Latest UK news

Graduates in debt head for home
More than half - 53 per cent - of all graduates will end up living with their parents immediately after finishing their studies, according to a survey by Abbey National bank. Only 5 per cent actually want to move back home but they are burdened by debt. Nearly a third of the 800 students from eight universities interviewed would love to live in a shared house in a big city, preferably London.

Engineering council head appointed
John O’Reilly, head of the department of electronic and electrical engineering at University College London, has been named as the new chief executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Dormice released to go forth and multiply
Captive-bred young dormice are being released into the wild in Cambridgeshire today to try to boost the population of the declining species. The move has been organised by English Nature, Mammals Trust UK, Forest Enterprise and Royal Holloway, University of London as part of an ongoing species recovery plan for the dormouse.

Children benefit from free museums
Following the abolition of admission charges, more children than ever visited England’s national museums last year, figures out today reveal. Visits by children have grown steadily from just under 5 million in 1998-99 to more than 6 million in 2000-01. Entry charges were abolished for children in April 1999.