Second World War veteran who was 'always looking to the future' has died at 102
Roy Daines, a Second World War veteran who lived in Silver End, has died at 102.
Kids 'make a difference' and donate 30 inches of hair to Little Princess Trust
Cameron and Emma “wanted to make a difference”, and cut 30 inches off their hair and raised £680 for Little Princess Trust.
Essex's most prolific Japanese Knotweed hotspots are revealed
Japanese Knotweed sightings around Essex are recorded by Environet, with larger areas like Southend and Brentwood being among the hotspots.
The Essex preschool where children love it so much they 'run in' everyday
Ofsted rated is as having 'Good' qualities in April as children were 'excited to start their day'
How to choose the perfect pineapple: Customer shares little-known secret to picking a ripe fruit every time
A customer has revealed a lesser-known way to pick a perfectly ripe pineapple at the supermarket every time.
Fury over school-issued advice that tells 14-year-old boys how to 'safely choke their girlfriends during sex'
The material, funded by Bridgend county borough council in south Wales, was shown to pupils studying PSHE lessons at a range of secondary schools.
Terrifying moment MLB star Luis Arraez lays motionless on field after sickening collision knocks him out cold
San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez was running to first base in the opening inning at Minute Maid Park when he accidentally ran straight into the left shoulder of an opponent.
Family affair! Nicole Kidman stuns in floral gown as she celebrates Easter with sister Antonia and glamorous niece Lucia in Nashville
Nicole Kidman marked Easter in the most elegant fashion this year, joining her sister Antonia Kidman and glamorous niece Lucia Hawley for a stunning family celebration in Nashville, Tennessee.
Should College Application Essays Be Banned?
While college applicants are often required to write a personal essay for their applications, political scientist/author/academic Yascha Mounk argues that's "a deeply unfair way to select students for top colleges, one that is much more biased against the poor than standardized tests."
The college essay wrongly encourages students to cast themselves as victims, to exaggerate the adversity they've faced, and to turn genuinely upsetting experiences into the focal point of their self-understanding. The college essay, dear reader, should be banned and banished and burned to the ground.
There are many tangible, "objective" reasons to oppose making personal statements a key part of the admissions process. Perhaps the most obvious is that they have always been the easiest part of the system to game. While rich parents can hire SAT tutors they can't sit the standardized test in the stead of their offspring; they can, however, easily write the admissions essay for their kid or hire a "college consultant" who "works with" the applicant to "improve" that essay. Even if rich parents don't cheat in those ways, their class position gives rich kids a huge advantage in the exercise... [W]riting a good admissions essay is to a large extent an exercise in demonstrating one's good taste — and the ability to do so has always depended on being fluent in the unspoken norms of an elite community...
Many on the left oppose standardized tests on the grounds that they have a class bias, and that hiring a tutor can make you perform better at them. But studies on the subject consistently suggest that the class bias of personal essays is far stronger than the class bias of standardized tests.... But the thing I truly hate about the college essay is not that it is part of a system that keeps deserving kids out of top colleges while rewarding privileged kids who (to add insult to injury) get to flatter themselves that they have been selected for showcasing such superior personality in their 750-word statements composed by their college consultant or ghostwritten by ChatGPT... [W]hat I truly hate about the college essay is the way in which it shapes the lives of high school students and encourages the whole elite stratum of society — including some of its most affluent, privileged and sheltered members — to conceive of themselves in terms of the hardships they have supposedly suffered...
[I]t is the bizarre spectacle of those kids from comparatively privileged backgrounds being effectively coerced by the admissions system to self-exoticize as products of great hardship which I find to be truly unseemly... And this is why I suspect that the seemingly innocuous institution of the college essay is more deeply damaging — to the high school experience, to the self-conception of millions of Americans, and even to the country's ability to sustain a trusted elite — than it appears... [I]t drains the souls of teenagers and encourages a deeply pernicious brand of fakery and breeds widespread mistrust in social elites.
The college essay is absurd and unfair and — ironically — unforgivably cringe. It's time to put an end to its strange hold over American society, and liberate us all from its tyranny.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Sinners upsets $721M juggernaut A Minecraft Movie at box office amid fears it 'could end the studio system'
The horror/adventure move garnered $45.6 million in North American theaters, studio officials said, according to the AP .
Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus debut SHOCK new romance with sweet PDA picture
Elizabeth Hurley just dropped a country-fried bombshell-posing for a steamy Easter smooch with none other than Billy Ray Cyrus.
Nuno Espirito Santo should win the Premier League manager of the year award... but only if he can stop Nottingham Forest fizzling out, writes MATT BARLOW
MATT BARLOW: Nuno Espirito Santo should win the Premier League 's manager of the year award if he can complete the leap from 17th to the top five.
Primark's 'perfect' cheetah themed travel items that fans 'want' and say they 'love'
The wares are on sale now in all Primark stores
Department for Work and Pensions launches probe after civil servant 'exposes herself on porn livestream while taking calls working from home'
In one clip she can even be seen flashing at her online followers as she finishes up an alleged call with a customer about pensions entitlements, The Sun reported.
Send incels speed-dating to help them overcome their hatred of women, says expert after issue of online misogyny was raised in Netflix's Adolescence
'Date coaching' is also among the tools recommended by Andrew Thomas, a senior lecturer at the University of Swansea.
Gatwick named worst British airport for delays second year in a row, with flights leaving 23 minutes late on average
Gatwick has retained its unwanted title as the country's worst airport for delays - with departures last year running on average 23 minutes late.
Celebrity Big Brother set for shocking TRIPLE eviction for first time ever in 'Evil Easter' twist as chaos descends on the house
Celebrity Big Brother has announced a shocking Evil Easter twist that will see three stars eliminated from the house on Tuesday.
The leafy community in the shadow of Windsor Castle now filled with dozens of male migrants: PAUL BRACCHI
The village of Datchet is perched on the lush banks of the River Thames. On the opposite side, a little over a mile away as the crow flies, you can see Windsor Castle.
Divorce experts reveal the small bad habits that can ruin marriages - this is how to get your partner to mend their ways and save your relationship
The woman was slumped in the chair, head in hands. It was clear to divorce lawyer Sheela Mackintosh-Stewart that her client's marriage was at the end of its road.
Toke it lucky! Michael Barrymore is spotted at annual 420 cannabis protest rally - as police arrest four and seize five sound systems during Easter Sunday meet
The former Strike It Lucky host, 72, wearing a £165 Heresy knitted jumper, looked on and smiled as hundreds of pot smokers gathered for the annual 420 pro drugs rally.