Testimonials

“The great thing about The Day is that it connects work within school to the wide community of the world at large. This kind of connection is obviously useful in general terms, but it has lots of particular values as well - including and especially the opportunity to make every individual subject feel a part of life.”

Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate

“What the last few years have shown us is that without good information, and an audience able to make sense of it, our societies are finished. Citizens need above all else to be informed and alive to what is happening in all areas of public life. The Day spreads understanding and insight, creates a sense of community around news and quite literally refreshes the life-blood of democracy.”

Alain de Botton, Author

“Nice idea.”

David Miliband

“The younger generation are in danger of feeling disenfranchised by our political system. This feeling of powerlessness will only be addressed by education, engagement and debate. A programme that filters out the less important issues in the news and focusses upon the main issues of the day would seem to be an essential part of education. If it engages the new generation in debate, then I would thoroughly endorse this programme.”

Jeremy Irons, Actor

“The Day plugs the gap between teenagers hungry for an explanation of what is going on in the world, and a mainstream media that either trivialises or overcomplicates the news for them. One of the most enjoyable parts of my Dream School experience was seeing the students engage in real debate. Just as we teach our kids from an early age that family life is important, and sport and healthy eating are good for them, so we should do more to teach that politics is a fundamental part of their lives.”

Alastair Campbell.
Former director of communications at No 10 Downing St. Politics teacher in Jamie’s Dream School CH4

“I only wish that there had been something like The Day around when I was a schoolboy.”

Richard Wilson, Actor

“What a very valuable idea. I do hope many church schools and academies join in.”

Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford.

I have found ‘The Day’ an invaluable teaching resource this year. It has enabled me to easily identify suitable and relevant topics to stimulate discussion within my lessons. The format is clear and easily accessible for students of a variety of abilities. I really like the discussion points at the end of each article and the links to further resources are also always well researched and appropriate. As an RE teacher I think that this service is fantastic. There are always so many relevant issues within the news which we as teachers do not always have the time to locate and find resources on. I have also used ‘The Day’ in my Additional English Support lessons with Years 12 and 13 as a source to initiate critical thinking and debate.

Liz Smith, RE teacher, The Grey Coat Hospital, London

“With The Day I have my finger on the pulse without moving a muscle."
“I think this is a fantastic idea. Only subscribed for trial last week and have already used it with the whole of year 12 and my tutor group. Planning to use it this week as oral starter and with my tutor group.”

Julie Revans, Literacy Coordinator, Brimsham Green School, Gloucestershire

“Teachers know they can click on an email and reliably get interesting and accessible stories, and that the language will be appropriate for young inquiring minds. The immediacy of The Day saves busy teachers a lot of research time. It gives kids instant access to news stories to promote discussion about current events, which is very helpful for tutor time. We work hard to broaden the school experience and for that The Day is really appreciated.”

Philippa Nunn, Headteacher, Waldegrave School for girls, Twickenham

“Tutors liked the fact that an issue was covered on one side of A4… liked that it was a daily service, liked the fact that there were three topics each day - We can split the class into three groups and ask a group to feedback on the topic to the whole class. Tutors also said it was very good for giving many of our students exposure to world politics and current affairs.”

Mark Dewey, Teacher, St Martin in the Fields High School for Girls, London

“Pithy, thought-provoking and easily digestible.”

Nicola Craddock, Maths teacher, Lacon Childe School, Shropshire

“Long over-due resource for teachers. A brilliant resource that has saved me hours of sifting through irrelevant articles for my students.”

Julie Slade, Head of English, Tenbury High School, Worcestershire

“When I came to the school we were wondering whether we should not cut down the time spent in tutor groups to much less than 30 minutes. But now The Day has changed all this. It provides a very powerful and inspiring entrée to all the different things that are happening in the world.”

Richard Bannister, Principal, City of London Academy, Southwark

“The particular problem with my form group was that they refused to read. They wouldn’t read books, they wouldn’t read magazines. We are meant to have reading sessions once a week to improve their literacy. It may seem to us insane but once you have it on the screen, it’s a completely different matter. With The Day on the whiteboard each will read a paragraph out loud.”

Paul Pearce, Year 9 class tutor, City of London Academy, Southwark

“I used The Day’s reports on the Tsunami to good effect. We calculated the number of nuclear reactors in the world and the chances of them going wrong and leading to an explosion. I don’t suppose many of the students have copies of the FT or The Economist lying about in their homes. But they enjoyed reading the articles on the screen.”

Peter Fotheringham, Economics and Maths teacher, City of London Academy, Southwark

“To discuss what is happening in the world updates the curriculum for us in a way that the curriculum itself cannot do. We are busy people. We don’t have time to plough through all the newspapers. The Day does it all for us.”

Lucia Giordano, Head of Citizenship, City of London Academy, Southwark

“A fantastic resource for supporting all areas of the curriculum and keeping staff and students in touch with current issues and debates.”

Laura Taylor, Teacher, City of London Academy, Southwark

“It’s absolutely perfect for the ‘current affairs’ time slot and is pitched at just the right level. The teacher’s resources also offer good collections of relevant articles for different subjects and the little thinking points, discussion questions and the activities are thought provoking and enjoyable.”

Vicky Hinde, Humanities teacher, Francis Combe Academy, Hertfordshire

“I think this is fabulous and right on the money! The content is so clearly written and questions are challenging without being too specialist - a rare balance. I have been involved with schools on several levels and haven’t seen anything as good for quite a while.”

Patrick Walker, Teacher, Francis Combe Academy, Hertfordshire

“Engaging stories, well pitched and well presented, The Day meets a genuine student need e.g. independent learning, engagement with the wider world and literacy. It also meets genuine school needs e.g. evidence for OFSTED of provision of citizenship, PSHE, Gifted and Talented and the combination of PDF and website provides flexibility for schools to distribute as appropriate.”

“It’s proving a great way to enable students to access relevant stories about current affairs, which also saves teachers from having to sift through thousands of articles themselves to find interesting ones, appropriately written.”

“We want our students, many from a tough inner city environment, to have confidence about the wider world, which they often don’t have. The Day meets that need and is going down very well. It is accessible no matter what the age group or background of students.”

Stephen Adcock, Teacher, Burlington Danes Academy, Hammersmith, London

“Everyone loves the product – the look of it and the content. The discussion points and activities and links all work brilliantly too – which is just as vital as the article. The poet piece worked really successfully. We did it just as a 15 minute end-piece to our lesson. Read the article on the whiteboard, then used the discussion points to start discussion. I thought the tone of the article was perfect – quite tongue in cheek but leading onto serious thinking. They responded well to it. My first experience has been very positive.”

Pat Sharpe, Teacher, Graveney School, London

With the Year 13D, we looked at the science folder and checked on the effect of an asteroid strike on the earth. The 14-minute walk-through video provided a very good opportunity to discuss some topics ranging from the age of man on earth, to the limits of Carbon-14 dating, as well as recent developments in the study of Near Earth Objects. Three students commented that it was a very good video and really helpful discussion (with lots of humour thrown in!)

Folu Omomowo, Physics teacher, Bexley Grammar School, Kent

“I have just explored the The Day properly for the first time – it is excellent! Best resource I’ve found in a long time – can be used for everything!”

Carol Elliott, Librarian, Central Newcastle High School

“A very useful resource, which the children enjoy using. It’s suitable for all abilities as there is a variety of news stories and follow-up activities. A School Inspector was impressed that pupils were following current affairs and opinions. A great resource for pupils and teachers alike which engages the students and gets them thinking.”

Mary Coyne, Dulwich Preparatory School, Cranbrook, Kent

“The most amazing new resource for teachers in years.”

Penelope Smith, Teacher, Ratcliffe College, Leicestershire

“Translating the news for us on free trial this term has been The Day and they’ve done a really good job over recent weeks, and I do recommend you have a look at their work...It’s not just about major events; The Day ran a great news story on the theory that globalisation is killing bees, with some great links to supporting materials for follow-up.”

James Wilding, Principal, Claires Court Schools, Berkshire

“Potentially exciting, with many surprising benefits when in use in the classroom.”

Charles Conquest, Teacher, Head of Sixth Form, QEH Bristol

“My Year 8’s did a great assembly presentation based on responsibility-where they used the Arizona shootings as the basis. Everyone was most impressed with how much up to the moment information the 13 year olds knew!!! A great resource!”

Mrs Carol Baker, Senior Teacher, Kent College, Canterbury

“I think it is great. A very usable format with lots of interesting and accessible stories for kids to get their teeth into. In drama we used it as a stimulus for devising and they found it really helpful in terms of generating characters and stories which they could then act out. I have stored all the copies I’ve been sent with the intention of using them at a future stage for either drama related or PSHE related lessons.”

Josephine Stuart, Teacher, More House School, Surrey

“Basically everyone loved it. I think we would probably want to use it through out the school as form tutors were very interested in it being a basis for discussion. Our girls loved the articles and the teachers loved the accompanying questions.”

Zoe Brass, Teacher, Notting Hill and Ealing High School, London

“I find it very informative. The articles are concise and clear. They could be used by my Year 12-13 students to prepare the debate for their oral Italian papers – ideas have no fixed language, above all they can be translated!”

Mariarosa Durello, Teacher, Streatham & Clapham High School, London

“We have many high performing students here and it is frustrating when they don’t get into the top-ranked universities when we know they should. One thing that they struggle with is recognising the place of their own programme of study within the context of contemporary issues. The Day is extremely useful. It gives students the confidence to discuss and debate contemporary events and interact with the broader media world in a more confident way.”

Stephen Bachelor, Head of Faculty for Creative and Visual Arts, MidKent College

“Our students, from all backgrounds, belong to a generation which was the first to watch less television. They are now all on their computers. No longer do families discuss things in a meaningful way. In so many of our homes if it is printed in the Daily Mail , it must be true. I hope and believe The Day will counter this, enabling our students to think critically and to talk with knowledge and confidence so that the art of conversation is not lost.”

Steve Keevil, Head of the Media Studies Department, MidKent College

“I am a Lead Tutor with particular responsibilities for the International Baccalaureate, which we teach for the first time in September. This course, an alternative to the traditional A level route, has quite an emphasis on developing students’ awareness of things international. I’ve perused some of the material and think it ideal for use as a stimulus to tutorial discussion, and as a starting point for more in depth student research into issues of international importance.”

Bernard Bulaitis, Teacher, City and Islington College, London

“The Day offers beautifully edited articles covering key issues of long term interest currently being raised in the media. They are meticulously researched and provide a wealth of relevant background and links to further sources. Topics include a cross-curricular range of international issues which readily engage the interest of students as a catalyst for discussion and further exploration: an invaluable resource for busy teachers and motivated learners from teenagers up to mature adults.”

Rita Baker, Director, Lydbury English Centre, Shropshire

“They really do look fantastic and I know that they will be something that we will wish to use in the future.”

Chrissie Michaelides, Teacher, St Thomas More Language College, London

“The Day provides such interesting, relevant ideas for student discussion and classroom activities, that my life as a Head of PSHE and classroom teacher has just been made a whole lot easier for the coming year.”

Jo Shaw, Teacher of History, School Leader of Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL), British School of Washington

“I have found it an excellent resource which my children have found really interesting to read and are always engaged with the follow up activities you set.”

Keith Ward, Epsom Normal School, New Zealand

“‘The Day’ has provided our students with a wealth of relevant and readily accessible material that has supplemented our pastoral programme. It has provoked deep and meaningful conversations that have been far reaching and challenging to our students. The ‘immediate’ nature of the articles, focusing on issues that are current and challenging has resulted in our students taking a far more active interest in the news and views available to them through a rich variety of digital media. We have seen students researching data and challenging sources and views with real enthusiasm and passion as they have debated the issues behind the articles.”

Pippa Derry, Vice-Principal (Curriculum), UWCSEA, Singapore

“As a teacher of Grade 6 English and Humanities, I am constantly looking for ways to incorporate current events into the curriculum. The news articles provided in The Day are an excellent resource for my middle school students. The topics are interesting and captivating, but more importantly, relevant to my students’ lives and the world around them. It is beautiful to see their eyes light up when they see a topic that interests them.

Most recently, I had students in my English class choose an article from The Day to write a poem about. At the end of the class, I had 22 uniquely-written haikus describing current events from around the world. It was awesome to see them combine their own creativity with relevant, important, current event topics.”

Hannah Rader, Middle School English and Humanities Teacher, Taejon Christian International School, South Korea

“The Day is an excellent resource for Middle Schoolers. It presents information in a compact, readable, highly visual format that piques student interest. The additional links balance perspectives on each topic and are a great launching pad for students to pursue inquiry of their own.”

Ronalda Johnson, English Language Arts Subject Leader, Grade 8 Teacher, Taejon Christian International School, South Korea

“The Day is innovative, informative and perfectly pitched for an audience of young readers, whilst being carefully designed to assist teachers in their daily classroom practice....Students and faculty have responded with great interest and enthusiasm to The Day because of its genuine substance, total accuracy and innate ability to instigate classroom debate and to stimulate thinking among students preparing for presentations, assemblies and academic projects.”

Dr Matthew Sullivan, Principal, The International School Bangalore, India

“We find The Day invaluable for both regular classroom teaching and PSHE lessons. The mix of international news, subject-related issues and general interest topics means that there is a huge variety of useful material available. Whilst the language is straightforward enough for our younger students and clear enough for our ESL groups, the articles also manage to provide a stimulus for further research and discussion by our older and more able pupils. In addition, the pdf versions of the well-illustrated articles make for effortless yet vibrant and stimulating classroom displays. The Day is a real multi-tasker and well worth the subscription!”

Lucy Widdows, History Teacher & University Advisor, Aiglon College, Switzerland

“I first learnt about The Day at the end-of-year Schools Debating AGM last year. There was a demonstration of its website and the type of articles one could access and I was really impressed! I found the articles were a balanced mix of reasonably-high register with easily-accessible content – just the right amount of challenge for my learners.”

Layle Henderson, English teacher at Pinetown Girls High School, a government school in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa

“The Day claims to explain matters and that’s exactly what it does. The stories sent each day are written in a robust, clear style that cuts to the heart of the events and their implications. They are also dramatically illustrated. And since every story has an ethical subtext, the perceived rights and wrongs of things that happen in the world are spelled out in terms to which children can relate and that will inspire passionate argument. The upshot is very rich material for debate and discursive writing in just about any subject on the curriculum. A subscription to The Day will be repaid over and again in terms of your pupils’ learning.”

Donald Cairnduff, Vice Principal, Bangor Grammar School, Northern Ireland

“As a leading education charity with a long term commitment to education in this country we are only too pleased to take a group subscription for the 32 schools and academies within our family.
Our objective is to bring out the best in everyone and The Day will provide a rich teaching resource and gateway into the world of media for our students.”

Charlotte Rendle-Short, Deputy Chief Executive, United Church Schools Trust/United Learning Trust

“Debating is vital, and news is a catalyst for discussion that people can relate to,”
“It is important to recognise that at the heart of each school subject is a series of debates. History, for example, is in many ways about the process of digging down to the point of dispute. That is how you open up being critical and thoughtful.”

Professor Richard Andrews from the Department of Learning, Curriculum and Communication in the Faculty of Children and Learning at the Institute of Education

“Firstly I was thoroughly engaged and excited about receiving my email and I think it is terrific not only for the students but as a teacher too. After a few days of The Day my imagination began to grow and it wasn’t long until I had my own unique ideas on what The Day could do in my situation.”

Liam Pettit, Manager, Whizz Education

“The Day is a great idea and a very impressive website. If you’re hiring somebody, you want to know that they are anchored in the real world. Young people are at a big disadvantage if they lack the confidence to discuss contemporary issues - that confidence is something that recruiters can spot instantly.”

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive, Association of Graduate Recruiters

“Our parents and tutors love The Day. They have found it especially useful when helping to prepare their children or students for senior school interviews, in which one is often asked about current affairs.”

Will Orr-Ewing, Director, Keystone tutors, London

“An absolutely brilliant idea, and a great help to teachers seeking to broaden their students’ grasp of social issues and world affairs. Future applicants for degree courses in politics-related subjects will especially benefit.”

Elfi Pallis, Author of Oxbridge Entrance, The Real Rules

“Talking about news makes school seem more relevant to real life. Otherwise it is easy to feel like we are studying subjects that have little relevance apart from passing exams.”

Ed Thorpe-Woods, Student, year 10

“I like the way the stories made you discuss the issues behind the news. They weren’t preachy. They just said "These are the facts and these are the questions you need to think about". It left me to make up my own mind instead of telling me what to think - like most of the current media.”

George Perry, Student, year 11

“The Day articles are clear and easy to read, very accessible and really helpful. They are very good  summaries of daily news stories.”

Jon Rogers, Student, year 13

“The Day provides a compact, concise and engaging way to look at the news and current issues and, as a result, offers an interactive experience which adds variety and interest to the classroom with minimal effort required for the teachers. Not only does it keep young people up-to-date with developments on a national and international scale, but it also challenges them to form their own opinions on important current issues - a crucial point considering that I know so many young people who do not show any interest in matters beyond their own front door. I wish that I had had the opportunity to use The Day whilst at school as it would easily have sparked discussion during Citizenship classes which mainly ended in silence when attempts to initiate debate were made. This was simply because there was nothing interesting enough provided to act as a springboard upon which students could form an opinion. With The Day, however, so many different types of media are provided that I am convinced such situations could easily be avoided.”

Claire Price, New School Leaver

“The Day was easy to understand and read and was helpful in summarising current events in the news.”

Tilda Rogerson, Student, year 11

“The articles are easy to read because they are short and concise and straight to the point.”

Lydia Hawken, Student, year 11

“Reading current news on The Day allows us to understand what is happening in the world written in a way that doesn’t dumb things down but doesn’t go over our heads.”

Erin Snowdon, 26-year-old student at MidKent College

“These articles provide me with a range of different case studies which could gain me greater marks. They also make Geography lessons more interesting than just reading text books.”

Tom Garret, aged 15

“Next time I use my iPhone, I will think back to today and think of all the people who suffered to make my iPhone. It has made the subject of sustainability much more alive and I hope this will be reflected in my examination answers.”

Alex Garcha, aged 16