17/08/2017

:00:09. > :00:10.Hello it's Thursday, it's 9 o'clock, I'm Joanna Gosling.

:00:11. > :00:17.Hundreds of thousands of teenagers across the country are this morning

:00:18. > :00:21.And universities are bracing themselves for what could be one

:00:22. > :00:24.of the busiest years ever for the clearing process as changes

:00:25. > :00:26.to the exams have made it difficult to predict results.

:00:27. > :00:29.We have had exclusive access to a radical new approach

:00:30. > :00:44.Dubbed Edinburgh's "homeless village",

:00:45. > :00:47.the joint charity and council project will see 20 people

:00:48. > :01:02.housed in portable properties for up to 18 months.

:01:03. > :01:11.It is quite spacious, we have a wee living room area, a week kitchen

:01:12. > :01:14.area, and a couple of bedrooms. -- wee.

:01:15. > :01:17.And the high court in Belfast will issue a landmark ruling today

:01:18. > :01:19.on whether the current ban on same-sex marriage

:01:20. > :01:21.in Northern Ireland should be overturned.

:01:22. > :01:24.Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where same-sex couples

:01:25. > :01:26.are restricted to civil partnerships rather than marriages.

:01:27. > :01:35.We talk to the couples who have mounted the legal challenge.

:01:36. > :01:37.Welcome to the programme, we're live until 11 this morning.

:01:38. > :01:39.Obviously A level results don't just affect the students,

:01:40. > :01:42.it's a big day for parents and carers too, so do get in touch

:01:43. > :01:45.if you've been caught up in the stresses of results day too.

:01:46. > :01:53.We love this, from Paris, mother, what were your results, the

:01:54. > :01:56.important thing is, I am healthy and alive...

:01:57. > :02:01.You can get in touch on that and any of the stories we're talking

:02:02. > :02:04.about this morning, use the hashtag Victoria LIVE,

:02:05. > :02:12.and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate.

:02:13. > :02:19.AS-level no longer count in some subject and student sit all of their

:02:20. > :02:23.exams at the end of two years of study rather than modules, initial

:02:24. > :02:28.figures show that the number accepted on UK degree courses is 2%

:02:29. > :02:32.down on last year. The changes do not apply in Wales and Northern

:02:33. > :02:33.Ireland, where results are also published today. Gillian Hargreaves

:02:34. > :02:41.reports. Three months ago, busy showing what

:02:42. > :02:45.they learn, now the students at this college in east London are about to

:02:46. > :02:49.find out if hard work paid off. In England, recent changes to A-levels

:02:50. > :02:54.mean these are the first Judon is to sit one exam at the end of two years

:02:55. > :02:58.study, less emphasis on coursework, and AS-level is no longer count

:02:59. > :03:08.towards the final grade in 13 subjects. The new type of A-levels

:03:09. > :03:11.are unsettling for some students. -- AS-levels. Memorising, rather than

:03:12. > :03:16.learn, they are trying to make it harder for us and it will get harder

:03:17. > :03:21.each year. We have two access it. When they wheel out the guinea pigs,

:03:22. > :03:25.we have no past papers, no practice, even teachers, so much new things

:03:26. > :03:29.added to the syllabus, teachers are struggling to teach as well. The

:03:30. > :03:33.change of direction has been welcomed by some headteachers. The

:03:34. > :03:38.new system is good, it prepares students well for university and for

:03:39. > :03:42.employment. The key challenge is for the awarding bodies to make sure

:03:43. > :03:46.that they are marking to a consistently high standard, and that

:03:47. > :03:53.students get the results they deserve. There has been a fall in

:03:54. > :03:56.the number of students applying to university, it is expected there may

:03:57. > :04:04.be more places available to young people who want to shop around.

:04:05. > :04:14.STUDIO: One student who will be pleased is Malala Yousafzai, the

:04:15. > :04:18.feminist activist who was shot in the dead by Taliban gunmen for

:04:19. > :04:21.attempting to go to school has tweeted that she has won a place to

:04:22. > :04:31.study politics, philosophy and economics at the University of

:04:32. > :04:35.Oxford. We will be speaking with teachers about whether these new

:04:36. > :04:38.tests are more difficult. Rebecca Jones is in the BBC Newsroom with a

:04:39. > :04:44.summary of the rest of the days news.

:04:45. > :04:47.President Trump says he is shutting down two business councils

:04:48. > :04:50.after a raft of resignations by the leaders of some of the United

:04:51. > :04:53.Around a dozen company heads left their roles

:04:54. > :04:55.following Mr Trump's decision to blame left-wing protesters

:04:56. > :04:57.as much as right-wing supremacists for the violence which erupted

:04:58. > :05:05.At the top of our agenda is the creation of great

:05:06. > :05:09.VOICEOVER: Set up to help the President deliver

:05:10. > :05:12.America great again," the business advisory councils brought together

:05:13. > :05:15.the heads of some of the biggest companies in the US.

:05:16. > :05:17.Who would have thought, then, that the racial

:05:18. > :05:19.clashes in Charlottesville on Saturday, in which one person

:05:20. > :05:24.died, would have proved their undoing?

:05:25. > :05:29.The President's response to this violence shocked members

:05:30. > :05:31.of his own party and unnerved many of those corporate executives.

:05:32. > :05:35.Once the country's most prominent African-American

:05:36. > :05:38.businessman, pharmaceutical CEO Ken Frazier,

:05:39. > :05:42.announced that he was leaving, others swiftly followed.

:05:43. > :05:44.We believe the symbolism of being associated with that

:05:45. > :05:46.spirited defence of racism and bigotry was just unacceptable.

:05:47. > :05:48.As a trickle of resignations turned into a flood,

:05:49. > :05:51.a close ally of the president, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman,

:05:52. > :05:53.rang to tell him that members were threatening to quit en

:05:54. > :06:10.masse, at which point the president took to Twitter to pull the plug:

:06:11. > :06:12.A large crowd took to the streets of Charlottesville

:06:13. > :06:16.A peaceful protest this time in memory of the 32-year-old woman,

:06:17. > :06:17.Heather Hayer, who died in Saturday's clashes.

:06:18. > :06:20.But with racial tension simmering once more in the United States,

:06:21. > :06:40.few believe the debate will end here.

:06:41. > :06:43.STUDIO: A man will appear in court today for an extradition hearing

:06:44. > :06:45.after being arrested over the alleged kidnapping

:06:46. > :06:48.Chloe Ayling is believed to have been snatched

:06:49. > :06:51.after being lured to a fake modelling shoot in Milan last month.

:06:52. > :06:53.Michal Herba was detained at an address in the West Midlands

:06:54. > :06:58.and is the brother of Lukasz Herba, who is being held by Italian police.

:06:59. > :07:01.The Spanish authorities say there's been a surge in the number

:07:02. > :07:06.of illegal migrants crossing the sea from Morocco.

:07:07. > :07:09.during what coastguards described as their busiest day yet.

:07:10. > :07:12.Some migrants have attempted the short journey using children's

:07:13. > :07:16.Spain has dealt with nine-thousand arrivals by sea since January --

:07:17. > :07:28.three times as many as in the same period last year.

:07:29. > :07:31.Emergency services are tackling a huge blaze at the fruit market

:07:32. > :07:43.Ninety per cent of the building is now ablaze.

:07:44. > :07:46.Drifting smoke has caused some road closures and speed

:07:47. > :07:49.Hundreds of traders work at the market supplying fresh food

:07:50. > :07:51.to shops and restaurants in the west of Scotland.

:07:52. > :08:07.There are no reports of any injuries.

:08:08. > :08:09.Far too many older people are suffering in silence when things

:08:10. > :08:12.go wrong with their NHS care, according to the Parliamentary

:08:13. > :08:16.It says it's often their relatives who have to step in to complain,

:08:17. > :08:18.but even when they do, many don't believe it

:08:19. > :08:26.Afraid to raise the alarm, far fewer complaints from older people than

:08:27. > :08:29.expected, given their high use of the NHS, according to the ombudsman.

:08:30. > :08:31.Elderly people are reluctant to complain because they think it is

:08:32. > :09:06.difficult. The ombudsman says the NHS must make

:09:07. > :09:09.it clear how to complain, and those who do must be convinced

:09:10. > :09:12.that future care will not suffer. In response the Department of Health

:09:13. > :09:15.said that when things go wrong, "it is incredibly important

:09:16. > :09:17.to listen to the concerns of patients and their families,

:09:18. > :09:33.by learning from mistakes, STUDIO: Thousands of low paid

:09:34. > :09:36.workers are to receive more than two million pounds in back pay as a

:09:37. > :09:44.result of tax investigations by the government. -- ?2 million. Around

:09:45. > :09:46.230 employers were found to have paid workers less than national

:09:47. > :09:47.minimum wage. Among the worst offenders was the retailer Argos,

:09:48. > :09:54.which has been fined ?800,000. A week of national mourning has been

:09:55. > :09:57.called in Sierra Leone, in the wake of the flooding

:09:58. > :09:59.and mudslides that claimed hundreds Officials say more than 100 children

:10:00. > :10:05.are among the 400 people who are known to have died when part

:10:06. > :10:07.of a mountain collapsed At least 600 people

:10:08. > :10:10.are still missing. Our correspondent

:10:11. > :10:22.Martin Patience reports. VOICEOVER: In Freetown, ambulances

:10:23. > :10:27.rushing not to the hospital but to the main mortuary, they are ferrying

:10:28. > :10:40.the dead, victims buried alive by a landslide.

:10:41. > :10:46.This lady lost her sister. The grief and anger is tangible here, this is

:10:47. > :10:50.a nation mourning the loss of hundreds, rescue workers say the

:10:51. > :11:01.authorities are hampering rescue efforts. This gaping scar was once a

:11:02. > :11:12.neighbourhood, now, a landscape changed for ever. It is the scene of

:11:13. > :11:15.a recovery operation on the hoof. Diggers have been drafted in but

:11:16. > :11:19.there are no sniffer dogs and not enough body bags, the fear is

:11:20. > :11:25.disease could spread unless hundreds of corpses are found. A trickle of

:11:26. > :11:31.aid is getting through, many, like Adam Ashe, are now homeless will

:11:32. > :11:44.stop she tells me, I have lost everything. -- Adama.

:11:45. > :11:46.STUDIO: The leader of Australia's populist One Nation party,

:11:47. > :11:49.Pauline Hanson, has worn a burqa in the senate in Canberra.

:11:50. > :11:51.Ms Hanson's parliamentary opponents have criticised the stunt,

:11:52. > :11:53.which came ahead of a debate on her party's call

:11:54. > :11:56.The attorney-general, George Brandis, was given a standing

:11:57. > :11:59.ovation after he cautioned her not to offend the religious

:12:00. > :12:03.To ridicule that community, to drive it into a corner,

:12:04. > :12:06.to mock its religious garments, is an appaling thing to do

:12:07. > :12:17.and I would ask you to reflect on what you have done

:12:18. > :12:29.Ordo! Order! APPLAUSE -- order.

:12:30. > :12:32.Most of the historic World War two aircraft that make up the Battle

:12:33. > :12:34.of Britain Memorial Flight have been grounded because of engine issues.

:12:35. > :12:36.The Hurricanes, Spitfires and a Lancaster bomber

:12:37. > :12:39.are all affected and one display has already been cancelled

:12:40. > :12:42.The RAF is unable to say when the planes will

:12:43. > :12:45.The aircraft are more than 70 years old.

:12:46. > :12:48.Tom Cruise has broken his ankle whilst trying to undertake a daring

:12:49. > :12:50.stunt during filming in London at the weekend.

:12:51. > :12:52.Cruise attempted to leap between the roofs of two buildings,

:12:53. > :12:55.but he fell short of the mark and hit the building.

:12:56. > :12:57.Filming for the latest installment of Mission Impossible has

:12:58. > :13:08.A Canadian woman has been reunited with her diamond ring,

:13:09. > :13:11.13 years after she lost it while weeding in her garden.

:13:12. > :13:15.Mary Grams' daughter-in-law picked a carrot out of the vegetable patch

:13:16. > :13:17.and found its growth had been restricted by the ring.

:13:18. > :13:20.Mrs Grams had been too embarrassed to tell her husband she'd lost it

:13:21. > :13:32.That's a summary of the latest BBC News, more at 9.30.

:13:33. > :13:39.We are so hoping to speak with her about that! Coming up, teachers and

:13:40. > :13:41.students, a level results, and whether the changes in the exams had

:13:42. > :14:02.a positive or negative effect. The coach of the England football

:14:03. > :14:05.team has been accused of making racial comments. Not the news the FA

:14:06. > :14:09.would like to see, and England player was left shocked after being

:14:10. > :14:13.the subject of an alleged racial remark made by the women's national

:14:14. > :14:16.team coach Mark Sampson, he allegedly joked in a team meeting

:14:17. > :14:20.that one of his players had been arrested a number of times, it is

:14:21. > :14:28.claimed by one of the squad, that the comment was made with derogatory

:14:29. > :14:41.racial and prejudicial connotations, the player who made the claim was

:14:42. > :14:45.Eni Aluko. As part of a bullying and harassment complaint she made last

:14:46. > :14:49.year. Despite having over 100 caps, she has not been included for

:14:50. > :14:53.England since her complaint, but the FA decided to pay her ?80,000

:14:54. > :14:58.settlement, agreeing a mutual resolution with the Chelsea forward,

:14:59. > :15:03.they say, in order to avoid disrupting the England squad's

:15:04. > :15:12.preparations for 2017. The FA cleared Sampson of any wrong doing

:15:13. > :15:14.and made this statement: the question is, if an independent

:15:15. > :15:22.report found there was no wrongdoing, why pay out ?80,000 in

:15:23. > :15:24.settlement. There are question marks over the Football Association with

:15:25. > :15:27.Kick It Out saying they have a responsibility to be transparent -

:15:28. > :15:29.especially given all the recent talk around integrity and welfare in

:15:30. > :15:32.sport. Sure we will hear more on that in the coming days. One thing

:15:33. > :15:34.that is pretty much over and done with is Celtic's Champions League

:15:35. > :15:36.Qualifier with Astana. The Scottish Champions were in action Last night

:15:37. > :15:41.and won the first leg 5-0, to all but seal a spot in the group stages

:15:42. > :15:44.of Europe's elite competition. The second leg in Kazakhstan is next

:15:45. > :15:46.Tuesday but Celtic can be more than confident of their progression

:15:47. > :15:47.barring something miraculous. Very good news indeed for Brendan Rodgers

:15:48. > :16:03.steam. -- Brendan Rodgers's team. On the cricket. The first day night

:16:04. > :16:07.test will be played on home soil against the West Indies. That is not

:16:08. > :16:11.the first time some of England's players blab use the pink ball, it

:16:12. > :16:16.appeared in the County Championship, and it is very different, as you can

:16:17. > :16:19.see, to the traditional red Test match ball. Pretty much untoasted in

:16:20. > :16:23.inverse conditions that will make it a bit of a step into the unknown for

:16:24. > :16:26.England's players. The main difference is the pink ball moves

:16:27. > :16:32.quite unpredictably through the air and also deteriorate at a faster

:16:33. > :16:36.rate than the red ball. A few unknown things but that is a really

:16:37. > :16:40.good challenge for us as a team. Seeing how the ball performs under

:16:41. > :16:42.lights but ultimately it is still the same game, you still have to

:16:43. > :16:45.adapt to the conditions and we managed to do that well, and we

:16:46. > :16:55.should be in a good position come the end of it. England playing in

:16:56. > :16:58.Birmingham against the West Indies will start at around two o'clock

:16:59. > :17:02.with a whole new crowd going to see the day night Test match. Finally,

:17:03. > :17:06.tell us what Serena Williams has been saying about when she is hoping

:17:07. > :17:10.to get back on the tennis after the birth of her child. I am not sure

:17:11. > :17:14.anything would surprise me when it comes to Serena Williams. She is

:17:15. > :17:18.away from tennis with a burst of her -- the birth of her first child away

:17:19. > :17:21.but she is saying she is I and what she calls the most outrageous plan

:17:22. > :17:25.to return to defend her Australian Open title at the start of next

:17:26. > :17:29.year. That will only give her around three months to prepare after giving

:17:30. > :17:32.birth. That would be a very remarkable return that after 23

:17:33. > :17:37.clans -- Grand Slam wins you would not bet against her. She says she

:17:38. > :17:41.will have some new tricks against up her sleeve for everyone at the age

:17:42. > :17:45.of 35. Thank you very much. It is A level results

:17:46. > :17:48.day in England, Wales and Northern Ireland,

:17:49. > :17:50.with hundreds of thousands of Some pupils are going to be

:17:51. > :17:54.the first to be affected by recent Initial figures say that people

:17:55. > :18:02.being accepted as down 2% last year. Now - results for 13

:18:03. > :18:04.subjects in England, including history, English,

:18:05. > :18:05.psychology, physics, chemistry and biology,

:18:06. > :18:08.are being decided by final exams with no link to

:18:09. > :18:09.coursework or As-levels. However, there have been complaints

:18:10. > :18:12.from some that the new tests have been rushed through,

:18:13. > :18:14.revision material hasn't been adequate - and students have

:18:15. > :18:21.suffered because of it. Joining us now are some

:18:22. > :18:24.A Level students from Collins Epie Nanje -

:18:25. > :18:40.a Key Stage five coordinator for Science at Heanor Gate Science

:18:41. > :18:42.College in Derbyshire. And Aliyah Bashir, the lead

:18:43. > :18:51.teacher of Science at Welcome to all of you. We should

:18:52. > :18:54.come to the students first of all. Kate, kick off by telling us how you

:18:55. > :18:59.did, did you get what you wanted? Yellow Brick Road yes, I did better

:19:00. > :19:06.than I thought I would have done. I am really proud. What did you get?

:19:07. > :19:13.Two distinction stars and an A. What whether subjects? Dance, BTEC,

:19:14. > :19:22.musical theatre and dance available. I got pretty much what I wanted, a

:19:23. > :19:34.star and two as. English, French and history. So heil. Two a stars and an

:19:35. > :19:40.A. So you have all done really well. Some of the exams have changed this

:19:41. > :19:42.year. I know Kate, dance hasn't changed, so you probably haven't had

:19:43. > :19:49.changes but the other two of you have. So tell gas whether you think

:19:50. > :19:55.it has been harder this year, James, because of changes to the subject

:19:56. > :20:01.you have been studying? I don't think so, you are the a disadvantage

:20:02. > :20:07.because you don't have more pass papers. My only a star was in the

:20:08. > :20:13.one refund subject, so it worked out well. What about you? The biggest

:20:14. > :20:19.change for me was a couple of my subjects becoming more linear. We

:20:20. > :20:22.would resit our AAS content at the start of our second year. The first

:20:23. > :20:27.thing that everyone thinks others you have to revise all two years

:20:28. > :20:31.worth of content at the end and that can be quite hard for some people.

:20:32. > :20:37.It means you have the time manage a lot more. But I guess, especially

:20:38. > :20:41.with subjects like physic and chemistry, you develop your skills

:20:42. > :20:45.in your second year. So when you revisit that AAS content, that

:20:46. > :20:50.first-year content, you do may a lot better than maybe you would have in

:20:51. > :20:54.your first year. Because you have nothing to compare. Do you feel hard

:20:55. > :21:01.done by, being the first year of the changes? I am not sure, I guess we

:21:02. > :21:10.will just have to wait to see for the statistics to come out. Let's

:21:11. > :21:13.bring in some teachers. Collins, you are an A-level science coordinator,

:21:14. > :21:15.and the sciences have been particularly affected this year,

:21:16. > :21:19.changes being phased in with different subjects, what you think

:21:20. > :21:24.about the changes? If you look at the way the government rushed in the

:21:25. > :21:29.legislation, especially with the AAS, GCSE and A-level, I think we

:21:30. > :21:32.needed to see basically, if we look at it, AAS qualification for

:21:33. > :21:37.example, it is a stand-alone qualification, which means it

:21:38. > :21:40.doesn't come close, the A-level course for itself but more

:21:41. > :21:45.importantly, if you look at this year, 42%, it is a staggering

:21:46. > :21:49.decline in terms of AAS entry and therefore it means universities are

:21:50. > :21:52.in a very difficult position to try to make that admissions process

:21:53. > :21:59.straightforward and therefore it means there is a trend now, in terms

:22:00. > :22:02.of decline, terms of young people's access to further opportunities. I

:22:03. > :22:07.think it is a really big issue. If you look at the whole course, it is

:22:08. > :22:11.a linear course, not just a course on its own for example, like in the

:22:12. > :22:17.past couple of years they had a qualification which had 50%

:22:18. > :22:23.contributing to the overall A-level qualification, but now it is not. It

:22:24. > :22:26.is quite hard for the students for that linear course to prepare them,

:22:27. > :22:31.so it is quite a bit difficult. This means that we as teachers, it is

:22:32. > :22:38.difficult to make that prediction, in terms of what they will get at

:22:39. > :22:42.the end of the course. With universities, it is quite hard,

:22:43. > :22:47.because before VA is qualification would give them a benchmark, in

:22:48. > :22:54.terms of looking at students. Ali, what you think about the changes? I

:22:55. > :23:00.totally agree. The issue is that the course is linear, it means it is

:23:01. > :23:03.over two years. Whereas before as teachers we were assessing teachers

:23:04. > :23:06.during the AS-level, we would know where they are, the support and the

:23:07. > :23:12.guidance that they need. Now it is done over a two-year process. This

:23:13. > :23:17.is a skill. Being able to study two years worth of work is a skill that

:23:18. > :23:22.needs to be in bedded in the students before their GCSEs. So I

:23:23. > :23:25.feel like it has not been drip fed into the system, it has just kind of

:23:26. > :23:31.come as a sharp shock for both teachers and students. The evidences

:23:32. > :23:38.and the lack of resources we have to teach this course. So yes, it is

:23:39. > :23:42.difficult. It is going back to what it used to be like. When the changes

:23:43. > :23:46.came in, there have been years of people who do the old styles

:23:47. > :23:51.A-levels, saying it has got easier and easier. Michael Gove changed the

:23:52. > :23:54.system when he was education says -- secretary because he said it was not

:23:55. > :24:01.fit for purpose and intention was to make it more rigorous. Do you think

:24:02. > :24:04.it is the right thing to do in the long run, and it is just the

:24:05. > :24:11.teething problems you describe in terms of everyone readjusting? I

:24:12. > :24:14.think with the legacy courses we have done before we have had a lot

:24:15. > :24:18.of preparation time, we have done it over years, built up resources as

:24:19. > :24:24.teachers. Students know how to access things online. So perhaps it

:24:25. > :24:27.is teething problems, and we will develop the resources for it and it

:24:28. > :24:31.will become easier for teachers, because in terms of the content,

:24:32. > :24:38.there are not massive changes. It is more changes in the assessment. It

:24:39. > :24:45.is more a focus on students becoming more independent with their learning

:24:46. > :24:50.and being able to do practical work. It is a matter of training our

:24:51. > :24:53.students to do that. It will not come over two years. There will be a

:24:54. > :24:59.long period of time and lots of effort from teachers and students.

:25:00. > :25:05.Back to the students, university applications are down 4% this year.

:25:06. > :25:09.It has been put down to one of the factors being cited as being the

:25:10. > :25:14.unpredictability of what people were expecting, what was your approach

:25:15. > :25:16.when it came to university, have you got confirmation, or are you

:25:17. > :25:24.expecting confirmation today that you will get into where you want to

:25:25. > :25:34.as a result of the grades have got? Yes. We have had confirmation. What

:25:35. > :25:40.about you, James? I have confirmation I will be going to

:25:41. > :25:43.Oxford in October. I think, Kate, as I mentioned, no change your use you

:25:44. > :25:47.know where you are going as well with your dance? With dance college

:25:48. > :25:51.you sort of audition. Once you have got through the audition stages, you

:25:52. > :25:54.need to get the grades but it is more than based on your dance

:25:55. > :26:04.technique and the way you perform in your audition. It is like how it

:26:05. > :26:09.will be in the performance world. Sohail, you will be studying physics

:26:10. > :26:14.at Imperial. How do you feel about the tuition fees, and the prospects

:26:15. > :26:22.of a job at the end and whether the costs of going to university is

:26:23. > :26:27.worth it in the end? The University I have applied to, it has a really

:26:28. > :26:32.generous bursary scheme, which should cover most of my

:26:33. > :26:35.accommodation costs. And then of course students applying to live and

:26:36. > :26:42.study in London can take out a higher maintenance loan. So I am not

:26:43. > :26:46.worried too much about it. James, what about you? I think there is a

:26:47. > :26:53.lot of help you can get so it is not really that daunting for me. How

:26:54. > :26:59.will you all be salivating? Probably going out tonight, yep. I will

:27:00. > :27:03.probably go for a lot of meals. And I'm going to New York in September,

:27:04. > :27:08.so I guess that the celebration. That does sound like a good

:27:09. > :27:12.celebration. Back to you, Collins. In terms of getting students used to

:27:13. > :27:16.there being a two-year period in which you study and then take the

:27:17. > :27:20.exam right at the end, you were obviously outlining your concerns

:27:21. > :27:27.about that, but do you think in the end it is a better system? It has

:27:28. > :27:31.its positives and negatives, in terms of the positives, what you can

:27:32. > :27:34.see is that yes, it frees time for teachers to prepare the students

:27:35. > :27:39.over the two-year course but also we need to think about, in terms of the

:27:40. > :27:44.predictions, again, the students who get university, how do we make that

:27:45. > :27:48.accurate prediction, in terms of them getting to university? It is

:27:49. > :27:51.quite daunting, it is a whole new ball game and we need to be quite

:27:52. > :27:55.careful. If you look on the other side, one of the key things we need

:27:56. > :27:58.to consider again, if it is a two-year course, fair enough, but

:27:59. > :28:05.what are the implications and the ramifications in all of this? What

:28:06. > :28:09.do we get from this? What we need to think about first of all, if it is a

:28:10. > :28:14.two-year linear course, what happens to the AAS? It is a stand-alone

:28:15. > :28:20.qualification, what's that mean for teachers, students and universities?

:28:21. > :28:25.So on the negative side again you can make a prediction from the

:28:26. > :28:27.student perspective, but it is difficult, we have two assessed the

:28:28. > :28:32.student intern the leak, which means we can never be accurate. Just

:28:33. > :28:35.imagine again with the University, it is quite difficult for them, in

:28:36. > :28:41.terms of putting those predictions across. They use AAS results as a

:28:42. > :28:45.yardstick, in terms of differences in students and looking at how they

:28:46. > :28:50.can get to university. So it is a whole new ball game, quite

:28:51. > :28:53.challenging. Students you have got what you wanted but have any of you

:28:54. > :28:57.got friends who have not got what they wanted and are now heading for

:28:58. > :29:03.clearing, and perhaps tell us how they are feeling? We have got

:29:04. > :29:07.friends who haven't got what they wanted but the clearing system is so

:29:08. > :29:10.strong that for example my sister did not get exactly what she wanted

:29:11. > :29:15.but she has come out and done amazing where she went. She nearly

:29:16. > :29:19.got a first. I think the clearing is so good that if you have not quite

:29:20. > :29:24.gotten you what you wanted, it is a big deal but there are similar

:29:25. > :29:30.people who are here to help and support you that it is a lot easier.

:29:31. > :29:33.Thank you all. We will be talking more about clearing and what to do

:29:34. > :29:37.if you did not get the results you wanted after ten. Also coming up we

:29:38. > :29:41.will take a look at the radical approach to tackling homelessness in

:29:42. > :29:45.Scottish capital. Dubbed Edinburgh's homeless village, it is an 18 month

:29:46. > :29:50.project were 20 people will be housed in portable properties. And

:29:51. > :29:51.we will get a national breakdown of this year plus Mac A-level results,

:29:52. > :29:57.that is coming shortly. Here's the BBC Newsroom

:29:58. > :30:07.with a summary of today's news. This year plus Mac official A-level

:30:08. > :30:09.results are about to be announced. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers

:30:10. > :30:13.across the country are finding out how they did. Universities are

:30:14. > :30:18.bracing themselves for what could be one of the busiest years ever for

:30:19. > :30:22.the clearing process. Changes to the exams have made it difficult to

:30:23. > :30:27.predict results. Initial UCAS figures show the number accepted on

:30:28. > :30:34.UK degree courses is 2% down on the same time last year. President Trump

:30:35. > :30:38.has said he is scrapping two business councils, after around a

:30:39. > :30:43.dozen bosses quit over the way he handled the violent clashes in

:30:44. > :30:45.Virginia. Business leaders left the White House manufacturing council

:30:46. > :30:50.following Mr Trump is Mike decision to blame left-wing protesters as

:30:51. > :30:54.much as right-wing supremacists for the violence, which erupted in

:30:55. > :30:57.Charlottesville at the weekend. The Spanish authorities say there has

:30:58. > :31:04.been a surge in the number of illegal migrants crossing the sea

:31:05. > :31:07.from Morocco. Nearly 600 were rescued on Wednesday, during what

:31:08. > :31:12.coastguards described as their busiest day yet. Some migrants have

:31:13. > :31:13.attempted the short journey using children's inflatable boat and even

:31:14. > :31:29.a jet ski. Spain has dealt with 9,000 arrivals

:31:30. > :31:31.by sea since January, three times as many as in the same

:31:32. > :31:34.period last year. Emergency services are tackling

:31:35. > :31:36.a huge blaze at the fruit market Ninety per cent of the

:31:37. > :31:42.building is now ablaze. Drifting smoke has caused some

:31:43. > :31:44.road closures and speed Hundreds of traders work

:31:45. > :31:48.at the market supplying fresh food to shops and restaurants

:31:49. > :31:50.in the west of Scotland. There are no reports

:31:51. > :31:53.of any injuries. Thousands of low paid workers

:31:54. > :31:55.are to receive more than two million pounds in back

:31:56. > :31:58.pay as a result of tax Around 230 employers

:31:59. > :32:01.were found to have paid workers less than

:32:02. > :32:03.national minimum wage. Among the worst offenders

:32:04. > :32:05.was the retailer Argos, Most of the historic World War two

:32:06. > :32:14.aircraft that make up the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight have been

:32:15. > :32:16.grounded because of engine issues. The Hurricanes, Spitfires

:32:17. > :32:18.and a Lancaster bomber are all affected and one display has

:32:19. > :32:20.already been cancelled The RAF is unable to say

:32:21. > :32:24.when the planes will The aircraft are more

:32:25. > :32:56.than 70 years old. One thing that is pretty

:32:57. > :32:58.much over and done with is Celtic's Champions League

:32:59. > :33:00.Qualifier with Astana. The Scottish Champions

:33:01. > :33:02.were in action Last night and won the first leg 5-0,

:33:03. > :33:05.to all but seal a spot in the group stages

:33:06. > :33:07.of Europe's elite competition. The second leg in Kazakhstan is next

:33:08. > :33:10.Tuesday but Celtic can be more than confident of their progression

:33:11. > :33:16.barring something miraculous. And England football player was left

:33:17. > :33:20.shocked after being the subject of alleged racial remarks made by the

:33:21. > :33:28.women's national head coach Mark Sampson. In rugby union, England

:33:29. > :33:33.Lions can reach the semifinals of the World Cup, victory means they

:33:34. > :33:34.will qualify for the last four. Ireland must beat France to make it

:33:35. > :33:50.into the semifinals. Students get a level results today,

:33:51. > :33:53.the first results to include 13 of the new reformed A-levels in

:33:54. > :33:55.England. Where AS levels no longer count towards the final grade. Our

:33:56. > :33:57.Education Correspondent Gillian Hargreaves is at a school in

:33:58. > :34:04.Kensington in London and has details of just how well pupils across the

:34:05. > :34:07.country have done. These are national statistics for A-levels

:34:08. > :34:12.across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, produced by the Department

:34:13. > :34:20.for Education, they show a slight dip in the pass rate nationally,

:34:21. > :34:24.down by 0.2%, so statistically, a small dip, but interestingly, in

:34:25. > :34:28.England, where we now have a reformed A-levels, in certain

:34:29. > :34:32.subjects, one single example of the two years study and an end to

:34:33. > :34:39.AS-level is counting towards the final a level results, there has

:34:40. > :34:44.been a drop in the top grade. -- AS-levels that will affect people

:34:45. > :34:48.studying A-levels in England, that could have happened this year

:34:49. > :34:51.because they are the first candidates to take these new style

:34:52. > :34:56.A-levels and there was a bit of criticism that there was not a lot

:34:57. > :35:02.of past papers for them to work from, so to a certain extent, it was

:35:03. > :35:05.a bit of uncharted territory. The exams regulator in England is always

:35:06. > :35:10.at pains to say that it's job is to make sure that there is fairness

:35:11. > :35:18.across the board, so it has a very complicated way of checking grade

:35:19. > :35:22.boundaries, taking into account things like changes but there has

:35:23. > :35:25.been a drop in the number of top grades. Interestingly, for many

:35:26. > :35:31.years, I have been reporting that girls have been doing much better in

:35:32. > :35:34.A-levels and GCSEs than boys have, one reason for that, we have always

:35:35. > :35:39.assumed, is because of an emphasis on coursework.

:35:40. > :35:46.Boys do better when there is one final example which the result

:35:47. > :35:49.hinged. This year, in those refund subject, for a level candidates in

:35:50. > :35:57.England, the gap between boys and girls has begun to narrow. It may

:35:58. > :36:02.well be that girls who have been in the ascendancy for a number of years

:36:03. > :36:09.are now finding that the new regime is not quite so much to their

:36:10. > :36:13.liking. On that 0.5% drop and comparisons with last year, there

:36:14. > :36:21.were reassurances from the regulator that those taking A-levels would not

:36:22. > :36:23.be problems, that the principle of comparative outcomes would be used

:36:24. > :36:28.to make sure this that year's national results were similar, it

:36:29. > :36:30.used to be called standardisation, they would make sure the same

:36:31. > :36:38.proportion of people got the same number of grades, obviously it is

:36:39. > :36:42.not like that. When I sat my A-levels it was judged on something

:36:43. > :36:45.called norm referencing, there would be a certain proportion of

:36:46. > :36:51.candidates, whatever marks they got, who would get an A, and then a

:36:52. > :36:57.day... What that meant year-on-year there was enormous fluctuations. --

:36:58. > :37:00.a B. In some years you had to score very high marks to get an A, in

:37:01. > :37:04.other years, depending upon the ability of everybody sitting the

:37:05. > :37:08.exam, you would score less high marks. What the government did was

:37:09. > :37:14.introduce a new system, come parable outcomes, what Ofqual looks at is

:37:15. > :37:18.all sorts of quite complicated detailed data, looking at how well

:37:19. > :37:23.the 18-year-old who sat A-levels this year did when they left prime

:37:24. > :37:26.risk all at the age of 11, for example, calculating how well they

:37:27. > :37:32.may do compared to previous cohorts of 18-year-olds sitting A-levels,

:37:33. > :37:36.and from all of the data, it can work out what it thinks are fair

:37:37. > :37:40.grade boundaries to fix, Army marks you need to have achieved in each

:37:41. > :37:46.paper to get a certain grade, Ofqual say that is much fairer. -- how many

:37:47. > :37:53.marks. That should iron out any problems that occur when you have

:37:54. > :37:57.changes in the system. This year we have seen a new cohort of subject

:37:58. > :38:01.which have been decoupled from a AS Levels, one final exam on which

:38:02. > :38:05.everything hinges at the end of two years study, and there has been a

:38:06. > :38:09.dip in the top grades but Ofqual would argue that the system is still

:38:10. > :38:12.scrupulously fair, and that those bright able candidates who were

:38:13. > :38:16.going to get an a start last year would still get an a star this year,

:38:17. > :38:25.those who got a bee last time we'll still get baby this time. -- A*. - a

:38:26. > :38:30.B. Let us know how you have done, how you are feeling today. Megan

:38:31. > :38:34.says, worked so hard this year, if I don't get the results I want, I will

:38:35. > :38:39.be so gutted. Ryan on Facebook, for those who did not get everything

:38:40. > :38:42.they hoped for, grade wise, look at universities who offer degree

:38:43. > :38:46.courses with a foundation year, it does mean an extra year of study and

:38:47. > :38:50.fees but it is an option. Thinking of all the teams getting their

:38:51. > :38:54.results, says Amanda, I hope you get what you worked so hard for, and

:38:55. > :38:59.parents, well done in raising the next generation. Good luck,

:39:00. > :39:06.everyone, room and be don't need big grades to go somewhere. -- go big

:39:07. > :39:13.places. -- teens. Thank you for those, keep them coming.

:39:14. > :39:15.Homelessness is on the rise across the UK but a potential

:39:16. > :39:20.solution to some of the problem may be just around the corner.

:39:21. > :39:27.A scheme dubbed Edinburgh's "homeless village"

:39:28. > :39:29.will see 20 people housed in portable properties

:39:30. > :39:32.It's a collaboration between Social Bite who raised

:39:33. > :39:35.?500,000 to build the accomodation and the local council who provided

:39:36. > :39:41.So is this a radical new solution to homelessness or if its just

:39:42. > :39:43.papering over the cracks of a decades old problem?

:39:44. > :39:48.VOICEOVER: Britain has a problem, a shortage of places

:39:49. > :39:52.The fact is we don't have any place to put them.

:39:53. > :39:57.Over 150,000 of us have nowhere to live.

:39:58. > :40:02.Here in Scotland's capital homelessness is set to rise by 50%

:40:03. > :40:04.in the next 25 years and across the UK the

:40:05. > :40:23.Nearly 400,000 people will be homeless by 2040,

:40:24. > :40:26.But one small social enterprise is trying to change the way

:40:27. > :40:29.They're building ten of these portable homes in what has been

:40:30. > :40:34.They will house 20 people here for 18 months on a plot of land

:40:35. > :40:39.This man used to be homeless and gave as a tour of the show home

:40:40. > :40:46.setup for the Edinburgh fringe Festival.

:40:47. > :40:49.So, do you want to have a look? Yes let's do it.

:40:50. > :40:59.As you can see this is quite spacious,

:41:00. > :41:05.It's got two bedrooms so there is one of the rooms in here.

:41:06. > :41:08.Spaces for people's clothes and stuff.

:41:09. > :41:11.We've got the same bedroom at the other side of the wee house.

:41:12. > :41:19.Space for people's clothes and stuff.

:41:20. > :41:23.There's a wee toilet, here, there's a shower and that in there.

:41:24. > :41:25.It is nice, hey? Wow, it is very nice.

:41:26. > :41:27.You used to be homeless, how long for?

:41:28. > :41:38.But, two months of that was on the streets.

:41:39. > :41:41.I was in few bed breakfasts and stuff and a few hostels.

:41:42. > :41:44.For about two years and I managed to get a tenancy.

:41:45. > :41:46.How difficult is it when you are in temporary accommodation,

:41:47. > :41:51.Bed breakfasts, it's like you've got to be in for 11 o'clock every

:41:52. > :41:54.night and you cannae stay out any night, or you would get flung out

:41:55. > :41:57.of the place, so it's kind of like being under curfew.

:41:58. > :42:00.The hostels are like just full of people taking drugs

:42:01. > :42:16.It wasn't a very nice time, not very nice places to stay.

:42:17. > :42:18.For people who don't understand what homelessness is,

:42:19. > :42:21.how would something like this help them?

:42:22. > :42:25.Well, obviously you've got a roof over your head but there's got to be

:42:26. > :42:28.people supporting the guys or girls got to live in the houses.

:42:29. > :42:33.In an election promise in 2017 the government pledged to end

:42:34. > :42:37.but the problem is so much bigger than that.

:42:38. > :42:39.Homelessness is not just living on the street it encompasses

:42:40. > :42:41.many different types of chaotic living arrangements.

:42:42. > :42:43.Almost 160,000 people across the UK are homeless.

:42:44. > :42:46.Of that nearly 10,000 sleeping on the street.

:42:47. > :42:55.Sofa surfing is where you are forced to stay with friends and family

:42:56. > :43:05.and nearly 70,000 people were forced into this predicament last year.

:43:06. > :43:07.are in unsuitable temporary accommodation

:43:08. > :43:13.While over 25,000 are left to live in squats, women's refuges, tents,

:43:14. > :43:17.This is David, he's been homeless for three months.

:43:18. > :43:27.The real impact is the impact on the spirit and you start to give up.

:43:28. > :43:44.a job and I will lead a full existence.

:43:45. > :43:47.You are in temporary accommodation one of the biggest

:43:48. > :43:50.problems by homeless people is where they going to stay.

:43:51. > :43:52.How long does it take to get permanent accommodation?

:43:53. > :43:55.Once a week, I look at the housing list Edinburgh and the available

:43:56. > :43:59.accommodation and make the choices, what I am told is it will be a year

:44:00. > :44:01.to 18 months before I even come close to the top

:44:02. > :44:06.When you're writing of 18 months of your life just concentrate

:44:07. > :44:28.-- When you're writing off 18 months of your life just concentrate

:44:29. > :44:29.solely on trying to find accommodation.

:44:30. > :44:32.A project like this where they are going to going to build ten

:44:33. > :44:35.houses and help 20 people give them that permanent accommodation

:44:36. > :44:38.for up to 18 months, which is the length of time that

:44:39. > :44:40.you are going to wait for accommodation, how would that

:44:41. > :44:42.impact on your life being able to live there?

:44:43. > :44:45.Well, it helps and it gives us a stable base.

:44:46. > :44:47.Something to aspire to, you can have folks over,

:44:48. > :44:50.you can have a normal life and start to rebuild your only.

:44:51. > :44:53.Because you have a fixed place to stay.

:44:54. > :44:54.It's amazing how security lifts the spirit.

:44:55. > :44:58.I think we take for granted that when we do have housing how much

:44:59. > :45:03.The man hoping to give people some security is Josh Littlejohn.

:45:04. > :45:06.He started Social Bite, a cafe chain aimed at helping the homeless

:45:07. > :45:08.not just by donating to the book by employing them.

:45:09. > :45:11.Ten houses, 20 people will live in them, how is this

:45:12. > :45:18.So, at the moment if you are homeless you go

:45:19. > :45:20.to the homeless office, it doesn't matter what city you live

:45:21. > :45:26.You present as homeless and the council have a statue

:45:27. > :45:28.obligation to provide you some kind of temporary shelter.

:45:29. > :45:31.So, at the moment they typically could take the forms of hostels,

:45:32. > :45:34.but more often than not someone will go into a homelessness specific

:45:35. > :45:36.bread and breakfast where get a single bed and a kettle,

:45:37. > :45:40.they have a curfew, they have to be out of ten in the morning they can't

:45:41. > :45:46.That was originally designed as a kind of short-term one too weak

:45:47. > :45:49.solution but the situation now in Edinburgh the average

:45:50. > :45:54.waiting time in a B is between 18 and 24 months.

:45:55. > :45:56.So you find people live in a really isolated,

:45:57. > :46:04.limbo situations for up to two years.

:46:05. > :46:06.By which time they are almost written off from society,

:46:07. > :46:08.they are completely excluded, marginalised and evidence suggests

:46:09. > :46:11.they stand very little chance of ever coming back into society

:46:12. > :46:16.in a meaningful way around employment or getting integrated.

:46:17. > :46:19.So, I think we expect this village to change people's lives

:46:20. > :46:22.in the sense that rather than living in that isolated situation

:46:23. > :46:24.they will come in a situation which is very community focused,

:46:25. > :46:27.there will be numerous staff employed by the village and also

:46:28. > :46:39.importantly there will be lots of links to employment opportunities.

:46:40. > :46:42.So, we hope that after 12 to 18 months people can be helped

:46:43. > :46:53.They will have received a lot of support to help them hopefully

:46:54. > :46:56.that'll come alongside the job, that is how we hope to

:46:57. > :46:59.The Council have given you this land for four years,

:47:00. > :47:04.On an annual basis it is going to cost Roughly ?200,000 a year

:47:05. > :47:07.inoperating cost whilst it sounds like this is a project that we've

:47:08. > :47:10.had to mobilise a lot of fundraising for it still drastically cheaper

:47:11. > :47:14.than all the money that we funnel into the B, so whilst at same time

:47:15. > :47:17.we want to much improve the outcomes for these people we also think

:47:18. > :47:19.we can deliver a model that would be quite a significant

:47:20. > :47:34.cost saving to the local authorities if we are successful.

:47:35. > :47:36.Keeping people in temporary accommodation is expensive.

:47:37. > :47:38.Last year in England alone councils spent a in temporary

:47:39. > :47:49.Councillor Gavin Barrie head of the housing committee at

:47:50. > :47:51.Edinburgh City Council helped to get this project off the ground.

:47:52. > :47:53.National figures show that homelessness across the UK

:47:54. > :47:56.is on the rise, could this fit into your strategy for Edinburgh

:47:57. > :48:05.It could but the national figure is unsurprising,

:48:06. > :48:07.the benefit cap came in October which means that people can no

:48:08. > :48:09.longer meet the rent costs in the capital,

:48:10. > :48:12.they are currently being evicted and turning up on our doorstep

:48:13. > :48:14.saying, I've been evicted, I'm homeless, so, yes,

:48:15. > :48:17.if it is happening here I expect it is happening right

:48:18. > :48:23.I'm afraid it is a Westminster-generated problem and

:48:24. > :48:26.they have not given us any more money to do

:48:27. > :48:30.problem that we've have defined a way of dealing with.

:48:31. > :48:32.The government say, actually, our programme of austerity,

:48:33. > :48:34.ourcuts to social care has had nothing to do

:48:35. > :48:40.I would have to absolutely disagree with that.

:48:41. > :48:42.I could evidence by the people that actually turn up now,

:48:43. > :48:45.they have built up rent arrears since the benefit cap came

:48:46. > :48:48.in and the fact is we don't have any place to put them,

:48:49. > :49:06.Definitely part of it is Westminster-generated

:49:07. > :49:12.This is one of the best projects of its kind in the country to be

:49:13. > :49:15.applied to homelessness project, given that land for four years,

:49:16. > :49:17.the houses are portable, is it your understanding that

:49:18. > :49:23.Absolutely, it is a new initiative that we're very interested

:49:24. > :49:27.in and hopefully will be a success and if is there is no reason why

:49:28. > :49:30.this can't be replicated in other parts of the city and perhaps other

:49:31. > :49:39.The charity raised nealy half a million pounds for this project

:49:40. > :49:42.and the Council gave them the land of free for four years.

:49:43. > :49:44.Is this a radical new approach to homelessness across the UK

:49:45. > :49:49.or is it just papering over the cracks?

:49:50. > :49:51.This is the deputy director of homeless charity

:49:52. > :49:56.This project, it's a collaboration between charities and the council

:49:57. > :50:07.I think it is a helpful model and really important

:50:08. > :50:10.that it is demonstrating a local authority and partners in the third

:50:11. > :50:13.sector can work together, I think that is a really important

:50:14. > :50:16.part of what the village is about, but to get the scale of activity

:50:17. > :50:19.we need to prevent homelessness that is about having a national

:50:20. > :50:21.strategy which looks at how a range of agencies and resources

:50:22. > :50:31.are brought together in a coordinated way.

:50:32. > :50:34.The focus does need to very much go on prevention,

:50:35. > :50:37.I think that is the better thing to do, let's stop people falling

:50:38. > :50:40.into that crisis in the first place, let's make sure there are not homes,

:50:41. > :50:44.Making sure that people that support so they don't become homeless

:50:45. > :50:47.in the first place but also if they do have a crisis

:50:48. > :50:49.is about support to get them back on their feet

:50:50. > :50:55.This village may help some people get back on their feet

:50:56. > :50:57.but with increasing numbers of homelessness across the UK,

:50:58. > :50:59.it's people like David who will remain stuck

:51:00. > :51:07.Homelessness can affect anybody, there was an old saying that

:51:08. > :51:09.you only ever two paycheques from being homeless yourself,

:51:10. > :51:21.And the majority of homeless people are people that have

:51:22. > :51:23.fell off the ladder, things have went wrong in their life

:51:24. > :51:27.Everybody deserves, I think, a quality of life.

:51:28. > :51:31.I think as a society we are duty bound to help the ones that

:51:32. > :51:51.Pettersen has a non-touch on Facebook. She says it is a start.

:51:52. > :51:54.Tackling homelessness is not just about putting a roof over their head

:51:55. > :51:59.but about understanding problems, such as addiction, and for Armed

:52:00. > :52:05.Forces often post-traumatic stress disorder. We did ask the government

:52:06. > :52:06.to join us on the programme. They declined but they sent us a

:52:07. > :52:12.statement. They sent us this statement:

:52:13. > :52:15.A Department for Communities and Local Government said:

:52:16. > :52:17."This should be a country that works for everyone,

:52:18. > :52:18.including the most This Government is committed

:52:19. > :52:21.to ensuring people always have a roof over their heads

:52:22. > :52:24.which is why we've committed to "Alongside investing

:52:25. > :52:27.?550 million to 2020 to address the issue,

:52:28. > :52:28.we're implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act,

:52:29. > :52:30.which will require councils to ensure that more people get

:52:31. > :52:33.the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming

:52:34. > :52:35.homeless in the first place. "But Ministers know there is more

:52:36. > :52:49.to do and are continuing to look Coming up, we will meet some of the

:52:50. > :52:51.first recruits on a new prison officer graduate scheme, modelled on

:52:52. > :52:54.the teach first programme for schools.

:52:55. > :52:56.Ofsted has published a highly critical report about one

:52:57. > :52:58.of Britain's biggest training companies, Learn Direct UK.

:52:59. > :53:08.Our reporter Adina Campbell has read the report

:53:09. > :53:15.This is a very critical report which focuses on a four-day inspection

:53:16. > :53:19.earlier this year. We now know that Learn Direct Ltd has been given a

:53:20. > :53:21.grade four, the lowest possible rating, in terms of its training and

:53:22. > :53:27.performance. Essentially it is inadequate. Some of the findings in

:53:28. > :53:31.this report include not enough 16 to 19-year-olds on traineeships

:53:32. > :53:34.completing their programmes, too many apprentices not getting the

:53:35. > :53:38.right kind of training and a poor quality of teaching. Learn direct is

:53:39. > :53:42.one of the biggest adult learning providers in the UK. It has more

:53:43. > :53:47.than 1600 members of staff. There are dozens of training centres

:53:48. > :53:52.dotted across the UK. The issue is money. Back in 2011 the company was

:53:53. > :53:57.privatised. It is estimated around ?600 million of public money was

:53:58. > :54:02.given to training, and some of that money has come from the government.

:54:03. > :54:07.What happens normally is the government has decided to wind up

:54:08. > :54:12.its contract with Learn Direct. Normally it would take two to three

:54:13. > :54:21.months but in this case, the Mordt has been given until July. It is a

:54:22. > :54:25.scandal because the government have been given special treatment. Tim

:54:26. > :54:28.one themselves made it clear in the court which I attended that they

:54:29. > :54:32.expected to get a three-month termination on the contract which

:54:33. > :54:35.would put them into administration. Instead special treatment, those

:54:36. > :54:37.termination notices are not being served. They will continue to

:54:38. > :54:44.deliver apprenticeships under a company they set up last year. Learn

:54:45. > :54:47.Direct has responded to this report, giving us a statement. In it it says

:54:48. > :54:51.it did not provide an accurate reflection of the current quality of

:54:52. > :54:54.its training and performance. It also insists it is financially

:54:55. > :54:57.stable and all learners will continue to be well supported. But

:54:58. > :55:03.of course anyone on these courses or hoping to take one up will have some

:55:04. > :55:06.ongoing concerns. Thank you. President Trump Osman comments about

:55:07. > :55:09.pilots between far right demonstrators and their opponents in

:55:10. > :55:13.Charlottesville at the weekend have divided Washington. Even some within

:55:14. > :55:16.the President's own party have accused him of not going far enough

:55:17. > :55:21.in condemning white supremacist groups. Last night, hundreds of

:55:22. > :55:24.people attended a candlelit vigil to remember Heather Heyer, who was

:55:25. > :55:29.killed in the violence. As the issue once again ignites talk of a racial

:55:30. > :55:33.divide, how has this filter down into the lives of ordinary

:55:34. > :55:38.Americans? Page Glasgow could not believe her eyes when she drove past

:55:39. > :55:41.a home flying a Nazi flag in North Carolina. She decided to confront

:55:42. > :55:52.her neighbour and tour the BBC about her experience.

:55:53. > :57:45.Isn't that extraordinary? Letters know what you think about that. Now

:57:46. > :57:52.let's catch up with the weather. For some of us we have had some

:57:53. > :57:56.really heavy rain overnight but it is now clearing and for most of us

:57:57. > :57:58.will the sunshine and showers today. Some lovely Weather Watchers

:57:59. > :58:04.pictures to show you from earlier on, look at this, beautiful blue sky

:58:05. > :58:09.in Conway. We saw a lot of rain crossing us as denoted here by our

:58:10. > :58:12.Weather Watcher in Lincolnshire. The rain has steadily been the minimum

:58:13. > :58:14.from the west bushing eastwards, making good progress now towards the

:58:15. > :58:19.North Sea and behind it we are looking at sunshine and some

:58:20. > :58:23.showers. Through the course of this morning that will be the case. Quite

:58:24. > :58:29.a breezy day as well. Behind the rain there will be some cloud. The

:58:30. > :58:34.cloud will break up, we will see the sunshine coming out. Some of us will

:58:35. > :58:41.see some showers. Especially across parts of Somerset heading into the

:58:42. > :58:48.Home Counties. Outside the showers it will be a fine afternoon with

:58:49. > :58:54.some sunshine. For the Midlands, you might catch a shower at Edgbaston.

:58:55. > :58:57.And the Wales and Northern Ireland, some showers dotted around but we

:58:58. > :59:00.won't all catch one. For Scotland, the showers will be a bit more

:59:01. > :59:03.frequent but even so in between there will be some sunshine and

:59:04. > :59:08.across southern and eastern Scotland and parts of northern England could

:59:09. > :59:12.stay dry. An outside chance of a shower for the cricket at Edgbaston.

:59:13. > :59:16.If you catch one it will be fairly fleeting and temperatures up to 20

:59:17. > :59:19.or 21. As we had on through the evening and overnight, the daytime

:59:20. > :59:22.showers tend to fade. However we will see some more showery outbreaks

:59:23. > :59:28.of rain coming in across Northern Ireland, northern England and also

:59:29. > :59:33.Scotland. Away from that, there will be one or two showers. Some clear

:59:34. > :59:38.skies and overnight lows between 12 and 15 in towns and cities.

:59:39. > :59:41.Tomorrow, we pick up that band of showery rain moving north-eastwards.

:59:42. > :59:43.Behind it another one coming in across Northern Ireland and then

:59:44. > :59:47.into northern England and southern Scotland. In between these two

:59:48. > :59:52.bands. Once again sunshine and showers. Tomorrow will be quite

:59:53. > :59:56.blustery. You will notice the wind which will take the edge of those

:59:57. > :00:00.temperatures. Then as we head into the weekend, this is Sunday, you can

:00:01. > :00:07.see we have low pressure coming our way. Saturday will be largely dry.

:00:08. > :00:13.One or two showers. Sunday, things will change. An interesting area of

:00:14. > :00:19.low pressure. It has by then absorbed the remnants of

:00:20. > :00:25.ex-hurricane Gert. The relevance for that means we will have some

:00:26. > :00:28.tropical air mixed in amongst this. Warm air contains more moisture than

:00:29. > :00:32.cold air so it will enhance the rainfall as it comes in from the

:00:33. > :00:37.west. The positioning of this could well change. What we think at the

:00:38. > :00:39.moment is it will from the West, some eastern areas will start dry

:00:40. > :00:44.and have a pleasant enough day. The further north you are that will be

:00:45. > :00:45.the case. Don't make this the last forecast you see because that could

:00:46. > :00:49.change. Hello it's thursday,

:00:50. > :00:58.it's 10 o'clock, I'm Joanna Gosling. Universities are bracing themselves

:00:59. > :01:08.for what could be one of the busiest years ever for the clearing process

:01:09. > :01:11.as changes to the exams have made it Hundreds of thousands

:01:12. > :01:22.of teenagers find out how they did. I'm here at St George Moloch School

:01:23. > :01:28.in Walthamstow, east London, students still trickling in to pick

:01:29. > :01:29.up their results, those that have have done better-than-expected. --

:01:30. > :01:38.Monarch. We'll be speaking to some

:01:39. > :01:41.students to find out Modelled on the Teach

:01:42. > :01:58.First Scheme, it's led I saw this as a stepping stone, to

:01:59. > :02:02.go into forensic psychology, because of my psychology background, but at

:02:03. > :02:06.the minute, I am enjoying what I'm doing.

:02:07. > :02:08.Ad the high court in Belfast will issue

:02:09. > :02:10.a landmark ruling today on whether the current ban

:02:11. > :02:11.on same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland

:02:12. > :02:15.Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where same-sex couples

:02:16. > :02:17.are restricted to civil partnerships rather than marriages.

:02:18. > :02:31.We talk to the couples who have mounted the legal challenge.

:02:32. > :02:34.Keep your thoughts coming in on A-levels, in particular.

:02:35. > :02:38.Here's Rebecca in the BBC Newsroom with a summary of todays news.

:02:39. > :02:40.The percentage of A level entries receiving the top

:02:41. > :02:42.grades has risen slightly, the first increase in six years.

:02:43. > :02:45.But the results for 13 subjects in England which have seen

:02:46. > :03:05.big changes in assessment show a small fall in achievement.

:03:06. > :03:32.Our education correspondent Gillian Hargreaves told us more.

:03:33. > :03:38.In England, recent changes to A-levels mean these are the first

:03:39. > :03:41.children to sit one exam at the end of two years study,

:03:42. > :03:43.less emphasis on coursework, and AS-level is no longer count

:03:44. > :03:45.towards the final grade in 13 subjects.

:03:46. > :03:47.The key challenge is for the awarding bodies to make sure

:03:48. > :03:50.that they are marking to a consistently high standard,

:03:51. > :03:52.and that students get the results they deserve.

:03:53. > :03:55.President Trump says he is shutting down two business councils

:03:56. > :03:58.after a raft of resignations by the leaders of some of the United

:03:59. > :04:05.-- President Trump says he is shutting down

:04:06. > :04:09.after a raft of resignations by the leaders of some of the United

:04:10. > :04:12.Around a dozen company heads left their roles

:04:13. > :04:13.following Mr Trump's decision to blame left-wing protesters

:04:14. > :04:16.as much as right-wing supremacists for the violence which erupted

:04:17. > :04:20.The Spanish authorities say there's been a surge in the number

:04:21. > :04:22.of illegal migrants crossing the sea from Morocco.

:04:23. > :04:24.Nearly 600 were rescued on Wednesday during what coastguards described

:04:25. > :04:27.Some migrants have attempted the short journey using children's

:04:28. > :04:31.Spain has dealt with 9,000 arrivals by sea since January,

:04:32. > :04:34.three times as many as in the same period last year.

:04:35. > :04:37.Emergency services are tackling a huge blaze at the fruit market

:04:38. > :04:42.Ninety per cent of the building is now ablaze.

:04:43. > :04:44.Drifting smoke has caused some road closures and speed

:04:45. > :04:48.Hundreds of traders work at the market supplying fresh food

:04:49. > :04:50.to shops and restaurants in the west of Scotland.

:04:51. > :05:08.There are no reports of any injuries.

:05:09. > :05:11.A Canadian woman has been reunited with her diamond ring,

:05:12. > :05:13.13 years after she lost it while weeding in her garden.

:05:14. > :05:16.Mary Grams' daughter-in-law picked a carrot out of the vegetable patch

:05:17. > :05:19.and found its growth had been restricted by the ring.

:05:20. > :05:22.Mrs Grams had been too embarrassed to tell her husband she'd lost it

:05:23. > :05:29.That's a summary of the latest BBC News, more at 9.30.

:05:30. > :05:33.That's a summary of the latest BBC News, more at 10.30.

:05:34. > :05:42.Let me tell you how students at the school that was right by the

:05:43. > :05:48.Grenfell Tower have done in their A-levels, four students died and one

:05:49. > :05:52.former student died, 15 students were made homeless. The school has

:05:53. > :05:55.put out their results, Kensington Aldridge Academy, the school had to

:05:56. > :06:05.relocate after the fire, for the students to carry on and do their

:06:06. > :06:12.A-levels. A is level results, 62% of students got A*-C, the school is in

:06:13. > :06:15.the top 10% for added value. Coming up later, we will be hearing from

:06:16. > :06:18.the head of the school, David Benson, on how the students have

:06:19. > :06:23.done so well in the face of the trauma. Do let us know your thoughts

:06:24. > :06:28.on the level results, especially if you are affected.

:06:29. > :07:04.There was a fantastic result for Celtic in Europe last night,

:07:05. > :07:07.they all but sealed a spot in the Champions League Group stages

:07:08. > :07:10.this year with a 5-0 first leg win over the Kazakh champions

:07:11. > :07:14.Celtic were comfortable throughout and having gone all of last year's

:07:15. > :07:16.domestic season unbeaten, they'll now be focused

:07:17. > :07:18.on showing their quality again on the biggest of stages.

:07:19. > :07:22.Some of our play, some of our football, was outstanding, we need

:07:23. > :07:24.to get the job done over there. The Football Association paid an 80

:07:25. > :07:25.thousand pound settlement to England Women's International Eni Aluko

:07:26. > :07:28.despite an independent report clearing their head coach Mark

:07:29. > :07:30.Sampson of a bullying and harassment complaint made by Aluko. -- ?80,000.

:07:31. > :07:32.Details have emerged from the report claiming Sampson made a "derogatory,

:07:33. > :07:34.racial and prejudicial" comment about another England player, but

:07:35. > :07:35.that Aluko's settlement was made to allow the side to focus preparing

:07:36. > :08:01.for Euro 2017. Ordinarily we would be half an hour

:08:02. > :08:04.away from the start of the first test between England and the West

:08:05. > :08:08.Indies but today, they will be starting and finishing much later,

:08:09. > :08:14.the match is the first day night test to be played in England, only

:08:15. > :08:17.the fifth of its kind in the world. The players will use pink balls,

:08:18. > :08:23.designed to show up in the dark. The changed timings are designed to

:08:24. > :08:26.attract a new audience to the sport. A few things unknown slightly, but I

:08:27. > :08:26.think that is a wheelie good challenge for us

:08:27. > :08:34.as a team, seeing how the ball performs under lights but ultimately

:08:35. > :08:36.it is the same game, adapting to the conditions, we managed to do that

:08:37. > :08:45.well and we should be in a good position. It is something the game

:08:46. > :08:53.needs, Test cricket, many territories around the world, it is

:08:54. > :09:04.slowly but surely decreasing. This adds a bit of value to Test cricket.

:09:05. > :09:06.England and Ireland can reach the semi-finals

:09:07. > :09:09.Defending champions England have made six

:09:10. > :09:11.changes for their match against the United States in Dublin.

:09:12. > :09:16.Victory would guarantee them a place in the last four.

:09:17. > :09:20.Hosts Ireland have to beat France to reach the semis. Coach Tom Tierney

:09:21. > :09:22.has made six changes with Paula Fitzpatrick given the number eight

:09:23. > :09:25.shirt after her two tries against Japan.

:09:26. > :09:27.Scotland's Catriona Matthew has been called up to replace the injured

:09:28. > :09:30.Suzann Pettersen as Europe prepare to take on the United States

:09:31. > :09:39.Matthew, who's 47, has played in nine Solheim Cups.

:09:40. > :09:42.Influential Norwegian Pettersen will be vice captain but misses out

:09:43. > :09:52.In the last hour it has been announced that the percentage of a

:09:53. > :09:56.level grades has risen slightly this year but university entries are

:09:57. > :09:59.down, thousands more places may be available for those that did not

:10:00. > :10:04.quite make their grades. This year the exams system is different. There

:10:05. > :10:07.are no modular exams throughout the course. Instead students sit all

:10:08. > :10:09.A-level exams at the end of two years of study. AS-level results no

:10:10. > :10:12.longer count towards A-level grades in England. No subject has more than

:10:13. > :10:14.a 20% coursework component and most courses are assessed entirely

:10:15. > :10:16.through exams. Resits will still be available, but January exams will be

:10:17. > :10:18.scrapped, so students will have to wait until May/June of the following

:10:19. > :10:34.year for a chance to improve their grades.

:10:35. > :10:38.Our reporter, Chichi Izundu, is at a school in Walthamstow in north

:10:39. > :10:44.London. Tell us about the grades they are getting there. We are

:10:45. > :10:48.hearing east London, actually, a lot of the students seem to have done

:10:49. > :10:54.slightly better than they were expecting, and as you said, just to

:10:55. > :10:59.remind you, A-levels for 13 subjects now require two years study period,

:11:00. > :11:07.AES level modules will no longer count towards the final grade.

:11:08. > :11:16.Joining me, Ahad and Adrian, tell us how you did. I got A* in economics,

:11:17. > :11:21.and maths, and I got an a in biology. Over the moon, I knew that

:11:22. > :11:27.I would get A* in maths, I did not expect the top grade in biology, and

:11:28. > :11:32.economics was a big surprise. I want to go to UCL, study economics,

:11:33. > :11:36.hopefully get a good job. UCL is my first choice, might insure it was

:11:37. > :11:41.Queen Mary, that was a back up. That is the one I want to go to, UCL. We

:11:42. > :11:46.also found out that boys have done slightly better than girls when it

:11:47. > :11:50.comes to a level results, you studied for the two-year period, how

:11:51. > :11:54.did you find that? Difficult, it is a reformed a level, much more

:11:55. > :11:58.difficult to remember the first year, as well as understanding the

:11:59. > :12:01.second year, really difficult, all about working hard, from Day 1, and

:12:02. > :12:09.being dedicated and believing in yourself! Adrian, how did you do?

:12:10. > :12:13.Two as and a beat, economics and history, and the bee was in maths.

:12:14. > :12:20.It has made me feel really good, better than I expected full up

:12:21. > :12:24.better than I was predicted. -- B. You have changed your university.

:12:25. > :12:29.Yes, it is an avenue I'm willing to explore, we will see what comes up,

:12:30. > :12:33.at the moment I have a firm in Sussex but we will see if there is

:12:34. > :12:41.anything better available. Because you want to study. Economics. Why is

:12:42. > :12:45.it so popular? So many good jobs and avenues open to us, so varied. So

:12:46. > :12:54.many different things and options in life. You also did two-year study

:12:55. > :13:00.on. Really testing and strenuous, really stressful at points. Had you

:13:01. > :13:04.have some advice for students? About to embark on the two-year study

:13:05. > :13:08.period? Just about, because there is so much to remember, you have to

:13:09. > :13:12.make sure you start from Day 1, you cannot leave it to next month, you

:13:13. > :13:16.become lazy, but when you work everyday hard and dedicate yourself

:13:17. > :13:20.in a routine. But the main thing is, believe in yourself. If you don't

:13:21. > :13:28.believe in yourself, it will never happen, I never thought that I would

:13:29. > :13:33.get A*s. You broke the news to your mother, how did she react? She was

:13:34. > :13:36.screaming! LAUGHTER A lot of people doing much

:13:37. > :13:38.better-than-expected and looking to up what they got in their university

:13:39. > :13:46.or even change courses. Thank you very much. Always nice

:13:47. > :13:50.when you do better-than-expected! Obviously, a lot of people who will

:13:51. > :13:53.not be getting the results they expected, many will go through

:13:54. > :13:57.clearing to get into university, if that is what they want to do.

:13:58. > :14:00.Weakens big with the Director of admissions at the University of

:14:01. > :14:06.Bedfordshire. And Bobby Richardson, who did not perform as well as she

:14:07. > :14:11.had hoped in her A-levels, she -- chose to do an IT apprenticeship

:14:12. > :14:14.instead of going to university. You will remember how you were feeling

:14:15. > :14:20.on this day when the results came in... You were one of those who did

:14:21. > :14:25.not get what you wanted. I was predicted As across-the-board but I

:14:26. > :14:32.got Cs which is not what I hoped, and... Must have had you hard. Huge

:14:33. > :14:36.difference. Still got into university but I did not know what I

:14:37. > :14:43.want to do, the fact that I did not know what I wanted to do, made me

:14:44. > :14:47.very never is on results day. After results day, again, I did not know

:14:48. > :14:51.what I wanted to do, I did a third year at college, I found that it was

:14:52. > :14:55.very difficult for me because a lot of my friends had gone to

:14:56. > :14:58.university, I was on my own, I went into full-time work for a couple of

:14:59. > :15:02.years, leading me to do an IT apprenticeship. As that turned out

:15:03. > :15:06.to be something you are glad that you have ended up doing? Yes, one of

:15:07. > :15:09.the best decisions I have ever made, put me in a much better position

:15:10. > :15:14.than a lot of people I know. Why do you say that? At the moment a lot of

:15:15. > :15:18.my friends are graduating university, they have come out with

:15:19. > :15:21.a degree, which is great, but they are struggling to find jobs, they

:15:22. > :15:25.don't have the experience they need to get the jobs they are looking

:15:26. > :15:29.for. By taking an apprenticeship, I got the experience, I did not have

:15:30. > :15:37.the debt when I came out, which was great.

:15:38. > :15:43.Bob cousins, director of admissions at the University of Bedfordshire.

:15:44. > :15:48.Across the board, University applications were down 4%, why do

:15:49. > :15:53.you think that was? There are a range of reasons for that, the job

:15:54. > :15:59.market at the moment, but there have been changes as well in nursing

:16:00. > :16:01.funding which has contributed. Generally at the University of

:16:02. > :16:06.Bedfordshire we have not seen a decline overall and most of our

:16:07. > :16:18.courses are actually up on last year. We are an open access

:16:19. > :16:22.university, still have plenty of clearing places available. We have

:16:23. > :16:27.lots of new opportunities such as a new foundation year. Those students

:16:28. > :16:30.entering clearing have not done as well as they have achieved, there

:16:31. > :16:37.are opportunities you can consider, such as a foundation year. Explained

:16:38. > :16:40.that, somebody got in touch via Twitter to advise that is a good

:16:41. > :16:46.route to go down if you don't know what to do? If you don't have the

:16:47. > :16:49.grades you expected, many institutions including ours have

:16:50. > :16:53.introduced a foundation year, which means you can apply for the degree

:16:54. > :16:57.wanted to do but you have an extra degree of study which -- an extra

:16:58. > :17:00.year of study which prepares you to succeed. Some of our students who

:17:01. > :17:03.have done that are doing really well. Will the universities have to

:17:04. > :17:07.lower their admission standards to get students in, because it is

:17:08. > :17:11.important for the universities to get courses filled, isn't it,

:17:12. > :17:15.because of the funding that comes along with students and fees they

:17:16. > :17:18.are paying? That is part of it, there are lots of different funding

:17:19. > :17:21.routes into universities. When we have been confirming our own results

:17:22. > :17:25.with students this year we have found we have not seen a fall. It is

:17:26. > :17:30.broadly in line with where it was last year. If courses aren't filled,

:17:31. > :17:36.though, does it leave universities with a problem? It can do, but at

:17:37. > :17:43.the University of Bedfordshire we have not found that was an issue

:17:44. > :17:46.this year. What about the attractiveness or not of

:17:47. > :17:50.universities when students are incurring big debts? It is

:17:51. > :17:54.interesting to see that one company in particular, Grant Thornton, has

:17:55. > :17:56.said actually it has increased the number of students dramatically,

:17:57. > :18:01.going into work of the company straight from A-levels, versus

:18:02. > :18:09.coming out of university. A quarter of their intake of trainees are

:18:10. > :18:14.available students. Yes. There are lots of different routes, as we have

:18:15. > :18:16.just been discussing, one of those is degree apprenticeships will stop

:18:17. > :18:19.the University of Bedfordshire has recently signed a contract with

:18:20. > :18:23.Tesco and we are doing degree apprenticeships with them.

:18:24. > :18:26.University is also considering those different entry routes and working

:18:27. > :18:30.with employers to make up those gaps. Bobby, what is the best advice

:18:31. > :18:34.you would give someone if they find themselves in a position where they

:18:35. > :18:37.don't know what they will be doing? The best piece of advice is just

:18:38. > :18:41.don't panic. It doesn't matter if you didn't do well because your

:18:42. > :18:44.grades don't define you. There are still other alternative options,

:18:45. > :18:46.like apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships, and just because

:18:47. > :18:52.you don't do well academically does not mean you will not do well

:18:53. > :18:55.somewhere else. Did it take you a while to get to that position? On

:18:56. > :18:59.the day when they come through I guess you don't feel as level-headed

:19:00. > :19:02.as that? Definitely, it is always a bit of a shocker when you open your

:19:03. > :19:06.results and it is not what you wanted but it is important to remain

:19:07. > :19:10.calm and think there are still good things to come. Just because you

:19:11. > :19:18.have had that results doesn't mean it will set you up for a bad future.

:19:19. > :19:24.Is there anything on the day that kind of made you feel better?

:19:25. > :19:30.Knowing that the future I had was in my hand and not on a piece of paper

:19:31. > :19:34.in front of me, definitely. Greatest talk to you, Bobby and Bob, thank

:19:35. > :19:37.you both very much. Good luck to you, whether you have the results

:19:38. > :19:42.that you wanted or you did not come as we were hearing from Bobby, in

:19:43. > :19:46.the end it all worked out to her and I am sure and hope it you as well.

:19:47. > :19:50.Coming up, we will find out how teenagers at the Kensington Aldridge

:19:51. > :19:53.Academy did in their A-levels. That is the school in the shadow of

:19:54. > :19:55.Grenfell Tower who lost four pupils and one former pupil in the disaster

:19:56. > :20:05.with another 50 made homeless. The High Court in Belfast is due to

:20:06. > :20:09.issue a landmark ruling on whether same-sex marriage in Northern

:20:10. > :20:14.Ireland should be recognised the first time. Northern Ireland is the

:20:15. > :20:16.only part the UK where same-sex couples are restricted to civil

:20:17. > :20:30.partnerships rather than marriages. Three couples are challenging the

:20:31. > :20:34.current law. They are challenging by judicial review the assembly's

:20:35. > :20:37.repeated decision to refuse to legislate for same-sex marriage.

:20:38. > :20:41.They fed couple involved in action have had their identities and on my

:20:42. > :20:44.is that they High Court. They were married in England in 2014 but live

:20:45. > :20:47.in Northern Ireland and their marriage not recognise there. It is

:20:48. > :20:50.only recognised as a civil partnership. We can talk to two of

:20:51. > :20:58.those couples who have brought the case. Thank you all very much for

:20:59. > :21:03.joining us. Welcome. So you have this joint action. Shannon, to you

:21:04. > :21:10.first, tell us what your legal argument is, in a nutshell. I

:21:11. > :21:15.probably am not the best person to summarise a legal argument but we

:21:16. > :21:17.get asked quite often, what are the differences really between civil

:21:18. > :21:23.partnership and same-sex marriage and why would we be pushing for

:21:24. > :21:27.this. There are quite a few different aspects to answering that

:21:28. > :21:31.question. One, as you rightfully highlight and which we are very

:21:32. > :21:35.grateful for is that same-sex marriage is everywhere else in the

:21:36. > :21:40.UK. It is also in in the Republic of Ireland. So Northern Ireland remains

:21:41. > :21:46.to be the only place in the UK and in the island of Ireland, that does

:21:47. > :21:51.not have same-sex marriage. That is one aspect and we can't lose sight

:21:52. > :21:55.of that bigger picture. It is simply that it has been blocked from coming

:21:56. > :21:58.into Northern Ireland and we believe that is wrong. Another aspect of

:21:59. > :22:03.that, what is the difference question, is that if the government

:22:04. > :22:08.says there is no difference, they are trying to push us to accept

:22:09. > :22:11.civil partnership as being the same, then why is the government spending

:22:12. > :22:16.tens of thousands of taxpayers pounds to try and stop it from

:22:17. > :22:22.coming in? Tangibly logistically for us, some of the differences exist in

:22:23. > :22:29.pension rights, and travel. For example, I am American. And there is

:22:30. > :22:35.same-sex marriage recognised in the States. However, because only civil

:22:36. > :22:39.partnership is recognised in Northern Ireland, and the United

:22:40. > :22:44.States only recognise a reciprocal relationship, I can't bring my

:22:45. > :22:50.father into the United States as other married couples would. That

:22:51. > :22:56.means an injustice and a discrepancy between our relationships and

:22:57. > :23:00.everyone else's. It brings us into second-class citizenship. I know

:23:01. > :23:05.Chris and Henry... Before we go to Chris and Henry, I want to get

:23:06. > :23:08.Grainne's thoughts on this. It is interesting, looking at the history

:23:09. > :23:13.of Northern Ireland, and the fact it was the last place to decriminalise

:23:14. > :23:15.homosexuality in the UK but the first place to have civil

:23:16. > :23:22.partnerships but now behind the curve on gay marriage. How do you

:23:23. > :23:24.feel about that? Personally, I feel that 12 years ago we were very

:23:25. > :23:29.progressive in being the first couple in the UK. You would think

:23:30. > :23:33.times should have moved on. We are now the last place in the island of

:23:34. > :23:37.Ireland and also in the UK, as Shannon has said, and I think from a

:23:38. > :23:41.point of view that it is William Porter and that Shannon and I both

:23:42. > :23:44.have a little daughter, and for her future it is important that same-sex

:23:45. > :23:49.marriage is recognised for so it is a personal matter to us. Henry and

:23:50. > :23:57.Chris, why is it so important to you both? It is about family. We should

:23:58. > :24:01.not be in court today, this should have come in when it came in with

:24:02. > :24:06.legislation with the rest of the UK. Gay people growing up, there is a

:24:07. > :24:09.lot of suicide at the moment and things like that. Part of it is

:24:10. > :24:22.feeling that their love is not equal to anyone else. They are looked down

:24:23. > :24:28.on by people. Love is love. Henry is next to you. It is not that he

:24:29. > :24:34.doesn't want to talk. Giving you moral support alongside you. How do

:24:35. > :24:46.you feel attitudes, how much support do you have? It is a big change, it

:24:47. > :24:49.shows that times are changing. People are happy to accept gay

:24:50. > :24:55.marriage. The support we have had recently is unbelievable from

:24:56. > :24:58.everybody from all walks of life. There is just that negative few that

:24:59. > :25:03.will always have a downside. But you know what, we are not pushing gay

:25:04. > :25:07.marriage and the people's faces, if you don't want one, don't have one,

:25:08. > :25:12.simple as that. We are here to show that our love is the same as

:25:13. > :25:19.everyone else's. Shannon, you may not win this, what will you do if

:25:20. > :25:24.you lose, carry on fighting? We are ready to appeal. If we don't get the

:25:25. > :25:27.judgment in our favour today. When we signed up to this, the four of

:25:28. > :25:32.us, we knew it was not going to be straightforward, even though we

:25:33. > :25:36.hoped it is today only get the judgment. And we know and recognise

:25:37. > :25:40.that we might be this for a few years, this might even go to the

:25:41. > :25:47.European Court of Human Rights, depending on how things shake down!

:25:48. > :25:51.We know we are in this for the long haul. But I am quietly confident

:25:52. > :25:54.today that we will get the judgment in our favour, and that same-sex

:25:55. > :26:01.marriage will come into Northern Ireland. You are all looking very

:26:02. > :26:06.buoyant and happy today, what has it been like going into this fight?

:26:07. > :26:09.Tough at times? Incredibly tough, especially for the last two years we

:26:10. > :26:14.have been waiting for the judgment. That definitely takes its toll on

:26:15. > :26:17.you, in terms of carrying that. It is not just the Shannon and I and

:26:18. > :26:20.Henry and Chris that we are doing this for every lesbian and gay

:26:21. > :26:24.couple across Northern Ireland and that is rarely important to me and

:26:25. > :26:27.that we are carrying the weight of that, and prepared to put our necks

:26:28. > :26:33.on the line. Because it hasn't been easy but we are just really hoping

:26:34. > :26:36.for a positive judgment today. Chris, you are putting your necks on

:26:37. > :26:41.the line, do you come across people who say to you you should not have

:26:42. > :26:44.this right? Not to our face, no. There are plenty on Facebook that

:26:45. > :26:48.like to preach over here, but not to your face. The worst we have ever

:26:49. > :26:52.had in 12 years of our civil partnership was a seven-year-old

:26:53. > :26:54.saying to us one day, imagine having to marry another man? That is the

:26:55. > :27:03.worst we have come across in 12 years. Grainne were saying about

:27:04. > :27:09.some of the difficulties over time, how have you found the legal battle?

:27:10. > :27:15.Of course it has been hard. It just shouldn't be a court case, it should

:27:16. > :27:17.have come in as law. Our MLAs have approved it, but they have stopped

:27:18. > :27:20.it at every chance it has had of going through. We shouldn't be

:27:21. > :27:24.sitting here this morning waiting on a judgment, it should have been

:27:25. > :27:31.brought in law. How do you feel about the sort of changing nature of

:27:32. > :27:36.how things have progressed in Northern Ireland? The fact that as

:27:37. > :27:40.we mentioned it was the first place in the UK to have civil

:27:41. > :27:52.partnerships, but now there is this lag on this? Chris. I can't really

:27:53. > :27:58.hear you. OK, I am going to go back to Grainne and Shannon, Chris might

:27:59. > :28:05.have trouble hearing. Grainne and Shannon, how are your families,

:28:06. > :28:08.around this particular fight? They are very supportive, just before I

:28:09. > :28:12.came on here this morning, my family was wishing as well. Also I have a

:28:13. > :28:17.two-year-old niece, and just recently, this is a lovely story,

:28:18. > :28:20.Allan Little daughter had her naming ceremony and her first birthday

:28:21. > :28:25.party and we sent out an Cue cards with our photos and hers on it. When

:28:26. > :28:31.my little two-year-old niece asked her sister, her granny, who is that

:28:32. > :28:36.other person, that is her money, she has two mummies. I just think it is

:28:37. > :28:41.really important that that is our future. She just went about her

:28:42. > :28:48.business, oh, right, and went about her future, in terms of that is just

:28:49. > :28:53.the way it is going to go. Thank you all very much. We will bring you

:28:54. > :28:58.that judgment when it comes through. Still to come, tickets go on sale

:28:59. > :29:01.for We are Manchester, a benefit centre that will mark the reopening

:29:02. > :29:11.of Manchester Arena. We speak to one of the people performing. It is

:29:12. > :29:17.10:29am. Let's join Rebecca for a news summary. The percentage

:29:18. > :29:18.available entries receiving the top grades has proven slightly, the

:29:19. > :29:21.first increase in six years. But the results for 13 subjects

:29:22. > :29:24.in England which have seen big changes in assessment show

:29:25. > :29:26.a small fall in achievement. Our education correspondent

:29:27. > :29:34.Gillian Hargreaves told us more. Initial figures from the University

:29:35. > :29:37.system UCAS show the number of people accepted on university

:29:38. > :29:42.courses is 2% down on the same time last. There has been a surge in the

:29:43. > :29:46.number of illegal migrants crossing the sea from Morocco to Spain.

:29:47. > :29:51.Nearly 600 were rescued on Wednesday during what coastguards described as

:29:52. > :29:55.their busiest day yet. Spain has dealt with 9000 arrivals by sea

:29:56. > :30:05.since January, three times as many as in the same period last year.

:30:06. > :30:06.since January, three times as many President Trump says

:30:07. > :30:11.after a raft of resignations by the leaders of some of the United

:30:12. > :30:14.Around a dozen company heads left their roles

:30:15. > :30:16.following Mr Trump's decision to blame left-wing protesters

:30:17. > :30:18.as much as right-wing supremacists for the violence which erupted

:30:19. > :30:34.Firefighters are tackling a huge blaze at a warehouse

:30:35. > :30:38.Four hundred people work at the Blochairn fruit market,

:30:39. > :30:40.which supplies fresh food to shops and restaurants in

:30:41. > :30:44.Everybody has been moved to safety - twelve fire engines have

:30:45. > :30:52.Most of the historic World War two aircraft that make up the Battle

:30:53. > :30:55.of Britain Memorial Flight have been grounded because of engine issues.

:30:56. > :30:57.The Hurricanes, Spitfires and a Lancaster bomber

:30:58. > :30:59.are all affected and one display has already been cancelled

:31:00. > :31:02.The RAF is unable to say when the planes will

:31:03. > :31:06.The aircraft are more than 70 years old.

:31:07. > :31:08.A Canadian woman has been reunited with her diamond ring,

:31:09. > :31:11.13 years after she lost it while weeding in her garden.

:31:12. > :31:13.Mary Grams' daughter-in-law picked a carrot out of the vegetable patch

:31:14. > :31:16.and found its growth had been restricted by the ring.

:31:17. > :31:19.Mrs Grams had been too embarrassed to tell her husband she'd lost it

:31:20. > :31:40.That's a summary of the latest BBC News, more at 9.30.

:31:41. > :31:43.I do love that story, have you ever lost something that turned up

:31:44. > :31:51.unexpectedly years later. Celtic are pretty much put

:31:52. > :31:53.themselves a place in the group stages of the Champions League for

:31:54. > :32:28.the season, beating the England and Ireland can reach the

:32:29. > :32:33.semifinals of the Williams Rugby World Cup later on, England take on

:32:34. > :32:36.the United States, they know that victory would mean they

:32:37. > :32:49.automatically qualify for the last four, I will have more sport for you

:32:50. > :32:52.in newsroom live after 11am full. -- England captain Joe Root says Ashes

:32:53. > :32:54.places are on the line for some of his team-mates ahead of their

:32:55. > :32:56.historic first 'day-night' Test match against the West Indies at

:32:57. > :32:58.Edgbaston later. An England player was left "shocked" after being the

:32:59. > :33:00.subject of alleged 'racial' remarks made by women's national team head

:33:01. > :33:00.coach Mark Sampson. is on the increase -

:33:01. > :33:04.up by 665 - nearly a 4% rise is on the increase, up

:33:05. > :33:07.by 665, nearly a 4% rise That's according to the latest

:33:08. > :33:10.figures released by the Ministry Among the new recruits is a group

:33:11. > :33:15.of graduates on a programme modelled on the Teach First

:33:16. > :33:16.scheme for schools. The Justice Secretary,

:33:17. > :33:18.David Lidington, says they'll bring fresh ideas to a service that's too

:33:19. > :33:21.much of a "closed world." Our home affairs correspondent,

:33:22. > :33:24.Danny Shaw, is the first journalist to meet some of the new recruits

:33:25. > :33:26.as they undergo their final weeks of training at

:33:27. > :33:34.Coldingley Prison in Surrey: We are doing a cell search,

:33:35. > :33:43.obviously, this is someone's house VOICEOVER: It is one of the most

:33:44. > :33:46.basic tasks in prison, but one of the most important,

:33:47. > :33:48.looking for drugs, weapons and mobile phones and these new

:33:49. > :33:51.recruits are learning how to do it. How did your family react

:33:52. > :33:56.when you told them you would My mum was a bit worried

:33:57. > :34:00.and concerned to begin with, My dad, happy, I think he's quite

:34:01. > :34:05.excited for me because I'm excited Probably happy that he's got another

:34:06. > :34:08.one through the door. This is first-hand experience

:34:09. > :34:11.and a first step in helping They come in and they've been

:34:12. > :34:16.convicted of the crime and then their punishment

:34:17. > :34:18.is coming into prison. After that, they don't need to be

:34:19. > :34:21.punished any more they need the support and the help

:34:22. > :34:23.and guidance into leading Do you have particular

:34:24. > :34:46.ambitions at the moment? When I first looked at this

:34:47. > :34:52.programme I did, into me getting

:34:53. > :34:55.into forensic psychology from a psychology background,

:34:56. > :34:58.and that is how saw it... But, at the minute I'm

:34:59. > :35:00.enjoying what I'm doing. Most of the graduates, here meeting

:35:01. > :35:02.Justice Secretary David Lidington, are embarking on their first career

:35:03. > :35:06.but some are much older and have switched from office-based jobs

:35:07. > :35:07.selected for their communication The whole of society needs leaders

:35:08. > :35:19.who believe in reducing reoffending So, yes we want people in prisons

:35:20. > :35:23.who have done our programme, we want people starting criminal

:35:24. > :35:25.justice charities that have done our programme,

:35:26. > :35:28.but we also want MPs that have done our programme, I want

:35:29. > :35:31.a Secretary of State for justice, I want a Prime Minister that has

:35:32. > :35:34.done our programme. -- Prisons like this will benefit

:35:35. > :35:42.hugely from this influx of new staff but with violence across the prison

:35:43. > :35:45.service at record levels the question is, can it hang

:35:46. > :35:48.on to all the new offices that The salary for new prison officers

:35:49. > :36:00.is between ?20,000-?29,000 a year. Some can earn more in jobs

:36:01. > :36:02.which are less stressful I think it is also about sharing

:36:03. > :36:06.that as well as paying people the right level,

:36:07. > :36:09.you value the work that they do and you take steps in terms

:36:10. > :36:11.of discipline, drugs, mobile phones to make it

:36:12. > :36:13.easier for the officers is something that could

:36:14. > :36:19.be replicated more It is not an alternative

:36:20. > :36:26.to the standard recruitment of prison officers and prison

:36:27. > :36:30.governors, and yes I do do hope that this can

:36:31. > :36:36.be rolled out more widely There is a huge number of very

:36:37. > :36:46.dedicated governors and officers working in prisons looking

:36:47. > :36:48.after well over 80,000 people, at the moment and yet most

:36:49. > :36:51.of the public don't know what is going on inside

:36:52. > :36:53.our prison system. Bringing some bright graduates

:36:54. > :36:55.in who are committed to making a success of their work,

:36:56. > :36:57.I've been really impressed that I think will help

:36:58. > :37:01.with the running of the prisons. I think it will get some

:37:02. > :37:07.new ideas, some challenges. I think to the way in

:37:08. > :37:10.which we go about doing things in prisons and provide

:37:11. > :37:13.extra bodies, extra help for the

:37:14. > :37:20.established staff here. a way of opening up

:37:21. > :37:23.prisons a bit more One of the issues you have got

:37:24. > :37:28.is although you are getting people in, quite a lot are leaving

:37:29. > :37:30.because of the problems of violence and self harm and the lack

:37:31. > :37:33.of support they feel and perhaps That is a real issue, isn't it,

:37:34. > :37:40.you got it tackle retention? It is a challenge and it is

:37:41. > :37:43.a particular problem in parts of London and the south-east,

:37:44. > :37:46.it is not the case everywhere but yes in London and

:37:47. > :37:48.the south-east in particular. We have yes to recruit the extra

:37:49. > :37:51.prison officers but we also have to show as ministers and senior

:37:52. > :37:54.managers in justice that we value the professionalism,

:37:55. > :37:55.that we value the professionalism, the dedication of prison officers,

:37:56. > :37:58.listen to them and their ideas of how to make prison work better

:37:59. > :38:01.in the future and we need to redouble our efforts on things

:38:02. > :38:04.like cracking down on drugs And it is not easy work

:38:05. > :38:15.when prisons are full and, -- And it is not easy work

:38:16. > :38:24.when prisons are full and, STUDIO: Well, this is what some

:38:25. > :38:35.serving prison officers told about how important experience

:38:36. > :38:40.is in the profession. When I joined, there

:38:41. > :38:43.used to be staff coming They have the life experience

:38:44. > :38:46.to deal with these they don't have these

:38:47. > :38:50.kind of life skills, and that's another big failure

:38:51. > :38:53.that causes problems. We're getting officers

:38:54. > :38:55.who are 20, 21 years of age, what experience have

:38:56. > :38:58.they got of life? And they're telling a 40-,

:38:59. > :39:00.50-year-old to get back behind the door, who's probably done

:39:01. > :39:05.ten years already. There's no respect, no authority

:39:06. > :39:12.and there's no discipline. We can speak now to Paul Miller,

:39:13. > :39:15.who was a prison officer for more than 25 years until 2013,

:39:16. > :39:18.John Podmore, who's a former prison governor, and Carl Cattermole,

:39:19. > :39:20.who was convicted of criminal damage and served time in a number

:39:21. > :39:37.of prisons, including Pentonville, welcome, all of you, thank you for

:39:38. > :39:42.joining us John, the Justice Secretary says the graduate will

:39:43. > :39:47.bring fresh ideas to a service that is too much of a close world, what

:39:48. > :39:55.do you think? Let's bear in mind as far as I'm aware, we are talking

:39:56. > :40:01.about 40 individuals, I welcome this scheme, there is enthusiasm, clearly

:40:02. > :40:06.money behind it, I welcome investment in the new staff, we need

:40:07. > :40:08.to know how much money has been spent, and the important thing is

:40:09. > :40:18.that we have some trans-Arens as to how many of the 40 graduates stick

:40:19. > :40:32.with it. -- transparency. That is a key barometer of whether it is

:40:33. > :40:35.working. But it is a close world, we need more prison staff and Ministry

:40:36. > :40:41.of Justice staff to talk about these issues. Do you think that graduates

:40:42. > :40:45.are the answer to some of the problems? Definitely not, we have

:40:46. > :40:51.been down this road before, years ago, when we had the accelerated

:40:52. > :40:56.promotion scheme, we had people who were coming to the job, graduates,

:40:57. > :41:03.and the first thing they wanted to do was get off the land, become a

:41:04. > :41:10.governor, be running wings in jails within a few years. -- get off the

:41:11. > :41:13.landings. John, in terms of that, presumably, that is what the goal is

:41:14. > :41:20.going to be, this time around, do you think that is a good thing?

:41:21. > :41:26.Well, what we need to bear in mind, with all this recruitment, apart

:41:27. > :41:29.from the Unlock scheme, where there is intensive training, the prison

:41:30. > :41:35.officers we are recruiting, talking about an increase of six, 700 based

:41:36. > :41:38.on the group and 3000, we are losing a lot of experience, but the

:41:39. > :41:45.training for prison officers is the shortest in the world, about eight

:41:46. > :41:50.weeks. Prisoners can be difficult, disorder, drug and alcohol problems,

:41:51. > :41:55.devious, manipulative. The skills to deal with prisoners are huge, a

:41:56. > :42:04.training course of eight weeks, based on the fact you don't need

:42:05. > :42:11.five GCSEs, A-C, to join the scheme, is a problem that is not yet being

:42:12. > :42:15.tackled. We have lost 7500 experienced staff, we are bringing

:42:16. > :42:22.in, trying to bring in, 800, 2500 new ones. But, the turnover at the

:42:23. > :42:25.moment, the people who are leaving, are going to be those who can afford

:42:26. > :42:31.to go, early pensions, early retirement full. We are still

:42:32. > :42:35.continuing to lose the experience. Addressing the spearing issues of

:42:36. > :42:41.the workforce is the most important thing, I don't think governments are

:42:42. > :42:44.doing enough. You are a former prisoner, what you think is required

:42:45. > :42:53.in prison officers to make a good one? I think that bringing in young

:42:54. > :42:57.graduate is unrealistic. I think that like John says, I can only echo

:42:58. > :43:02.what that says, 7500 experienced officers have been lost, offices and

:43:03. > :43:07.know what they are doing, they have the mettle to deal with the

:43:08. > :43:10.situation, and they bringing new 800 kids, any investment is a good

:43:11. > :43:14.investment, but the net result is not a good one. What do inmates

:43:15. > :43:21.respect, in terms of prison officers? Inmates don't really

:43:22. > :43:25.respect prison officers, they are the arm of a system that has locked

:43:26. > :43:29.you up and is not helping you, failing to provide you with

:43:30. > :43:32.education, putting drugs in front of you, separating you from your

:43:33. > :43:37.family. We don't have respect for prison officers. Were there anywhere

:43:38. > :43:48.you thought, I respect that person, he's doing a good job. There is two

:43:49. > :43:52.answers, I did not like prison officers, I had bad experiences with

:43:53. > :44:00.them on the ground, but I think that also, I can see they are doing a

:44:01. > :44:03.hard job, and I deeply respect that. All the prison officers who had the

:44:04. > :44:07.real experience in how to deal with inmates made the wing safer, they

:44:08. > :44:12.made you feel more able to rehabilitate yourself, they provided

:44:13. > :44:17.an environment that was more conducive to a functioning prison

:44:18. > :44:21.system. What was it they were doing? They would let you in the eye, they

:44:22. > :44:27.would know the right questions, recognised tensions when they are

:44:28. > :44:32.about to rise. These kids that are coming through... About mutual

:44:33. > :44:37.respect and a bit of fear. Honestly, I don't think fear works, because

:44:38. > :44:40.people like me, who have been in detention from school, or people who

:44:41. > :44:44.have been in care and youth offenders institutions, you don't

:44:45. > :44:49.response to fear, what you respond to is respect, that is something

:44:50. > :44:54.everyone seems to miss in this narrative about the justice system,

:44:55. > :44:58.I think you are more likely to have respect and mutual respect for an

:44:59. > :45:02.officer who has been through it and knows what they are doing. I think

:45:03. > :45:09.that the wider issue of the way that the prison system has become an

:45:10. > :45:13.absolute mess is something we urgently need to talk about. You

:45:14. > :45:17.were nodding vigorously when he was talking about respect, and how to

:45:18. > :45:24.get the most constructive relationship between prison officers

:45:25. > :45:26.and inmates. Prison is run on relationships, and what has

:45:27. > :45:32.happened, those relationships have been broken down. That is because

:45:33. > :45:35.you have prison officers feeling demotivated, in some instances not

:45:36. > :45:39.particularly well led and well-trained or even well-prepared

:45:40. > :45:44.for situations they face. Above all, they need to be self-confident, they

:45:45. > :45:48.need to know about the issues that prisoners raise with them, they need

:45:49. > :45:58.to know more than they do about suicide prevention.

:45:59. > :46:04.They need to know how the system works. They need to be investing

:46:05. > :46:10.their knowledge in the prisoners, and that has broken down. Putting

:46:11. > :46:14.that that will be a truly difficult. Paul Camier were a prison officer as

:46:15. > :46:21.we mentioned for more than 25 years, how has the role changed? Basically

:46:22. > :46:25.the role has changed hugely. I basically went to work and I was

:46:26. > :46:28.serving the same sentence as what prisoners were doing, I got them up

:46:29. > :46:33.in the morning, put them away at night time, I knew everything about

:46:34. > :46:37.my prisoners that I was personal officer to and I knew everything

:46:38. > :46:42.about most prisoners on my unit, and they knew me, and they knew the

:46:43. > :46:46.other officers. We had time to mix with them. It is called dynamic

:46:47. > :46:50.security. You would be there in the morning, you would have a quick

:46:51. > :46:56.little chat with them, but those days are gone. It is basically open

:46:57. > :47:01.the door, throw them off the walk. Feed them. Put them behind the door.

:47:02. > :47:05.There is no interaction any more, staff don't feel comfortable trying

:47:06. > :47:08.to interact because of the numbers. Some officers will be unlocking unit

:47:09. > :47:12.today with 100 prisoners on the line by themselves. When I started you

:47:13. > :47:15.would have at least four officers. You would go along together, you

:47:16. > :47:25.were awful in eyesight of each other. You don't have time now and

:47:26. > :47:28.you don't feel like interacting with the prisoners. We are getting rid of

:47:29. > :47:33.that personal officer and that thing where I knew everything, I knew if

:47:34. > :47:37.Tommy's at had died. I would pull him in and have a chat with him. You

:47:38. > :47:40.have had a bad letter, all of this. That has all gone because the

:47:41. > :47:46.officer hasn't got the time all the tools to do the jobs any more. That

:47:47. > :47:49.makes the prison safe environments. So when you think about young

:47:50. > :47:53.graduates going into that environment, how do you feel about

:47:54. > :48:00.that, their chances, how they are going to get on in that context?

:48:01. > :48:03.Like I say, if it is anything like it was with the last lot of

:48:04. > :48:09.graduates, the first aim of those is to be running a wing or running a

:48:10. > :48:13.jail. They will simply be waiting to get off the landing sand into the

:48:14. > :48:19.office. They will be no use for the front officers. I would like to see

:48:20. > :48:30.how many are still here in 12 months. Thank you all. Coming up,

:48:31. > :48:32.tickets go on sale for We are Manchester, a benefit concert to

:48:33. > :48:36.mark the reopening of Manchester Arena. We speak to one of the people

:48:37. > :48:39.performing. Two months ago, the morning after more than 80 people

:48:40. > :48:43.have died in the Grenfell Tower and hundreds were made homeless, pupils

:48:44. > :48:49.from the nearby Kensington and Aldridge Academy had to sit A-level

:48:50. > :48:53.exams. Amazingly, some had fled the fire just hours earlier. The school

:48:54. > :48:58.lost four pupils and one former pupil that night. 50 more were made

:48:59. > :49:01.homeless. His first broadcast interview since of our -- says the

:49:02. > :49:05.fire, the headteacher of the school has been speaking to our

:49:06. > :49:09.correspondent Gillian Hargreaves, starting up by reflecting on the

:49:10. > :49:11.incredible achievement of the school and its pupils.

:49:12. > :49:16.We are extremely proud today. This would have been an important day

:49:17. > :49:19.under any circumstances, because as a new school, opened in 2014, this

:49:20. > :49:23.is our first ever set of exam results. But particularly given what

:49:24. > :49:29.the school has been through, to see the schools receive such -- students

:49:30. > :49:38.receive such excellent results, 62% of all grades at a S are a to see.

:49:39. > :49:41.42% a to B. We are in the top 10% of schools nationally in terms of the

:49:42. > :49:45.value-added we have shown to our children. That really underlines all

:49:46. > :49:49.of the standards and the excellent education we have been delivering

:49:50. > :49:54.throughout the year. We tried to bring as much order and discipline

:49:55. > :49:59.to the situation as we could. I am not going to lie to you and say it

:50:00. > :50:02.was smooth. It was very, very difficult and very challenging.

:50:03. > :50:06.There was the emotion of the situation and the deep concern that

:50:07. > :50:11.we had for the members of our school community. But there was also a

:50:12. > :50:14.whole load of practical challenges. Children have one chance in life at

:50:15. > :50:21.an education, these were important examinations. We had to keep going.

:50:22. > :50:26.It was so difficult, that half term after Grenfell and so sad in so many

:50:27. > :50:31.ways. There were moments when were inspired. Georgina Smith is the

:50:32. > :50:35.student, she lit and Grenfell Tower, fortunately she was able to get out,

:50:36. > :50:39.and her whole family were. She was injured, not badly, but she was in

:50:40. > :50:44.hospital. Her concern in hospital was not this out on her work. She

:50:45. > :50:48.was e-mailing us her homework and teachers were e-mailing back but you

:50:49. > :50:53.are absolutely right. Children are resilient, they are programmed to

:50:54. > :50:56.learn. The overwhelming majority of students in the aftermath of the

:50:57. > :50:59.fire were eager to come to school, to see their friends, they were

:51:00. > :51:06.eager to carry on with their learning. Their deeply held academic

:51:07. > :51:12.ambitions for the future could not be put on pause by this. Pupils to

:51:13. > :51:17.die from time to time, children are involved in road accidents or

:51:18. > :51:23.serious illness, but to lose five pupils, four all at once, two in one

:51:24. > :51:34.year group, that is immense for a school to enjoy. Yes. Yes, I mean,

:51:35. > :51:43.and it was, well, it is very sad. I do know if there is a precedent for

:51:44. > :51:49.that happening. In a school. But we took a lot of advice from people who

:51:50. > :51:58.had perhaps been in traumatic situations before. And they helped

:51:59. > :52:04.us to script the messaging, how to support staff, how to support

:52:05. > :52:09.students. And we have a good leadership team here and we were

:52:10. > :52:16.able to, as best as we could, navigate our way through that. And

:52:17. > :52:21.after a period of time, we were able to start to talk about the students

:52:22. > :52:23.that we had lost, and remember them, celebrate their lives, and that will

:52:24. > :52:31.continue into next year. That is the head of Kensington and

:52:32. > :52:35.Aldridge Academy, in the shadow of Grenfell Tower, talking about his

:52:36. > :52:39.pride at how well the students have done this year in the a levels,

:52:40. > :52:46.someone sitting there first A-level exam just the day after the fire.

:52:47. > :52:50.Becker has got in touch on Twitter, saying I am on track for it to one

:52:51. > :52:54.or a first from Bournemouth in archaeology, so she says you will be

:52:55. > :52:59.OK if you didn't get what you want. Ian Barrett says I fully raped

:53:00. > :53:05.anyone who managed to last the full two years available is, I couldn't

:53:06. > :53:08.hack them after six months. Andrew Erskine says my girlfriend could

:53:09. > :53:11.only go to university to study nursing because the bursary was

:53:12. > :53:18.there to help. Now it is that there is no chance she could have married

:53:19. > :53:21.-- managed. A reflection on the 4% reduction to application the

:53:22. > :53:24.universities, cost the nursing students being cited as one of the

:53:25. > :53:28.several reasons for that the crease in applications. It is just under

:53:29. > :53:32.three months since the attack on Manchester Arena, which left 22

:53:33. > :53:37.people dead and scores injured, as fans left a sell-out Ariana Grande

:53:38. > :53:40.concert. Today tickets will go on sale for the We Are Manchester

:53:41. > :53:43.concert, which will honour those impacted by the attack and mark the

:53:44. > :53:47.official reopening of the Manchester Arena. The concert explosive online

:53:48. > :53:53.September and will feature a number of performers from the Northwest,

:53:54. > :53:56.including Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, call the Neres,

:53:57. > :54:00.blossoms and Rick Astley. The profits will help to fund a

:54:01. > :54:04.permanent memorial to those who died. Then the moment we will speak

:54:05. > :54:07.to Tony Walsh, a poet from Manchester whose poem became a

:54:08. > :54:10.symbol of defiance when he read it before a crowd of thousands at a

:54:11. > :54:14.vigil for the Manchester attack victims the day after the bombing.

:54:15. > :54:21.Let's remind ourselves of that moment. There's hard times again in

:54:22. > :54:24.the streets of our city, but we won't take defeat, and we don't want

:54:25. > :54:29.your pity, because this is the place where we stand strong together, with

:54:30. > :54:34.a smile on our face, Mancunians forever, because this is the place

:54:35. > :54:39.in our hearts, in our homes, because this is the place that's a part of

:54:40. > :54:43.our bones, because Manchester gives such strength from the fact that

:54:44. > :54:59.this, is the place. CHEERING It struck a chord with so many now.

:55:00. > :55:02.Let's talk to Tony Walsh. You will be performing at the concert on the

:55:03. > :55:09.9th of September. What will you do then? It is a real honour and it

:55:10. > :55:12.will be a great emotional, powerful, very special Manchester night I

:55:13. > :55:16.think. I am not quite sure if they would like me to do the poem again,

:55:17. > :55:20.but I have worked with the arena before, they commissioned a poem

:55:21. > :55:30.from the when the arena was 20 years old. I'm expecting they will ask me

:55:31. > :55:35.to do that to mark the reopening. What has the reaction been since you

:55:36. > :55:40.delivered the term? It has really taken me aback, it has been mind

:55:41. > :55:43.blowing really. There has been international reactions. As I walk

:55:44. > :55:47.round Manchester now, the Northwest, people stop me and thank me, and I

:55:48. > :55:52.have hugs and kisses, blokes have kissed me, family members people who

:55:53. > :55:57.lost loved ones, people having it tattooed on them. It is up as

:55:58. > :56:01.graffiti art here in the city of the. Choirs have signed it, death

:56:02. > :56:04.quires have signed it and send it to me. It has been incorporated in

:56:05. > :56:08.artwork and embroidery and knitting, all sorts of things. It seems to

:56:09. > :56:14.have entered the fabric of the city quickly. There has been a hacienda

:56:15. > :56:17.style dance mix of the poem available with funds raised to

:56:18. > :56:22.charity and a very special project coming along as well, the design

:56:23. > :56:28.community of Manchester. Sorry to interrupt, what do you think is the

:56:29. > :56:35.importance of this concert? Will it be a moment where people can start

:56:36. > :56:39.to move forward? I think so. For some of us we are able to move

:56:40. > :56:42.forward, let's be very clear, 22 people lost their lives and many

:56:43. > :56:47.more were injured and it has had a devastating effect on many families.

:56:48. > :56:53.Let's not lose sight of that. Those of us who are able to move forward,

:56:54. > :56:57.the arena needed to reopen Monday, and rather than just reopened with

:56:58. > :57:03.whatever was in the calendar, they have laid on a special gig, a chance

:57:04. > :57:05.to celebrate the spirit of this place and the creativity and the

:57:06. > :57:09.music of this place and remember what has happened but take that

:57:10. > :57:14.spirit of Manchester forward. How would you describe the spirit of

:57:15. > :57:18.Manchester now? We are hurting. There has been an attack made on us

:57:19. > :57:24.all. But my poem seems to have struck a chord and reflected the

:57:25. > :57:29.mood of the city. The hashtag we stand together, my phrase choose

:57:30. > :57:33.love seemed to have resonated, and Manchester's steeling itself to move

:57:34. > :57:36.forward. We have used our creativity, imbued our sense of

:57:37. > :57:42.community, celebrated our diversity and this is a key milestone on our

:57:43. > :57:45.journey back. And the money from the concert will be donated to the

:57:46. > :57:50.memorial fund for a permanent memorial to the attack. What would

:57:51. > :57:57.you just very briefly think is the most fitting memorial? I gather so.

:57:58. > :58:00.Clearly the city will need a space to go where it can go and pay its

:58:01. > :58:03.respects. There will be many different views on this and it is

:58:04. > :58:07.important we listen to the families I think. I would like to see a

:58:08. > :58:11.living memorial, I would like to see something that goes forward and

:58:12. > :58:15.celebrates Manchester's creativity, its community, some sort of living

:58:16. > :58:18.fund that supports projects in the name of what has happened would be

:58:19. > :58:23.my suggestion. Tony Walsh, thank you for joining us. BBC Newsroom Live is

:58:24. > :58:25.coming up next. Thank you for your company. I will see you the same

:58:26. > :58:32.time tomorrow. Goodbye. From now on, you have a mistress,

:58:33. > :58:36.not a master.