Rachel Williams

The article compares the online International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme with traditional A-levels. The IB offers six subjects, a core involving theory of knowledge, creativity, activity and service, and a 4,000-word extended essay, while A-levels allow deeper specialization in three or four subjects and greater flexibility for students balancing education with other commitments. King's InterHigh promotes its online model as suitable for internationally mobile students, student-athletes and pupils who benefit from recorded or off-camera lessons. Student accounts describe strong academic support, broader skills, greater independence and smoother transitions to university.

Neurodivergent people can bring valuable skills to workplaces, including hyperfocus, creativity, visual reasoning, problem-solving, detailed processing and pattern recognition. Yet conventional interviews, rigid expectations and stigma continue to exclude many people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other conditions. Advocates argue that employers should replace diagnosis-dependent special recruitment schemes with universal design, including flexible schedules, alternative interview formats, sensory accommodations and broader support. Examples from the arts, law and EY demonstrate growing progress, but persistent discrimination and low employer prioritisation show that workplace inclusion remains incomplete.

Breast surgeon Liz O’Riordan recounts being diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoing chemotherapy and a mastectomy, and struggling to surrender control as a patient. Her experience exposed her to the physical, emotional and relational effects of treatment, prompting her to change how she communicates with patients and acknowledge their need for reliable online resources. After returning to work, her cancer recurred, forcing further treatment and early retirement when she could no longer operate safely. She now supports others through writing, blogging and video, while grieving the loss of her surgical career.

Trichologist Eva Proudman recounts experiencing severe hair loss after bariatric surgery caused telogen effluvium. Despite understanding the medical explanation, she was shocked by the impact on her confidence and sense of identity. Her experience reinforced her belief that hair loss is an emotional and quality-of-life issue, not merely a cosmetic concern. Proudman argues that patients are often dismissed by healthcare services and reassures them that seeking treatment is not vanity.

Genealogist Nick Barratt describes discovering that his great-uncle, Ernest Holloway Oldham, was a Soviet spy who sold British secrets while working in the Foreign Office. MI5 files revealed Oldham's surveillance, personal abuses, professional failures and eventual apparent suicide. The discovery also explained a long-standing family mystery involving Barratt's grandparents attending Oldham's inquest. Confronting the emotional consequences of the revelation changed Barratt's approach to genealogy, leading him to place greater emphasis on empathy, interpretation and preparing clients for difficult family histories.

Embryologist Emma Whitney describes terminating a pregnancy at 22 weeks after her daughter Dorothy was diagnosed with severe heart defects, followed by two miscarriages. Returning to fertility work while grieving made patient calls especially traumatic, but her experiences deepened her empathy and changed her approach to counselling. At The Evewell, she now focuses on managing expectations, protecting patients’ mental health and encouraging employers to provide clearer support and procedures for fertility treatment and pregnancy loss.

London Ambulance Service call supervisor Estelle Williams recounts giving CPR to her father Eddie after he suffered a cardiac arrest at home. She performed chest compressions for 13 minutes until first responder Beth arrived and successfully used a defibrillator, after which Eddie resumed breathing and recovered. The experience initially made Williams anxious about handling future cardiac-arrest calls, but it also gave her a deeper understanding of callers’ fear and helped her identify an otherwise unclear emergency in a later call.

Job sharing remains uncommon despite strong demand for flexible work, partly because employers often leave employees to find partners and design operating rules themselves. Personal accounts show that partnerships can provide access to senior careers and support caregiving, study or other commitments, but can also fail when partners’ expectations diverge, workloads are uneven, handovers are poor or managers provide little support. Experts recommend carefully assessing compatibility, agreeing shared principles and communication processes from the outset, maintaining thorough handovers, and addressing problems openly. The article also highlights stigma around flexible work and the need for employers to provide more structured support.

Families who lost loved ones during the first wave of COVID-19 describe grief intensified by hospital and care-home restrictions, missed final conversations, isolated funerals and the loss of traditional mourning rituals. Rachel Williams recounts her father Oliver’s death and speaks with Gurcharan Virdee, Steve Mitchell and Tricia about anxiety, anger, guilt and the fear that a return to normality will erase the scale of the loss. Bereavement researchers say COVID-related grief creates unusually high support needs, while campaigners call for stronger mental-health provision, public recognition and accountability for the government’s pandemic handling.

Helen Costa describes how unprepared she felt for the trauma-related behaviours and trust difficulties experienced by her adopted children, arguing that prospective adopters and foster carers need much better preparation. Through the Cornerstone Partnership, she developed virtual reality films that place viewers in the perspective of children exposed to abuse, neglect and attachment-related trauma. Piloted by local authorities and later adopted by more than 45 authorities, the films have received positive feedback from social workers and are being used to train and assess carers, teachers and legal professionals. Costa hopes future evidence will show fewer placement breakdowns and school exclusions, while also planning projects addressing domestic abuse, child sexual exploitation, gangs and county-lines drug dealing.

The Melodies for Mums programme uses group singing, including folk songs, lullabies and gospel, to support new mothers with postnatal depression or related difficulties. Run by Breathe Arts Health Research in south-east London, the programme aims to improve confidence, social connection and mother-infant bonding. Earlier research found faster symptom improvement among mothers who sang in groups, while a new £2m Wellcome Trust-funded study led by King’s College London and University College London is measuring depression, anxiety, loneliness, social support, cortisol and oxytocin to assess the intervention’s effectiveness and scalability. Participants describe the sessions as helping with trauma, anxiety, isolation and bonding, while organisers hope evidence could support adoption as an NHS clinical service.

Kevin Coutinho won the Guardian Public Service Awards’ leadership excellence prize for saving and restructuring the Windsor Fellowship, a charity supporting young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds through mentoring, scholarships, internships and leadership programmes. The article also profiles runners-up Alex Johnson, whose work in South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue focuses on inclusive leadership, women’s mentoring and firefighter mental-health support, and Penny McKissock, who built Bath’s Southside Family Project into a substantial service for people affected by domestic abuse, mental ill health, substance misuse, homelessness and debt. All three leaders are credited with promoting equality, lived experience and stronger support for underserved communities.

Charles Cracknell, Hull city council’s employment and youth enterprise manager, has been voted the Guardian’s 2019 public servant of the year for building an extensive system of enterprise education, mentoring and grants for young people. His John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank, supported by grant-making organizations and local businesses, has provided funding and guidance to hundreds of young entrepreneurs. The article also profiles award runners-up Diane Audin, Gwyne Diment, Liza Dresner and Mark Fennelly, highlighting their work in foster care, elderly care, autism services and support for people with disabilities, mental-health issues, substance problems and homelessness.

Nottingham City Council won the Guardian’s 2019 Public Service Awards overall prize for its plan to become the UK’s first carbon-neutral city by 2028. Its workplace parking levy, renewable-energy investment, solar panels, electric buses and tram expansion have reduced emissions, improved transport and generated funds for other public services. The article also highlights award runners-up: a Midlothian campaign that exposed sewage pollution in the River Esk and prompted a major cleanup, and Norfolk County Council’s reuse scheme, which provides crisis-hit households with better-quality furniture while reducing costs, landfill waste and pressure on charities.

The Guardian presents five finalists for its 2019 Public Servant of the Year award: foster carer Diane Audin, youth enterprise manager Charles Cracknell, community club manager Gwyne Diment, autism charity director Liza Dresner and care-services manager Mark Fennelly. Their work spans foster care, youth business support, elderly social care, autism services and support for people with learning disabilities and other vulnerabilities. Public voting had closed, with the winner due to be announced at the Public Service Awards ceremony on 26 November 2019.

Ten tenants, activists and academics argue that social housing should be understood as more than the provision of buildings and rent collection. They call for greater investment in existing homes, stronger relationships between providers and residents, employment and arts programmes, accessible housing for disabled and older people, and safe communities for LGBT tenants. Contributors criticize housing associations that have become overly commercial and condemn the lack of government action and funding following the Grenfell fire. They also highlight promising approaches, including careful estate renewal, tiny homes and community-based support, which can improve wellbeing, preserve social ties and generate wider social value.

Adam and David Bradford, founders of the Safer Online Gambling Group, are campaigning for tighter controls on video-game loot boxes and in-game spending. Drawing on David’s gambling addiction and the experiences of young people surveyed by SOGG, they argue that randomized paid items normalize gambling, expose children to aggressive spending opportunities, and can lead to substantial debts. They want in-game purchases disabled by default, adult-controlled age verification, and disclosure of loot-box odds. The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee is investigating the relationship between gaming and gambling, while SOGG is also working with Ladbrokes and Coral on a digital therapy tool.

The programme explores the UK’s living donor scheme, in which anonymous chains allow people to donate kidneys to strangers and enable multiple recipients to receive transplants. Rachel Williams brings together six participants to discuss giving and receiving kidneys and explains how the matching process works. The episode also features writer and spoken-word poet Cecilia Knapp reflecting on the moments that make Christmas special.

The Guardian Public Service Awards 2018 recognized projects and leaders across public services, with Cheshire West and Chester’s library service team winning the transformation and overall award and Annette Smith named public servant of the year. Other winners included Safe Families for Children for family support, SH:24 for digital sexual-health services, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service for diversity initiatives, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust for its Discover mental-health programme, the Benjamin Foundation for supported lodgings, HM Land Registry for legal apprenticeships, Wellbeing Teams for innovative care recruitment, and prison governor Lynn Saunders for leadership and rehabilitation work.

The Guardian presents the finalists for its 2018 Public Service Awards across care, digital transformation, diversity, health, housing, learning, recruitment, organisational transformation, leadership and public service. The shortlisted projects include innovative social-care models, improved council websites and data systems, disability employment programmes, community food and housing support, emergency preparedness training and public-sector workforce reforms. Individuals are recognised for leadership in areas including court services, child-death recording, substance-misuse recovery, women’s support and autism services. Cheshire West and Chester council’s library services team won the overall award, while Annette Smith was named public servant of the year.

An estimated 50,000 students and supporters marched in London against coalition plans to raise university tuition fees to as much as £9,000 and cut teaching budgets by 40%. A breakaway group occupied and damaged the Conservative Party headquarters at Millbank, clashing with police; at least eight people were injured and several arrested. Protest organizers condemned the violence and emphasized that most demonstrators were peaceful. The protests intensified political criticism of Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats for abandoning their pledge to oppose fee increases, while the government defended the proposals as a fairer way to fund higher education.