Problem with driver-only trains | A-level history | Unusual girl names | Theft in narrow daylightThe new east-west train service between Oxford and Milton Keynes has been delayed due to the government and rail companies insisting on driver-only trains. We have just experienced a mass stabbing of passengers by a lone attacker on a busy train in Cambridgeshire, where a railway employee made a heroic attempt to protect them (Report, 2 November). Is this really the time for leaving the public and the train driver at the mercy of single manning?
Jessica Holroyd
Milton Keynes• Three cheers for the lost, lamented A-level history personal study. Some students undertook original research and some, like Cathy O’Neill in 1977, unearthed a real gem (Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student, 1 November). Worth 25% of their final grade, it was the part of the course which students enjoyed most and from which they learned the most about history.
James Turtle
Former archives education officer, Gloucestershire Archives Continue reading...
Tuesday 4 November 2025
theguardian - 24 hours ago
Safety of train users and staff is paramount | Brief letters
Aviation authority probe into drones near Dublin Airport finds construction firm as operator
- thejournalFootball Daily | Wolves, Saints and the baffling choices made in the search for stability
- theguardianTrump and his media buddies are taking the muddling of reality to a whole new level | Arwa Mahdawi
- theguardianPredator: Badlands review – a pointless but unkillable franchise that has started to eat itself
- theguardianNew report says improvements in living standards to slow down throughout 2030s and 2040s
- thejournalDáil applauds first TD elected president in over 50 years, leaving Galway West seat up for grabs
- thejournal‘The left hand is the devil’s hand’: how Shih-Ching Tsou turned childhood trauma into extraordinary drama
- theguardianThe best umbrellas in the UK for staying dry in the wind and rain – tested on a 517m hilltop
- theguardianDublin s The Globe set to reopen this month as Rí-Rá to reopen as basement nightlife venue
- thejournalReeves wants to talk about the budget, but she’s taken a vow of white noise | John Crace
- theguardianFamily of e-bike cyclist who died after crash with car taking judicial review of DPP decision
- thejournalInternal confusion at NTA over Student Leap eligibility for some Irish students in the North
- thejournalDublin City Council is looking for 20 residents to join a project to make the city safer
- thejournalSmyth’s Der Wald and Respighi’s Lucrezia review – Wagner’s spirit presides over double bill
- theguardianGalápagos had no native amphibians. Then it was invaded by hundreds of thousands of frogs
- theguardianThree decades later, The Truman Show feels freshly disturbing – and astoundingly prescient
- theguardianThree weeks till budget day – and Rachel Reeves is ‘being honest’ about tax, just in time | Marina Hyde
- theguardianWTA Finals tennis: Coco Gauff v Jasmine Paolini, Aryna Sabalenka v Jessica Pegula – live
- theguardianMinister asks for criminal sanctions to be investigated regarding alleged electrical exams cheating
- thejournalLoud booms heard in Dublin this morning were a practice run for the presidential inauguration
- thejournalPeru severs diplomatic relations with Mexico after former prime minister claims asylum
- theguardianAll’s Fair review – Kim Kardashian’s divorce drama is fascinatingly, existentially terrible
- theguardianAfter fire at asylum center in Drogheda, online fringe groups seek to rewrite what happened
- thejournalWhen 14-year-old Leanne went missing, police labelled her a runaway. Her family say it’s because she is Native American
- theguardian‘Handbags at dawn’: Daniel Day-Lewis discusses his method acting conflict with Brian Cox
- theguardianThe Breakdown | Fixation on forward rotation threatens to turn rugby contests into war of attrition
- theguardianThe largest ever survey of asking parents their view on primary school ethos goes live today
- thejournalCambridgeshire stabbing attack: ‘heroic’ train worker praised for saving passengers’ lives
- theguardianTU Dublin under-reported losses last year by €3.85m amidst deteriorating financial position
- thejournalWomen’s soccer faces plenty of serious threats. So why the panic about trans players? | Lesley Ryder
- theguardianConcerns raised over planned second removal of Iranian who returned to UK on small boat
- theguardianApplying for benefits is anxiety-inducing - and the weird language makes it much worse | Zoe Williams
- theguardian‘We don’t have enough to eat, to live’: how Milei’s ‘chainsaw’ cuts are driving homelessness in Argentina
- theguardian‘You definitely felt disposable’: models – one 27, one 62 – discuss Botox, weight loss, creativity and the threat of AI
- theguardian‘How did we get here?’: documentary explores how Republicans changed course on the climate
- theguardianMeet the British shot put champion doubling up as a bobsleigh pilot with an eye on Milan 2026
- theguardianMark Viduka, 25 years on from his four-goal show: ‘I love Leeds but they couldn’t afford for me to stay’
- theguardianActivists smash glass walls and doors of Allianz s Dublin 4 premises over links to Israel
- thejournal‘I want to ride out on a unicorn every night’: swords’n’sorcery heavy metal band Castle Rat
- theguardianForget petty bribes, ‘state capture’ is corruption so deep it is shaping the rules of democracy itself | Kenneth Mohammed
- theguardianThere is a thriving shadow economy in Britain – but migrants are not to blame | Emily Kenway
- theguardianPublic servants are being targeted and MPs have been murdered. But we will prevent fear from destroying our politics | Dan Jarvis
- theguardianHarris annoyed Fine Gael were questioned about Ivan Yates when it was Fianna Fáil who hired him
- thejournalThere Was, There Was Not review – how four women’s dreams are destroyed by the shock of war
- theguardianTrump backs former rival Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani for high-stakes NY mayoral election
- thejournal
Stephen King’s son among writers boycotting British Library event in solidarity with striking workers
- theguardian
‘I’d barely kissed a boy, but was making out with Adonis’: Claire Danes on sex, spy camp and teen stardom
- theguardian
Where does a western chemical plant that contaminated drinking water go next? To India
- theguardian
‘I’ve learned to separate myself from this job’: The Witcher’s Anya Chalotra on fan abuse, Henry Cavill and saying goodbye to the show
- theguardian
‘I try to make them feel as ignorant as possible’: German museum’s ‘grumpy guide’ is surprise hit
- theguardian