Children in England are to be taught in school about how to spot extremist content, fake news, and conspiracy theories online.
In the wake of the recent Southport attack at the end of last month, and the widespread protests and riots that followed in the days and weeks after, new Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has now spoken about her plans to launch a review of the school curriculum, both in primary and secondary schools, in a bid arm children against “putrid conspiracy theories”.
Ms Phillipson says the Department for Education (DfE) is keen to embed critical thinking skills into multiple subjects of the school curriculum, and is aiming to widen students’ access to different cultural subjects.
Ultimately, the Government wants to “give pupils the knowledge and skills they need to thrive at work and throughout life”.
We’re resetting the relationship between the government and those working in education.
Together, we’ll deliver change: the best start in life for every child, high & rising standards and a country where background is no barrier. pic.twitter.com/tojQvUOete
— Bridget Phillipson (@bphillipsonMP) July 8, 2024
Well, as Ms Philippson told The Telegraph this past weekend (10 August), this could mean that schoolchildren would spend time analysing articles in their English lessons to help them learn how to them distinguish between fabricated clickbait and accurate reporting, while in their ICT or computer lessons, they may be taught how to spot fake news sites, and in their maths lessons, analysing statistics in context would form part of the new curriculum.
“It’s more important than ever that we give young people the knowledge and skills to be able to challenge what they see online,” Ms Phillipson told The Telegraph.
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“That’s why our curriculum review will develop plans to embed critical skills in lessons to arm our children against the disinformation, fake news and putrid conspiracy theories awash on social media.
“Our renewed curriculum will always put high and rising standards in core subjects – that’s non-negotiable.”
Greater Manchester Police officers on duty at far-right protests in Manchester earlier this month / Credit: GMP
The news that the Education Secretary is to launch a review of the current school curriculum comes after the moderation and regulation of social media, as a whole, has also been under scrutiny following the UK-wide unrest and disorder in the wake of the Southport attack.
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While the ‘Online Safety Act – which is a regulation of social media platforms – became law in the UK back in 2023, it is yet to fully come into effect nationwide.
London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, declared his view last week that the Act was “not fit for purpose”, which has apparently prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to hint that he would look at ways to strengthen social media regulations.
High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.
Fontaines D.C. announce massive return to Manchester on new European tour
Daisy Jackson
Fontaines D.C. have just announced their biggest headline tour to date, including a massive arena gig here in Manchester.
The wildly popular Irish rock band are set to play a whopping 20 arena shows across Europe and the UK this autumn.
The tour has been announced in celebration of their upcoming fifth studio album, Dopamine Chamber, which is set for release this October.
Fontaines D.C. will hit the road just five days after the album drops, kicking off their European tour in Lisbon on 21 October.
Then they’ll make their way over to the UK, with shows in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham and London.
Fans in their home country of Ireland are told to stay tuned for live news very soon.
As we speak, Fontaines D.C. are warming up to play one of the country’s biggest festivals, with headline slots at Reading & Leeds Festival.
They’ve already released Marianne, the first single from their new album, and frontman Grian Chatten says of the album: “The album itself is a dopamine chamber. You step inside and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”
The new record has been recorded between London, the English countryside, and Palermo, where Chatten recorded vocals in a makeshift booth built from mattresses and cushions.
He said: “There’s a poignant sense of us being on the brink of some other kind of form of humanity, or non-humanity.”
Tickets will go on general sale at 10am on Thursday 3 September, with pre-sale live from 10am on Tuesday 1 September.
You can access tickets for Fontaines D.C. in Manchester HERE.
Fans who pre-order Dopamine Chamber from the official store by 6pm on Monday 31 August will gain access to the UK pre-sale.
Fontaines D.C. UK tour dates in full
Friday 20 November – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
Saturday 21 November – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Sunday 22 November – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tuesday 24 November – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
Wednesday 25 November – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Emily Sergeant -
12th August 2024 
