Proud to be British Read more from journalists who champion our culture, history and values Enjoy four months’ free access to The Telegraph. Cancel at any time. |  | Before everyone got carried away with the record number of high grades achieved by A-level students two weeks ago, the Education Secretary made a sobering admission: once again, far too many poor, white pupils in England had failed to get the results they needed at GCSE and A-level this year.
The timing of Bridget Phillipson's announcement was a classic piece of political spin. Labour knew the statistics would come out and, with Reform UK's popularity soaring among that demographic (one that has always traditionally voted Labour), it decided to be upfront about the crisis and get “on the front foot” with a pledge to tackle the issue in a forthcoming white paper.
Words, however, are cheap. The long, inexorable decline in the results of white, working-class pupils over recent years, and that cohort’s new, lowly position behind black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students (Chinese and Indian-heritage children overtook them long ago) requires urgent action, and should worry every citizen, whatever their race, religion or creed. But how exactly did we get here? And what is the solution? Julie Henry, a former Sunday Telegraph education correspondent, talks to leading experts about “lazy” schools, the tyranny of low expectations, the ideology of “white privilege” and a widespread disdain for the idea that poor, white students need specific help.
The fate of the largest group of disadvantaged children in the country has been treated as “taboo”, despite the weight of evidence of entrenched underachievement, says Peter Edwards, emeritus professor of chemistry at Oxford University. After decades of seeing schemes and scholarships, funding streams, campaigns and charities targeted at other smaller groups, they no longer feel they are even “in the game”. Read more here ➤ | Time spent wisely See another side to today’s biggest stories with Britain’s leading comment writers Enjoy four months’ free access to The Telegraph. Cancel at any time. | | The meetings of the Elders, the group of elder statesmen and women founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007 to act as “honest brokers” in conflict resolution, are always private. So it was a unique experience to sit in on their most recent gathering in Morocco, says Mick Brown, who witnessed them deliberating on the world’s most pressing problems. If wisdom and experience counted for anything, all could be solved in a trice. If only it could be that easy. Continue reading ➤ | | Ready meals have come a long way since the M&S chicken kiev hit the shelves in 1979 and, as a Great Taste Award judge, Telegraph nutritionist Sam Rice has awarded many a coveted star. But how healthy are they? From Waitrose’s high-protein chicken burrito bowl to Tesco’s low-calorie carbonara, Sam looks at the best and worst ready meals. Continue reading ➤ | | | It’s the latest would-be historical epic, bringing to life the dramatic events around 1066 which changed England forever. Except those expecting a rigorous history lesson might be disappointed. Here, Prof Marion Turner of the University of Oxford takes the drama’s accuracy to task. Did Edward the Confessor really beat his mother to death? Read Prof Turner’s fact-checker to find out. Continue reading ➤ | | | From minor inconveniences to genuinely terrifying emergencies, everybody has at least one hair-raising story to tell when it comes to air travel. Our writers, of course, are no exception, having experienced everything from terrorist threats to vomit-inducing turbulence during their many combined years of travel. It doesn't end there, as you'll find in our rundown of the worst flights. Continue reading ➤ | | | The former PM’s new look symbolises a newfound ease with life, a devil-may-care attitude and an appreciation that while you might be losing some hair on your head, the hair on your face can still grow, writes Rebecca Cope. Continue reading ➤ | | | Every Sunday, Sarah Knapton, our Science Editor, and Joe Pinkstone, our Science Correspondent, demystify your supernatural experiences. From ghoulish encounters to bizarre coincidences, there’s always a scientific explanation and nothing is as strange as it seems...
A baffled reader writes...
“My wife and I stayed in a historic hotel in Yorkshire, for a special birthday.
“When we were getting ready for bed she could hear music being played on a harpsichord.
“I couldn’t hear it at all. I opened the window, nothing. The door, nothing. I walked into all the rooms of the suite.
“I have very good ears, so she couldn’t believe that I couldn’t hear it. She was terrified.
“The next day we found out that it had been reported many times before and that some guests had seen apparitions. Needless to say, my wife insisted that we check out.... immediately”
Sarah and Joe answer...
Just how special was this birthday? Were drinks or drugs consumed? Had your wife imbibed too much Night Nurse to get her through a night in a spooky Yorkshire inn?
If the answer to all these questions is no, then we must look elsewhere to find the source of this hair-raising harpsichord.
You have great hearing, so we can rule out The Stranglers holding a nocturnal jam session in the next room.
The answer then is: it’s all in her head.
Read more about Sarah and Joe’s conclusion here ➤ | | When Silvana Franco sat down to watch the new series of With Love, Meghan (which aired on Netflix this past week), she was tempted to make the Duchess of Sussex's salt and vinegar crisps. £22 and a vat of hot oil later, her batch was finally ready to eat. A right royal faff – were they worth it?
Below are two more articles that I hope will brighten your weekend: | Free thinkers wanted Discuss and debate today’s biggest talking points, directly with our journalists Enjoy four months’ free access to The Telegraph. Cancel at any time. | | Byron Rogers dressed up in a KGB colonel’s uniform | As a writer for The Telegraph’s magazine for more than a quarter of a century, Byron Rogers specialised in tracking down Britain’s eccentrics and oddballs, writes Jake Kerridge, chief obituary writer.
Over the years he encountered celebrities such as Liam Neeson – who got him so drunk that he fell off his bicycle on the way home – and Mick Jagger. But he preferred to profile colourful characters who were less well-known, such as the last human cannonball in Europe, the retired hangman Syd Dernley, and the Ruislip pensioner who became bored while on a Saga holiday in Peru and decided to defy the piranhas and swim across the Amazon.
Rogers also had a sideline in the 1970s as Prince Charles’s first speechwriter: as the son of a Welsh carpenter, he was one of the first royal appointments to come from what the newspapers called “lowlier stock”. The unconventional speeches he wrote occasionally landed the Prince in hot water.
In his later years, Rogers became a prize-winning biographer, noted for his excellent books on two underrated and eccentric writers he had befriended, JL Carr and RS Thomas. His last major book was the very funny Me: The Authorised Biography – but you can read more about his fascinating life in his obituary here. | | Test your trivia skills and put the answers below in order. Play all three rounds of today’s trivia game, Sorted, plus our full range of brainteasers on Telegraph Puzzles.
Get a head start on today’s Cross Atlantic by cracking this clue: Friday’s Panagram was BOARDROOM. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Allister Heath, Sunday Telegraph Editor
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