Person of the Week

Niall Thompson

After securing four straight A grades in maths, further maths, statistics and physics and a distinction in the Cambridge entrance exam, Niall became the youngest person to be admitted to Cambridge's Magdalene College.

He is just 15.

Quote of the Week

'She's out shopping.'

Andrew Wetherall's response when journalists sought his wife for comment. The Director from accounting firm KPMG pleaded guilty to false accounting and fraud to the value of £545,620 to ensure that his wife's extravagant lifestyle and monthly costs of £15,000 could be maintained.

Facts of the week

UK recession is 'over'??

A new study by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has been released this week claiming the "biggest rise in business confidence in two years"

Does this mean the recession is over?

Interesting points from the study include:

• 41 per cent of senior business professionals were more confident about the economic prospects for their businesses; 6 per cent were "much more" confident.
• Its gauge of business sentiment rose to 4.6 per cent for the third quarter, up from a record low of -45.3 in the first three months of the year.
• This is the biggest increase in the index since it began in 2003 and is the first time the index has been positive since 2007.
• This has led Michael Izza, chief executive of the ICAEW to suggest that "the UK recession is at an end".
• However, Mr Izza also warned against "underestimating" the challenges ahead, adding that "the recovery is very fragile and I would urge policy makers not to take any actions that could derail it."
• Sentiment was most upbeat in Wales, followed by Scotland and northern England. London and the South East remained the most nervous.

Source: timesonline.co.uk

Exam season over

For a little light relief, here is a list of exam blunders submitted for the annual list of 'exam howlers' in the Times Higher Education Magazine:

• A politics student at Brunel remarked that the United States had the most advanced military in the world — possessing "highly developed and powerful marital equipment".
• Writing about the British electoral system, a first-year student at Royal Holloway, University of London, considered "first parcel post" (say it out loud…)
• A biology student at Staffordshire University wrote a paper not about genomes but on the "science of gnomes".
• A student at the University of Leeds commented that a political group "used the internet to publicise their cause, just like the French Resistance did during the Second World War".

Source: timesonline.co.uk

Article of the week

EP Condense is EP's weekly e-newsletter. But did you know that EP is also a bimonthly magazine available via subscription? Our Article of the Week provides a sample of what we have featured in past issue.

This week we feature a story from the EP's June 2009 issue. It is a profile article entitled "It's easy to judge" EP meets Sarah Willingham, judge on The Restaurant and voted as one of the "3 most successful women under 35" during her career. Raymond Blanc has described her as one of the most successful young people in the food and leisure industry. What have been her motivations?