Oxfordshire students help combat illiteracy alongside experts
Year 12 student Jasmine said she had to develop her reading and writing when she came to the UK from Luxembourg in 2015."I skipped a year so I went straight into year four and had to learn how to read and write in English and learn my phonics - it was difficult but I was able to get support," the 17-year-old said.Cherwell has a buddy reading programme, which sees older students pair up with younger students and read together.Florence, 16, said she had "always liked reading" and "wanted to help others by reading with them", while 12-year-old Luka said he now found reading " fun, relaxing and calming", in part due to the scheme.Students taking part at the summit will fulfil various roles at the summit, including as discussion contributors and moderators.Kiril, who is 17 and introducing a speaker at the event, said: "One thing that's really important when these big international events happen is to have the voice of young people."I feel really lucky and privileged to represent not just my school, my city and my background, but also my age group - which I think in the world of literacy is really important."The four-day event is organised by the World Literacy Foundation, which was founded in 2011 by Andrew Kay after he witnessed his own son's literacy struggles."The communities in the UK with the lowest life expectancy also experience the highest rates of illiteracy," Mr Kay said.He added that the economic impact of illiteracy "costs" the UK economy £81bn every year.The summit is the largest event of its kind, and sees people from more than 85 countries descend on Oxford to take part until Wednesday.
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
17 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Cook 'easy' fried eggs in just minutes without a frying pan or oil
A woman has shared a simple hack to make perfect fried eggs without using a frying pan or oil - and it takes just five minutes to cook them when you use an air fryer Nothing beats a fried egg for breakfast on a buttery slice of toast or as part of a full English - but it appears there's a superior method to prepare them. Fried eggs are delightful but many people can be deterred from cooking them as they're conventionally prepared in a pan with oil, and nobody fancies spending their morning scrubbing away at a stubborn frying pan. Nevertheless, Annie, a chef and creator of the recipe website Upstate Ramblings has revealed there's a far simpler and healthier approach to delicious fried eggs as all you require is an air fryer. Annie explained: "Learn how to make fried eggs in the air fryer! This delicious breakfast is easy to make and very adaptable. It comes after a writer claimed ' I tried butter from Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and big brands - and the winner is not Lurpak '. "There is no need to preheat a pan or heat up the house. You just break some eggs and start the air fryer." It might seem straightforward, but preparing fried eggs in an air fryer isn't only practical but will produce a more uniformly cooked egg with a silkier texture as the circulating hot air will cook it consistently on all surfaces. It also demands significantly less oil so you'll have no oily mess to clean up afterwards, meaning you can create a fried egg without any hassle, reports the Express. How to make a fried egg in the air fryer To attempt this recipe, first break your eggs into a small heat-resistant bowl or ramekin. Spray with cooking oil or add one or two drops of oil to the dish. Season the egg with salt and pepper, then place in the air fryer at 190C for four minutes if you wish for a fried egg with a runny yolk. If you desire a firmer fried egg, prepare the egg at one-minute intervals until it reaches your preferred consistency. A medium-fried egg where the yolk remains runny will generally require about six minutes in the air fryer whilst a fried egg with a set yolk will need around eight minutes. Annie said: "The perfect time depends on how you like your eggs cooked. You can cook them for a shorter time and have a runny egg yolk or cook them longer for a firm egg yolk". Once prepared, slide a spatula or knife around the edges to release the egg from its vessel, and then your flawlessly cooked fried egg is ready to plate up. Annie ends, saying: "Serving your fried eggs with slices of toast to mop up the runny yolk is traditional. Add toppings for extra flavour, like shredded cheese, hot sauce, or fresh herbs. Or add a little Breakfast Sauce and put the fried egg on avocado toast".
The Herald Scotland
17 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Exams 2025: What to expect on results day
Last year a technical problem meant that some students received blank emails, causing concern for families and young people. The matter was resolved and email reissued, but the exam board – and those waiting for results – will be hoping that there is no repeat this year. What do the different grades mean? In general terms, passing grades are regarded as an A, B or C, with the required overall percentage for each one nominally being 70 percent, 60 percent and 50 percent respectively. Students scoring 40-49 percent overall receive a D grade. This is not counted as part of the overall pass rate statistic, nor is it generally considered to be a pass by colleges or universities, but the SQA states that it means students have been 'awarded the course'. Those scoring less than 40 percent receive No Award. However, the specific grade boundaries vary slightly between subjects and from one year to the next. For example, in 2024, 48 percent was enough to achieve a C for Higher English, while 65 percent was the threshold for an A in Higher Media. These changes happen to adjust for small variations in the difficulty of exam papers. Certificates will also show the 'SCQF Level' of all awards. This relates to a course's placement on the SCQF framework for qualifications. READ MORE Exam results: How does the SQA decide my grades? SQA rejects up to 90 percent of student bereavement appeals What if the SQA's exam appeals system is just a sham? What do students don't get what they wanted? Students are able to use the system that the SQA refers to as an 'appeal', but should understand that, unlike in the past, this does not allow them to have alternative evidence considered. Exam appeals are now strictly administrative, with a senior marker looking over a students' paper to ensure that, for example, all of the awarded marks have been added up correctly. The SQA is clear that this service does not include a remark of the paper itself. Students whose exam performance has been affected by issues outwith their control, such as a health problem or a bereavement, are able to request consideration under the Exam Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service, but applications must be submitted soon after the exam itself and cannot be completed after results have been issued. For those whose results don't match their expectations, a dedicated Results Helpline will be operated by Skills Development Scotland from 8am on results day. It offers support from a team of qualified careers advisers who can help young people consider their options. The number for the helpline is 0808 100 8000. The NSPCC is also reminding students and families about the support available from Childline, which is available for 'any young person who may be feeling overwhelmed, anxious or just needs someone to talk to.' Young people can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or via 1-2-1 chat on . Those hoping to attend university but who do not yet have an offer can also make use of the UCAS Clearing service. When will we know what the national picture looks like? While individual results are issued to students, national data is published by the SQA on its website. This includes information such as overall pass rates and attainment gaps for National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher, as well as more detailed breakdowns for specific subjects. Information about grade boundaries is also made available. The release also includes data on non-exam courses including National 4 and National Progression Awards. The Herald will bring you analysis of this data throughout results day.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Willie Jones obituary
My former English teacher Willie Jones, who has died aged 94, was an inspirational guide to thousands of students in the UK and, later, Japan. He combined a passion for texts with a warmth and patience that made the analysis of writing an adventure. He could have become a students' guru but shrank from leadership; his talent was a gentle helping hand. He wrote voluminously but suffered agonies over clarity and precision. His eyes welled when reciting Shakespeare. Born in Hereford, Willie was the eldest of the three children of Alice (nee Morris), who dreamed of teaching but was apprenticed to a dressmaker at 14, and Bill Jones, a butcher. Bill had left school at 11; Willie's parents and some perceptive teachers at Hereford high school for boys helped him to gain a place to study English at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Before university, two years' national service, including a commission as a second lieutenant, widened his world. He corresponded with army friends and pupils for the rest of his life. In 1956 he taught on placement at Shrewsbury school in Shropshire, returning in 1959 after a spell at St Bees school in Cumbria and becoming head of English before setting off across the world to teach at Hokkaido University in Sapporo in 1979. Willie was loved at Shrewsbury, where he galvanised drama classes, was an outstanding pastoral teacher and a long-distance runner, but Japanese culture brought out his best. It led to the flowering of a fascination with craftsmanship, dating back to his father's skill, which was the opposite of 'butchery' in the pejorative sense. Writing was his craft, and he applied it to studies of the relationship between English and Japanese, and essays on the craftsmen and craftswomen of Hokkaido. These became a book, while he continued to teach as an emeritus professor, the first foreigner to hold the title, until a few months before his death. Watching a Zoom class last year on As You Like It instantly brought back 1960s Shrewsbury for me. Willie was looked after in his last years by a devoted family in Sapporo after the state system was unwilling to maintain support for a foreign citizen. Masa and Ai Ikeda and their children, Hina and Sora, became his second family as well as carers and took his ashes be scattered on Coles Tump in Herefordshire, where he had played as a boy. He had called the area 'that in-between border-land which is not quite one thing, not quite the other, from which I have always needed to take my own liminal bearings'. He is survived by his brother, Robert, sister, Rosemary, and nieces, Gwen and Emma.
