MATHS IN THE PAPERS March 2002

Initiative to get Afghan children back into education
Education

The TES is launching Children Helping Children, to support a UNICEF initiative to get Afghan children back into education. Only 3% of girls and 38% of boys are enrolled in primary schools. Many schools have been destroyed in the conflict, those remaining lack basic essentials – nowhere to work, nothing to work with. Teachers are rarely paid, and even when they are, it is grossly inadequate. £5 will provide enough stationery for one student for a year. £15 will supply three teachers with essential books and charts. £50 will provide a school with basic textbooks and maps. £120 will equip a class of 50 with stationery and materials for one year. Further details from www.tes.co.uk/afghanistan

TES 1/03/02

Gap between costs of private and state education fall
Education

Initial results from a study by the Adam Smith Institute show a smaller gap between the costs of private and state education. Although government statistics show the average cost of a state school pupil is £2,270 per year and a the average fee at a private day school is £6,216 per year, hidden expenses for state maintained places could narrow the gap significantly.

TES 1/03/02

Diabetes
Statistics

More than one in 700 children under 16 in the UK (around 17,500), have diabetes.

TES 8/03/02

Odd Numbers
Finance, Statistics

According to Forbes survey of the world's richest people, there were 497 people whose net worth exceeded $1 billion last year, 83 less than the year before.

Britons host 313 million dinner parties each year.

In America, 24.5% of the population is Roman Catholic

Observer 3/03/02

Arson attacks on schools increase
Education

Arson attacks on schools are costing more than £1 million a week, according to the Arson Prevention Bureau. 16 British schools every week suffer an arson attack, a 30% rise in five years.

TES 8/03/02

1 in 4 teenage boys armed with knife
Statistics

A new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has discovered that one in four teenage boys is armed, often with a knife.

Independent on Sunday 10/03/02

Save £150 per year by using Direct Debits
Finance

Research from the Banking Automated Clearing System shows that paying regular bills by direct debit could save up to £150 per year. The savings are largely due to discounts being offered by service providers, store card issuers and other organisations to which regular payments need to be made.

Independent on Sunday 10/03/02

Big Brother
Statistics

Channel 4 has attracted 150,000 applicants for Big Brother Three.

Observer 10/03/02

House Prices
Finance

House prices are currently rising by an average of 16.9%

Observer 10/03/02

Falkland Island economy growing rapidly
Finance

The Falkland Islands economy has grown so rapidly in the last few years that many islanders have more money than they know what to do with. The average islander is one third richer than UK citizens. There are more cars than people and proportionately more people have access to the internet than in Britain. The sale of squid fishing licences, revenue from fishing companies and a growing tourist industry have led to current prosperity.

The Observer 17/03/02

Odd Numbers
Statistics, finance

In Plymouth, £250 has been raised for a local hospital by one of its patients. He ran a sweepstake on how long he would be on the waiting list for a heart operation.

43% of seats in the Swedish parliament are held by women, making it the world leader in gender equality.

BP chief executive Lord Browne earns £50 per minute.

The Observer 17/03/02

National Union of Students website
Education, Internet

The National Union of Students website, launched in September last year, had nearly 200,000 hits in February. More than 370,000 students have registered on the site.

The Times Higher 22/03/02

Film marketing for Oscars
Entertainment

An estimated $60 million (£42m) has been spent by major film studios on marketing in the run up to this year's Oscars. Negative publicity has allegedly included a smear campaign against the subject of A Beautiful Mind, mathematician John Nash, in an attempt to reduce the film's chances of winning as Oscar.

The Observer 24/03/02

Odd Numbers
Health

Worldwide, sufferers of diseases caused by contaminated drinking water are occupying 50% of hospital beds.

Nicky and Bob Lovell, who recently won the titles Mr and Mrs Slimming World 2002, have lost a combined weight of 13 stone.

The Observer 24/03/02

£50,000 extra on house for a good nearby school
Education, finance

Economists from London University, in their recent study, discovered that parents are paying up to £50,000 extra in property prices to guarantee their children will gain a place at top primary schools. In areas where there is a significant difference in school performance, house prices can be altered by as much as 25%.

The Observer 24/03/02

Morse novels have better use of language than Shakespeare
Literacy, statistics

Colin Dexter has beaten William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen with his use of language. In his Morse novels, Dexter has used 11,582 different words.

The Observer 24/03/02

Half of all teenagers have committed a crime
Crime

50% of teenagers have committed a crime by the age of 15, with one third of 14 and 15 year olds having vandalised property and a quarter of the same age group having shoplifted.

The Observer 24/03/02

Blackpool could have Casino
Finance

A change in gaming laws offers the prospect of large scale redevelopment of seaside resorts. Blackpool could soon boast a Las-Vegas style casino. At a cost of £130 million, Pharaoh's Palace could triple the 10 million visitors who currently enjoy the lights and sights in the resort every year.

The Guardian 26/03/02

Number of couples marrying rises for first time in eight years
Statistics

A recent survey by the Office of National Statistics has revealed that, for the first time in eight years, the number of couples marrying in the UK has risen. One in six couples now chooses a venue other than a register office or church, with civil ceremonies now accounting for over three fifths of all marriages. In 1991 just over half of UK marriages were civil ceremonies.

Yorkshire Evening Press 27/03/02