The NHS Survival

The NHS is something we all take for granted. However every time we visit our GP, local hospital or even A&E we are all contributors for spending on the health system. With the next election approaching this May the argument over whether the NHS should be privatised or remain as it is will become more prevalent. Read the article by Violet Daniels below and you can decide for yourself. 

The National Health Service, more commonly known as the, ‘NHS’ was established soon after the end of the Second World War, during a time where there was an increase in medical attention needed by the public as a result of the casualties of the war. The NHS aims to provide a range of health care services which are ‘free’ to members of the public. However, these services have never been, ‘free’ as they are funded by direct taxation from the public.

Despite it being around for many years and providing care to many people it has recently been scrutinized under the current cabinet as whilst being in this governmental term, the Conservatives have reduced spending on the system. In doing so the Conservatives have reduced government borrowing but have sacrificed the efficiency of the health system as a result. Whilst possibly benefiting their own party by reducing public spending they have in turn, caused major chaos amongst the system. 

The population of the UK is currently at 64 million and is expected to rise exponentially within the next few decades. With this population rise people are becoming older, more susceptible to disease and obesity is on the rise due to the increasing abundance of fast food chains and unhealthy convenient food. With this population rise therefore, there will be an increasing strain on the NHS. 

In recent times we have already seen the strain on the NHS that binge drinking and obesity related illnesses have brought about. Strain on the NHS will never now be decreasing, only if our population starts to fall. Surely this is the wrong time to start causing chaos to our national health system? 

As a member of the public who will eventually have to pay taxes I would gladly pay if I knew a percentage of them were going towards the funding of the NHS. To imagine a country without a national health service we only have to look across the continent  to America… 

If you live an America and are unfortunate enough to have an unlucky accident or even suffer the devastation of being diagnosed with a terminal illness you will have to pay for every form of treatment or consultations you have. Through no fault of their own, many Americans are having to pay for the expenses of their own bad luck. Do we want this to happen to our own society?

Many people in America cannot afford the cost of healthcare and so suffer without. However giving birth evidently requires a significant amount of healthcare and a mother should not have to go without because of a lack of income. Above shows the bill of a Mother giving birth, the whole process ended up costing $42,347 which roughly equates to £27,000 which is slightly higher than the average annual salary in the UK! This is seriously unjust, in this day an age with such innovative medical advancements it should make standard healthcare affordable to all. Not just for the higher earners in society. By living without a healthcare funded by public taxation, America are widening the gap between the lower earners in society and the higher earners in society and favouring those who are more privileged. Is this righteous? Would we want this sort of situation in the UK?

On the other hand America has experienced some reform and is not as bad as it was. President Obama in 2010 managed to establish the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) or more commonly known as, “Obamacare” which aimed to provide a more affordable health insurance system which would enable the public to reduce the amount they pay for healthcare. Hope is emerging! 

Luckily in this country we have an NHS healthcare system which covers most medical expenses. However with the current government aiming to privatise the NHS system we might be looking at a bleaker future for the NHS. People may argue this is not a big deal, that there’s larger and more important political issues to worry about perhaps. But I believe this is a very ignorant view, the NHS is used by everyone and is taken for granted by most. If it was privatised everyone would feel the strain, not just a select age group in society. Therefore this is a big issue and would affect everyone in society not just the minority. 

Many people in college will be casting their first vote this May in the 2015 General election and many won’t too, as they may say ‘oh I can’t be bothered’ or ‘oh it won’t make a difference anyway.’ 

To everybody that is reading this article, ask yourself: which one am I? Do you appreciate democracy and having the freedom to openly display your own vote for how and who your country is ran by or are you just too naïve to not care? Throughout our history many groups of people across the world 

have campaigned for the fundamental right to vote and many people today are just abusing this by not even taking an interest. The last general election was in 2010 which saw an overall voter turnout of 65.1%. That’s just over half of all the people in the UK who bothered to vote– I think it’s shameful to admit that after all the campaigns throughout history only half of the people in the UK are turning up to vote. Compare this to the general election of 1929. After the first world war it was predicted that a lot of people had lost faith in politics and maybe wouldn’t bother to vote because of this. However, a year before this general election all women over the age of 21 were given the right to vote. Previously in 1918 women over the age of 30 and who were householders could vote however this changed in 1928 to all women over the age of 21. The turnout for the general election in 1929 was 76.3%. Compare this to present day, where it is at 65.1%. It may not seem a huge difference in the turnout however we have not just experienced the first world war. Even after the political turmoil of WW1 people still bothered to vote more than people in the UK currently do!

This article is not intended to force you into voting but to merely open up your mind to other ideas if you’re currently 18 and thinking of giving this May a miss. Before subjecting yourself to an attitude of defiance and ‘oh it won’t matter if I don’t vote anyway’ try to think positively and remember that every vote counts. And also– if you vote it gives you a right to complain and moan about politics and the sate of the country! By taking part you are doing your bit and standing up for democracy which so many people have fought hard for in the past. 

Happy voting! 

Long Distance Life

Being separated from people you care about is never easy. Phone calls, texts, e-mails, Skype, Facebook and apps like Snapchat may be able to ease up the communication barrier, but the physical distance between you will always be a devastating obstacle. So how can you keep your friends, family and loved ones closer; and what are the perks of long distance anyway? By Lucy Baker

You may be wondering: ‘what could possibly be redeemable in a relationship like that?’ and the answer is—of course—the person. 

Although you might go through the ‘six emotional stages’ of a long-distance relationship: Anticipation, Frustration, Denial, Hopelessness, Anger and (the best part) Joy, at the end of the day you’re always thinking of that person and why it is that you want to keep them in your life so badly that you would sacrifice a safer, ‘easier’ homeland relationship or just lose contact with them altogether. 

The key to keeping them close is communication and trust. Despite possible time-zone differences, work and college, you should always make time for loved-ones. Make time here and there to send an email or make a call, and every so often maybe even send a handwritten letter or even a ‘care package’ filled with their favourite sweets or a new shirt, or just something to remind them that you’re thinking of them. Not only does this help with your communication skills, it’s fun for the both of you and will hopefully be reciprocated by your missed one.

Of course, we’re not ignorant of the fact that you’re going to miss that friendly shoulder to cry on or those special hugs that only they can give, so as much as you can afford time and money wise, make an effort to schedule some visits when you can. 

But what about when you can’t visit one another: what are the perks and distractions you can do then? Sure, you’ll be missing them a lot, but the less frequent your time is together, the more you will cherish it. Additionally, you don’t always have to look your best if you don’t want to, and your communication skills are forced to improve in order to have a successful relationship. LDR’s also mean you can be independent in your relationship, and have plenty of ’me’ time when you need it. 

But probably one of the best things that it can give you is the knowledge that if you can survive the distance, you can probably survive anything. Your relationship is a bond set for life, so don’t ever forget why you want those special people in your life.

Top 10 Broken New Year Resolutions

We all love to start the year with some new, ambitious new year resolutions—but how many of us actually keep them?

The most popular New Year resolutions at the start of the New Year are (in no particular order):

• Lose weight and get fit 
• Quit smoking
• Learn something new
• Eat healthier and diet 
• Get out of debt and save money
• Spending more time with family
• Travel to new places
• Be less stressed
• Volunteer more
• Drink less

Losing Weight and Getting Fit
This resolution is due to all the over eating on chocolate and cookies over the Christmas time. Each January, fitness clubs offer deals and promotions for those who want to get fit. However, by mid-February it’s recorded that around 60% of gym memberships go unused and attendance is back to normal.

Quit Smoking
Only an estimated 15% of people who try to quit manage to stay cigarette-free six months later.

Learn Something New
Initially, the thought of learning a new skill is exciting and rewarding as well as enjoyable. However, after a while, you’re likely to realise it takes up too much of your time and that, for example, ordering out is a lot easier than learning how to cook properly.

Eat Healthier and Diet
The problem with this resolution is that people take it too far by forcing themselves onto restricting diets they can’t possibly keep. It’s more likely to last if you try dieting in moderation.

Getting out of Debt
December is always the most budget-unfriendly month of the year. New Year is always the turning point for everyone and is where we all decided that this next year will be the turning point when regarding our finances. However, the majority of us find ourselves spending our money again before we know it.

Spending More Time with the Family
The beginning of a new year is always an ideal time to reconnect with the family you haven’t seen for months. But by the time February comes along you realise that you haven’t spent any extra time with your family—probably because you don’t keep in contact with those specific family members for a reason!

Travelling
A new year is always a good time to plan your year in terms of travelling, what new exotic destinations attract your attention. However, at the time you’re skint from Christmas and all the parties in December so any travelling will have to hold off till later in the year but by then your plans and ideas may have completely changed.

Being Less Stressed
Work and family obligations can always be overwhelming, especially in the new year when all the family want to get together. Less stress can make you healthier and happier but unfortunately is going to be one of the first resolutions you break. You feel obligated to plan out your entire year within the first 24 hours of the new year and that is definitely not helping your stress levels.

Volunteering
To start the new year correctly, you might want to resolve in a helping hand… Perhaps helping to build a house or care for an animal or help at a homeless shelter. Volunteering is a very rewarding resolution if you stay committed. But even the most compassionate of us can fall back on our commitments.

Drinking Less
Drinking less is always good for you regarding your health and your wallet! However we just can’t seem to help ourselves and most of us just stick to dry-January—which seems much more reasonable!

“FIX SOCIETY. PLEASE.”

A report by Madeleine Bishop on the recent suicide of transgender teenager, Leelah Alcorn, and the media discussion  and public reaction that followed it. Should College teach more about gender?

February is LGBT History Month, a time to celebrate the lives and achievements of the gay community. In college, the LGBTQ society will be arranging a series of events to celebrate and raise awareness - from drag races to fake weddings. 

At this time, though, it also seems appropriate to consider the darker side of growing up gay, bi or trans - in late December the suicide of American transgender teenager, Leelah Alcorn, took the internet by storm. 

Alcon had felt “like a girl trapped in a boy’s body" since the age of four - but when she came out to her mother at age fourteen, she was told that “God doesn’t make mistakes” and was sent to religious-based conversion therapy. This, as Leelah described in her suicide note, helped not at all and comprised of “more Christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.”

In order to better ease coming out as transgender, Leelah first came out at school as a gay male. According to a childhood friend, Alcorn received a positive reception from many at school, although her parents were appalled. Embarrassed, they removed her from school, and even social media, her phone and her friends until the end of the school year. Leelah felt very isolated, and following her parents’ refusal to allow her to transition, walked in front of a truck and was struck dead. 

One of the sorriest things about the tragic affair was the reaction of her parents: though of course they mourned her loss, they continued to very publicly misgender her - even after her death, and in complete defiance of her passionate suicide note. In response this, the Alcorns noted that “We don't support that, religiously” but added that “We loved him unconditionally. We loved him no matter what. I loved my son. People need to know that I loved him. He was a good kid, a good boy.” 

Yes, Leelah’s parents loved her. It is clear also, however, that they did not support her; it is tragically apparent in Carla Alcorn’s statement that Leelah’s parents fail to understand the true meaning of “unconditionally”. 

However sad the situation, though, the actions of Alcorn’s parents must be seen in the wider context of the matter - they did not act appropriately, but for all that we can wish it not so, nor did 

One of the most positive things in the wake of the tragedy is the huge media support shown both for Leelah and the trans community at large - mass vigils in Columbus and London, top-trending hashtags #LeelahAlcorn and #RealLiveTransAdult, widespread discussion in the media, and a 62,000 signature petition to the White House against conversion therapy. Alcorn was the recipient of dedications for both Ray Toro’s song “For the Lost and Brave” and Jill Soloway’s Golden Globe for television series “Transparent” - which deals with a father who comes out as transgender to his adult children.

That’s exactly the kind of awareness and change that Leelah pleaded for in her suicide note - but there’s still a long way to go. Over 50% of transgender youths attempt suicide before age 20. Over two thirds of transgender people experience homelessness. 72% of LGBT homicide victims in 2013 were transgender women.

"The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren't treated the way I was, they're treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights," Alcorn wrote. "Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say 'that’s fucked up' and fix it. Fix society. Please.”

Tuition Fees: What are we really paying for?

It’s old news now that the government decided to make our tuition fees rise to up to a whopping £9000 a year. But as a student who will be applying to university at the end of this year, I’m still wondering why I should have to pay such a hefty price tag.

When you look at the cost of living away from home while at University, it’s clear to see that it’s not cheap. According to NUS, the average cost of studying in London costs £23,521 a year, with over £13,000 being spent on living costs. With the average annual student income (loans and funding) being £17,450, you’ll need to find £6,071 to cover the shortfall. I’m already worried.

But my main concern is this: what will I actually be getting out of the £9,000 I’m paying each year? This is where the issue of “contact hours” comes into play. “Contact hours” are the number of hours spent (per year) in lectures and seminars, and are published by universities as part of their Key Information Set (KIS). To give an example, I looked on Unistats at the KIS for a BA (Hons) in English Language at the University of Sussex and found that only 16% of my time would be spent in lectures and seminars. But it’s the same across many other universities: for a similar course at the University of Chester, 17% of your time is spent in lectures and seminars; at the University of York, you’d only spend 13% of your time in lectures and seminars for a BA in Language and Linguistics. Of course, courses such as Biology, Drama and Art will have a higher number of contact hours. But even for Biology, you’re still looking at spending only 30% of your time at Uni. Is it really fair to make us students pay this much for so little? I don’t think so.

So, whilst I’m already concerned about how much of my own money I’ll have to find to live at university, I’m equally concerned about where this £9,000 a year is actually going. Personally, I don’t think it’s fair that we should have to pay so much for so few contact hours and to study something that we love. And that is why I think that it’s about time that tuition fees were reduced for good.

By Lauren Moon

Are You Going to Vote?

With the General Election coming up how many of you that are eligible to vote, will actually use your vote? - By Hannah Brown.

   Are you going to vote? A question that if presented to the majority of the people in college would be “don’t know” or “probably not.” But with the general election in May 2015, and with many of us in college having the right to vote for who we think should be leading this country on our behalf, it begs the question why many of us are still so uninterested in our vote.

   Personally I believe, through observation and personal experience, that young people as a whole remain uninterested in politics in general due to a lack of information, or to put it bluntly ignorance.

  How can young people be asked to be interested in something and then make a decision when they know relatively nothing about the subject matter at hand. For instance recently on the train I overheard another college student ask their friends who David Cameron was, once they were informed that he is in fact the Prime Minister they replied that they thought he was a footballer.

   This is a clear example of a lack of information. If they don’t even know who the current prime minister is how can they make an informed vote for the next one?

   But more is needed than just knowing the main leader of the party, you need to know their policies, what they say they are going to do. Although the media does release details of some of their policies, to know enough to make an informed vote you need to research more in depth, for example you can read their manifesto.

   Here are some pointers to help you to help yourself become more informed:

• Listen to the news and the party broadcasts.
• Research what each party promises to do (manifesto).
• Look at what they have done in the past.
• Talk to other people.

   At the end of the day politicians want votes, as votes get them into power, so they will therefore make policies that are targeted at the groups of people who vote. If you want the government to make policies that are benefiting young people then you need to make an informed vote at the next election, so that young people can be a voting force.

Why Animal Testing Should Be Banned

50 to 100 million animals are used for such purposes as scientific experimentation. By Charlotte Osment.

Firstly, animal studies can’t confirm or refute hypotheses about human physiology and pathology. The research done on humans is the only research which is relevant to humans. Animal testing cannot be trusted to have the same effects on humans as it does on animals. Therefore there is no need to unreasonably harm animals.

Animal testing is not the core of medical advancements in the world. While scientific advancements have been made on account of animal experimentation, these advancements have been too rare to justify animal testing as a reliable source of scientific testing. It’s sadistic that an entire line of study that involves killing thousands of animals will lead to no substantive scientific benefits. 

This makes it highly inconsistent that the ethical trade-off is "worth it". This inconsistency means that a large portion of tested animals will not meet the ethical criteria of being "worth it", and could thus be called ethically wrong. 

“What is animal testing?” - One student.

“If you want to test cosmetics, why do it on some poor animal who hasn't done anything? They should use prisoners who have been convicted of murder or rape instead.” - Ellen DeGeneres

There a huge amount of alternatives to animal testing but the main reason why the alternatives to animal testing are not being used is that they are impractical or a lot more expensive than animal testing. This places the dignity of animal life far below its actual value which is unfair and inhumane. Alternate techniques include:

a) Testing human cell cultures

b) Using computer models

c) Studying human volunteers

 “Animal testing is unethical and unreasonable. It has led to scientific breakthroughs but a large amount of the time they are slaughtered for no reason.” - Another student.

The IB Decline

First year IB student Madeleine Bishop discusses this year’s (rather pathetic) IB intake numbers—and the course’s girl-dominated demographic.

Worldwide, the number of schools offering the IB Diploma has increased by 7.85% this year. According to the Guardian, last year’s IB students made up about 1.2 per cent of pending qualifications for university applications – up from 0.8 per cent in 2008. Both the number of institutions offering IB, and the number of students taking it is increasing. Why, then, did the number of students who enrolled for it at the college this August drop so drastically?

Like, seriously. We have one boy (“We’re devastated,” says Jess, first year IB student) and a grand total of 27 students altogether. As an IB student I’m pretty concerned. Is there some secret, previously unknown flaw that’s come to light, that I’m somehow not party to? Our classes are unprecedentedly small this year - only one person enrolled in IB Physics. (Alright, it’s Physics. But .)

Okay, the IB’s not for everyone. I’ve heard the horror stories about the second year workload. We have compulsory DofE. The classes are pretty small anyway. But there’s more to it than that!

• No external exams in the first year

• It’s really well recognised, especially in the US

• The average IB student at the college achieves a point score of 34, equivalent to a UCAS of more than 4 A grades at A Level

• The grade boundaries for IB are managed centrally from Geneva - not by the British government, who (let’s face it) very much have a political agenda. As a result, grading etc, has remained consistent for nearly 20 years! 

Beyond the more surface level, academic type stuff, the IB has a really cool community of generally lovely, motivated people. One misconception is that everybody in IB has genius-level smarts, but in reality, you just have to be prepared to put a bit of work in - work which actually pays off.
Maybe people are put off by the forced language/maths/science option. The thing is, there’s basically some cop-out options for all of those if they’re not your forte.

• Taking an ab initio in Spanish or Italian is like taking language back to year 7 - while it’s useful and worthwhile, the courses aren’t advanced. It’s conversational. 

• Maths Studies Standard is the most popular maths option among IB students - the Higher is only for the Einstein inclined and is notoriously closer to a university level than A Level. Studies is much more manageable, and focuses more on statistics and uses of maths. 

• Environmental Systems and Societies is the Standard level for the un-sciencey. A mix of Geography and Biology, it’s still science, and interesting, but less full on. 

Beyond the curriculum (and I have to say, I’m an advocate of the well-rounded approach), there’s an early advantage for IBers… Making friends! I guess a lot of people come to the college with a fully formed friendship group, but that wasn’t really the case for me. Just one close friend came here with me, and we only share one free a week. Being in the IB meant that there was a consistent overlap of students between classes, so everyone was acquainted really quickly. With frees here, there and everywhere, it’s great to have a large group of people you immediately know and can have lunch with. It’s a way to find a niche within the wider (very wide) community of the college at large.
I would like to point out at this point that although there’s a reputation for IB having a lot of drop outs - thus far, only one student went over to the Dark Side, and, get this… She came back!


"At the start I found IB quite overwhelming,” says Megan Kiddy, our resident re-enrolled student (and former traitor). “But actually you get used to it really quickly. I found the IB had a wider range of subjects and more of a family vibe - my short stay in A Levels was far less friendly.”

See? Megan loves it. So it’s still a bit unclear to me why the numbers in-college have gone down while they’re increasing everywhere else. This year was a 50% drop and (forgive me for going on about it) but a boy-girl ratio of approximately 1:10 has soared to… 1:26. Seriously, we’re boy-starved.

I wonder why the IB demographic is so girl-dominated? Are we girls more prepared to take up something that screams “hard work”? Or is it because boys are still, somehow, generally more inclined to science-based subject choices, which perhaps work better at A Level than IB? 

  

“Because of its innate structure,” says Mike Flower, personal tutor for an IB form this year, “The IB is non-specialist. In my experience, boys are more prone to specialising earlier on, taking a route specifically tailored towards science or language, for instance. Why are they doing this? And are they doing it too early? It’s hard to say. 

  

“As for the IB decline this year, I wonder whether transport costs  are a factor. We used to get a lot of IB students travelling in from long distances for the course, but due to the recession those in that situation may hesitate to do so now. Also, A Levels did go through a period of bad press which may have encouraged more IB subscription for a short time. 

  

“I think that the IB suffers from a lack of publicity - it’s an amazing educational experience, but is it being endorsed enough at the secondary school level? In particular, there’s a lingering misconception that it’s for high achievers only, when in fact middle achievers may benefit the most.”

  

Basically, A Level students, if you work out that someone’s from first year IB, be our friends! We’d appreciate a little diversity in our society. Boys welcome. 

The Truth Behind The E-Cigarette Ban

After the slightly controversial (and nonsensical seeming) ban in college, Madeleine Bishop investigates the risks attributed to the increasingly popular e-cigarette

A recent notice in the student bulletin has banned all e-cigarettes from college  - “in the light of advice from the World Health Organisation and other medical professionals concerning the long 

term harm caused to the user.” 

When this notice was read out during registration recently, there was uproar in my form. Despite there being only one smoker present, most people found the ban ridiculous (mostly as actual cigarettes haven’t been banned) and I was inclined to agree. Everything that we’ve seen in the media has given us the impression that e-cigarettes are the harmless alternative to smoking. 

In fact, this isn’t quite true. While the e-cigarette is largely considered to be an effective means for smokers to kick the habit (by maintaining/weaning themselves off current nicotine levels while eliminating all of the nasty tar/carbon monoxide/rat poison stuff) it isn’t actually harmless. Just less harmless than smoking. The worrying thing is that the e-cigarette is increasing in popularity drastically among teenagers - including those who didn’t smoke to begin with. 

Some e-cigarettes have been found to give off formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. Silicate particles, a cause of lung disease, are also present in some e-cigarette vapour. The nicotine itself can lead to circulation problems and heart disease. 

This misconception of the e-cigarette as completely harmless is pervasive, and has started to re-glamorise (or at least de-sensitise young people to) the cigarettes which have been so declining in popularity among teenagers, mostly due to better education and more powerful campaigning. The Health Department is likely to at least ban the sale of the e-cigarettes to under-18s in the light of WHO’s report. 

One of the other risks is passive smoking - the e-cigarettes that give off formaldehyde do so at a higher level than ordinary cigarettes, thus increasing the risk to passive smokers of consequences such as lung cancer. 

All in all, e-cigarettes aren’t so terrible - but they aren’t completely safe either. 

However, it still seems odd that the college would ban them while tolerating ordinary smoking, when, in fact, e-cigarettes still may be the answer to weaning current young smokers off of cigarettes. 

We just need to be careful to remember that the electronic substitute still comes with risks, even to those not directly smoking them - and to bear in mind that as a relatively new innovation, we don’t know everything about them. It isn’t clear what other drawbacks they may currently have, or the long term effects of perhaps more intense use of nicotine. Only time will tell. 

When I grow up I want to be a…(Power Ranger)

Is 16/17/18 years of age really old enough to be deciding on what we want to do for the rest of our lives? By Kayleigh Peters

Are we too young to decide what to study at university? Which career we want? And just what we want in life in general? From personal experience, I would say yes. Yes we are!

By 18, some people are already engaged, some have babies on the way and I’m just sitting at the computer, with a ton of junk food, being a typical student, having a breakdown over what the next chapter of life holds for me! Your life is like a book; you have a beginning, an end and a whole load of other stuff in between, of which we get to dictate what happens. At 18, for most people, we’re only a quarter of a way through our story, so do we really know what we want the final three quarters of it to contain? I certainly don’t! Exams are fast approaching and I’m nearing the end of my time at Sixth Form, and I’m nearing the end of another chapter in life. Am I certain Linguistics is what I want to study at university? No. Do I want to spend at least 3 years of my life, dedicating my studies to something I may not even want to do in the future? No. It’s a big decision and to be honest I don’t think I’m at the age where I can make such an important life decision with a high degree of certainty.  

A question we’re asked from a very young age is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For most people it’s a an astronaut, a singer and in some cases, even a dinosaur… let’s be real, for the majority of us, that changes drastically in our first 18 years of life, and may still be changing now. I know I’ve gone through many phases including,  wanting to be a power ranger (the green one was definitely the coolest), an artist, a  policewoman, a physiotherapist, a primary school teacher and currently a forensic linguist. All very different from each other, and who knows, it’ll probably change again once I go to university.

3 in 5 Britons have come to realise the career they’ve chosen isn't what they thought it’d crack up to be and are desperate for a career change, according to the Microsoft search engine Bing. To be fair I don’t blame them. They probably knew less than we do today about the array of careers out there, because they didn’t have the internet to google search the jobs that aren’t as dull as others, can earn you a bit more money, and are without those all annoying colleagues. 

“17 years old and I’ve experienced all that there is to be experienced.” Anyone who can says that is probably not human, and is some kind of time travelling specimen. First of all, how do you even do that?! Secondly, I’m jealous that you’ve got your life together already, because I haven’t and probably never will!

The top 10 dream jobs:

1. Pilot              
2. Working for a charity or non-profit organisation
3. Writer/Author
4. Photographer
5. Musician/Singer
6. Sports Trainer/Coach
7. Formula 1/Moto GP/Rally driver
8. Actor
9. Journalist
10. Artist

According to a UK survey by Bing in 2012.

The Transport Games—Catching Buses

Catching the bus is a selfish fight for comfort and reaching your destination alive!
By Kayleigh Peters  

BUSES! Yes, catching the bus is no longer a safe, stress free daily task. It’s become, what I would describe as The Transport Games—not The Hunger Games—The Transport Games. You have to tactfully and skilfully fight your way through the crowds to survive the dilemmas and problems that come your way, on what you expect to be an average bus journey. 

Catching the bus is something I literally detest—not that I looked forward to the hour plus  bus journey before—but it leaves me feeling fatigued, which is just what I need after a long, laborious day at Sixth Form.

I can’t recall the number of times I’ve found myself without a seat on the bus, and have been left standing, holding on for dear life in the cramped and claustrophobic conditions, whilst the bus driver continues to let another 10 people on the bus when there is clearly too much physical contact between you and your fellow bus riders already. It’s a death trap, I mean the other day I nearly found myself in a game of human dominoes, having to hold up 

two people who’d fallen after an abrupt stop, and decided to use me to regain their balance! Like I said, surviving the bus requires skill and tactics; making sure you get that seat you deserve on the bus at 4:15 when school and college kids are out in their masses, is all about Timing, Tactics and Teamwork— the 3 Ts. 

TIMING

As we all know, in order to get a seat you need to be at the front of the so called ‘queue’, otherwise you’ve got no hope. Although, referring to it as a queue sounds a bit too nice and friendly. I think it’s more like the beginning of The Hunger Games when everyone rushes to get their supplies from the Cornucopia. It’s a first come, first served basis—the quicker and more ruthless you are, the better your bus journey will be in terms of comfort. I would say being at the front of the bundle requires you to get to the bus stop at least 10 minutes before your bus. It would also help if the buses turned up on time, but obviously that is too much to ask.

TACTICS    

Being at the front of the queue is all well and good, but standing in a place where the bus is likely to stop is vital. It’s all about judgement—I’ve been caught out several times by waiting directly at the bus stop only to see the bus stop 5 metres away, which is safe to say has cost me a seat many times. You need to observe the environment around you, especially if there is already a bus at your bus stop.

 

TEAMWORK

Finally, you need a friend. If you have a friend, who’s like me and can fit into small spaces between people and make their way to the front of the bundle, they can save you that vital seat that you deserve. On the other hand, having someone who’s tall can also be an advantage, as they can help you through the crowd to board the bus.

These bus companies make ridiculously large amounts of money a month. Particularly from us students. For example, the bus company makes £105 a month from me with a monthly ticket or £6.50 for a return per day. Just imagine the sums they rake in a month from every student and the rest of the general public that use their bus company. Yet they still fail to provide us with the quality service we deserve and pay for. 

Firstly, the actual quality of the buses is atrocious; not all of the lights work, the seats are dirty, there’s always rubbish scattered everywhere. Yes, I understand that lots of people use the bus, but surely someone could clean it or at least remove the empty bottles and food packets in those 15 minutes it just sits in the bus park, whilst the driver has a cup of tea despite it already running several minutes late. One time, I witnessed someone losing a chunk of their hair, as a result of chewing gum getting lodged in their locks. 

They also fail to provide us with enough buses at peak times of the day, for example, in the morning from around 7:30—8:30am and 4:00– 4:45pm. For the one and a half years I’ve been catching the bus, this has always been a problem, it goes from one extreme to the other. They either send 3 double-deckers within a minute of the previous one or one single for everyone who catches the bus and even then, it doesn’t come at the time it says on the timetable. The amount of times the bus has just driven past people is uncountable, it’s even worse when it’s someone who’s maybe a bit older than you or not as able bodied as you.

One thing I can congratulate them on is their consistency in being so inconsistent! Thank you for consistently making me late for lessons, waiting for an hour for the bus, and just being a ‘great’ bus service!  “May the odds be ever in your favour”… or not?!

Why school sports aren’t working

Freya Turner has a plod through the fast paced world that is school sport, and why schools should slow down and focus on enjoyment. 

Having a nostalgic chat about school sports with some friends recently got me thinking: sports education and promotion for tweens and teens is crap.

In my opinion, I’ve always been outraged by the amount of compulsory hours per week of P.E. I had to do at Secondary school. Three hours of sport a week is irrelevant to the majority of pupils’ career aspirations and does not promote sports in their best light. Excessive compulsory hours of sport, (often in the rain with school bullies dominating) would no doubt put plenty of people off the whole sports shenanigans. 

 

I think this is a shame. In light of the Olympics legacy, so far I haven't seen much in the way of promoting sports, except for Boris Johnson’s controversial outburst that school kids should do “2 compulsory hours a day” of P.E. Also the occasional BBC news reports on funding sports clubs. This is what we need more of– sports clubs! It generally makes sport feel more enjoyable than compulsory as you are choosing to take part in sports you like. 

Although I did go to a “sports college” and there were quite a few after school clubs, I think considering this sports status, they definitely made an effort to ignore some sports, especially racket sports—my favourite. And this also applies to lessons; dominated by football, netball, and hockey. Considering we had 2 squash courts and I didn’t have a single squash lesson, this, in my opinion was very poor. 

Sport should be about increasing confidence and I don’t think that can happen unless schools are more accepting of different sports. Making sport feel more about enjoyment rather than obligation would also make a huge difference to the way we view sports and most importantly, our bodies.

Starbucks– costing your wallet and your waistline

Emily Beard takes a look at popular coffee shops and how much they are really costing us.

As the weather is getting colder and colder and you make your weekly treks to Starbucks in your frees, perhaps you should reconsider?

The world is being dominated by coffee shops like Caffè Nero, Costa Coffee and Starbucks– the latter having almost 21,000 stores worldwide! Some places in particular take coffee drinking to the extreme as proven in Santa Fe, California which has the highest concentration of Starbucks’ with an outrageous 560 within a 25 mile radius.

Whether it’s the thrill of tricking the baristas with a fake name, or the feeling of being on the set of Friends in a Central Perk-esque coffee shop that tempts you, what is your daily caffeine fix actually costing? The average drink at Starbucks is around £2, which may seem like a steal for somebody that has one every now and then, but you daily junkies could be spending around £730 a year! And your bank account is not the only thing suffering. A tall gingerbread latte is around 300 calories– the same as a cheeseburger from McDonald’s!

If your withdrawal symptoms are too strong to ignore and cutting back seems out of the question, perhaps consider a cheaper alternative? A flask from Costa is £3. Making your own drink everyday and bringing it to college with you would save you hundreds!

But, with over 35 million likes on Facebook, it doesn't look like the loyal fan base of Starbucks will be decreasing any time soon.

Keep calm and don’t be so catty

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock. Let’s embrace the season of peace and goodwill and be a bit less catty. 

Cattiness is getting a problem. According to the urban dictionary, (queue posh Queen voice) “if one is being catty, they are being subtly or indirectly insulting. Different from bitchy in that bitchiness is just mean, while cattiness is often clever and witty.”

Although its not a major problem, it’s something that grates on me. And can I add that it is a very female thing. To be honest it doesn’t do us gals any favours. It’s not like we’re at disadvantage already or anything!

It might not be a surprise when I say that Mean Girls is my favourite film, and the moral of that film kind of inspired me to write this. Tina Fey’s hilarious portrayal of how high school cliques have negative impacts on people has hopefully inspired a few people to be a bit nicer and more accepting of others. 

“They encourage us to slag off other females as if it’s what we’re born to do.”

But although practically every girl between the ages of 13 to 30 have watched it, (and the occasional guy) there are still people who have seen it that choose to ignore this message.

Particularly through more passive cattiness.  We all know that look a female will shoot another, when perhaps they feel slightly threatened by their looks. Or when another female looks at you up and down as if to say “what are you doing here?” Trust me, it happens a lot. Why do we do it? Unfortunately I think it’s to do with the way we are bombarded with criticisms of females from the media. *Sigh* Yes, this age old problem that everyone moans about. 

I think it’s largely due to magazines; they encourage us to slag off other females as if it’s what we we’re born to do. And perhaps it is- it’s natural to feel intimidated by someone who you think’s prettier than you. Just maybe compliment them rather than give them the look. All you need is love guys.