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Paul McKenna, stage hypnotist, is currently offering neuro-linguistic training courses at the McKenna Breen Centre in London, UK. Almost 5,000 people enrol on the courses each year. According to McKenna the courses can improve the ways in which teachers, business people or secret agents work.

Philip Harris, the UK's leading manufacturer of scientific equipment, has provided Solihull further education college in the West Midlands with advanced scientific equipment. In return, the company has exclusive use of the college's facilities and staff expertise. It is now planning to link with the college to bid to provide teacher training in information and communications technology in science for the Fair Funding (National Lottery) Scheme.

Religious Education Teacher Sue Mattocks has not fully recovered from her experience of being kidnapped by terrorists in Yemen during Jan 1999. She relays how she has had good support from her school and how she is trying hard to return to normal life. Although she was aware foreign tourists were occasionally kidnapped in Yemen she felt reassured they were usually freed unharmed. Mattocks was part of group of 16 tourists who were kidnapped, and later four of the tourists were killed when the kidnappers were attacked by the government forces.

The UK Department for Education has stopped funding the Manchester City Council's truancy project which aimed at preventing truancy and improving attendance in the city's schools. The project, which won acclaim after its introduction in 1993, was refused the 276,000 pounds sterling it applied for under the Grants for Education Support and Training Scheme. The WINGS youth development project in Moss Side Manchester and the partnership 2000 project which involved the Manchester police were two programs under the project which focussed on the personality of students and their backgrounds to find causes for their truancy.

Schools are finally beginning to acknowledge the reality that bullying is widespread and actually happen often albeit covertly. This realization came after the reported suicides of two schoolchildren due to bullying. To counter this problem, schools have asked the help of social organizations such as Kidscape and the Anti Bullying Campaign (ABC) in exposing the incidents in particular and the problem in general. Kidscape offers strategies and training on how to combat the bullying problem while ABC offers psychological and assistance.

Officials of Connah's Quay High School expressed fears that the publication of the GCSE benchmark of proportion of students gaining five or more A to C grades will be detrimental to Connah's Quay High School. The league table ranked the school atthe bottom in Clwyd. The improvements achieved by the school in the recent years which are not reflected in the league table include a national Schools Curriculum Award. There is a need to provide adequate details in the ranking ofthe schools in order for parents to make the best choice for their children.

The Frenchay Church of England Primary School Parent-Teachers' Assoc has pooled its efforts to raise funds to enable the school to buy more books. Fund-raising activities include fetes, barbecues, quiz nights and auctions. The school administration appreciates the parents' efforts and has used the money to add to its library and purchase textbooks in history, geography and technology. The activities served to establish rapport within the community and ensured greater parent involvement in the school.

Best-selling Irish author Roddy Doyle has opted for teaching in a Dublin school, rather than the glamor of Hollywood. He has written three novels, 'The Commitments,' 'The Snapper' and 'The Van,' and two stage plays, 'Brownbread' and 'War.' The first novel has been made into a highly successful film and the second will be filmed by the British Broadcasting Corp. Meanwhile, the third has been recommended for the 1991 Booker Prize. Despite his success as a writer, Doyle avoids publicity and refuses interviews and visits to the school he teaches in.

Rural Futures, a county network of farmers in Cumbria, set up a farm assistant training scheme after the foot-and-mouth disease crisis. The aim of the schemeis to recruit people into farming and help them set themselves up as self-employed farm assistants to assist in chronic staff shortages in agriculture.

Students at Reaseheath College, in Natntwich, Cheshire, U.K. have rescued the endangered white-clawed crayfish from a stream near a new freeway. They keep the crayfish in a man-made pond, and in fish tanks, where they can research the creatures.

Grimsby College has established the Institute of Food and Fisheries in order to offer management and business studies, catering and hospitality courses, and fisheries and food training to the industrial companies based near the institute. The fishing port of Grimsby is more important as a processor than a fishery and the new institute's courses will all be client-led.

St. Andrews in Scotland has teamed with Elmwood College to create Caddie Connect, a training course for caddies. The course offers an education on the complex rules of golf and the necessary customer service requirements. The Caddie Connect course may be developed for worldwide use.

Link, a company specializing in providing vocational training, is suing North Derbyshire Tertiary College for 3.2 million pounds sterling following a dispute over a franchise. The college has paid 663,000 pounds sterling to Link, which states that it successfully delivered NVQ courses for 7,000 students, but the college does not believe that it owes any more money. The case revolves around the issue of whether 450 learning hours per student were actually delivered and whether hours with workplace mentors could count towards this.

Rosemary Musker High School Deputy Headteacher Jane Still has found her placement in a local company a worthwhile move. Managers in the factory have found the views of an outsider useful and illuminating. Still has been placed in a Norfolk, England, factory owned by Baxter Healthcare, under a year's secondment as part of the Heads, Teachers and Industry scheme. Still feels the secondment has been a good opportunity for her to develop her human resource management skills and create closer links between the factory and her school.

The UK Office of Standards in Education has criticised the education service in Manchester, England, on a number of points, such as failing to deal with budgetary deficits, not making provision for excluded children and having a school absenteeism rate of 16%. The Manchester education authorities point out they are making efforts to improve but many of their children score below the national average when entering school. School Standards Minister Stephen Byers has called for plan of action by Sept 1998 and an interim report by Jul 17, 1998.

Teenagers from the Newcastle West Career Club in Newcastle, England, have set up the Peer Project, which involves them in giving advice on social issues, training, jobs and education to other young people. They run workshops and training sessions, and the project also includes a weekly drop-in centre. Those involved in running the project have found that their self-confidence has greatly improved. They have also benefited from being trained in counselling skills.

It is vital that a stronger European dimension is given to education and training provision in the UK, according to speakers at a conference on improving access to jobs in the European Union. John Berkeley, senior fellow in the department of continuing education at Warwick University, England, called on the government to include a European dimension in the criteria for Modern Apprenticeships. He also stated that the overall aim of the national curriculum should be a European dimension.

The adult education service in Liverpool, England, has been very successful with its 'Books That Shook The World' class. This was originally planned to run for six weeks, but will now probably be extended. The course is designed to open participants' minds and to give them the confidence to discuss books in a social context. The students are expected to read at least some of the books, which include Machiavelli's 'The Prince,' Charles Darwin's 'The Origin of Species' and Erich Maria Remarque's 'All Quiet on the Western Front.'

There is a serious shortage of construction industry workers in Manchester, England, as a result of the IRA bombing of the centre of the city in Jun 1996 and preparations for the Commonwealth Games in 2002. This means that there is strong demand for students who have undertaken six-month construction courses at Manchester College of Arts and Technology. The college has linked with the private sector to create Manchester Education and Training, which aims to have 200 long-term unemployed trained in the first year.

Ogmore Residential Centre in Wales was shut down as a result of local government reorganization in Apr 1996. However, the facility, which can house up to 160 children, has now been revived by parents and former students. A charity trust has been formed to manage it, and efforts are now being made to obtain 1.8 million pounds sterling of lottery funding. Sport, arts and music courses are being run as pilots, and it is hoped to offer a full range of courses from Jan 1998.

National Lottery funding amounting to 47.7 million pounds sterling has been invested in improving coaching and sports equipment in the UK's schools since Mar 1995. There has been strong interest in all elements of the English Sports Council's National Junior Sports Programme, which focuses on quality provision. It is aimed at children aged four-16, both inside and outside school. It has three main schemes, intended for different age groups, and is accompanied by booklets and posters distributed under the Sports Fair initiative.

Pupils at UK schools which are experiencing particular difficulties deserve to benefit from the appointment of the best possible headteacher, deputy headteacher and teachers, according to David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers. This follows two cases in which schools were forced to close temporarily because of disputes regarding disruptive pupils. The UK government should make additional funds available for such schools.

The British Army made available 15,000 positions for young recruits in 1995, but only 11,000 were filled, even though it should theoretically be attractive to teenagers, offering a guaranteed job for three years. It is hoped that new initiatives will increase recruitment levels in 1996. There are plans to invest 10.7 million pounds sterling in publicity, thus overcoming the widely-held belief that the British Army is no longer recruiting.

The Sports Council for Wales has issued a report finding girls and their sports are discriminated against by PE teachers, in the media, and generally in society. The report, 'Changing the Rules: Women, Girls, and Sport,' calls for positive discrimination favoring girls' sports, better in-service training for PE teachers, and an effort to change some attitudes in society. Sports continue to be gender-segregated, and female athletes must reach a higher level of accomplishment to receive equal support.

Warminster School, Wiltshire, England, has acquired a license to open a bar on the campus to control drinking habits of young people. Tim Holgate, head of Warminster, believes that it will encourage self-restraint and conduct social education work on limited levels of alcohol consumption. The bar, open only on Friday and Saturday nights, caters to students of age 17 years and over. The amount of alcohol per student is restricted and a staff member is always on vigil. This initiative is likely to be favored by the Portman Group, which campaigns against alcohol misuse.

School management governors have a difficulty coping with the curriculum of inner city schools in the UK. The chief inspector of schools, Chris Woodhead, has criticized them for not being inquisitive about standards and teaching methods. The new Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspection framework makes governors more accountable for meeting the goals of their schools. The OFSTED framework focuses on the schools's objectives and the attainment of these goals.

Efforts to salvage the Coleg Ceredigion in Welsh, England has succeeded and the college is now one of the most financially efficient colleges in the region. The college enjoys a surplus and is in a position to pay all its debts. A rescue package, efficient management, abolition of over-head expenses and improved morale of the staff have contributed to this positive result, which is a lesson for other colleges facing similar cash crunch.

UK officials were engaged in last minute endeavors to make more local authorities participate in the first stage of the proposed pre-school voucher scheme, preventing embarrassment for Education and Employment Secretary Gillian Shephard. Parents of all four-year-olds will get a voucher which they can cash in at any state or private nursery school or playgroup when the full plan comes into effect. Critics argue that the plan will result in diverting the money away from state-funded nursery schools and toward the private sector.

Topsham first school, Exeter, England, for the first time has been refusing admission to new pupils because of class overcrowding. Ideally, there are places for 120 children, but in 1995 Topsham has already admitted 138 pupils. Headteacher Margaret Butt said it is a hard decision to turn away parents but classes of over 32 are not in the interest of children.

Roy Pike, head of the opted-out Torquay Boys' Grammar school, feels that the Labour Party's education proposal to determine the future of selective schools by an affirmative vote by parents is a method of abolishing grammar school without controversy or conflict. Though he feels confident of winning parent's approval because of the high standard of academics maintained by the school, he is wary of future prospects if a more determined attack on these institutions is started by the Labour Party.

Students of St. Peter and St. John RC Primary School in Salford, England, had a chance to train with their favorite football player Eric Cantona through Manchester United's probation program. Cantona, who was reprimanded for kicking a supporter in a game, was allowed to coach the children as part of his community service. He himself created the programme after consulting with the probation staff and school officials, who believe that the students will have a positive experience by working with Cantona. They also hope that the football star, who is considered a role model by the youth, will also gain something from the sessions.

Sandford School in Gloucestershire, England, will increase its enrollment from 50 to 111 in 1995 to provide services to more children who are suffering from educational and behavioral disorders. The school has also lowered the age requirement of its students and will start accepting children below the age of 10. Because of the increase in its population, Sandford will add more child psychologists, psychiatrists and head teachers to its staff.

The government's anti-drug drive is misdirected in its focus, according to social workers. They claim that its emphasis on peer pressure as a major influence on the decision of young people to engage in drug use is misguided. They stress that young people ingest drugs because of their pleasurable effects. They say that what is therefore needed is a refocusing of the anti-drug campaign to harm reduction.

The increasing level of merciless bullying in young offenders' institutions in the UK, leading to suicides and killings, has led Cardiff prison authorities to undertake an anti-bullying program which will help the inmates to cope with the prison environment. This pioneering program uses a video on bullying, in which the prisoners adopt various roles, and includes an induction program which encourages them to report bullying incidents. The program has also other features such as isolation of perpetrators, which has helped to decrease bullying incidents.

The popularity of Inside Stories, a national magazine produced by and for young offenders in the UK, is increasing, with many young offender institutes willing to produce one of their editions. The project has a positive effect on the young offenders as it provides them with a sense of responsibility. The articles cover a wide range of topics, including life in the institution and crimes, and contain poems and humorous pieces.

Coleg Menai is the result of the merger of Gwynedd Technical College and Coleg Pencraig, two technical colleges in Wales, UK, formed to avoid wasteful duplication of resources and competition for the same target students. The merger has helped save money that can be used to create new courses. It has not led to any job loss and the teachers can use it as an opportunity to further their interests. The college is aiming to develop a single college curriculum and a single unit for admissions.

The new battlefield register launched by English Heritage aims to utilize the resource provided by sites of historic battlefields and induce schools to use battlefields to promote history education. The Battlefield Trust has developed an education guide and booklets on battles for schools. Appropriate presentation of sites can encourage children to develop an interest in history.

The government cuts on Section 11 funding in the UK threaten the Sheffield Unified Multicultural Education Service (SUMES), which funds special language teaching for ethnic students in Sheffield schools. At Greenlands junior school, which is funded by SUMES, such a cut will drastically affect its 85% minority pupils as without language support teachers, a mainstream teacher will not be able to cater to the needs of the students. SUMES's efforts to bring about a cultural change by making every student bilingual will also be affected.

Leading editors in the UK and the National Council for the Training of Journalists have stated that students preparing for higher education are misled into thinking that media studies courses are adequate to prepare them for careers in journalism. These courses are very popular as students are unaware of their inadequacy for becoming a qualified journalist. The expansion of these courses in colleges should be restricted and clearer distinction must be made of courses in journalism and other courses which do not prepare students for this profession.

A report by the British Association of Metropolitan Authorities' (AMA) working party recommended a reduction in governors' power over schools and an increase in local authorities' control over financial management. AMA's report will be welcomed by the Labour Party, though the new education secretary does not support it. The report emphasized the need for LEA control over matters regarding the budget and the recruitment and training of governors.

The European elections will be concerned with the acceptance or rejection of the general policies of John Major's government and will not focus on issues such as more funding for education, training, employment and mobility. Attempts at raising issues such as the initiatives on education sponsored by the European Union in the election campaign have been unsuccessful.

Nine to eleven-year-old students from Ysgol Cymlais in Ystradgynlais near Swansea were taken to a cemetery in Colleville-sur-mer, where D-day heroes are buried. The trip was aimed at making them learn more about the D-day event.