Eleanor Peake

2 weeks ago | inews.co.uk | Eleanor Peake

On 1 January, the government’s new tax on private schools came into effect. The flagship policy change, announced in July 2024, removed charity relief status on private schools, increasing their VAT by 20 per cent. This 20 per cent tax hit private school parents, whose fees rose by thousands of pounds a year. According to Government data, since Labour introduced the VAT, 77 private schools in England have closed. Since then, families across the UK have been campaigning to have the policy abolished.

2 weeks ago | inews.co.uk | Eleanor Peake

In just five years, the UK’s waters will be dangerously acidic. Humans might not be able to feel the pH change, but the shellfish will. Their calcium carbonate shells will struggle to grow, slowly dissolving. Oysters, with their large outer shells, will struggle to keep their larvae alive as they fail to attach to their habitats in these new, hostile conditions. But oceanographers are increasingly concerned that no one is listening.

2 weeks ago | inews.co.uk | Eleanor Peake

Susan Pape and her husband have a home in Filey, North Yorkshire – a sleepy town with tall white houses that line the beachfront. There are bakeries and traditional fish and chip restaurants; shops selling boutique gifts; and hilltop views across the whole valley. But there’s one problem: Pape is desperate to sell. Their one-bed Victorian terrace flat, which is perched on the town’s crescent, is a second home. The couple live in Leeds, about an hour and a half drive away.

3 weeks ago | msn.com | Eleanor Peake

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3 weeks ago | inews.co.uk | Eleanor Peake

Twenty years ago, an average meal in a UK school canteen was a couple of Turkey Twizzlers and a dollop of mash served with an ice cream scoop. But today, school caterer Nick Collins says the difference across schools is striking. Every day, Collins, the founder of CleverChef, prepares food for both state and private schools – he operates at 130 schools – all with very different budgets and expectations from their students.