Latest UK news

Funding packages target poor

Students from low-income families will benefit from two packages announced today. A £1.7 million scheme funded by the Royal Bank of Scotland will help improve access to university, while, in a separate initiative, universities will receive an extra £750 per student for undergraduates whose parents earn less than £10,000 a year.

Teacher recruitment fails to meet target

The government has missed its target for secondary school teacher training recruitment. Despite an increase of just under 2,000 in the numbers entering training programmes, recruitment fell 13 per cent short. Primary recruitment, however, was above target with a 12 per cent increase in trainees.

Potato sensor stops the rot

Scientists at the University of the West of England have developed a device for finding rotten potatoes that could save the food industry more than £5 million a year. The prototype sensor can identify one rotten potato among 900 healthy specimens.

Seed bank protects rare plants
The Prince of Wales today opened a purpose-built bunker designed to house endangered plant species - the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place, West Sussex. The project received £30 million from the Millennium Commission and £9.2 million from the Wellcome Trust.