Mothercare finalises franchise agreement to sell products in Boots stores August 20, 2020 Mothercare has finalised a franchise agreement with Boots to allow it to sell products in the high street pharmacy chain’s stores. The retailer, which shuttered all of its UK stores after collapsing into administration last year, will sell Mothercare branded clothing, home and travel products in Boots stores from the Autumn. The franchise agreement, which [...]
DEBATE: Should we accept that this is the end for business travel? August 20, 2020 Should we embrace change and accept that this is the end for business travel? Alethea Warrington, campaigner at climate charity Possible, says YES. The rise of virtual meetings hasn’t just given us an entire subculture of Zoom memes — it has made travelling long distances to attend meetings in person outdated and ridiculous. The pandemic [...]
Won’t somebody think of the graduates? Hard-hit young people need to go back to the office August 20, 2020 Recessions always hurt. Tragically, the one we face now looks particularly severe, its speed and scale staggering. With the furlough scheme being rolled back (its own cost to the economy astronomical), UK businesses are now having to stand in the way of an economic tsunami with little or no protection. There is no hiding from [...]
Social app Goodwall launches youth employment initiative August 19, 2020 Social enterprise app Goodwall has launched a new online program which it says will unlock job and education opportunities for more than 10 million young people. Created by Goodwall alongside job site Monster, publishing powerhouse Pearson and online learning pioneer Walden University, the ‘BetterTogether’ program sets young people a series of challenges designed to prepare [...]
Competition watchdog to probe Carlsberg-Marston’s tie-up August 19, 2020 The competition watchdog today said it has opened a probe into a proposed £780m tie-up between beer giants Carlsberg and Marston’s. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was considering whether the deal would create a relevant merger situation and damage competition. In May the two companies announced plans to combine their brewing businesses [...]
A-levels: pupils in England to receive predicted grades after major U-turn August 17, 2020 Pupils in England will receive teacher predicted grades for their A-level results after a major government U-turn. Teacher predicted grades will also be used for the upcoming GCSE results. Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “This has been an extraordinarily difficult year for young people who were unable to take their exams. “We worked with Ofqual [...]
GCSE results in Northern Ireland to be based on predicted grades August 17, 2020 Pupils in Northern Ireland will receive teacher predicted grades for their GCSEs, the education minister said. Ahead of the publication of GCSE results on Thursday education minister Peter Weir said that “exceptional circumstances” meant that pupils would receive predicted grades as their final mark. “Having received advice from CCEA and listened to the concerns of [...]
University is still the safest bet to a good life August 14, 2020 Every year without fail, school leavers and their parents have to hear the boasting, masquerading as reassurance, of some of society’s success stories. Here’s Jeremy Clarkson: “I got a C and 2 Us and I’m currently building a large house with far reaching views of the Cotswolds.” Lord Sugar goes further: “University is a waste [...]
Labour call for government U-turn on A-levels ‘fiasco’ August 14, 2020 The Labour Party has called today for the government to scrap its system for allocating A-level results after thousands of students’ results were downgraded by the statistical model used to moderate grades. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “The unprecedented and chaotic circumstances created by the UK government’s mishandling of education during recent months mean [...]
Getting young people back to school in September is critical to their health August 14, 2020 Being at school is good for health. Even now, in the middle of a pandemic, schools can be important for wellbeing by keeping a sense of normality. Yet the parents, students and teachers weighing up the risks on how safe classrooms will be for young people in September might not be aware of the strong [...]