by Guardian

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Ministers urged to assist hundreds of Syrian students in Britain left without funds and at risk of deportation amid crisis at homeStudents graduating at Bristol University: campaigners says about 670 Syrian students face being removed from UK courses due to lack of funding. Photograph: Panacea Pictures/Alamy/Alamy
The government has been urged to help hundreds of Syrian students in the UK left without money and at risk of deportation amid the crisis in their homeland, which has caused the Syrian embassy in London to grind to a halt and seen sanctions imposed on their country's banks.



 

by Guardian

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Stephen Twigg, MP on Westminster Bridge. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian
The Labour party has come up with a plan to introduce debating societies to schools. Shadow education minister Stephen Twigg floated the idea, along with more PE and the introduction of cadet forces. The party feels that the state sector should copy private school tactics to ensure pupils gain a range of life skills. The Communication Trust argues that too many children are arriving at school unable to express themselves and leaving in a barely improved state, which urgently needs addressing. Still, debating societies? Really? Haven't we done enough to underprivileged youth already?

I'm joking. Well, to a degree. The most high-profile debaters are politicians, prancing about, enunciating their stilted scripted "banter" ("My dear fellow"), in a way that suggests their heyday was back in the fifth-form debating society, thrilling the throng with their zingers and put-downs.