Brain Gym claims to be withdrawn
The creators of an educational exercise programme used in hundreds of schools
in England have agreed to withdraw unsubstantiated scientific claims in
their teaching materials.
The Brain Gym programme, which uses 26 teacher-led physical exercises to help
to promote learning, was at the centre of controversy this week after
respected scientific organisations complained to local authorities about the
company’s training manual.
Paul Dennison, a Californian educator who created the programme, admitted that
many claims in his teacher’s guide were based on his “hunches” and were not
proper science.
Shannon case arrests
The mother and sister of the boyfriend of Shannon Matthews’s mother were
granted police bail last night after being arrested in connection with the
disappearance of the nine-year-old in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Amanda
Hyett, 25, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, and Alice
Meehan, 49, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of
justice. The women were held by police investigating the alleged abduction
in February.
Store fall girl ‘critical’
A three-year-old girl is critically ill after falling 100ft between two
escalators at one of the biggest Primark stores in the country. The toddler
fell from the second floor to the ground floor of the store in Liverpool
city centre. She was taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital where her
injuries were being assessed. Merseyside Police described the girl’s
condition as critical. A spokesman for Primark said: “We are obviously
profoundly shocked and saddened to learn of the accident.”
Spring snowfall
The warm weather enjoyed in the past few days, with temperatures of 18C (64F)
recorded in some parts of the South yesterday, will be replaced by rain,
sleet, hail and snow. Blizzards are expected to start in Scotland and a
bitter wind from the North Pole will cause temperatures to fall below zero.
“Many people could open their curtains first thing on Sunday morning and
find a winter landscape of snow outside,” John Hammond, from the Met Office,
said.
State-school intake to Cambridge falls
The proportion of students admitted to Cambridge University from state schools
fell last year despite a campaign to attract more pupils from working-class
backgrounds (Alexandra Frean writes).
Fifty-five per cent of admissions were British students from state schools,
which was one percentage point lower than the previous year.
The university suggested that the reduction was attributable to a five
percentage point fall in applications from state-school pupils and
increasing competition from other universities. It is planning a strong
effort to regain the lost momentum, including the simplification of its
admissions procedure.
Playground attack
Nine pupils have been advised to seek medical advice after they were attacked
with a hypodermic needle in a school playground. It is believed they were
stabbed in the buttocks, hands and arms at John Port School in Etwall,
Derbyshire. Michael Crane, the head teacher, said he had taken action
against two pupils and police were investigating.
Knife mother jailed
A teenage mother was told she would serve at least 12 years for killing the
father of her child. Dimple Scaife, now 18, stabbed her on-off boyfriend,
19-year-old Jake Mackay, in December 2006 after finding that he was seeing
another girl. Scaife had already been sentenced to detention at Leicester
Crown Court when she was found guilty in January.
Council tax victory
A local authority was wrong to bankrupt a man over a £1,105 council tax debt,
a watchdog ruled. Jerry White, the Local Government Ombudsman, called for
the man’s bankruptcy to be annulled – and for Wolverhampton City Council to
meet the £38,000 cost. The man, who cannot be named, must repay the original
£1,105 debt.
Universe mapped out
Astronomers have unveiled the best map yet of the cosmos, uncovering the
origins of the most massive galaxies in the distant universe ten billion
years ago. The stunning chart uses images obtained by the United Kingdom
Infra-Red Telescope in Hawaii and took three years to produce. It
encompasses more than 100,000 galaxies.
Alzheimer’s drug may help head injuries
The Alzheimer’s drug Aricept could help victims of traumatic head injuries to
recover from memory loss, research has shown (Rosemary Bennett writes).
The drug works by increasing levels of a brain chemical linked to memory and
was developed to help dementia patients to retain memory and attention span.
The pilot study of nine patients who had been victims of accidents or
strokes found that a small dose each day improved memory, concentration and
helped them to overcome severe fatigue.
Aricept is involved in a legal battle over a decision that prevents patients
with early symptoms getting it on the NHS. The National Institute for Health
and Clinical Excellence said it should be used only by moderate-stage
patients.
Simone Carter at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, near Dublin, who led
the research, said traumatic head injuries often caused symptoms similar to
Alzheimer’s.
Hospital injury
A hospital has refused to apologise to a pensioner who was admitted with a
suspected stroke but emerged 48 hours later with a broken hip and MRSA.
Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading believes that it treated Peter Wilson,
86, “by the book”. The hospital said that Mr Wilson had already contracted
MRSA before arrival, and had slipped while walking in a ward.
Police misconduct
Gerard Hutchings, 48, a police inspector, pleaded guilty at Hove Magistrates
Court to mistreating young men in police custody. He admitted 11 counts of
misconduct in a public office between March 2006 and July last year.
Hutching was employed by the Hampshire force in Lyndhurst in the New Forest
but was dismissed last year. Sentencing was adjourned for reports.
Rail death charge
A man was remanded in custody charged with the manslaughter of his partner on
a railway line. Darren Palmer, 38, of Clacton, Essex, did not enter a plea
at Colchester Magistrates’ Court, after being charged with causing the death
of Kelly Mack. Miss Mack, 29, was hit by a train at a level crossing in
Colchester on March 27. Mr Palmer will appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on
June 23.
Nicholas Cage wins dog theft libel case
The actor Nicolas Cage accepted an apology and a charity donation from
Kathleen Turner after she claimed that he was arrested for drink-driving and
that he stole a chihuaha.
The claims were made in an extract of her autobiography, Send Yourself Roses,
published in the Daily Mail in January. Under the title “Why I detest
Burt Reynolds and Nicolas Cage”, Turner described her experience of working
on the film Peggy Sue Got Married. She wrote that her co-star was
“arrested twice for drunk-driving and, I think, for stealing a dog”.
Simon Smith, for Mr Cage, told Mr Justice David Eady at the High Court that
the Daily Mail would publish an apology.
Parking row killing
Two brothers were jailed for manslaughter after a revenge attack on a
pensioner who had angered them in a supermarket parking dispute.
Steven Forbes, 22, and Mark Forbes, 40, traced their victim, Bernard Gilbert,
79, with the help of a policeman who had access to an official database. Mr
Gilbert had a fatal heart attack when Steven Forbes through a brick through
the window of his home in Spondon, Derbyshire. The men were sentenced by
Birmingham Crown Court yesterday. Mark Forbes was given three years and
Steven Forbes two years three months.
Jealous killer claim
A “jealous” man is accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend, stabbing her to
death then dousing her with petrol and setting her on fire. Liverpool Crown
Court was told that Anthony Clarke, 27, who denies murder, was identified as
the attacker by Monika Szmecht, 21, from Poland, moments before she died.
After the attack in St Helens, Merseyside, she suffered 80 per cent burns on
her body. The trial continues.
Car fan past his peak
A retired engineer with the world’s largest private collection of Trabant cars
lost a High Court appeal to keep them on his land. Neighbours of Graham
Goodall, 61, in Middleton-by-Youlgreave, Derbyshire, had said the East
German cars were an eyesore. The Peak District National Park Authority has
ordered him to remove 40 of the 49 cars as he does not have planning
permission. He was fined £750 after failing to comply.
