Lotteries are on a list of approved ways of allocating places at over-subscribed schools in England
A controversial lottery system for secondary school places in Brighton failed in one of its key aims – to give poorer children equal access to top schools, academics say.
Researchers looked at what has happened in Brighton and Hove since a lottery was brought in two years ago.
They say pupils in the poorest areas still have little chance of getting into the most popular schools.
Brighton and Hove Council says the system is fairer than the previous one.
It uses a lottery on top of a catchment area system.
The city is divided into catchment areas and if a school is over-subscribed with applications from that area, a lottery is used as a tie-breaker to decide who should get a place.
In the past, places went to pupils who lived closest to the schools, leading critics to say pupils were being “selected by mortgage”.
Now, families living in wealthier areas close to their favoured school might not get a place there.
The changes sparked a major protest in Brighton, but they were declared to be fair by the Schools Adjudicator last year.
Research presented to the British Educational Research Association on Friday says the system does not give equal chances to all pupils because catchment areas are still the main determinants of access to particular schools.
The new catchment areas are drawn in such a way that families in the poorest neighbourhoods still have little chance of getting into the most popular schools, according to the academics.
The most popular schools are in the centre of the city, while the most deprived areas are to the east and far west.
“The main lesson of our analysis is that the introduction of a lottery on its own is not enough to equalise access to the high-performing popular schools,” said Rebecca Allen of the Institute of Education, London, and Simon Burgess and Leigh McKenna from Bristol University in their report.
“The drawing of the catchment area boundaries is central to the outcome of the reform.”
The researchers say if anything, socio-economic segregation has increased slightly, although some students from wealthier neighbourhoods were now attending less academically successful secondaries than they might have expected to previously.
“These are the primary group losing out from the reform, balanced by a more diffuse group of winners who gained access to the higher performing schools,” the report says.
Simon Burgess said there were two slightly different messages from the findings – but they were not contradictory.
He said although there was some “evening out”, the lottery had not equalised the chances of poorer pupils getting into the highest-performing schools.
“We all hoped and expected that the use of a lottery as opposed to proximity would make school admissions a little fairer.
“We were puzzled as to why that appeared not to be true. The reason is the catchment area.”
Brighton and Hove Council says it is too early to draw firm conclusions about the lottery, referred to as random allocation.
A spokesman said: “The aim was to create a system that is fairer to more people than the previous system and ensure children could get places at a school that’s near to them. We argue that these aims have been achieved.
“The geographical spread across the city of our secondary schools meant that under the previous system children in large areas of the city were unable to get places at their local school – because they were too far away in terms of home to school distance – and were having to travel across the city to other schools instead.
“Under the catchment area based system we now have, all children get priority for a school that’s near to them.”
The council will review the system in 2012 as agreed when it was adopted, he said.
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The hurricane is currently heading north-west
Evacuations have begun in areas of the US east coast likely to be hit by Hurricane Earl.
The storm has dropped to category three but is still generating sustained winds of 201km/h (135mph).
President Barack Obama said officials needed to be ready for a “worst case” scenario in a call to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).
One island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks is being evacuated and visitors are being asked to leave another.
The narrow islands are served by a single main road and officials worry that waves washing over it will cause danger to travellers.
Fema has warned people along much of the the eastern seaboard of the US to be vigilant and follow official bulletins.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said they expected the hurricane to turn north and then run parallel to the east coast.
“The most important thing for people living in Earl’s potential tract to do is to listen to and follow the instructions of their local officials,” Fema administrator Craig Fugate said.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the east coast of the US from Bogue Inlet North Carolina north-eastward to the North Carolina/Virginia border, including the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds.
The hurricane watch has been adjusted northward and now extends from the North Carolina/Virginia border northward to Cape Henlopen, Delaware.
A warning means hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the affected area, with the first tropical storm-force winds within 36 hours. A watch expects the same within 48 hours.
The local authorities in the Outer Banks expect the storm to pass 80 miles (130km) away from the islands, which are popular with tourists, meaning high winds and waves are likely.
Ferries have been transporting vehicles from Hatteras Island as part of the evacuation
Hatteras Island is being evacuated of visitors, while both visitors and residents have been told to leave Ocracoke Island just to the south.
The hurricane is currently east of the central Bahamas and is moving north-west.
“Large swells from Earl should affect the Bahamas and the south-eastern coast of the United States today [Wednesday]. These swells will likely cause dangerous surf conditions and rip currents,” the NHC said.
The Labor Day weekend marks the end of a holiday season and many Americans use it to head for the beach.
On Monday the hurricane battered north-eastern Caribbean islands and Puerto Rico, causing power cuts and flooding.
Earl is being closely followed by Tropical Storm Fiona, currently east of the Leeward Isles with winds of up to 65km/h.
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The River Amazon has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years in north-eastern Peru, leaving boats stranded.
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The government’s chief environment scientist calls for more openness in admitting the UK’s cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are an illusion.
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Gardeners are being warned about the risk of Legionnaire’s disease from compost after a pensioner developed the disease after handling compost.
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Unison Scotland members will discuss how to respond to a move by councils to impose a pay deal on 150,000 workers.
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Engineering manufacturing in Scotland is showing its best performance since 2006, according to the latest figures.
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Alcohol consumption has fallen faster than ever, figures from the British Beer and Pub Association suggest.
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The drugs work by strengthening the bones
Long-term use of bone-strengthening drugs – used to treat fractures – may boost the risk of oesophageal cancer, Oxford University research suggests.
The study of 3,000 people found taking bisphosphonates for five years upped the risk from one in 1,000 to two in 1,000 for 60 to 79-year-olds.
The researchers said the risk was small, but reliable information on risks and benefits was needed.
But experts said for many, the case for taking the drugs “would be strong”.
The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, were based on an analysis of anonymised GP records.
They contrast with previous research which found no increased risk for the bone-strengthening drugs.
‘Talk to doctor’
“Anyone who is taking these drugs and is worried about their risk of cancer should talk to their doctor”
Dr Laura Bell Cancer Research UK
It is not known why the risk may be increased, although the drugs are known to irritate the oesophagus.
Thousands of stomach and colorectum cancers were also studied, but no increased risk was found.
Lead researcher Dr Jane Green said even if the findings were confirmed by other studies “few people” taking bisphosphonates would ever develop the cancer.
“Our findings are part of a wider picture. Bisphosphonates are being increasingly prescribed to prevent fracture and what is lacking is reliable information on the benefits and risks of their use in the long term.”
About 600,000 people in the UK are currently taking the drugs – including a tenth of all women over the age of 70.
Dr Laura Bell, from Cancer Research UK, agreed the findings should be treated with caution, pointing out the risks were “still small”.
“Anyone who is taking these drugs and is worried about their risk of cancer should talk to their doctor.”
The National Osteoporosis Society said: “It is a case of balancing the reduced risk of fractures against the side effects of treatment.
“When you consider the fact that there are 230,000 osteoporotic fractures every year in the UK and 1,150 hip-fracture-related deaths every month, the case for treatment is strong.”
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An explosion has torn through an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the blast in April that caused a huge oil spill.
The blast, which threw 13 people into the water, was reported by a helicopter company at 0930 local time (1330 GMT).
The platform, which caught fire, was not producing oil or gas, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The blast occurred around 130km (80 miles) south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.
Helicopters, boats and aircraft were sent to the site.
Immersion suits
All 13 workers who fell into the Gulf are accounted for and have been transported to another platform by an oil support vessel, the Coast Guard said. One person is reportedly injured.
The platform is owned by Mariner Energy and is located off the Louisiana coast
Before being rescued by the support boats, all 13 workers were given special immersion suits to protect them from the water, said Coast Guard chief petty officer John Edwards.
The federal government was prepared to respond to the situation if there had been reports of pollution, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Mr Gibbs added that President Barack Obama was in a national security meeting, and he was unaware if the president was informed of the blast.
The platform is owned by Mariner Energy and is located in shallow water, approximately 340ft (105m) from the floor of the Gulf.
“Right now we’re focused on search and rescue and then, ultimately, as this thing progresses we’re going to be looking into the cause,” Mr Edwards said.
Mariner Energy Spokesman Patrick Cassidy told the CNN TV network the blast occurred “quite a ways away” from any wells.
Mr Cassidy confirmed the platform was not in production at the time of the explosion.
The structure had been undergoing maintenance activities prior to the blast, said Melissa Schwartz, spokeswoman for Bureau of Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement.
Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two planes, and three boats were sent to the site of the explosion from the states of Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama.
Coast Guard helicopters did not spot any oil floating around the burning platform, said Coast Guard fireman Katherine McNamara.
The latest explosion comes more than four months after an blast ripped through a Deepwater Horizon rig run by BP, causing about hundreds of million gallons of oil to be released into the Gulf of Mexico.
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Stuart Wilson had been staying with his family at a caravan park near Cranfield beach
A six-year-old boy who was struck by a speedboat at Cranfield beach in County Down has died in hospital.
Stuart Wilson, from Rathfriland, was on a wave board being towed by a boat, when the collision happened at about 1700 BST on Bank Holiday Monday.
He suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, before being transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
His family had been holidaying at a caravan park near the beach.
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The classic and the Countryman are very different, yet they are clearly both members of the Mini family
A new Mini will hit the road later this month – one that has moved miles away from the marque’s roots and seems to defy much of the logic of the tiny original.
At a driving event for the media this week, the new Mini Countryman was met with much head-shaking by puzzled, albeit curious, motoring journalists.
The car was described as strange, competent, expensive, risky, even dull – there was no consensus view.
But one thing is certain – the Countryman is different, whether compared with rivals or with Minis made in the past.
Park it next to a classic and there are clearly more differences than similarities. At almost twice the size, the Countryman clearly lacks the low-slung go-cart-like characteristics of the original.
It is tall and bulky, its bulging bonnet has a protruding upper lip, and the wheel arches can only be described as butch.
Yet somehow it still looks like a member of the Mini family, the way a mother might resemble her child, or the way a teenage boy might have inherited some of his grandfather’s quirky characteristics.
Snow and mud
The Countryman is reasonably capable off road
But unlike the purist classic, the Countryman comes across as a schizophrenic beast.
Take it off road and the 4×4 version handles rutted fields and slippery mud slopes with aplomb.
A rally Mini based on the Countryman’s chassis will presumably deal with such conditions even better when the marque returns to the FIA World Rally Championship next year.
Yet Mini executives are eager to stress that it is not an off-road car – indeed, the standard version is front-wheel drive only. It is a crossover, they stress, built primarily for the road, but also perfectly able to deal with snowy roads or potholed country tracks.
On the road, the drive has little in common with its nippy hatchback sibling. The ride is high and floaty and the steering much less precise.
But smaller Mini-models are not the Countryman’s main rivals, so comparing it to those is perhaps unfair.
Mini CountrymanPrice: from £16,000Power: 98bhp – 184bhpCO2 emissions: 139g/km-143g/km
Instead, the roomy car is pitched as an alternative for drivers who have chosen not to buy Minis in the past, precisely because they have been too small, or at drivers who have outgrown the hatchback or the convertible.
Volkswagen’s Golf, Ford’s Focus, Toyota’s Rav4 and Suzuki’s SX4 are named as competitors, but its main rival will be Nissan’s hugely successful Qashqai crossover, according to Mini product manager Lee Connolly.
“Nissan’s been doing an extremely good job here and we want a slice of their cake, for sure,” he says. “The crossover segment is a growing market that we want to be part of.”
Stretching the brand
Three quarters of the Countryman’s customers will be families, Mr Connolly predicts.
By 2013, Mini will have six models in its stable
But targeting customers who are looking for practicality could backfire if it alienates traditional Mini customers who are looking for a funky and youthful experience.
Hence, the Countryman risks stretching the Mini brand to its limits, perhaps damaging its carefully honed image in the process. Launching it thus poses a significant risk for its parent company BMW.
But that, executives say, is a risk worth taking as building on the roaring success of Mini’s existing hatchback, convertible and Clubman models could also prove hugely rewarding.
“This is arguably the most important launch since we introduced the New Mini in 2001,” says Mr Connolly.
And it is the first of many. Over the next couple of years, two more Minis – a roadster and a coupe – will go on sale, bringing the British-based carmaker’s model line-up to six – not counting its experimental electric Mini E.
Though unlike the other five, the Countryman will not be produced in the UK, but in Austria.
Ian Robertson, member of the BMW Group’s management board in charge of sales and marketing, is convinced the marque is ready to be expanded further and hints that there might well be more to come.
But any such decisions are unlikely to be made until the Countryman has won over the buying public.
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