Ex-footballer and entrepreneur Gary Neville has described exams as “prehistoric” and believes traditional assessments should be binned off for a better alternative as thousands of students are receiving their A-Level results this week.
The former Manchester United and England defender turned pundit, football commentator and co-owner of Salford City was appearing on BBC Breakfast on Thursday morning when he was asked his opinion on the current school systems and progression to A-Level and, in turn, university.
Neville, 48, who helped found the University Academy 92 higher education institution with his former Man United teammates and now business partners, stated. “I don’t believe you should work for 16 years at school and then it all depends on a two-hour assessment.”
I mean, he has a point — we’ve all had a bad exam (or three) in our time.
'I don't believe you should work for 16 years at school and then it all depend on a two hour assessment'
“I honestly believe that it needs ripping up; I think you should be judged on your body of work”, says Neville. “There are easier ways to gain consistency and assessment through marking people over their coursework and that does happen, obviously… but I believe we need to move it all towards that.”
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Adding that there is one thing he agrees with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan on, who also appeared on the programme to discuss A-Level results day, he said that he also believes “in 10 years time no employer is going to look at your GCSEs, you’re A-Level result.
“They’re going to look at your experience in the workplace but to get into the workplace in the first place you may be judged on what you’ve achieved in these [exam] results and I think what you should have is a career passport: a body of work that you be able to proud and should be able to refer to your employers.
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“They’re not going to look at an exam which is so robotic and methodical and is out of date, I believe, in 2023”. UA92, in contrast, takes a much more practical, often coursework-based approach to teaching and has made a real point of not just being another place to pick up a qualification.
With countless students across the UK having received their crucial A-Level results today, it is estimated that the proportion of A or A* grades is 27.2%, which is down from a peak of 44.8% during the pandemic — the steepest drop being in England, where 26.5% of exams papers received the top grade.
Interestingly, private and grammar schools saw the largest drop in top grades compared to last year despite still not making up for the disproportionate boost in grades those types of schools had over the course of the pandemic.
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As The Guardian put it rather succinctly and based solely on the statistics, “the gap between private and state schools in England closed but private pupils are still far ahead”.
Do you agree with Gary Neville, are exams out of date in modern-day education and the professional world? Either way, for anyone getting their results today, just remember you’re much more than a grade. We once got you a U in science (we didn’t even know they existed).
Featured Image — BBC Breakfast (via Twitter)/Unsplash
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How and where to recycle or donate your Christmas tree in Manchester | 2026
Emily Sergeant
The new year is here, and the ’12 days of Christmas’ are up… which means it’s time for a fresh start.
Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve both feel like things of the past now, and for most of us, this is our first proper week back at work too, which means (if you haven’t already) it’s time to tackle the task of taking down and putting away all the festive decorations – even if it is one of the dullest times of the year and it signals that the magic of Christmas is over.
For those of us that opt for a real Christmas tree though, the end of the year always brings one question – now what do we do with it?
Manchester City Council has aimed to answer that very question by providing residents with a handful of different ways to recycle their Christmas trees to make sure they’re put to good use and don’t go to waste or get dumped.
Here’s the different options.
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Recycle it in your food and garden waste bin
You can recycle your Christmas tree by cutting it up and placing it in your food and garden waste bin, but you’ll need to make sure you take the following steps before doing so.
Remove all decorations and fairy lights
Take off the base or wooden block if your tree has one
Make sure the trunk is not thicker than your wrist. Wood thicker than your wrist is too big and can’t be put in the garden and food bin. Large trunks and wooden bases can be taken to a recycling centre.
Donate it to charity
Did you know you can donate your Christmas trees to charity? That’s right – for residents living in Manchester, all you’ll need to do is register your tree with national charity JustHelping, along with a donation towards the collection, and you can help a local hospice or charitable cause in the city-region.
The money raised will go to good causes in the area, including Moya Cole Hospice (previously St Anne’s Hospice), Francis House, and We Love Manchester.
You can find more information and register your tree here.
It’s time to take down and recycle our Christmas trees for another year / Credit: Myriam Olmz | Tanbir Mahmud (via Unsplash)
Take it to a local drop-off point
You can drop your real tree throughout January at:
Angel Meadow Park (entrance Old Mount Street) – M4 4HA
Wythenshawe Park and Gardens Athletics Track – M23 0PH
Heaton Park (Middleton Road entrance) – M8 4NB
Boggart Hole Clough (near the Visitor Centre) – M9 7DH
Patchett Street, off Hyde Road in Ardwick – M12 4RY
Bring it to your local recycling centres
And finally, wherever you live in Manchester, you can take your real Christmas tree – and even your artificial tree that is beyond reuse – to your local recycling centre for free of charge, but it’s worth noting that if you’re planning on using a van, pick-up truck, or a twin-axle trailer to dispose of your tree, then you’ll probably need to apply for a permit.
You can find information about your nearest recycling centre here.
Are you elsewhere in Greater Manchester? Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) has teamed up with local councils and charities across the region to provide Greater Manchester residents in all 10 boroughs with several different options for either recycling or donate their old Christmas trees.
Featured Image – Jelleke Vanooteghem (via Unsplash)
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NHS releases list of first conditions set to be eligible for new ‘online hospital’
Emily Sergeant
The first conditions that are set to be eligible for video appointments via the new NHS online hospital have been revealed.
In case you hadn’t heard, back in September of last year, the Government has announced that the NHS would be setting up an ‘online hospital’ known simply as NHS Online – which will not have a physical site and instead digitally connect patients to expert clinicians anywhere across the country.
Ultimately, this means patients can be seen faster than normal, as teams triage them quickly through the NHS App and let them book in scans at times that suit them at centres closer to their home.
NHS Online – which will begin to see its first patients in 2027 – is expected to deliver the equivalent of up to 8.5 million virtual appointments and assessments in its first three years, according to the NHS, which is four times more than an average NHS trust.
And now, the NHS has selected nine ‘common’ conditions which will be the first to be treated by the NHS Online service.
📲 Introducing NHS Online 📲
A new digital hospital will transform healthcare.
From 2027, you'll be able to get specialist care:
✅ straight to your home via the NHS App ✅ faster than a traditional hospital appointment ✅ wherever you live in England
Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that can be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will be among the conditions available for online referrals, as will prostate problems like prostate enlargement and a raised prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, along with eye conditions including cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.
NHS Online will also provide support for other painful and distressing conditions, such as iron deficiency anaemia and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
So, how will NHS Online work then? Well, when a patient has an appointment with their GP, they will have the option of being referred to the online hospital for their specialist care instead, and then from there, they’ll be able to book directly through the NHS App.
Once referred to the online hospital, patients will have the ability to see specialists from around the country without leaving their home or having to wait longer for a face-to-face appointment.
The NHS has released a list of the first conditions set to be eligible for the new ‘online hospital’ / Credit: Nordwood Themes (via Unsplash) | rawpixel
If they need a scan, test, or procedure, then they’ll be able to book this in at a time that suits them at Community Diagnostic Centres closer to home.
Patients will also be able to track their prescriptions and get advice on managing their condition at home too.
“We’ve selected nine common conditions which the NHS Online service will initially provide support for when it launches next year, including some women’s health issues as well as prostate problems,” commented Professor Stella Vig, who is the National Clinical Director for Elective Care at NHS England.
“We know that these conditions can be painful and difficult to cope with so providing faster, more convenient access to diagnosis and treatments will have a real and positive impact on people’s lives.”
Danny Jones -
17th August 2023 
