Really need to remeber to do something about the recycling at college, its terrible the amount of plastic and paper we waste.

WITH budget cuts set to be revealed within the next few weeks, education is set to be hit hard.

Less places, possible £7,000 tuition fee's and UCAS points rising to an all time high, is there any wonder the younger generation is voting against universities?

The new coalition government has tampered a bit too much with higher education, what with their plans on saving money to rescue them from the “shambles” labour left them in, it wont be too long until higher education is only available for the elite members of society.

In other words, the younger generation are now paying the price for the pointless wars and ridiculous MP expenses.

Universities are set to split in to a two-tier hierarchy; a place for the elite (or those that can afford it) and a place for everybody else (those that have hard working parents), if plans go ahead.

Proposed plans of doubling tuition fee's to breach the £7,000 mark are a serious concern for both students and parents.

And the bad news continues as we now face market interest on student loans instead of the low interest loans they stand at now.

And this is just the start of their save the economy plan, with cutting child benefits on the table as well, how can they expect students to afford their price for an education.

There has been a real crack down on higher education, last year saw thousands of students, who were offered a place at their chosen university, rejected without reason.

In the near future, we could see a substantial lack of professionals such as doctors, teachers and lawyers.

Personally, I haven't seen a improvement since the election and can see the country is digging a hole too deep. The cut backs should be made gradually instead of the governments approach of save as much money all at once.

Locally, this has made a big impact. The College of West Anglia had a record amount of applications in many courses including NVQ courses and Degree courses.

Coincidence? I think not.

Many of the younger generation are now under an enormous amount of pressure to succeed at A-levels and secure a place at university despite the entry tariffs ranging from 240-380 (that would be anything from BBC- A*AA at A-level)

As an A-level student, I know the pressure on some students who are applying to universities like Oxford and Cambridge for English and Mathematics degrees. The amount of work required to get the grades for those courses is ridiculous.

We are commonly criticised as rebels, causing havoc, as teenagers do but that is not the case for those students, constantly working to succeed, giving up their social lives.

But what about those that can't get the grades? Many students have gone straight into work after GCSE's and are skipping A-levels altogether, linking to the unemployment crisis last year.

Nationally, we have seen a rise in apprenticeship applications, opting for practical experience in plumbing, carpentry and electronics, jobs which are always in demand world wide.

Despite the “best of friends” appearance, Nick Clegg has gone against the Conservative proposition, signing pledges opposing the potential fee rises.

But is that enough? He may be the deputy prime minister but will only get crushed by the Tory train if he was to stand up to them.

Personally, I think the government is cutting way too much, way too fast. If they would like to save money, why not take a couple of thousand off their pay check and expense accounts, we would be out of debt in no time.

If a little girl can offer her £1 tooth fairy money to help with the deficit, surely the government can do without Mayfair flats and gardeners.

Dull, boring and unimportant?

I walked past some people the other day, clearly from London thanks to their accent and style, saying how Norfolk is so boring and has nobody important related to thsi area. Im sorry we are not the Capital City of England, we are in the country side so what do you expect, parties every night and drunken celebrities falling out of cars at 4 in the morning? I beg to differ.
As for we have nobody "important", Have they heard of Sandringham? The Queen retires to her palace here every christmas, attending the church in West Newton along  with the rest of the Royal family. If they aren't important then i don't know who is? The Queen is the only person that can declare war on another conuntry, her face is on our money and she is seen as a national treasure. Not only is she the Queen of england, Australia also classes her as their ruler. She has ruled for over 50 years, and if i do say so myself, nothing bad has happened during the time i have been her that she has ruled.
I don't know who they define as important but from the look of them, one clearly a teenage mother with a trashy magazine hanging out of her bag and walking around in jogging bottoms that look like PJ's, but i would think they meant somebody like Jordan or a BB reject.
Not meaning to be judgemental but those names did appear in there conversation before remarking on "Boring Norfolk".
As well as the Queen, we are also home to the most followed person on Twitter, Stephen Fry! How is he boring? Unimportant? He may not do much now but host QI, but he was once a great actor on Black adder, he has written a autobiography, he was a journalist, comedian and film director. Most recently, he is now the director of the canaries (AKA Norwich City Football Club). How is that boring? He is recognised world wide but degenerated from the good old countryside.
And what about Nelson? If it wasn't for him, this would be in french right now! He is a national hero, his flagship has been restored in Portsmouth historic dockyard and thought many wars. losing an arm in one battle but continuing to fight. How is that unimportant? I think they would have a different opinion on the matter if they knew all of this.
There are various other names (Ed Balls, Bernard Matthews and Myleene Class amoungst many other) that are proud of their roots. I'm proud of Norfolk Myself, we are even home to a Nudest Beach! (Holkham) There are so many lovely sites to see here, i was pretty insulted when they commented saying it was dull and boring, obviously they haven't gotten out much.

Exercise time!

Tried and Tested by Hannah Allen

We all know as we get older and leave school, it becomes harder to exercise regularly (or we just become lazy). I found this out when I first went to college. No more PE lessons outside in the cold, running around with traffic honking and other students staring at us seemed like heaven. Instead, it was running five flights of stairs to make it to media on time which wasn’t so bad. I considered myself young and healthy until there was fast food available every lunch time and no compulsory exercise.

Now, with Christmas months approaching, it only means one thing. Food. Every year my mum goes overboard buying anything that is on offer, and with nights closing in quickly, who would say no to staying in with a tub of Pringles and a hot chocolate? Last year, I paid the price for those cosy nights in by the fire by not fitting in to my usually comfy jeans for a couple of months due to extra pounds I had so easily gained.

I know I’m only 17 and shouldn’t be worrying about this now, I can only imagine how many of you reading this, what you are thinking of me. At the moment, I’m a healthy size twelve but leave me to feed myself for couple of months and I can see that size doubling (I enjoy cooking rich deserts and would have a portion of chips without thinking of the consequences). This is why I’m doing something about it before I become another statistic in the overweight category. With obesity levels rising, I have offered up my relatively healthy self to try some of the exercise classes available which will include running, circuits and aerobics.

First on the list; spin 45. This is an intense cycling class available at various times at St.James, Lynnsport, Oasis ect...

Their description of the class; Indoor group cycling sessions are 30 and 45 minute classes respectively of aerobic exercise performed on indoor stationary cycles to an upbeat sound track.

When I saw this, I thought, “I could do that, no problem”. I had heard of the class and people said how intense it was but I assumed they were exaggerating. Unfortunately for me, they weren’t.

Boy was I in for a treat. Intense would be a word I would associate with this. My poor legs struggled to carry me to the train station after 45 minutes of fast-paced cycling. Respectively, this was only my first class and I am told it takes two or three sessions to get used to the exercise.

For starters, I was not happy that my water bottle did not fit in the space provided and required me to stop every five minutes. Admittedly, it was partially my fault. But besides that, I was pumped to get going. I had so much energy at this point that I wasn’t intimidated by the super-fit members that attended 3 times a week.

And then we started. I think I lasted about ten minutes before my legs slowly became a pile of throbbing mush. I do bike often, at least 3 times a week, for about 20-30 minutes, but nothing could have prepared me for the amount of perseverance and energy you needed to keep up. Push-ups on a bike, variation of speed every ten seconds, and trying to keep in time with the music? Despite the instructor saying to go at your own pace, you can’t help but get competitive with the others who carry on without a drop of sweat.

About half way through the class, I struggled to keep going. I was glad to see that I wasn’t the only person to be tomato red in the face and struggling to keep the pace. It didn’t help with people staring from outside, I can only imagine what they thought looking through that window.

Eventually, time ran out and it was time to go. Note; remember to have feeling in your legs before dismounting. I made a fool of my self nearly falling off the bike thanks to my jellified legs. This class really isn’t for the faint hearted, it is great for those who enjoy a real work out, want to burn fat and don’t mind a bit of perspiration.  Assuming it get easier the more you, this properly is a great workout but unfortunately, I don’t think I will be returning in a hurry (my legs are just far too wimpy).

Sibling Rivalry

After the latest labour party leader conference which resulted in the two Miliband brothers battling it out, it really made me think about sibling rivalry.
It’s one thing arguing with one another in the safety of your home but when its broadcasted on television and plastered across newspapers, it’s a different matter.
For example, David Miliband has today decided not to be part of his younger brothers, Ed, cabinet, not only effecting his relationship with his brother but also could have a major impact on his political career.
Looking back over my childhood, I’m amazed at how much me and my older sister bickered, fought and screamed at each other, it fits the stereotype for sisters quite well though.
We had many incidents over the years but her slamming the gate in to my head ending, with me in A&E for 4 hours with a lump the size of an egg on the side of my skull, was around the extent of them.
Anything could get us started, whatever each one of us had, the other one always wanted, there is a video of when we were on holiday and we argued for hours about a stupid little receipt for something I don’t even know what it was actually for. I was only 2 and half at the time though so it was a big deal to me when my mum just threw away the trophy which we had fought/hit/cried over for an hour. Just want any parent wants walking around a big steam fair. In the summer. All afternoon.
Of course, not ever argument was over a stub of paper, there were the usual arguments as well about toys. Every year we would get the same things at Christmas so we couldn't argue. That didn’t really work out as planned because as soon as my sister’s present broke, she would replace whatever it was with mine. I have a feeling this may be part of the reason I was a tomboy from the ages of 4 until about 9.
She never wanted to steal my Thomas the Tank Trains, they bored her and she knew what would happen to her if she did. It wouldn't be pretty.
I remember one argument in the kitchen when I was about 8, I always had a bad temper, and she aggravated me about something so I hit her in the face with my plastic cup.
It may have been plastic but it was still good enough to give her a nice bruised cheek for the week.
I think we must have driven my mum made when we became teenagers, the screaming fights we had when i wanted to go to sleep but she continued to have her music blaring. The fighting over her taking my clothes and me taking back what was rightfully mine (she insisted she hated my fashion sense all these years but my clothes were always worth stealing, much to my disapproval).
I even had a lock put on my room to stop her but she always got what she wanted in the end.
At the age we are now, me being 17 and at college and her being 19 and living in the South of Wales, you would think we get along just fine, but you are very mistaken.
I recently moved in to her bedroom, the biggest bedroom in the house, which was mine but was an idiot and got conned out of it when she started high school.
I didn’t see the point in staying in my little room when she only comes back home for a week four times a year, even then she isn’t home most of the time.
She didn't appreciate my face book message telling her of this recent move either, which ended up with horrible text messages and silence from her for a few weeks.
Admittedly it wasn’t the nicest message in the world, ‘By the way, I’ve moved in to your room, see you soon’, but I couldn’t face calling her and being deafened in one ear.
She is coming back again in November for 2 weeks, during which I’m guessing we'll be friends for about 3 days before coming to loggerheads once again.
I’m not heartless; I do miss her being away for so long but I’m always thankful when she goes back.
We just love to argue, we are sisters after all, but I don't think it helps that we both have to win and won’t give up until we have.

Light Up Lynn

How often do you look over your shoulder while walking home? I can assure you it no doubt increases when the sun goes down.
Personally, I hate not knowing what is in front of me or who could be close by, but what I really detest about walking home is the vast lack of lighting around this town, just what we need as the cold, wintery nights are beginning to close in.
I frequently have to walk or bike home after I finish college at half four, when the sun has already vanished, the grey clouds cover the sky and cars have already switched on their headlights.
My parents cannot always come and pick me up so I have two walking routes home; I could take the route which includes a never ending walk up Wootton Road but cars have no respect for pedestrians, escpecially in the rain. Or take the cycle route which passes the populated Lynnsport but has no lighting along half the path which boarders North Lynn and is surrounded by bushes.
A little ruffle in the bushes is enough to make the hair stick up on the back of my neck and put me on edge until im home.
I can remember being taught at primary school about stranger danger and always being told not to go out after dark but there really is not anyway around it when it is dark at about 5pm.
Either way, it really is a lose lose situatiton, especially for me being a vunerable teenager most likely listening to music and carrying a bag full off books that slows me down to a crawl most of the way.
We have all seen the scary films, girl out alone in the dark, guys hiding in the bushes ready to pounce, girl gets attacked and usually left for dead.
In summer, time never really crosses your mind, the sky is still light around 9pm and there are plenty of people around the streets.
But now, once people are home from work, there are only groups of rowdy teenagers around which does not exactly fill me with confidence if something did happen.
But I am not the only person that does not feel safe, a national survey recently revealed that the majority of young females do not feel safe walking at night due to the lack of lighting on streets and cycle paths.
It must be a parent’s worst nightmare when their child does not answer their phone and they are half an hour later than they said they would be (my mum has given me “the lecture” many times about not answering my phone when im out) but it was around this time last year that two young men were stabbed along the cycle path between King Edward VII school and what was Park High school.
So, how can you escape the darkness? Simply, you cannot. Unless of course you only leave your house between daylight hours or stick to the rare heavily lit areas.
But that is impractical for most people, myself included.
With winter already starting to close in, I have already started planning on how to stay safe in the dark.
First on the list is start driving as soon as possible.
And second, avoid being outside alone - I know I am going to be roping in some loving friends to walk me home from now on.
Or failing all that, sweet talk my parents round to picking me up.

I've decided that i really must write to the council, the lighting on cyclepaths near me is terrible, its only a matter of time before somebody gets raped or murdered down there.