s new documentary, offered as part of the “fascinating lives” series, a good look is taken at the life and work of one of the country’s most venerable national institutions. From school productions of Macbeth to documentaries about bipolar disorder, Fry’s story is told with the help of clips from the actor’s work, as […]Read Full Article
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News Bus providers given money to reduce emissionsEighteen areas in the UK, including Gateshead, will receive priority funding from the government to cut exhaust fumes from buses. The various councils and transport authorities will receive a share of the £7m Clean Bus Technology Fund 2015, which prioritised the most polluted towns and cities around the country. Buses have been targeted because of […]Read Full Article
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News Divorce lawyers expect January riseFamily solicitors in the North East have been standing by for the “traditional” January rise in divorce rates this week. Law firm Irwin Mitchell’s divorce and family law team were anticipating a rise in cases beginning on Monday, in accordance with a trend of divorce rates being up around 25% compared to an ordinary month in […]Read Full Article
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News 5-year-olds eat their own body weight in sugarHealth experts have put out a serious warning concerning the amount of sugar consumed by children after statistics revealed that the average five-year-old in Britain eats their own body weight in sugar each year. The stark figures from PHE (Public Health England) show that the average child between the ages of four and ten eats […]Read Full Article
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News NE faces major problems with teenage drinkingMore figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre have revealed that drinking amongst teenagers is more prevalent in the North East than in any other region, raising concerns with many alcohol support groups throughout the area. The Centre’s figures, part of a study of 100,000 teenagers all over the country, have shown […]Read Full Article
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Editorials 12 Lists of Christmas – Things to say goodbye to2015 has been… well, one of those years. So many historic things have taken place, from the Ukraine ceasefire to Tim Peake’s journey into space, but in the end, it’s the small things that make or break a year. So here’s b**p’s pick of the ten things we most want to say goodbye to in […]Read Full Article
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News Trouble for army recruiting new soldiersThe army has reported that it is still having difficulties recruiting new soldiers. Major General Chris Tickell, in charge of army recruitment, says that the ground branch of the armed forces has missed all of its own targets in nine out of the last ten years. But after spending millions of pounds on campaigns advertising […]Read Full Article
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News German refugees attacked in schoolA series of schoolchildren are being investigated by police in Germany after a series of “far-right confrontations” with refugee classmates, the German media has reported. News site The Local has reported that tension has grown at a high school near Leipzig in Saxony, with 13- and 14-year-old children attacking the refugees who have come to […]Read Full Article