News

People are discovering a little-known hack that can score teachers tonnes of discounts

Game. Changer.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 8th August 2024

If you yourself are a teacher or happen to know one, you’ll know that the world of education isn’t always packed with perks: you often take your work home with you, weekends become made for marking and working with kids can be simply knackering – surely some discounts are the least they deserve.

Well, what if we told you that a little-known hack for teachers to get tonnes of pretty decent discounts is sitting right underneath the noses of countless British teachers?

And when we say ‘decent’, we’re talking as much as half-price off when purchasing from certain companies here in the UK.

We’re sure most if not all of you will have heard of a ‘Blue Light’ card, the membership that allows NHS, emergency services, armed forces, those in social care and other vital service professions to access savings on more than 15,000 brands, but it seems that this now includes teachers.

As revealed in a viral video by Manchester-based primary school teacher, author and online content creator ‘Mr P’ – real name Lee Parkinson – it turns out that many of those working in education also now qualify for a Blue Light card.

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Explaining the simple but somewhat secret process in his now-viral video, teachers throughout the education system and, indeed, teaching assistants can apply for a Blue Light card online and find their professions at the bottom of a lengthy drop-down list.

Many companies offered their own discount services to teachers during Covid and post-pandemic after they were rightly recognised as crucial key workers – as if we even needed a pandemic to make that abundantly clear – and now Blue Light is set to cover those in education moving forward too.

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As a result of this massive revelation, floods of people almost crashed the website, creating a lengthy online queue that gave us an expected waiting time of over three hours at its highest point.

There’s still a massive digital waiting room as we speak. Writing in a statement following the influx of interest, a spokesperson for Blue Light Card said: “What an incredible response we’ve had to welcoming teachers into our community!

“Teachers are not just educators, but also mentors, guides and inspirations that provide essential services to society – often going above and beyond the call of duty, as we saw during the pandemic. The excitement and appetite to join our community today only goes to show how deserving of recognition and reward our teachers are.

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This was as of approximately 2:30pm on Thursday, 8 August, after hours of people stumbling onto the shopping life hack.
Blue Light cards are available in physical and digital form.
Credit: Screenshot (via bluelightcard.co.uk)/The Manc Group

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“Such is the demand we’ve seen today, we’re experiencing some issues with our website and app and our team is working hard to fix it as quickly as possible. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this is causing our members and we’ll provide an update as soon as we can. In the interim, you can register your interest at https://teachers.bluelightcard.co.uk.”

After creating a number of helpful videos like this and hosting the popular Two Mr Ps in a Pod(Cast), ‘Mr P ICT’, to use his go-to moniker on social media, the multi-talented teacher has grown a huge following over the past few years and we dare say even more so since disclosing these discounts.

Now in his mid-30s and based in Urmston, Trafford, Parkinson currently works part-time at Davyhulme Primary School and has more than 15 years of experience in the education sector.

Having specialised in ICT (as the name would suggest) and integrating tech into modern teaching, as well as holding an Academic Development and Enhancement qualification, the guy knows what he’s talking about and boasts hundreds of thousands of followers.

We’re sure all teachers would join us in thanking Mr P for spreading such helpful information and hopefully saving people lots of money moving forward. That being said, if you are an educator, don’t waste any more time reading this – go get yourself some well-earned discounts!

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Featured Images — rupixen (via Unsplash)/Mr P ICT (via X)

News

Street parties and Red Arrows fly-over planned for four-day VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Street party

Street parties and fly-pasts by military aircraft including the famous Red Arrows are planned for the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Victory in Europe (VE Day) – which takes place on 8 May each year, and marks the Allied victory in Europe – resulted in millions celebrating the end of the war in 1945, with street parties, dancing and singing all across the country.

And now, 80 years later, similar events and celebrations are set to take place.

The commemorations set to take place over four days at the start of May will pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought, the children who were evacuated, and those who stepped into the essential roles on the Home Front.

The early May bank holiday on Monday 5 May will see the beginning of the events to mark VE Day 80, with events planned including a military procession, flypast of current and historic military aircraft, and the return of the poppies to the Tower of London.

Also on bank holiday Monday is when street parties, barbecues. and community get-togethers are being encouraged to be held by communities across the country to echo the celebrations 80 years ago.

The Government has also issued a nationwide call for families to ‘delve into their lofts’ and discover their own stories from the Second World War.

On actual VE Day itself, on Thursday 8 May, a service will take place at Westminster Abbey that the Government says will be both an ‘act of shared remembrance’ and a ‘celebration’ of the end of the war.

Street parties and a Red Arrows fly-over is planned for 80th anniversary celebrations of VE Day / Credit: Vicki Burton (via Flickr)

All the planned events will conclude with a concert at the historic Horseguards Parade, with more than 10,000 members of the public expected to attend, and well-known stars of stage and screen and military musicians set to perform.

“80 years ago, the freedoms we enjoy today were defended by our remarkable Second World War generation,” commented Defence Secretary John Healey MP as the planned celebrations were announced.

“Our duty today is to safeguard the British values they sacrificed so much to uphold.

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“As we mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War, our grateful nation looks forward to joining our brave Armed Forces and veterans to reflect, rejoice and remember.”

Featured Image – Jason Garcia (via Flickr)

News

Manchester has been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Car theft

Manchester has unfortunately been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’, according to a new analysis.

In recent months, Greater Manchester has been earning itself some rather impressive new titles, with wins across areas such as property prices, arts and culture, and so much more… but when you win some, it seems like you also lose some.

That’s because a data analysis of car theft statistics across the UK in 2024 has sadly seen Manchester named in the top 10 ‘hotspots’.

Although motor thefts were found to have decreased by 6% in the previous year, there was still a whopping 61,343 cars reported stolen to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in 2024, which marked the third-highest annual total in the past decade.

The number of car thefts in 2024 was actually more than twice the number recorded in 2015.

Manchester has been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’ / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Analysis of the data from This is Money and MailOnline, as shared by the RAC, highlighted that East London was the worst affected area in the UK, but Manchester wasn’t too far behind.

Manchester took the third spot on the top 10 list, with a total of 912 cars reported stolen in 2024 alone, while some of the other northern cities on the ranking include Leeds and Sheffield.

It comes as no surprise, however, that at the top of the list is the capital of London, with a shockingly-high 8,145 cars stolen last year.

Top 10 UK car theft ‘hotspots’ 2024

  1. London – 8,145
  2. Birmingham – 3,220
  3. Manchester – 912
  4. Leeds – 901
  5. Sheffield – 899
  6. Coventry – 862
  7. Wolverhampton – 616
  8. Leicester – 533
  9. Walsall – 521
  10. Bristol – 506

According to the analysis, there are several ways that criminals are choosing to steal cars nationwide, with one of the most popular being key cloning, where a thief creates a copy of a car’s key fob or key to gain access to the vehicle.

This technique is particularly common with modern cars that use keyless entry and push-to-start systems, which communicate with the car through radio signals.

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Two other common car theft techniques include relay attacks, and key signal blocking.

Featured Image – rawpixel

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