Sally Williams

The Boxing Academy, an alternative-provision free school in Hackney, requires its roughly 48 pupils to complete 40 minutes of boxing each day alongside GCSE subjects. Headteacher Anna Cain says boxing teaches discipline, emotional control and self-reliance rather than aggression, helping students who have often been excluded from mainstream schools and exposed to violence, trauma or unstable home lives. The school combines strict rules, personal outreach and therapeutic activities with boxing, and reports strong GCSE results; Ofsted rated it outstanding in 2020. Former and current pupils describe becoming calmer, avoiding violence and developing plans for work or further education, although placements cost local authorities more than mainstream schooling.

Beth Alexander says she was abruptly separated from her twin sons in Vienna in 2011 after an Austrian judge transferred sole custody to their father, Michael, despite an earlier restraining order against him and initial social-work concerns about his behaviour. Over the following decade, her contact was reduced from regular visits to supervised meetings and ultimately no phone contact; her latest appeal was rejected. Alexander disputes criticisms of her parenting and alleges judicial bias, while court decisions cited concerns about her conduct, including breaches of contact arrangements, covert recordings and media activity. Lawyers describe the case as an example of the severe difficulties faced by parents in international custody disputes, and Alexander now hopes publicity and her sons' future choices may eventually restore their relationship.

Illegal puppy trafficking into Britain has expanded into a highly profitable criminal trade, driven by pandemic demand and prices of up to £7,000 for popular breeds. Puppies and pregnant breeding dogs are transported from central and eastern Europe in poor conditions, with forged documents, inadequate checks and weak penalties allowing much of the trade to go undetected. The Dogs Trust’s Puppy Pilot has cared for and rehomed around 2,000 seized puppies, but many arrive sick, traumatized or carrying diseases uncommon in Britain. The charity and animal-welfare organizations are calling for a higher minimum import age, better microchip and breeder oversight, stronger enforcement and greater consumer awareness.

A woman describes escaping a controlling and abusive boyfriend during England’s 2020 lockdown. After jealousy, surveillance, coercive demands and pressure to undergo a lie-detector test, her partner injured himself when she prepared to return to work, prompting fears that he might later harm her. With no job, savings or safe place to go, she was referred by the council to Women’s Aid and moved into Refuge accommodation, where she received practical and therapeutic support for PTSD. She says she is now safe and trying to rebuild her life.

Rachael Slack and her 23-month-old son, Auden, were murdered by Rachael’s former partner Andrew Cairns in June 2010 after a history of coercive and manipulative behaviour. Despite Cairns making threats to kill, being arrested, and police assessing Rachael and Auden as at high risk of homicide, officers failed to warn them of the danger or provide effective safeguarding measures. A later inquest found that police failings contributed to the deaths. Rachael’s family argues that better intervention, including referral to Refuge, protective bail conditions and access to a safe refuge, might have prevented the killings. The case is used to highlight the hidden nature of domestic abuse and the continuing risks faced by victims separating from abusive partners.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson describes rebuilding her heptathlon career after repeated disappointments at major championships, including failures in the long jump at Beijing 2015, the javelin at Rio 2016 and the high jump at London 2017. After Rio, she moved from Liverpool to Montpellier, ended her relationship with DJ Nick Bright and changed coaches, working under Bertrand Valcin and a team focused on improving her throwing and technical events. The new approach helped her win Commonwealth gold, European silver and a personal best of 6,813 points at the Hypo Meeting, while providing greater emotional stability. Her main ambitions are success at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and an Olympic medal in Tokyo.

The feature examines the emotional and legal consequences of grandparents losing contact with grandchildren after family conflict, divorce or religious differences. John and Kate have not seen two grandchildren for 14 years, while Hannah and Alan lost contact with their daughter Naomi and her children after her adoption of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish lifestyle. Frances eventually rebuilt relationships with her daughters after acknowledging that her involvement had become controlling. UK grandparents generally have no automatic legal right to contact and must seek court permission, an expensive process with uncertain enforcement. Support groups are growing, and campaigners are seeking changes to the Children Act to recognise children’s relationships with extended family.

Dexter Fletcher’s career began with child-starring success in Bugsy Malone and major film and theatre roles, but fame, insecurity, cocaine and cannabis addiction, reckless spending and the 1990s property crash left him bankrupt and briefly sleeping in his car at 27. Support from Alan Rickman and his future wife, Dalia Ibelhauptaitė, helped him get clean and rebuild his career. He later moved into directing with Wild Bill and Eddie the Eagle, took over parts of Bohemian Rhapsody, and reached a career high with Rocketman, a musical biopic of Elton John starring Taron Egerton. Fletcher says the film’s themes of early fame, insecurity and addiction resonate strongly with his own life.