Latest news with #HannahJDavies
The Guardian
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Maths isn't dull – it's playful, beautiful and empowering
I was sorry to read that Hannah J Davies had such an uninspiring experience of maths lessons at school that she chose GCSE maths as a benchmark for the dullness of David Tennant's new ITV programme (Genius Game: David Tennant's brainiac gameshow is even duller than doing GCSE maths, 26 April). As a maths teacher working hard to build pupil confidence and enjoyment in this wonderful, creative subject, I was dismayed to read yet another casual dismissal. Like any subject, maths may not be everyone's favourite, but to suggest it is inherently dull does a disservice to a discipline that, at its best, is playful, beautiful and empowering. In an increasingly competitive world, we should be encouraging young people to fulfil their potential across all subjects. Negative media portrayals add an unnecessary hurdle, reinforcing damaging attitudes already echoed too often at home – the familiar 'don't worry, I was hopeless at maths too'. It is hard to imagine a similar boast about, say, history or English being received so warmly. Careless stereotypes have real consequences. Although girls outperform boys at GCSE maths, they make up only 37% of A-level maths students and just 27% of those taking further maths. The impact on female representation in fields such as engineering and data science is profound. We urgently need more positive role models – and more careful messaging – if we are to close that gap. In the spirit of championing what maths can be, I would be delighted to offer Ms Davies (and any other journalists with similar memories) a maths lesson. I promise it will prove far more engaging than any MarinerBrighton 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.
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Andor, Pink Floyd at Pompeii and Conclave: the week in rave reviews
Disney+; new episodes Wednesdays Summed up in a sentence Star Wars for grownups returns for a final season, as thrilling as our reviewer said 'Under the hard-nosed stewardship of writer Tony Gilroy, Andor bins the magic and myth and replaces them with the reality of anti-fascist struggle, where the good guys are ready to risk their lives for freedom. It's the Star Wars spin-off with the strongest claim to being a proper drama – but, season two shows it can do sly, wry comedy too.' Jack Seale Read the full review Further reading 'It feels deeply human': Andor's Genevieve O'Reilly on turning a tiny Star Wars role into one of its biggest BBC One & iPlayer, new episodes Wednesdays Summed up in a sentence Five brave duos battle the epic 14,000km trek across Asia … and this time, there are teenage lovers and a separated couple. What our reviewer said 'Of course, nothing goes to plan – but, as always, the joy comes from watching the pairs come way out of their comfort zones and bask in new experiences. Or, as one contestant puts it while working on a farm: 'If I wasn't being stabbed every three seconds by the thorns, it would actually be quite relaxing.'' Hannah J Davies Read the full review Channel 4, new episodes Mondays Summed up in a sentence A shocking glimpse into the sinking NHS and the under-pressure doctors and nurses staffing it. What our reviewer said 'It is rare that doctors are shown swearing in frustration, even in documentaries more tightly focused on the problems in the NHS than this one. But there are many such moments here, as the number of equally critically ill patients demands the kind of decision-making no human should have to make as part of a standard working day.' Lucy Mangan Read the full review Prime Video, full season available Summed up in a sentence A surreal, quietly subversive tale of a Muslim family's life in post-9/11 America. What our reviewer said '#1 Happy Family USA is all about the modern Muslim experience, feeling adrift from the world, and the extent to which you should change yourself to fit in. And what better way to underscore this often excruciating, existential experience than to make our lead an insecure, hormone-plagued teen, coming of age in the wake of the September 11 attacks.' Hannah J Davies Read the full review Further reading 'I had a recurring dream that Bin Laden was in my kitchen': Ramy Youssef on his 9/11 comedy Disney+, full season available Summed up in a sentence Michelle Williams stars as a woman with terminal cancer on a mission to make better love. What our reviewer said 'Perhaps uniquely in the annals of modern television history, Dying for Sex feels like it could do with longer episodes or a longer season, so that more justice could be done to all parts of the life of its lead character. But perhaps the pell-mell rush is in keeping with her pressing need to do all that she wants before the inevitable arrives. There is never enough time.' Lucy Mangan Read the full review Further reading 'I've never masturbated on film before': Michelle Williams' orgasm odyssey in Dying for Sex' In selected cinemas now Summed up in a sentence A star player at an elite tennis school stays silent when the head coach is suspended in an absorbing study of things unsaid and subjects avoided. What our reviewer said 'A tense movie of silences and absences, of difficult terrain skirted around, of subjects avoided. It's a reminder that in key situations, to keep quiet is a stressful, strenuous and, crucially, public activity – and a survival instinct that many young people have to learn.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Further reading 'Where is the adult?': how Leonardo Van Dijl filmed the story of a child tennis star's abuse In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Filmed in 1971, this outrageously indulgent yet vivid film captures the Floyd playing live in an ancient amphitheatre. What our reviewer said 'The band are shown performing in the late afternoon, but not to an audience as you might assume, but weirdly and almost haughtily alone. The banks of amplifiers are pounding out the music just to the ancient stones and pillars and to the film crew facing them. It really is a beguilingly weird film.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Further reading Pink Floyd to rerelease restored 1972 Pompeii concert film in Imax In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Shocking violence is tempered by silent sequences in a Georgian abortion drama about an obstetrician under investigation. What our reviewer said 'The power of April is that it shows how very illusory the idea of modernity is. In these spaces, the same old male attitudes and prejudices hold sway – effectively unchanged over centuries. Women's bodies are at the mercy of men. A deeply unsettling meditation on sexuality and transgression.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence A documentary love letter to the good old-fashioned art of sailing. What our reviewer said 'Filmed over three years and shot on 16mm film, there are some gorgeous images here that would give Turner a run for his money, like a milky sky melting into the white sea. It's a feast for the ears, too, with a soundtrack of waves, creaking wood, the clank of metal and shrieking oystercatchers.' Cath Clarke Read the full review Prime Video, available now Summed up in a sentence Gripping – and suddenly very timely – drama about the election of a new pope. What our reviewer said 'Edward Berger's drama is adapted with masterly flair by screenwriter Peter Straughan from the Robert Harris page-turner; Ralph Fiennes is on sumptuous form as the deeply troubled Cardinal Lawrence at the centre of a murky Vatican plot. The result is a high-camp gripper, like the world's most serious Carry On film.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Further reading Experts talk realism of Conclave movie: 'Gets a lot of the details right' Reviewed by Rowan Williams Summed up in a sentence Why you should quit your job to make the world a better place. What our reviewer said 'At its best it offers a bracingly hopeful perspective, insisting on the necessity of doing all you can to allow yourself to be sensitised and resensitised to that which eats away at the dignity not only of humanity but of the entire living environment.' Read the full review Further reading No, you're not fine just the way you are: time to quit your pointless job, become morally ambitious and change the world Reviewed by Sarah Perry Summed up in a sentence Exquisite debut about teenage gay love from the acclaimed poet and memoirist. What our reviewer said 'Hewitt seems to me to be working, with immense fidelity and skill, towards a singular vision, in which profound sincerity of feeling – and the treatment of sexual desire as something close to sacred – is matched with an almost reckless beauty of expression.' Read the full review Reviewed by Matthew Cantor Summed up in a sentence The battle to reform English spelling. What our reviewer said 'In his amusing and enlightening new book, Gabe Henry traces the history of these efforts, beginning with a 12th-century monk named Orrmin, continuing through the beginnings of American English and the movement's 19th-century heyday, finally arriving at textspeak.' Read the full review Reviewed by Rita Bullwinkel Summed up in a sentence A gritty first world war tale of secrets, guilt and desire. What our reviewer said 'Griffiths grew up in Aberdeenshire and her use of the vernacular vividly conveys the period and a God-fearing, closed community, used to hardship and quick to judge outsiders. She writes well about forbidden desire, shame and the seasonal rhythms of a rural community on the eve of radical change.' Read the full review Further reading On my radar: Nell Zink's cultural highlights Reviewed by Thomas McMullan In a sentence A cool satire of perfectly curated hipster lives in Berlin. What our reviewer said 'Anna and Tom are expats living in Berlin in the 2010s. As freelance digital creatives, their Neukölln flat is affordable, their windowsills are plant-lined, their armchairs are Danish mahogany. Meanwhile, their social lives are curated around gallery openings for art they do not much care about, cooking and the occasional attempt at an orgy.' Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence The Irish artist's folk-inflected shoegaze sound is both unnerving and alluring on her luxuriant second album. What our reviewer said 'These songs reveal themselves to be unusually swollen with texture and detail: harps twinkle like broken glass and baggy breakbeats reverberate widely. Somerville has an expansive purview: part of the thrill of Luster is listening closely enough to pick up on the traces of pop, hymnal, trip-hop and experimental electronic music that lies beneath.' Shaad D'Souza Read the full review Further reading The bands saving shoegaze, from Deafheaven to Feeble Little Horse Out now Summed up in a sentence The Guardian's folk album of the month is by a Dublin-based French-American singer and guitarist, whose songs swim from country to blues and French chanson. What our reviewer said 'Bookended with canonical traditional songs and sung in eerily bright a cappellas, Gamble is a confident, self-produced debut by an exciting new voice. This is a nourishing, impressive 11-song set, with Basha's voice swooping high and low like the Appalachian mountain music she loves.' Jude Rogers Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence Rebecca Lucy Taylor works through her worries in real time on her new album – to fascinating and confusing effect. What our reviewer said 'The music on A Complicated Woman reaches for feelgood stadium singalongs, evokes sweaty dancefloors and aims itself at the dead centre of 21st-century mainstream pop … But for the most part, the songs thrash about and contradict themselves as if Taylor is, right in front of your ears, working out exactly how she feels about ageing, drinking or her career.' Alexis Petridis Read the full review Further reading Self Esteem on stardom, self-doubt, and making it in a man's world Out now Summed up in a sentence Benedetti is joined by the Aurora Orchestra in a fun and free performance. What our reviewer said 'The recording was made in studio conditions but with all involved playing from memory, as is Aurora's trademark. Does that make a difference in an audio-only context? Perhaps – there's certainly a sense of freedom, of phrasing that isn't bound by bar lines. In any case, the result is music of irresistible ebullience.' Erica Jeal Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence Forty years into their career, the Mississippi gospel band deliver a life-affirming debut. What our reviewer said 'These are great, powerful, moving songs, made all the more potent by the fact that they're recorded live, without an audience, in a church in the band's home town. The plain production makes Can't Lose My (Soul) feel as if it's happening before your eyes, adding a vividness and urgency.' Alexis Petridis Read the full review
