Keir Starmer is a soft and unimaginative man who cannot comprehend the true evil that Britain is facing. I fear for our future: STEPHEN GLOVER
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could one day genuinely praise Sir Keir Starmer. How I would love to say that, yes, for once our stodgy Prime Minister has shown a smidgen of vision and inspiration.
Back in February I thought such a moment might have come as he seemed to grasp the seriousness of the crisis we face: 'This is a once-in-a- generation moment for our national security where we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia.'
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Belfast Telegraph
16 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
‘It really is a melting pot': Belfast primary school where 17 languages are spoken wins international award
Such is the diversity at Cliftonville Integrated Primary in north Belfast. But the school has risen to the task of providing an education and integration in a changing social landscape and has now been rewarded with the British Council's International School Award 2024-2027 – the only recipient in Northern Ireland. The UK-wide award scheme celebrates schools that bring the wider world into the classroom, creating a safe and welcoming environment for all pupils, fostering a culture of inclusion and celebrating diversity. Bill Fletcher is principal of Cliftonville Integrated Primary, which has over 400 pupils and is already a designated school of sanctuary. He said that while the vast majority of the children are from the home nations, they do have kids from all over the world. 'There are challenges in the sense that if you have children coming in who have no English, that's difficult for the teachers. There's very little support from the Department of Education or the Education Authority. I think that's a strategy they need to look at,' he said. Without that support, it's something the school provides for itself, with a member of staff as a dedicated international coordinator. Parents and pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) can also benefit from English classes with the school's dedicated EAL teacher. Mr Fletcher added: "We need to do more across the board to help families when they come here, maybe through something like a six-month intensive programme in English to help them integrate into society. 'It's far better for their children, though the children always tend to pick up English very quickly. 'We have six designated school ambassadors in the school, pupils who help to integrate new children regardless of where they're from. We have about 16% of children in the school who would be classed as coming from an EAL background. 'They may have been here for a number of years and may be fluent in English, but there are some who have arrived in the last year to 18 months who need some help with the language. It's quite a diverse group, but we're absolutely delighted at the recognition for the work we do. It's something we've been doing for quite some time.' The British Council chose Cliftonville Integrated Primary as the location to launch its language trends report 2025. It showed Spanish as the most popular language studied in Northern Ireland schools, but also found a reluctance among pupils to carry language studies through to qualifications level. North Belfast MP John Finucane recently collected the award on behalf of the school at Westminster and was delighted to present it on Wednesday morning. 'It's fantastic to see that they've been honoured for the amazing work they do,' he said. 'It's not just a one-off, they live this and practise this on a daily basis. It's a school that embraces all cultures and diversities. They make children not just aware of that, but increase their curiosity, increase their learning and I think increase their kindness through the exposure to lots of different cultures. 'I'm a big fan of bilingualism, even multilingualism in schools. It's wonderful for the development of children, their learning and their capacity to embrace different subjects as they progress their academic life. 'It's not necessarily just about making them fluent in lots of different languages. It's about that exposure to different cultures, different parts of our world, and to embed that in our own curriculum is something that would be celebrated. We don't need to look any further than Cliftonville Integrated Primary School to see how that can be done really well.' Central to everything the school does, though, is the wellbeing and education of its pupils, and nine-year-old Victoria Chen is loving her role as one of its international ambassadors. She said: 'We show people around the school, welcome them here, and help them to make new friends. It's nice to be able to help new pupils understand more about school life.' Many of the pupils are learning Mandarin and French as part of their daily routine. Charlotte Ogunleye said she loves the international atmosphere. 'It's helping me learn about other cultures around me. I'm learning to speak Mandarin and I can see patterns in other languages. I hope that will help me learn more,' she said. 'It's our job to make sure anyone new to the school doesn't feel lonely and left out,' said fellow ambassador Wolfie Burns (9). 'We want to make sure everyone feels welcome and able to join in and I'm proud to be able to do that.' Author of the British Council language trends report, Dr Ian Collen, said he was delighted to see languages in action in schools. 'It really is a linguist melting pot here. And it's wonderful to see how it all comes together, providing all the pupils with a real taste of cultural diversity which they can all share, enjoy and learn from together. 'What you see in Cliftonville Integrated Primary is something that all schools should aspire to. It's not just about learning one language, school can be about learning lots of languages in a fun, informative way.'
The Guardian
17 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Blue Labour's ‘scrap DEI' call could shatter the party
Blue Labour's suggestion to scrap diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is immoral and fails to recognise the importance of this to other parts of the centre-left coalition that makes up the Labour party (Blue Labour group urges ministers to 'root out DEI' to win over Reform voters, 2 June). The more that Blue Labour promotes Reform-friendly policies, the less likely the others will remain supporters. In 2024 Keir Starmer achieved a very narrow coalition that won well in enough constituencies with fewer votes than Labour achieved in 2019 (then described as the party's worst result since 1935). There are some exceptional Labour MPs, like Simon Opher, who understand the importance of solidifying the centre-left coalition and fighting Reform UK by retaining its values. But many are surrendering them by adopting the extremism of Reform. Starmer's weak coalition of 2024 has fractured beyond measure, and for those on the left, the choices in England are a shift towards either the Greens and Liberal Democrats, or a new party of the left. The latter could be a real danger to Labour, as it could be as successful as the Social Democratic party was in the 1980s in dividing Labour and securing victory for a rightwing party. For many, particularly those in non-Labour seats, there is no point in waiting. Now is the time to find a new political home. The choice is not easy and will often depend on the local strength of the other centre-left parties. Chas Townley Brockworth, Gloucestershire About half a century ago, I wrote a report for the National Union of Journalists called Black and White: Race Reporting in Britain, pointing out that expressions like 'a coloured man' were common in BBC news bulletins and in broadsheets. It asked why most media outlets employed no non‑white journalists. I now realise that, according to one of today's Nigel Farage cults that is apparently supported by Blue Labour, I believed in diversity, equity and inclusion – three words not only to be expunged from Labour's lexicon but made into a law of political purity. It seems I was guilty of the crime of 'woke'. I can add it retrospectively to my many other Denis MacShaneMP for Rotherham, 1994-2012 Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
Boisson lights up French Open, Sinner advances to semis
PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) - Wildcard Lois Boisson lit up the French Open on Wednesday when the home hope toppled sixth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva in straight sets to reach the last four, overshadowing men's world number one Jannik Sinner who cruised past Alexander Bublik. While Sinner stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 19 matches after earning back-to-back titles at the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open in January, Boisson, ranked 361st at the start of the tournament, thrilled the home crowd with a dazzling performance. Sinner will face the winner between three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic, hunting a record-breaking 25th singles Grand Slam, and Germany's third seed Alexander Zverev in the last four. Sinner, who beat Bublik in straight sets, is the first Italian man to reach six Grand Slam semi-finals. The 23-year-old, who served a three-month doping ban before returning to action in Rome last month, raced through the first set after twice breaking the Kazakh, who had stunned fifth seed Jack Draper in the previous round. Looking to become the first man representing Kazakhstan to defeat a world number one, Bublik, who hit 37 drop shots against Draper, pulled out this weapon again in the second set. But Sinner broke and held to take it. Ever the entertainer, the 27-year-old Bublik delighted the crowd with an underarm serve but ultimately could do nothing to stop the Italian's march into the last four. Earlier Boisson became the toast of France after staging the tournament's biggest upset with a 7-6(6) 6-3 win over Andreeva, who had been tipped as a title contender, in an electrifying match that had the home crowd on the edge of their seats. The 22-year-old had stunned third seed Jessica Pegula in round four, but on Wednesday pulled off another major shock, beating Andreeva, who had not lost a set in the tournament. "Every tennis player dreams of winning a Slam - and for a French player, Roland Garros even more so. I'll go for it because my dream is to win the final, not the semi-final,' Boisson said. Andreeva, the 18-year-old sixth seed who was bidding to become the youngest female player to reach back-to-back French Open semi-finals in nearly three decades, quickly found herself chasing Boisson's fierce forehand. The underdog, who has been a breath of fresh air in the tournament with her no-nonsense power game and down-to-earth approach, looked to have run out of steam as Andreeva went 3-0 up but she proceeded to win the next six consecutive games. Andreeva repeatedly lost her temper and was handed a warning when she fired a ball into the stands in frustration. With the home crowd the loudest it had been since the start, chants of 'Lois, Lois' echoed across the Philippe Chatrier court, with the decibel level lifted even further because the roof was closed due to rain. Boisson, who will jump almost 300 places in the rankings next week, will face 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff, who came out on top in an error-ridden quarter-final against Australian Open champion Madison Keys with the pair littering the court with 101 unforced errors. With a total of 49 unforced errors in the first set alone they both struggled to hold serve and Gauff, a semi-finalist in Paris last year, wasted a set point before Keys, who reached the French Open last four in 2018, edged ahead with a tiebreak win. Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022 and is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000), bounced back to win the next two sets. "So many unforced errors," Gauff, who also had 10 double faults, said to herself after sinking another easy baseline shot into the net. "I was just trying to be aggressive," the 21-year-old Gauff said. "Usually if you're playing too passive, in the end the more aggressive player is going to win. I knew in the second and the third that I had to try my best."
