ISSUe 299 - First News

NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR * 

£1.30 2 – 8 MARCH 2012 Issue 299 

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more than 

a million 

readers * 

The weekly newspaper for young people 

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SCHOOL 

Kate joins the Queen on her 

Diamond Jubilee tour p4 

BOSS 

Michael Gove says: 

THUMBS 

• Exams will get harder to pass 

• You can get instant detentions 

• Teachers to get new powers to search pupils 

• But our children will be among the best in the world 

UP? 

Rat boom across the UK p2 

KIDS should expect to start getting lower grades in exams, says schools boss, Michael Gove. 

The Government’s Education Secretary said fewer A*s and As 

are going to be handed out because he thinks GCSEs, A levels and 

degrees should get “tougher”. 

“If that means fewer passes, then that’s something we’ll have to 

accept,” he said. “But I want to ensure that, as well as exams being 

tougher, schools work harder.” 

This week, First News asks you if you think Mr Gove is right to 

get tough. 

He goes on: “What I hope we will see is our exams are once 

again trusted across the globe and our children are among the best 

in the world.” 

Mr Gove has been talking about new plans to improve discipline 

in English schools, too. These include handing out instant detentions 

*Source: First News Readership Survey, January 2011, Opinion Matters *Awarded by the Plain English Campaign, December 2011. 

by editor Nicky Cox 

outside school hours, without giving 24 hours’ notice to parents, 

which is what happens now. 

He is also planning to give new powers to teachers to search pupils 

for cigarettes and for items that are “going to be used to cause harm 

or break the law”. 

Charlie Taylor, who is advising the Government, says: “Without 

good behaviour, teachers can’t teach and pupils can’t learn.” 

But what do you think? First News will share your views with the 

Government. Fill out the form on page 4 or complete the questions 

at www.firstnews.co.uk/surveys by Monday 12 March. Get your 

classmates to join in too. 

The children who live in 

slums – new report p4

2 

FirstNews Issue 299 2 – 8 march 2012 

FIRST NEWS HEADLINES 

IN BRIEF 

The Big March 

A VIRTUAL march against 

bullying was held online 

this week. 

Avatars of the world united 

in cyberspace to highlight the 

problems of online bullying. 

The organisers of the 

BeatBullying march are calling 

it the first global march for 

children’s rights. 

They were planning for one 

million avatars from 190 countries 

to arrive at a virtual United Nations 

building in New York to call for 

anti-bullying to be added to the 

UN Convention on the Rights of 

the Child (see p17 for more). 

St Paul’s protest 

POLICE and bailiffs have 

removed the protestors’ 

camp outside St Paul’s 

Cathedral. 

The Occupy London 

demonstrators were campaigning 

against what they see as greed 

in the City (the name given to 

London’s financial district). The 

people who run the City went to 

court for permission to evict them. 

For the latest on these headlines, go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news 

Call in the 

rat catchers 

Rats are on the rise across the UK and coming to a place near you, 

according to a new survey. 

Two thirds of pest controllers are reporting 

a big increase in the number of call-outs to 

tackle rodent infestations. 

Reports from pest controllers have 

included one house with 200 rats living in it, 

while another had around 500 mice. 

According to insurance company LV, 

the reasons for the rise in rodents is a 

combination of recent warm weather, 

allowing the pests to breed faster, and 

a cutback in rubbish collections by local 

by Ian Prince. 

councils from once a week to twice a month, 

which leaves more rubbish around as food. 

Councils have also cut free pest control 

services to save money. 

Some people may think rats and mice are 

cute and keep them as pets, but wild ones 

living near humans bring health risks. 

The research also found that around one 

in five homes has suffered damage due to 

A rat – Do you go ‘Aaaaw’ or ‘Arghhhh’? 

rodents and other pests, which can gnaw 

through wires and building structures. 

In other countries, though, rats are in the 

news for different reasons. 

In Thailand, rat meat has been on the menu 

for years and is now so popular it costs more 

than chicken and pork. 

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY 

On 2 March 1969, the Anglo- 

French supersonic airliner 

Concorde made its maiden flight. 

The airplane was eventually 

retired in 2003. 

Olympic 

fact 

Victoria Park and Hyde 

Park will be focal points 

for the Games, with 

concerts, cinema, 

theatre and medal 

ceremonies. 

Olympic countdown 

21 weeks to go! 

Silence is golden at 

Oscar awards 

The Artist has become the first silent black and white 

movie to win an Oscar since 1929. 

The Artist 

looks like an 

old-fashioned 

movie. Although 

it’s a new film, 

it was made in 

the style of the 

first Hollywood 

movies, which 

didn’t use 

colour or sound 

– because the 

technology hadn’t 

been invented. 

It’s been a 

Uggie the dog and his 

human co-star in a 

scene from The Artist 

huge hit, winning five Oscars at this week’s awards ceremony in Los 

Angeles, including best film, best actor, and best director. 

The film also features a dog, Uggie, who joined other cast members 

on stage at the Oscars wearing a small gold bone. Uggie the Jack 

Russell is thought to be retiring from movies, as he has reached the 

grand age of ten. 

Kids are treated 

‘unfairly’ in media 

First News is working with other organisations to make 

sure children are treated fairly in the media. 

New research into how 

young people are written 

about in the media has found 

that more than 3/4 of press 

coverage of young people 

is negative, often showing 

them as criminals or unruly. 

The report is being sent 

to the Leveson Inquiry, 

which is investigating the More positive coverage of young people is needed 

in the media, such as stories about Britain’s 

behaviour of newspapers kindest kid, Callum Flynn, here with the PM 

in Britain. 

The report recommends that: 

• age should be included alongside race, colour and religion as 

something which should not be used to discriminate against people. 

• journalists should exercise extreme care to avoid negative general 

comments about young people. 

• the Press Complaints Commission, which people can use if they are 

unhappy with something in the papers, should be made more 

child-friendly.



Rare white 

rhino shot 

for its horn 

An endangered white 

rhinoceros has been 

shot by poachers in 

Africa – leaving Prince 

William upset by 

the killing. 

White rhinos are hunted 

for their valuable horns 

The Prince met Max the 

rhino on visits to Kenya. 

The poachers shot the 

animal and cut off his horn. 

In Asia, rhino horn can sell 

for £40,000 a kilo, where it 

is wrongly thought to have 

special powers, such as 

curing cancer. Rangers had 

already removed most of 

his horn to protect him – but 

he was killed for the little 

part remaining. 

Max also featured in a TV 

series, Last Chance to See. 

A spokesman for Prince 

William said: “The Duke is 

appalled by the senseless 

slaughter. He is very upset by 

the poaching.” 

New guidelines for adoption have been launched in England, aimed at speeding up 

the process of placing children with new parents. 

The changes have been recommended by a group of inspectors, 

Ofsted, who check children’s services. They say the younger and 

faster a child is adopted, the better start they get in life. 

The inspectors warn that delays in the adoption process can affect 

children really badly. 

The new arrangements will mean children should be placed with 

a new family within 12 months of being put up for adoption. It also 

calls for brothers and sisters to be kept together. 

Syria fighting update… 

THE son of a British photographer injured in fighting in the Middle East country of 

Syria has said he’s worried for his dad and wants him home. 

Kids must 

stop smoking 

Imagine 5,200 classrooms of children all puffing away on cigarettes – that’s how many kids start the deadly 

habit every year. 

Around 157,000 children aged 11-15 

start smoking every year, says the charity 

Cancer Research UK. 

That number is also the same as nearly 

14,000 junior football teams all taking 

up smoking. 

The charity warns that almost one 

million children aged 15 and under have 

tried smoking at least once – that’s around 

a quarter of all children. 

Pupils who try their first cigarette by 

the age of 11 are also much more 

Make adoption easier 

Otto Conroy and his mum Kate, from Devon, 

say they are hoping photographer Paul will be 

rescued. Otto and his Mum appeared on BBC 

News days after Paul’s colleague, Marie Colvin, 

a journalist for the British Sunday Times newspaper, 

was killed while reporting from Syria. 

A French journalist also died in the fighting. The 

deaths highlight the dangers that journalists face 

in covering conflicts. People like Marie and Paul 

War correspondent Marie Colvin, 

who died in Syria 

by Ian Prince 

Rebel fighters 

likely to be a smoker as an adult. 

The charity has released the research to 

warn also that smoking causes a range of 

diseases throughout the body. 

One dad of four, Jim, is warning kids not 

to be like him. He started smoking aged 15 

and now has lung cancer. 

“I know first-hand how horrific lung 

cancer is and how it’s almost always 

preventable by not smoking in the first 


travel to war zones because of the importance 

of having first-hand and accurate reports from 

countries where the media can be controlled by 

governments. 

In Syria, President Assad is using his army to 

crush rebel fighters who want an end to his control 

over the country. Thousands of Syrians are thought 

to have died in the fighting between opposition 

forces and Government troops. 

Otto with his photographer dad, 

Paul (picture from BBC) 

Harm is caused 

to the body from 

the very first 

cigarette 

place,” he said. 

Jean King, of Cancer Research UK, said: 

“Far too many young people start smoking 

every year. We must act to bring this 

number down.” 

The chemicals in tobacco start to 

cause damage to the body from the first 

cigarette, reducing energy and raising 

cholesterol, which can cause blood clots 

and also start to cause skin damage. 

Smoking also causes 12 types of cancer, as 

well as heart and lung disease. 

Boys’ reading 

EDITOR’S 

COMMENT 

Boys are now 

reading as 

well as girls, 

according to 

a new survey 

into reading 

for pleasure. 

It found that 

boys are 

no longer 

reading easier books than girls. 

The most popular author is Roald Dahl. 

3 

Editor Nicky Cox MBE 

AT First News we always pride 

ourselves on giving you the chance 

to have your say about the things 

that affect you. 

And, what affects you more than your 

education? It isn’t just about how you spend 

your days at school right now because what you 

learn will be with you for the rest of your life. 

The Government has got Michael Gove in 

charge of schools in England (front page). 

He is making some big changes right now 

and over the coming months and years. 

I think it’s really important that you feel 

listened to when it comes to decisions 

being made about your education. This 

is because people are much happier with 

plans if they feel like they had a say in them. 

I know I feel like that! 

So, tell us what you think – and we will 

tell Michael Gove. You can fill out the form 

on page 4 or go to www.firstnews.co.uk/ 

surveys where you can also leave comments. 

If you go to school in another part of the UK, 

tell us what you think about your education, too. 

SUBSCRIBE FOR HOME 

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GOOD WEEK FOR... 

BAD WEEK FOR... 

Sam Nixon 

The CBBC 

presenter was 

kicked off Dancing 

On Ice after losing 

the skate-off. 

Sam said: “This 

experience has 

been absolutely 

awesome.” Chico 

managed to make 

it through.

4 

FirstNews Issue 299 2 – 8 MARCH 2012 



Is the school boss 

right or wrong? 

TELL First News what you 

think about Government 

plans for your education. 

Name: 

Age: 

Tough lives of slum 

children 

1. Do you think it should be 

tougher to pass exams? 

Yes 

No 

2. Should teachers be allowed to 

search you and your belongings? 

Yes 

No 

3. Should head teachers be able to 

hand out after-school detentions 

without 24 hours’ warning? 

Yes 

No 

4. Are you happy Michael Gove 

is in charge of education in 

England? 

Yes 

No 

5. Do you think Mr Gove’s plans will 

help to make the country’s children 

among the best in the world? 

Yes 

No 

Show this form to your teacher and 

get as many classmates to complete 

it as possible. You can photocopy 

it as many times as you like. Send 

completed forms to Newsdesk, First 

News, 14-20 Shand Street, London, 

SE1 2ES. Alternatively you can go 

to www.firstnews.co.uk/surveys 

to take part and comment. Please 

respond by Monday 12 March. 

Worst drought 

in 30 years 

THE worst UK drought in 30 

years is already threatening 

wild animals. 

Now experts are warning that there 

might be a ban on people using 

hosepipes – even before spring 

has begun. 

Low river flows mean that fish are 

becoming stranded and dying in 

Hampshire. And, in the east of England, 

soil drier than ever has been recorded. 

Now the Government is calling on 

people to cut down on wasting water. 

Taking shorter showers and turning 

off the tap while brushing teeth 

can help. 

However, we are not facing the sort 

of drought that is seen in some poor 

countries, like the Congo, above right. 

In next week’s First News we will look 

at the difference in severity of drought 

and what we can all do to help. 

People queue to collect water from a natural spring 

at Camp Luka, a slum outside Kinshasa, the capital 

of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Children carry 

up to ten litres of water and adults up to 30 litres, 

climbing slippery, mud-covered paths between the 

spring and where they live. Many children collect 

water three or more times every day. 

UNICEF has just published a report on children growing up in towns and cities, and the 

growing difference between the rich and the poor. 

UNICEF’s report wants us to make sure we pay 

attention to the millions of children who live in these 

urban areas, so they won’t be forgotten when it comes 

to looking after them and protecting their rights. 

When you imagine a child in poverty abroad, your 

normal image is, perhaps, someone living in a village 

or a remote part of the countryside. However, towns 

and cities have millions of children living in terrible 

conditions, without essential things such as clean 

water or toilets. 

Cities can be a great place to live, with schools, 

hospitals and playgrounds. However, many children 

And almost a quarter of parents say they 

lack the maths skills and confidence to 

support their children. 

The findings, from a survey by online 

maths tutoring service iTutorMaths 

and First News, show that the biggest 

classroom fears include kids thinking they 

should know the answer already (36%), 

looking stupid in front of friends (29%), 

being too embarrassed (22%), or being 

afraid of attracting too much attention 

(20%). Even so, children still vote maths 

the most important subject for their future 

career (31%), beating English (25%) and 

science (13%) to the top spot. 

Steve Chinn, a former head teacher and 

special needs expert, has also spoken out 

about maths this week. He says children 

are giving up on maths by the age of seven, 

a quarter of all people struggle with maths 

and nearly seven million adults are worse 

at maths than the standard expected of a 

nine-year-old. 

Managing Director of iTutorMaths, 

Andrew Tarling, says: “With growing class 

sizes and greater demand on teachers, lack 

in urban areas live in places called slums. These are 

crowded living areas and children from slums can be 

forgotten in a big city. They might live near a school 

but be unable to attend, be near a hospital which 

they can’t afford, or be unable to play with other 

children in a safe environment. 

There are great health risks to living in a city as 

well. Crowded, dirty spaces mean children are in 

more danger of illness and disease. Hunger is also 

getting worse in urban areas, as the children aren’t 

able to eat the healthy food they need to grow 

up properly. 

Children give up on maths 

UK children are too scared to raise their hands in maths lessons, yet a 

third say it is the most important subject for their future career. 

of confidence in maths is becoming a very 

real and worrying issue. 

“At iTutorMaths we are passionate about 

making high quality maths tutoring a 

reality for everyone. Our online, small 

group tutorials help build confidence and 

overcome the issues highlighted by this 

new research.” www.itutormaths.co.uk 

Kate joins Queen 

on Jubilee tour 

THE Duchess of Cambridge is joining 

the Queen as she begins her Diamond 

Jubilee tour. 

They will travel to Leicester by train with the Queen’s 

husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, on Thursday. 

Leicester Mayor, Peter Soulsby, said: “I am very proud 

that Leicester will be the first stop on the Queen’s 

Diamond Jubilee Tour.” 

The Queen will travel around the country between 

now and 25 July – by car, train, aircraft and ship!

FirstNews Issue 299 2 – 8 March 2012 

THE NEWS IN PICTURES 

5 

27 February dhaka, Bangladesh: A child works in a plastic bottle recycling 

factory besides a river. Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations on the planet, with 40 

percent of its 144 million people living on less than one US dollar each day. 

27 february london, UK: With the Olympics less than five months away, Madame 

Tussauds in London unveiled a brand new wax figure of Tom Daley. One of the most dramatic 

figures ever to feature at Madame Tussauds, Daley is captured in mid-dive as he soars from the 

diving board towards the water. The figure is suspended at a height of four metres in a specially 

designed aquatic set and guests can walk right underneath, as if Daley was frozen in action. 

23 February SOUTHBANK CENTRE, london, uk: Anthony Horowitz and Michael 

Morpurgo (above) were among a host of literary stars at The Book People’s glittering evening to 

celebrate all that is great and good about children’s literature. Each gala guest provided a copy of their 

own favourite book from childhood, including HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, with the Just So Stories. 

Michael Morpurgo took The Elephant’s Child. Jamie Oliver prepared the fantastic food. 

26 February Kathmandu, NEPAL: Chandra Bahadur Dangi, a 72-year-old Nepali, 

poses with his certificates after being declared the world’s shortest man by Guinness World Records 

officials. Dangi is just 54.6 centimetres (21.5 inches) tall. 

26 February RABAt, Morocco: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Morocco’s 

Foreign Minister Saad Eddine Othmani and the Mayor of Rabat Fathallah Oualalou took part 

in a ground breaking ceremony for the new US Embassy. Clinton was winding up a tour of 

North African countries that also took her to Tunisia and Algeria. 

For more pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news-in-pictures

6 


SPECIAL REPORT 

46% of you wanted 

to read with your parents 

more often 

40% of 

young people 

don’t have 

anyone reading 

to them at all 

89% of young 

people thought that 

being able to read 

was very important 

96% of 7 to 

14-year-olds had read 

a book in the last week 

More reading, please! 

First News teamed up with ITV’s Daybreak to survey more than a thousand 

7 to 14-year-olds about reading. The results were resounding… you love reading and would like your 

parents to read with you more often! 

Reading together 

Unfortunately, it seems that many young 

people (40%) don’t have anyone reading 

to them at all. That’s not because you don’t 

want to read with someone, though… 46% 

of you wanted to read with your parents 

more often. 

Despite all the distractions of modern life, 

from computer games to mobile phones, 

96% of young people said they had read a 

book in the last week and 89% of you said 

you thought being able to read was 

very important. 

Viv Bird, the head of the Booktrust, said: 

“Reading books together as a family is 

incredibly important, not only to help 

children develop the habit of reading for 

pleasure – so essential for building good 

literacy skills – but also as quality time 

together. It’s encouraging that such a high 

percentage of the children surveyed place 

such a high value on reading. It’s up to us 

adults to make sure that this passion thrives 

through supporting shared reading.” 

Jonathan Douglas, Director of the 

National Literacy Trust added; “Parents can 

have a great influence on the achievement 

of their children by simply reading to them. 

We’re delighted that Daybreak is helping to 

raise this issue with parents. It’s crucial that 

they understand the importance of reading. 

In fact, we have just launched www. 

wordsforlife.org.uk to help and encourage 

parents to read with their children.” 

Get Britain 

Reading 

Show 

this to 

Your 

parents! 

On Monday (27 

February) Daybreak 

launched the Get Britain Reading 

campaign, to highlight the importance of 

reading and to encourage people to make 

time to read for themselves or others. The 

campaign would like parents to pledge ten 

minutes of their time to read with their 

children every day. 

Famous 

supporters 

Get Britain Reading is supported 

by famous faces from the world 

of politics and showbiz, including 

Prime Minister David Cameron, 

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, 

Labour leader Ed Miliband, London 

Mayor Boris Johnson, as well as Jonathan 

Ross, Dermot O’Leary, Phillip Schofield and 

Zoe Ball. 

TV presenter and mum of two Tess Daly, 

who launched the campaign, told Daybreak 

of the importance of reading that she has 

discovered since she became a mother: 

“Since having my own children, the value of 

reading has taken on a whole new meaning. 

As a family, we make time to read and 

explore books every day and my children’s 

idea of heaven is spending half an hour 

in the children’s department of our local 

bookstore. I get a real kick out of seeing them 

enjoy books as much as I did at their age. 

Daybreak’s Get Britain Reading campaign 

is a great way to reiterate the importance 

of reading. Whether it’s Roald Dahl or Harry 

Potter, reading is an experience you can take 

throughout your life.” 

How can you help? 

Daybreak will also be asking the public 

to give a book at their local Morrison’s 

and Waterstones branches. These will be 

collected and distributed by The Salvation 

Army, Booktrust and Dyslexia Action, and 

will go on to projects, children’s centres 

and various schools supported by these 

charities, to give others the opportunity to 

enjoy a wide variety of books. 

More information 

Get Britain Reading, Daybreak, ITV1, 

27 Feb – 2 March 2012, 6-8.30am. 

www.itv.com/daybreak 

Tell us what you think at www.firstnews.co.uk


OUR STORIES 

For more home news, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news 

7 

England 

Nature sites 

Twelve areas across England have 

been selected to become the 

first Nature Improvement Areas 

(NIAs) in the country. These new 

areas will share £7.5m worth of 

Government funding, which will 

be used to protect and improve 

wildlife ecosystems. They include 

peat beds in Cheshire, salt marshes 

along the River Thames and 

heathland in the Midlands. 

Home News 

Scotland 

St Andrews 

Research prize 

A research unit in Scotland has 

been awarded for its contribution 

to the protection of the world’s 

oceans. The Sea Mammal Research 

Unit (SMRU) at the University of St 

Andrews was awarded the prize in 

the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for 

Higher and Further Education. It 

is the only Scottish school to win 

in the Diamond Jubilee honours, 

which were attended by The 

Queen herself. 

Book winners 

More than 23,000 children from 

Scotland have voted for their 

favourite books in the Scottish 

Children’s Book Awards. The 

winners were Ross Collins for Dear 

Vampa, Ross MacKenzie for Zac 

and the Dream Pirates and Nicola 

Morgan for Wasted. A quarter of 

all Scottish schools took part in 

the voting. 

Cardiff 

Concert announced 

It has been announced that a 

free concert for 16,000 people 

will be held at Cooper’s Field in 

Bute Park as part of a four-day 

Olympic celebration. The event 

is being hosted by Coca Cola to 

celebrate Cardiff being one of 

the host cities for the Olympic 

Torch. The concert will be held 

on 25 May. 

Scotland 

Fairtrade nation 

Scotland could become one 

of the world’s first Fairtrade 

nations soon, says External Affairs 

Secretary Fiona Hislop. So far, 62 

towns, 171 schools and 14 local 

councils have been awarded 

Fairtrade status. This means 

they support and use Fairtrade 

products, which offer a better 

deal to workers in developing 

countries. Only 14 more councils 

are needed to turn Scotland into a 

Fairtrade nation. 

England 

Heritage site funding 

Local historical sites around 

England are set to get funding 

from the Department for 

Education. The sites will get new 

staff with history experience 

to help schoolchildren learn 

about their local area and what 

significance it has in English 

history. There are more than 400 

English Heritage sites around 

England that are open to the 

public at the moment. 

London 

Save NHS rally 

This week, a rally is being held in 

central London to campaign to 

save the National Health Service. 

Campaigners are against the 

Government’s Health and 

Social Care Bill, which will mean 

changes to the NHS. 

York 

Roof knitters 

A church in York is asking local 

people to take part in a sponsored 

knit to raise money and create a 

woollen imaginary roof for their 

church. The charity drive comes 

after thieves stole parts of the roof 

for scrap metal. So far, £50,000 

worth of damage has been done. 

Knitters are being asked to knit 

10cm squares to replicate the 

roof out of wool. Reverend Jane 

Nattrass says: “In our imaginations 

we’ll be wrapping up our church 

to keep it warm.” 

Cornwall 

Deer boom 

The population of deer in 

Cornwall has risen by ten times 

the amount in the last ten years. 

Herds of 10-20 deer are now 

regularly spotted together, where 

in the past few years it was only 

usual to see one or two at a time. 

Experts think this could be due to 

the outbreak of foot and mouth 

disease in 2001, which killed off 

lots of local livestock. 

THE WEEK IN NUMBERS 

600,000 pounds is how 

much money singer Charlotte Church 

has been awarded as compensation after 

it was revealed that her voicemails and 

phones were hacked when she was 16 

by the News of the World newspaper. 

6.5 million pounds is being spent 

on creating a new primary school in 

Durham. It will open in 2013. 

31,500 pounds has 

been donated to turn a disused 

piece of land into a flowering 

wildlife sanctuary in Stockton. 

74 farms in England have 

been hit with a virus called 

Schmallenberg, which affects 

the birth of young in sheep 

and cattle. 

11,600 pounds worth 

of parking fines are being refunded 

to residents in Oxfordshire after new 

parking charges were not properly 

signposted. 

4,000 tonnes of wooden 

pellets were on fire this week in a 

power station blaze at Tilbury Power 

Station in Essex.

8 


SCIENCE 

For more science news, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/discover 

Getty 

Hubble finds 

Do rich 

people have 

fewer morals? 

a NUMBER of studies have 

shown that the richer you 

are, the more likely you are 

to cheat or ignore the needs 

of others. 

The report, published in 

Proceedings of the National 

Academy of Sciences, is made up 

of seven different studies, which 

look at different areas of behaviour, 

greed and morals. 

The first two studies were carried 

out on the roads of San Francisco. 

Hidden observers made a note 

of the age, make and appearance 

of cars that approached a busy 

junction and a pedestrian crossing. 

They found that drivers in the new, 

expensive cars were much more 

likely to either cut off other cars at 

the junction or refuse to stop and let 

a pedestrian cross the road. 

The scientists also got volunteers 

in lab tests to fill in questionnaires 

that revealed their attitudes to 

things like cheating and greed. In 

some of the tests, they found that a 

person’s attitude to greed was the 

best way to predict whether they 

would cheat to get more winnings 

from a game. The researchers claim 

that because richer people have 

more money and independence, 

they put their own wellbeing ahead 

of other people’s and start to think 

that greed is a good thing. 

However, one study asked poorer 

people to think of the benefits of 

greed. These people were then 

just as likely to cheat in the tests. 

The scientists say this means that 

all people have the potential to be 

greedy and unethical, they just have 

different instinctive feelings about it. 

know? 

Did you 

The blue-tongued skink 

(see right) will use its bright 

tongue as a warning to rivals 

or predators. The giant bluetongued 

skink found on New 

Guinea hisses so loudly when 

it is threatened that locals call 

it ‘ular kaki ampat’ or ‘snake 

with four legs’. 

The blue-tongued skink 

has become immune to the 

poison found in cane toads 

Saved by poison 

Getty 

new type of 

planet 

the Hubble Space Telescope has helped to confirm the existence of a new and mysterious type of planet. 

The planet, known as GJ 1214b, is an odd 

waterworld with an atmosphere filled with 

steam and a scorching surface temperature of 

230°C. It lies around 40 light years from Earth, 

in the constellation of Ophiuchus (which is 

Greek for ‘serpent bearer’, as the constellation 

is said to look like a man holding a snake). 

Telescopes on Earth first spotted GJ 1214b 

A population of lizards in Australia has been saved from death by a 

poisonous plant that has become part of the creatures’ diet. 

The blue-tongued skink is one of many 

Australian animals that has suffered a 

drop in numbers due to the cane toad. 

These toads were introduced to the 

country in the 1930s to control beetle 

numbers, but swiftly became a problem of 

their own. Toads are a common meal for 

many animals, but because cane toads are 

so toxic, they have killed huge numbers of 

Australia’s native creatures. 

However, scientists writing in The 

American Naturalist have reported how 

in 2009, but Hubble had to be used to confirm 

what scientists suspected about the planet’s 

murky atmosphere. 

The new planet has a diameter around 2.7 

times that of Earth and weighs almost seven 

times as much. It is so hot there because the 

planet orbits its host star at a distance of just 

two million kilometres, which is 75 times 

blue-tongued skinks in Queensland 

and New South Wales have developed 

immunity to the cane toads’ poison. This 

is because the skinks have been eating 

a plant called mother-of-millions, which 

produces a poison that’s very similar to the 

one found in cane toads. The plant was 

introduced from Madagascar in the 1940s, 

before spreading rapidly into the wild. 

Scientists say it is a very unusual 

example of one invasive species helping 

to protect against the threat from another. 

Golden dangers 

scientists and doctors working in Nigeria 

have helped to work out why hundreds of 

children in Zamfara were falling ill and dying. 

Lots of the children in the region became drowsy and 

had seizures, but there were no obvious diseases around. 

Scientists quickly realised that some kind of poisoning 

was most likely. They took blood samples from people in 

the area and found that they contained incredibly high 

levels of lead. 

Lead is very harmful, especially to young people. That’s 

because it blocks the actions of vital minerals and can 

have an effect on every part of the body. Even if a person 

recovers from lead poisoning, they are still likely to suffer 

brain damage or other life-changing conditions. 

The lead was found to be coming from small goldmining 

operations. Families could earn up to ten times 

their usual wage by helping to get gold out of rocks 

dug up by miners, so it has become a popular way to 

make money. However, the rocks were ground up using 

pestles and mortars, 

then ‘cooked’ in pots 

and pans to release 

the gold. All of the 

utensils and pots were 

also still used later on 

to cook food in. 

The people in 

Zamfara are now 

being treated, as 

well as given advice 

about how to mine 

for gold safely. 

Getty NASA, ESA, and D. Aguilar (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) 

An artist’s impression of the new 

planet, GJ 1214b, which is like 

nothing in our solar system or any 

other known planetary system 

closer than Earth is to the sun. 

“GJ 1214b is like no planet we know of,” says 

astronomer Zachory Berta. “A huge fraction 

of its mass is made up of water. The high 

temperatures and high pressures would form 

exotic materials like ‘hot ice’ or ‘superfluid 

water’, substances that are completely alien to 

our everyday experience.” 

Workers help to clear lead 

from the ground in Zamfara


GLOBAL STORIES 

For more world news, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news 

9 

SNIPPETS 

Around 50 schoolkids in 

Germany escaped unharmed 

after their bus caught fire near 

Soltau. Some of the students 

had to climb out of the windows 

to escape the blaze. 

USA 

Training crash 

Seven US Marines have died in 

training, days before they were 

due to head to Afghanistan. 

The troops were aboard two 

helicopters that crashed in 

mid-air during a routine training 

exercise. An investigation is being 

carried out, but it is thought that 

dust kicked up during take-off 

and landings may have made it 

difficult to see in the area. 

Honduras 

Prison hero 

A prisoner who helped to save 

250 fellow inmates from a 

fire has been hailed as a hero. 

Marco Antonio Bonilla took keys 

abandoned by a fleeing guard 

and opened cell doors as the 

fire raged. 360 prisoners died 

in the blaze. The president has 

pardoned Bonilla, a convicted 

murderer, but the law says that 

murder cannot be pardoned. 

Bonilla says that he hopes the 

president will stick to his word, 

otherwise he faces finishing the 

final 14 years of his sentence. 

Getty 

Getty 

World News 

Sweden 

France 

No more mademoiselle 

Women’s groups have scored a 

victory by removing the use of the 

word ‘mademoiselle’ from official 

forms. For years, women have 

been told to use either ‘madame’ if 

they are married or ‘mademoiselle’ 

if not, whereas married and single 

men just use ‘monsieur’. Women 

said that it was sexist. It is like Mrs 

or Miss in the UK where 

men just say Mr. 

Pizza present 

A woman who nearly cracked her 

tooth in a restaurant was surprised 

to find the culprit – a pearl that 

had been tucked inside one of the 

oysters on her pizza. Pamela Levi 

must be having a lucky week, as 

she also won £50 on the lottery 

just days earlier. 

Eat more rabbit 

A scientist has said that Swedes 

should breed more rabbits for 

food. Carl-Gustaf Thulin says that 

increasing meat consumption has 

put land and resources under strain. 

He says that rabbits turn their feed 

into muscle more efficiently than 

cows and don’t need as much land. 

Train tragedy 

Argentina has suffered its worst 

train crash since 1970. A commuter 

train arriving into Buenos Aires 

failed to stop and crashed into 

buffers, killing 50 passengers and 

injuring hundreds more. The driver 

is in intensive care, so it is still 

unclear why he didn’t stop the train. 

Germany 

Bad ad? 

A man who hired a £33,000 BMW 

and deliberately drove it through 

a deep pond has tried to blame a 

TV advert. The man said that the 

car spluttered and died in 50cm 

of water, so the hire company 

sued him. The man refused to pay, 

saying that the BMW ad on TV 

showed the same model driving 

through water with no problems. A 

judge has said that the man was at 

fault and will have to pay. 

USA Argentina Afghanistan 

Public anger 

More than 20 people have died 

during protests against US forces, 

after American troops accidentally 

included copies of the Koran (the 

Muslim holy book) in waste material 

that was being burnt. In one violent 

incident, two US troops were shot 

and killed by an Afghan soldier. 

Indian Ocean 

Ship adrift 

An Italian cruise ship was left 

drifting in the Indian Ocean with 

more than 1,000 people on board, 

following a power failure. It was 

being towed to a small island 

in the Seychelles as First News 

went to press. A fire in the ship’s 

generator caused it to lose power. 

The ship is from the same fleet 

as the Costa Concordia, which 

capsized off the Italian coast in 

January, killing 32 people. 

China 

Lakes disappearing 

Human activity has caused the 

number of lakes in Hubei province 

to drop by nearly 60% in just 50 

years. Draining lakes to make way 

for housing or factories has been 

a major problem. The governor of 

Hubei, Wang Guosheng, says that 

local and national government 

need to work together to combat 

the problem. 

SNIPPETS 

Kids at Warner Elementary 

School in Houston, US, got a 

shock this week, when a small 

passenger plane crash-landed 

in the playground. No-one was 

hurt in the crash. 

Getty 

Getty 

A KID’S WORLD 

Name: Tom Age: 13 Lives: UK 

‘ 

“When I was growing up, home never felt safe. Ever since I can remember, my dad would threaten my mum, sister and me. 

He would hit, slap and kick us and slam doors in our faces.” 

“I wasn’t sure if it was normal or not. It was quite scary, and I was frightened. 

One day I sat in the car crying because I thought it was my fault. 

“Mum made the brave decision to leave our dad and I realised that what he 

had been doing wasn’t right. I got angry at him but because he wasn’t there I 

would shout at my mum and sister. I felt bad as I knew it wasn’t their fault. 

“Then I found CLEAR, a project that uses Sport Relief cash, and things 

changed. With CLEAR I had creative activities and someone I could talk to. I 

found it easier, because it gave me someone to talk to. I’ve learned how to deal 

with my emotions. My mum is happy now. It’s been a life-saver.” 

Young people who have lived with domestic violence can feel very isolated 

To find out more about Sport Relief visit www.sportrelief.com/mile 

and alone. CLEAR uses Sport Relief money to support them with intensive 

counselling and creative ways they can discuss their experiences, so they can 

have a safer, more positive future. 

As many as 700,000 children are acting as carers in the UK. Family 

Action uses Sport Relief cash to give the children a break from their extra 

responsibilities by hosting a range of fun events and activities for them to do. 

Get involved by entering the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile, taking place on 

Sunday 25 March. 

Sign up at www.sportrelief.com/mile.

10 FirstNews Issue 299 2 – 8 march 2012 

ANIMAL NEWS 

For more animal news, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news 

Stand 

up for 

animals 

ANIMAL charity the RSPCA has made five new pledges that they 

hope will stop cruelty to animals in the UK forever. 

This week they announced they are committing to stand up for animals and 

their welfare, including trying to end the euthanasia of any animal that could be 

rehomed. This means that they want all healthy animals to be rehomed instead of 

being put to sleep. 

RSPCA chief executive Gavin Grant said: “For far too long, animals in this country 

have suffered from people’s cruelty, ignorance or neglect and, unfortunately, 

some of those problems are getting even worse. 

“Enough is enough and that’s why we’re committing to doing our level best 

over the next five years to tackle some of these issues.” 

There are more than 900 million farm animals raised in the UK every year and 

currently more than 22 million pets! 

What do you do to help animals? Tell us online at www.firstnews.co.uk. 

Feeding help 

HUNDREDS of kilos of fish are being bought by 

Russian officials to try to save a colony of rare 

Dalmatian pelicans. 

Hundreds of the vulnerable birds are facing starvation after 

the Caspian Sea has frozen almost completely over. The inland 

sea lies between Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and 

Turkmenistan and hasn’t frozen over for many years. 

So far, about 20 birds have died from hunger, although locals 

are doing all they can to help feed them. Even the local market 

is helping out by offering sprats, although lots of people have 

been stopped from feeding the birds inappropriate food like 

bread, which is bad for them. 

Dalmatian pelicans are the largest pelicans in the world, and 

around 1,400 of them live in southern Russia. 

Bear rescue 

A DATE has been set to rescue the mistreated 

circus bears in Belgium. 

Blue welcome 

THE Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, Cornwall, 

has welcomed their namesakes, nine blue reef 

fish, to the aquarium. 

The fish are actually called blue reef chromis and are part 

of a breeding programme. They usually live in large shoals 

close to coral reefs, as seen in the picture above. 

Very little is known about the breeding habits of the 

bright blue fish, which is why staff at Blue Reef Aquarium 

are so excited to have some on display. They hope to study 

them and find out more about their behaviour. 

The trio will move to their new home at Scotland’s Five 

Sisters Zoo at the end of March. They will leave Belgium on 

28 March for the two-day journey to West Lothian. 

Suzy, Peggy and Carmen (pictured) have been the 

subject of a fundraising appeal for five months, since 

Five Sisters Zoo heard of their plight. The Zoo pledged to 

rehome the bears and have built a new enclosure at the 

zoo just for them. 

The former circus bears touched hearts around the 

world when it was revealed they have spent the last ten 

years living in cramped conditions as part of a travelling 

circus show. A massive £56,514 pounds has been raised 

so far to help move and rehome the bears, which will cost 

£80,000 in total.


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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 

with Serena Lacey 

SHHH! 

GARY BARLOW 

Gary Barlow and Sir 

Andrew Lloyd Webber are 

teaming up to write a song 

for the Diamond Jubilee. 

Individually they have written 

some of the best-selling 

songs of all time, so we can 

only imagine how amazing 

their joint effort will be. Gary 

says he plans to create a song 

that shows what the Queen 

means to everyday people. 

He said: “This is probably the 

biggest challenge I’ve ever 

taken on musically!” 

BLUE PETER 

The new Blue Peter 

Garden has been opened 

officially by Princess Anne. 

The new garden is at the 

show’s new home in Salford. 

Princess Anne planted a tree 

and unveiled a plaque to 

celebrate. 

SELENA GOMEZ 

Selena Gomez has 

laughed off rumours that she 

is engaged to Justin Bieber. 

The actress was recently 

given a ring by her 17-yearold 

pop star boyfriend, but 

the singer and actress insist 

it is just a friendship ring. This 

month Selena will appear in 

the last episode of Wizards 

of Waverly Place on The 

Disney Channel. 

Amazing 1D 

FRESH from their win at the BRIT Awards 

last month, One Direction have even more 

reason to celebrate. 

The boy band have just released What Makes You 

Beautiful in America and it has become the highest 

charting debut release in the US for a UK act in over 

14 years. The single, which won Best Single at the 

BRIT Awards, charted at number 28 in the US Hot 100, 

which is similar to the UK’s top 40. 

The band have also released tickets for the UK 

arena tour in 2012. At one point, 1,000 tickets were 

selling a minute! 

Check out The Voice 

HERE’S a first look at the set for the new 

BBC talent contest, The Voice! 

Jessie J, Tom Jones, Danny O’Donoghue from The 

Script and Will.i.am make up the celebrity coaches. 

They will pick contestants purely on their vocal talent 

after hearing, but not seeing, them sing. 

Danny says: “I’m so excited about it, I’m like a 

giddy kid.” 

The show will start on BBC1 at the end of March 

and will be presented by Reggie Yates. 

Best of fri 

Shake It Up! stars Zendaya and Bella Thorne team up in the fab and funny new D 

We catch up with the duo to talk funky fashion, fat suits and dancing. 

How would you describe your characters 

in Frenemies? 

Zendaya: My character is a girl called Halle – 

and she’s the epitome of geek chic. She wears 

cool geek glasses and she has some really 

awesome accessories. She mixes it up a little, so 

sometimes she wears funky high-tops and then 

she’ll wear Oxford shoes. She’s geek with a little 

chic. It’s great. 

Bella: My character is a girl called Avalon and 

she’s very high fashion. She looks like she’s just 

stepped out of Teen Vogue! 

How does your personal style differ from 

your characters? 

Zendaya: I think I have a lot in common with 

Halle. She wears lots of outfits that I’d love to 

have in my wardrobe – but then there are a few 

A scene from Shake It 

Up! season 2 

things that I don’t like at all. I think I’m more of 

a grungy rocker than Halle, but I love her geek 

chic style, too. 

Bella: I think my own personal style is a 

mixture between Avalon’s and CeCe’s, who is 

my character in Shake It Up. CeCe is more of a 

hipster who wears street fashion, but Avalon is 

way chic. I like to mix the two styles. Some days 

I’ll wear something rocker chic and other days 

I’m more stylish. It’s fun to mix it up! 

The film features lots of cool outfits. What 

has been your biggest ever fashion mistake? 

Zendaya: When I was little, my parents let me 

pick my own clothes. They wanted me to be 

independent – but when I look back at old 

pictures, they’re not good at all. There’s a photo 

of me wearing about 60 different colours at the 

An on-set adventure! 

First News was invited down to the world-famous Aardman studios for an on-set 

visit and to meet the geniuses behind the studios’ latest adventure. 

TOP TELLY! 

Big time fun 

This month, check out brand new 

episodes of the brilliant Big Time Rush. 

This week, James almost ends up 

marrying a foreign princess. Big Time 

Rush, Nickelodeon, Saturday @ 5.30pm. 

The final dance 

The finalists have been picked and 

now it is up to the public to choose 

their winner! Got to Dance: Final, Sky1, 

Sunday @ 6.00pm. 

Charity dance-off 

Olly Murs and Dani Harmer strap on their dancing 

shoes to take part in this week’s Sport Relief 

dance-off! Let’s Dance for Sport Relief, BBC1, 

Saturday @ 7.00pm. 

Aardman Animations is one of the most wellknown 

and respected studios in the world of 

film. They are the animation geniuses behind 

successful films like Wallace and Gromit’s The 

Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Flushed Away, so 

imagine how excited we were when First News 

was invited to visit the set of Aardman’s latest 

Design sculpt of the Pirate Captain on the set of 

Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! 

film, Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!, to 

find out exactly what goes into the making of 

such a film. 

The film tells the tale of Pirate Captain (voiced 

by Hugh Grant) and his adventurous quest to 

win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award… but 

getting it is not going to be plain sailing. With 

rival pirates and the entire forces of the piratehating 

Queen Victoria up against him, Pirate 

Captain and his crew face quite a challenge. 

The film has taken a jaw-dropping five years 

to finish. This is mainly due to the fact that the 

film is shot in stop-motion style, which means 

instead of just using a computer to create the 

animation you see on screen, Aardman use real 

models and real sets. 

Stop-motion filmmaking involves moving an 

object, like a model character, a tiny amount 

and taking a photograph of that movement, so 

that when all the shots are put together, it looks 

like the object is actually moving! A bit like the

ends 

isney Channel movie, Frenemies. 

same time. It’s terrible! 

Bella: Once, I had to wear a fat suit on Shake 

It Up and that was really funny. CeCe was 

supposed to be elderly in the fat suit episode. It 

was hilarious! 

TV, FILM, MUSIC AND THEATRE! 

GAME ZONE 

With Julien Game tester 

Dicing 

with 

death 

13 

What is the best thing about being on 

Shake It Up? 

Bella: I enjoy getting to dance with my best 

friend – Zendaya! It’s a really big set and we’re 

all a really tight family. We’re all best friends 

which is really nice! I love being able to live my 

dreams, because I’ve always wanted to be a 

dancer and I’ve always wanted to act, and now 

here I am. 

Zendaya: I really like the fact that I can step into 

someone else’s shoes and just forget who I am. 

It’s nice to be someone else for a while. 

The show has been a huge success. Were 

you surprised by that? 

Bella: I have always had faith in the show and 

I was always hoping that it would do well! I 

think Shake It Up has real heart and meaning. 

When you have a show that everybody puts 

everything they have into it, you are bound to 

produce a great show. 

Zendaya: Yes, completely. We all wished for it to 

be a success, and it’s what I always wanted, so 

it’s a dream come true, really. It is a show about 

real people living their dreams. I think kids can 

relate to it. I think they can really see themselves 

as one of the characters, which is important. It’s 

great that they can learn from our experiences 

and just have a good time too. 

Do you think anyone can dance, or do you 

have to be born with it? 

Bella: I don’t think people have to be born with 

Zendaya and Bella 

in Frenemies 

anything – they can always learn! I wasn’t born 

with the ability to dance. I was never a dancer 

before Shake It Up. I have always wanted to 

be a dancer, though, and now I am. I think 

having natural love for something counts and 

I love to dance. 

Zendaya: I think anyone can dance. Dancing 

is a universal language, anyone can do it. It 

doesn’t matter if you’re just snapping your 

fingers or rocking backwards and forwards, 

whatever your version of dancing is, you should 

just go for it. 

We hear Justin Bieber is a big fan of the 

show. What would it be like to film with him? 

Zendaya: That would be pretty incredible. 

He’s huge right now! It would definitely be an 

amazing experience – it would be great if it 

happened. 

Bella: That would be amazing! It would be such 

an honour to work with somebody like Justin! 

Frenemies premieres on The Disney Channel 

on 2 March at 6pm and Shake It Up airs 

Monday-Thursday at 4.35pm. 

SSX (Xbox 360) 

it’s been a while since the last SSX game, which seems to 

mean that EA have put a lot of effort into this one. 

Julien says: “The newest game in the SSX 

series allows players to once again defy 

the laws of gravity, pulling insane overthe-top 

tricks, while you rocket down the 

side of mountains all over the world on a 

snowboard. The story of SSX (not that it 

needs one, with this level 

of awesome), is based 

around Team SSX trying to conquer the 

nine deadly descents, the most dangerous 

snowboarding routes in the world. It’s 

a lot of fun travelling all over the world, 

unlocking new characters and 

eventually completing a deadly 

descent, even if a few of the 

routes can be frustrating to get 

the hang of. Whether it’s escaping 

an avalanche or doing a 1080 

nose-grab over the great wall of 

china, SSX 

never fails to 

excite and 

impress.” 

RATED! 

9/10 

More black and white 

moving story in a flick book. For example, when 

you see Pirate Captain speaking on screen, 

an animator had to attach different mouth 

shapes on to the models for every syllable that 

he spoke, then take a photograph every time 

to make it look like the model was speaking. 

In fact, Pirate Captain had more than 1,300 

different mouths during the course of filming. 

As a result, the film required a lot of sets to 

be built and an even larger number of model 

character puppets and props to be made, many 

of which we got to see during the set visit. A 

total of a whopping 250 puppets and 220,000 

props were used in the film. 

While at the studios, First News was treated 

to a sneak peek of the film, and let’s just say, 

A-arrrrrrr-dman have done it again! 

The Blood Island set 

FASCINATING FILM FACTS! 

320 people worked on this film, including 

33 animators. 

The pirate ship was completely hand crafted 

and made up of 44,569 parts. It took 5,000 

hours to complete (that’s over 200 days)! 

Queen Victoria’s treasure room contained 

more than 400,000 gold coins. 

More than 6,818 puppet mouths were 

created for this film. 

Catch Pirates! In an Adventure with 

Scientists! in cinemas from 28 March. 

To see more pictures from the set visit and 

to watch the trailer online, head to 

www.firstnews.co.uk. 

pokémon Trainers who loved the Black and White games have a treat 

in store, as Pokémon Black Version 2 and White Version 2 will both be 

released in autumn this year. 

Unfortunately, Nintendo haven’t 

released any more details yet, but we do 

have these cool new images of the Black 

and White Kyurem from the game. Enjoy! 

See the latest SSX trailer at 

www.firstnews.co.uk/bored!


THE BIG INTERVIEW 

For more interviews and clips go to www.firstnews.co.uk/discover 

Dance queen butterflies 

WE talk to Pussycat Doll and Got to 

Dance judge Kimberly Wyatt about 

the MOVE IT dance show and getting 

before performing. 

You’re appearing at the MOVE IT dance 

event – tell us a bit about it. 

I’m excited to be a part of MOVE IT this 

year. I think it is a great way for anyone 

and everyone to be immersed in dance 

and the idea of what it is all about. I will be 

performing, it should be a lot of fun – a lot 

of high-energy dancing and a lot of different 

styles. I’ll also be doing a signing and meeting 

anyone who wants to come up. Dance is such 

a great way for kids to keep fit and not really 

feel like they are working out. It’s a great 

introduction to a healthy lifestyle, so I jumped 

at the chance to get involved. Plus, any time I 

can get on stage, I’m there! 

What makes you want to get involved 

with an event like MOVE IT? 

I’ve been dancing since I was seven, so 

anything that gives me a chance to be a 

part of a world that is so much like my own, 

I jump at the chance. It is a wonderful event 

for anyone who wants to learn more about 

dance. We’ve got shops, shows, workshops, 

Q&As and all sorts of things. 

Are you surprised at how popular and 

mainstream dance has become? 

Kimberly with her fellow Got To Dance judges, Adam Garcia and 

Ashley Banjo. The Got to Dance final is on Sky1, 4 March at 6pm 

Absolutely, yes! I think it’s really exciting. 

I don’t think there can ever be enough 

opportunities for people to shine, so the 

fact that it has become so mainstream, 

meaning more people get to see dance and 

to appreciate it more, to be a part of that is 

huge for me. 

What will you be performing? 

Adam and myself performed on Got to Dance 

and we did a tiny bit of what I will be doing 

at MOVE IT, then the week before the show 

I will jump into rehearsals. I think being a 

professional dancer you learn to put shows 

together in very little time. I think all my 

experiences took care of me for a situation 

like this. 

You’ve been a dancer for a long time, but 

do you still get nervous? 

Yes, I do get nervous, but I embrace the 

nerves. I get butterflies and that is the 

moment I live for. If they’re not there, I don’t 

feel that the show is going to be amazing. 

It’s the excitement and the nerves that I like 

to feed into, it’s the energy that gets you 

pumped up and ready to go on stage and 

give a good show. 

Do you have any tips for kids with 

stage fright? 

Definitely. I think it is all about finding 

your own personal way to get through it. 

I think rituals before you go on stage are a 

wonderful thing. Whether it is just taking 

deep breaths, eating a banana or saying a 

prayer. I think all of those are great ways to 

fight nerves. It’s also remembering to have 

fun and not get wrapped up in the nerves 

too much. I always love before I go on stage 

to do a “one, two, three, let’s do this,” with 

the people I am dancing with. Being there 

for one another is a good way to battle 

nerves as well. Just remember to have fun. 

Do you remember the first dance show 

that you did? 

I absolutely do! It was on stage for a recital 

and it was to Madonna’s Spotlight. I was 

wearing a lime green and black half-top and 

leggings with a bright green visor! 

Is there a style of dance you still want 

to learn? 

I have honestly trained in almost every style 

of dance, so I don’t know about learning, but 

I would love to brush up on my tapping. I 

used to tap quite a lot growing up and since 

then all of my work has been every other 

style but tap! 

This series of Got to Dance is coming to 

an end – how has it been? 

This year has been the best year we’ve 

had yet. The talent has been immense and 

inspiring. To see every group and dancer go 

on a journey to that final moment and that 

final stage, it’s heart-wrenching. It is definitely 

an emotional roller coaster. I feel honoured to 

see all these incredibly talented people get 

on stage and share a piece of them, a piece of 

their heart and soul. 

Kimberly 

Wyatt 

Sometimes it looks really hard to give a 

red light. Do you ever feel guilty? 

Yes, I wish I could give everyone a gold star, 

but that is not the name of the game. I mean 

the audition process is not as hard, because 

the difference between good and great 

is quite obvious, but when you get to the 

semi-finals you’re just picking them apart in 

order to find reasons to give red stars. But 

I am there as a judge and I have to put my 

technical head on and be true to what I feel. 

What tips do you have for readers who 

want to be dancers? 

I think the most important tip for someone 

who wants to be a dancer is to never take 

no for an answer. It is not easy at all and it 

isn’t always going to be gold stars, it’s going 

to be red stars more often than not. Getting 

used to, and handling, rejection is a very big 

part of becoming a professional dancer. I 

really do keep that in mind as a judge. I am 

not only preparing them to be a winner in 

this competition, I am preparing them for 

becoming a professional dancer, if that is 

what they want to be! 

Kimberly Wyatt will be appearing in 

association with D.inc Wear at the 

UK’s biggest dance event MOVE IT 

(www.moveitdance.co.uk) from 9-11 

March at London Olympia. 

www.firstnews.co.uk and www.firstnews.co.uk/tv 

Vote now! 

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Issue 274 

10 - 16 February 2012 Issue 296 

Write the answer, the section of the paper and the page number where you found the information. 

ALL these questions are about stories in the news this week. 

Can ALL you these find questions the article are and about find stories the information? 

the news this week. 

When you are trying to find the 

Can you find the article and find the information? 

Q6 Who has just started a new job in the 

Q1 What does WSPA stand for? 

information, Falkland in Islands? which section of 

Q2 

Q1 

When 

What 

did 

are 

the 

being 

Conservative 

smothered 

Party 

by 

elect 

mussels 

Margaret 

in Wales? 

Thatcher 

the newspaper Q7 What do is the you first think structure that to be 

as their first female leader? 

news awarded story might a Blue feature? 

Peter badge? 

Q2 Who was bitten by a green anaconda (pictured) on live television? 

Q3 Sainsbury’s will be changing the name of their tiger bread 

Q8 Daniel Radcliffe plays which 

to what? 

Q3 Which Antarctic animal was found on a beach in New Zealand, 

character in the new film The Woman in 

3,000 miles from home? 

Black? 

Q4 Researchers are said to have improved the performance When you are trying to 

of helicopters 

Q4 What does 

after 

BSL 

getting 

stand 

inspiration 

for? 

from what? 

find the information, 

Q9 By how many runs did England lose 

in which section of the 

the last match of the Test series against 

Q5 

Q5 

Jersey 

How 

Royal 

much 

potatoes 

food do 

were 

astronauts 

first developed 

on the International 

how many years 

Space Station 

ago? 

consume per day? 

newspaper do you think 

Pakistan? 

that news story might 

Q10 Fozzie the bear was the favourite 

Q6 

Q6 

Who 

What 

has 

type 

just started 

of natural 

a new 

cycle 

job 

is 

in 

El 

the 

Niño? 

feature? 

Falkland Islands? 

Muppet character of which actress? 

Cockles 

Home News, page 7 

Steve Backshall 

Entertainment News, page 12 

An Emperor penguin 

First News Headlines, page 1 

British Sign Language 

Special Report, page 17 

1.7kg 

Science, page 8 

Name: 

Weather 

Science, page 8 

Janet Esteves 

Crazy But True, page 16 

The Legoland town of Miniland 

Crazy But True, page 16 

Over one million 

The News in Pictures, page 6 

Hurricane Irene 

First News Headlines, page 2 



GREEN NEWS 

with Keilly Swift 

Oil from the Arctic 

GREENPEACE are protesting against oil company Shell’s plans to drill for oil 

in the Arctic Circle this summer. 

The Greenpeace campaign 

is called Save the Arctic. Eight 

of their members staged 

a protest at the famous 

National Gallery in London, 

where Shell was holding 

an event. 

The environmental activists 

climbed to the roof of the 

gallery to hang a banner with 

a picture of an oil rig and the 

words ‘It’s no oil painting.’ 

They also set up a life-sized 

electronic model of a 

polar bear. 

Greenpeace are protesting 

because they believe that the drilling will badly affect the people and animals, such as whales, 

walruses and polar bears, that live in the Arctic. Activist Hannah Davey said: “The region is too 

fragile to risk an oil spill that experts say would be almost impossible to clean up.” 

Shell is the first big company to announce plans to drill in the Arctic, but there are fears that 

other companies may want to start drilling there now as well. Last week, Shell’s plans for how 

they would deal with an oil spill were approved by the US government. 

Greenpeace say that to meet the current worldwide demand for oil, the oil reserves in the 

Arctic would only last about three years, but that the drilling would cause carbon emissions 

and pose a big risk to the environment. 

For more green news, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/discover 

Joining forces for rainforests 

HERE’S your chance to help the rainforest while you shop! 

Supermarket chain Tesco has teamed up 

with the RSPB on a project to help protect 

rainforests. 

The project, which is called Together for 

Trees, aims to make people aware of the need 

to save rainforests and to raise funds to help 

rainforest conservation. 

Shoppers at Tesco will be able to donate 

Clubcard points and vouchers, or give money 

directly to the RSPB. Tesco will also donate 

£75,000 from the sale of reusable bags. 

It is hoped that in its first year alone, 

Together for Trees will raise more than a 

million pounds for the RSPB. 

The charity will use the money to fund its 

rainforest projects across the world, from 

Harapan Rainforest in Indonesia to Gola 

Rainforest in West Africa. 

An area of rainforest the size of a football 

pitch is cut down every four seconds. This is a 

15 

major cause of global warming, as trees that 

are cut down can no longer take in carbon 

dioxide from the atmosphere. 

Martin Harper from the RSPB said: 

“Rainforests are amazing places and saving 

them has never been more urgent. Current 

efforts to try to prevent the loss of these 

special places are not enough.” 

With 20 million people visiting a Tesco store 

each week, it’s hoped that Together for Trees 

might help to make a difference. 

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! 

What do you do to help fight climate change? How do you get your friends, family and school 

to do their bit too? Tell us and First News readers. Log on to www.firstnews.co.uk/discover, 

or write to newsdesk@firstnews.co.uk or the address on page 19. 

FirstNews schools’ 

Newspaper & Resources 

Package for £220 per year! 

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our subscription packages please visit www.firstnews.co.uk/teachers 

Subscribe to the Newspaper & Resources Package today and save 26% 

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Call 0844 8560 634 or email firstnews@servicehelpline.co.uk 

quoting PAP6 

Sponsored feature 

Blowfish’s Blog: 

Endangered Species 

“Hello, my faithful fin-fluttering followers! Today, we are going to talk about some of the 

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There can be loads of reasons why certain species are endangered but, in many cases, 

humans are responsible. When we overfish, destroy natural environments or hunt wild 

animals, they become endangered and even can become extinct. 

Hang on a minute – we do eat a lot of cows, pigs and sheep, so aren’t they endangered? 

No, because these animals are farmed for eating and can multiply and reproduce quickly. 

Endangered species are wild animals who often struggle to replenish their numbers, so even 

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The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is in 

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16 


ASK ESTHER 

With 

thanks to 

I’m Esther Rantzen, President of ChildLine, which helps 2,500 children 

every week. If there’s something worrying you, please write to me at 

the address below. 

Swimming fear! 

We are starting swimming lessons at school next term and I am having nightmares 

over it. I can’t swim and I’m worried that my friends will laugh at me. 

It sounds like you are quite worried about 

this and it’s having a negative impact on 

you with your nightmares. I wonder, have 

you spoken to your PE teacher about your 

concerns? Maybe they can offer some 

suggestions on how to overcome this. 

Maybe you could speak to your parents 

to see if they would be willing to take you 

swimming a few times, just to allow you 

to adjust to something new? Try not to 

keep thinking about it, as it can make you feel worse and heighten your anxiety about 

swimming. Good luck! 

I want to ask her out… 

I fancy a girl in my class. None of my friends has a girlfriend and I know if she 

agrees to go out with me my mates will all laugh. But I really like her. 

Fancying a girl is perfectly normal, whether your friends have girlfriends or not. How 

do you feel about it? Do you know your mates will laugh, or is this something you just 

think may happen? Have you spoken to any of your friends to see what they think? How 

would you feel if she did agree to go out with you? Have you thought about talking to 

her and telling her how you feel, or you could even write to her? Good luck and I hope it 

all goes well! 

WIN 

ENTER 

NOW! 

tickets to Drayton 

manor theme park! 

Drayton Manor Theme Park, in 

Staffordshire, is one of the UK’s 

most popular destinations for a 

day of family fun and adventure. 

It’s packed with incredible rides and 

attractions, including the Ben 10: Ultimate 

Mission roller coaster. There are also some 

fantastic whiteknuckle 

thrill rides 

for those feeling 

brave, such as 

Apocalypse, a 54m 

drop tower, and 

Shockwave, a standup 

roller coaster, as 

well as a zoo. 

But that’s not all. There’s also a cool 4D cinema, 

which this year is showing The Little Prince. Visitors 

will watch the movie in 3D while seated in specially 

designed chairs that react to scenes in the film, by 

moving and releasing sprays of water and bursts of air. 

Families can also turn their day out into an overnight trip by staying at the 

Drayton Manor Hotel. 

We have five family passes (two 

How tall is the Apocalypse ride? 

adults, two children) up for grabs. 

To be in with a chance of winning, 

just answer the following question: 

A) 52 metres B) 54 metres 

C) 56 metres 

MARK YOUR ENTRY dRAYTON 

www.firstnews.co.uk/competitions or see page 

21. The closing date is 15 March 2012. 

Jealousy 

Does it ever feel like other people are always doing better than you? Or does a 

friend always seem to have the coolest new stuff long before you? 

From time to time, everyone gets a bit 

jealous of how other people are getting on. 

It’s normal to measure ourselves against 

people we know – and even people we don’t, 

like celebrities. 

But sometimes it can get out of hand. 

Jealousy can start to get in the way of a happy 

life when we spend too much time measuring 

ourselves against other people. Some people 

start being mean to others just because they 

have more things. 

It could be stuff like clothes, gadgets or a 

bike. Or it could be someone’s family, if they 

just seem too perfect. It could be that a mate 

is going out with someone you fancy. 

The main thing is to recognise when your 

jealousy-ometer is going off the scale and 

you need to cool down and get things into 

perspective. 

Okay, so some people will always seem to 

be better-looking, richer, more popular than 

us. That’s just how life is. 

But, if we take a moment to think about 

the good stuff in our own life, it’s likely there’s 

quite a lot. And there are probably other 

people looking at you and thinking: “Wow, I 

wish I was them.” 

And, if you really do think life is going down 

the dumper, don’t just stew on it. Talk to 

someone – a mate, someone in your family, 

another adult you trust, or ChildLine at www. 

childline.org.uk or 0800 111, and let some 

of that envy out before it turns you green 

permanently! 

How do I open a bank account? 

How do I open a bank account with a debit card? 

Every bank has different rules for under-18 accounts. In some cases it is possible to get a debit card 

but, in others, they only give cards for use at cash points. It’s worth having a look at the websites for 

banks such as Santander, Lloyds TSB etc, or you could Google ‘under-18 bank accounts’. Have a look 

at what branches are available locally and then you can see what suits you and what’s available. It is 

advisable to talk to a parent or other trusted adult before you do this. In some cases you may need 

their permission to open a bank account. Hope you manage to find something suitable. 

by Sarah Jane Thomson, co-founder, First News 

Join me each week as I interview some of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs. 

We’ll learn everything from how they started out, to who inspires them the most. 

Plus, I’ll be asking them to share their advice on just how to succeed in business! 

This week I quiz art lover Raphaëlle. Raphaëlle is founder of ArtSpotter, an interactive 

mobile art map. Their products allow art lovers to discover, explore and interact with 

exhibitions anywhere in the world. 

When did you first set up a business 

and what inspired you? 

We’re quite a young business as we officially 

set up last April, so about a year ago. I’ve 

worked (and lived) in a gallery for a long 

time and I’m passionate about the art 

world. Originally it was just a project to 

work out how to make an iPhone app, but 

then people got interested and I realised it 

could be something bigger. 

Who was your biggest inspiration? 

My grandmother. She was the first female 

psychoanalyst in the UK and I remember 

her telling me when she was at school 

the jobs she wanted to do were only for 

men. When she told the headmistress she 

wanted to be a doctor, the headmistress 

said: “You mean a nurse?” My grandmother 

turned back and said: “No, I mean a doctor.” 

She’s always made the impossible possible 

in my mind. 

What is the 

best thing 

about running 

your own 

business? 

That no-one can 

tell me what 

to do. Well, 

technically not 

quite true, but as all the decisions are mine, 

it’s such a great feeling when you achieve 

something you dream of and 

it’s real. 

What is the single most important 

piece of advice you would like to pass on 

to First News readers? 

Keep dreaming, you’re only limited by your 

imagination. 

To read the full interview, go to 

www.firstnews.co.uk.


SPECIAL REPORT 

by Sherry Adhami from Beatbullying 

17 

Lots of children are affected 

by cyberbullying 

Aston Merrygold supports 

the Beatbullying charity 

Cyberbullying 

Yesterday, Beatbullying, the UK’s leading anti-bullying charity, led more than one million people from all corners 

of the globe in The Big March 2012 – the world’s first global virtual march for children’s rights. They were calling on 

the United Nations to protect young people from all forms of bullying and child-on-child violence. Cyberbullying 

has become a very serious but common form of bullying affecting children today. Sherry Adhami from Beatbullying 

tells us more about it and offers some very helpful advice. 

Aston Merrygold campaigns 

to stop cyberbullying 

What is cyberbullying? 

Cyberbullying is when people are targeted and bullied 

online by friends, classmates and sometimes strangers, who 

are trying to deliberately hurt someone’s feelings. This could 

include getting nasty comments on social networking 

sites, horrible emails, or even having online hate pages set 

up. When people are targeted online by people they do 

not know, this is ‘trolling’ – when people send horrible and 

offensive comments, pictures, emails and messages under 

false names or even from anonymous accounts. Another 

worrying side to cyberbullying is when people receive 

images of a sexual nature via email or text message. 

Why is it so harmful? 

Cyberbullying can be more harmful than physical 

bullying in many ways. Nasty comments or messages about 

someone can be put on a website for the whole school or 

even anyone on the internet to see. Even worse, you may 

not know who it is that is doing it to you, because they 

could be hiding behind fake names. 

Another horrible side to cyberbullying is that there’s often 

no escape. Before, you may have been able to go home and 

be safe from playground bullies, but now that everyone is 

online and has smartphones it can be easy for the bullying 

to follow you to where you’re normally safe – at home. 

Natalie’s story 

Natalie knows just how harmful cyberbullying can be. 

When Natalie started secondary school she was bullied 

because of her weight and her thick hair. It started, like 

most cyberbullying does, in the playground and at school 

but then it followed her home and she became a victim 

of cyberbullying. 

Over a period of two years, Natalie was a victim of 

constant abusive messages that would say horrible things 

like she was fat and ugly, and some even told her that she 

should kill herself. 

“I became so depressed,” says Natalie. “I ended up in 

hospital after having a dizzy spell at school. My heart 

was racing and I collapsed – I was diagnosed with manic 

anxiety.” This was the point at which Natalie decided it was 

time that she should tell her parents what was happening. 

“The first two years at school had been horrendous, but I 

didn’t talk to anyone about it. I was embarrassed and I didn’t 

want to worry my parents.” 

“My saving grace was a site I discovered after I collapsed 

called CyberMentors.org.uk. There were people there 

who were the same age as me, who had also experienced 

bullying. I was able to speak to them confidentially and get 

advice. The bullying didn’t stop straight away but I was able 

to find a way to deal with it.” 

Natalie 

Are you being 

cyberbullied? 

Here are five daily confidence tips from 

Beatbullying to keep bullying at bay: 

1) Communicate. Find the time to sit down and talk to 

someone. If you don’t feel like you can speak to your 

parents, friends or teachers, CyberMentors is an army of 

young people working to keep their peers and friends 

safe by giving advice and support online at 

www.cybermentors.org.uk. 

2) Believe yourself confident. Stand tall and project selfconfidence 

– nobody knows that you may be nervous 

on the inside. 

3) Channel your experiences into something positive. 

Turn your experience with bullies into something 

positive. You understand better than anyone what it 

feels like to be bullied, so use this knowledge to support 

younger peers who are going through the same thing. 

You could even become a CyberMentor. 

4) You are not alone. Remember that there will always 

be someone you can talk to. Our recent survey of young 

people found that 1 in 13 young people have been 

victims of ongoing cyberbullying, and just under a 

quarter of them said it lasted more than a year. 

5) Walk the high ground. Know that you are better 

than anyone who uses intimidation as a form of 

communication.


CRAZY BUT TRUE 

Lemon 

For more crazy news, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news 

RECORD OF 

THE WEEK 

The longest cat 

castle 

At 123cm (48.5in) long, Mymains Stewart 

Gilligan (aka Stewie) is the world’s longest 

domestic cat. The five-year-old feline is 

owned by Robin Hendrickson and Erik 

Brandsness (USA) and was measured on 

28 August 2010. He also has the longest 

domestic cat tail at 41.5cm (16.34in). 

This amazing picture shows a castle made entirely out of oranges and lemons for La Fête du Citron (Lemon 

Festival) in Menton on the French Riviera. 

The annual festival is celebrating its 79th anniversary this year and 

runs from 17 February until 7 March. The festival includes parades, 

brightly-lit floats and fireworks to celebrate the award-winning 

lemons produced in the region. 

Every year, more than 250,000 tourists flock to the town to see the 

sculptures made of fruit. There is even a story, told through giant 

by Serena Lacey 

decorations made of lemons in the town’s Biovés gardens. 

Have you ever made a sculpture out of fruit? Tell us and see more 

amazing pictures online at www.firstnews.co.uk. 

UK gum crime Goat faster! 

EVERY year there is a hotly-contested 

A POLICE officer has 

race between Oxford and Cambridge – 

revealed that thieves 

the Oxford and Cambridge goat race! 

are targeting UK 

Held at Spitalfields City Farm, a goat called 

supermarkets and 

Oxford races against a goat called Cambridge 

stealing chewing gum 

in one of the city’s hottest sporting events of 

to use as money. 

the year. 

Now in its third year, the race attracts a busy 

An officer from West Mercia 

audience and is fiercely competitive, with the 

Police is investigating the 

goats in training months before the actual race. 

crimes, which have spread 

So far, Cambridge has won the race every year, 

across the UK. Hundreds of 

although in 2011 Oxford was almost at the finish 

pounds worth of chewing 

line when he stopped to do a quick poo. 

gum has been stolen so far. 

The day of the race itself is a big event, with 

The investigation has 

warm-up races by stoats and comedy contests 

revealed that, in Romania, 

for spectators. Tickets are limited as the animal 

chewing gum and small 

antics are actually a fundraiser to help raise 

sweets are often given 

money for the city farm, which has limited 

as change instead of lowvalue 

coins! 

held on 7 April. 

space for spectators. This year the race is being 

Tell us what you think at 

What do you think? Tell us online at 



For info on this record 

and hundreds more, go to 

www.guinnessworldrecords.com 

QUICK 

CHUCKLES 

Q: Which king felt a fraction of himself? 

A: Henry 1/8th 

Q: What do you call a man who forgot to 

put his pants on? 

A: Nicholas! 

Upload your jokes to our website at: 


©Facebook.com/thegoatrace 

Written and illustrated by Paul Palmer


YOUR NEWS 

For more news crew, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news 

19 

NEWS VIEWS 

Check out what our readers 

are saying about the news on 


Family holidays to be 

banned in term time 

This is absolutely silly. 

pipro (Age 10) 

LEGOLAND Windsor hires six 

junior concierges 

The new hotel is wicked!!- 

Molly “soon to be concierge” 

Wilson :-) 

mwils4 (Age 9) 

Would you eat a burger 

grown in a laboratory? 

At least it stops cow slaughter 

js7501s (Age 9) 

Children in Christchurch 

release butterflies to 

remember earthquake victims 

What a sweet idea. Rest in 

peace to those poor victims. :( 

Twilight13 (Age 11) 

Dog TV launches 

Dogs don’t watch tv! 

Edenboots (Age 12) 


We want to 

hear what your 

school is up to 

Are you doing 

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for charity? Starting your 

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Or putting on a show? 

Email your report (including 

pictures) to newsdesk@ 

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presented to you in assembly! 

Don’t forget to include your 

name, age, and your school’s 

name and address. 

By writing to First News 

you give consent to First 

News printing details and 

photographs of those involved 

in the report. 

SUBSCRIBE 

FOR school 

Term time only subscriptions 

from £45.60 per year (P&P included). 

Call: 0844 8560 634 Quote: SPA 

www.firstnews.co.uk/teachers 

Learning 

to DJ 

Last year we were lucky enough to be 

invited to Ministry of Sound – to learn to DJ. 

The event was to promote a massive DJ competition. 

When we arrived, we 

were given a grand tour of 

the club. It has five main 

areas. When the club is 

open at night there are 

different DJs working in 

each of the areas, so you 

get lots of different music 

to dance to. 

Next, we were split into 

groups and introduced to 

by Joe Flanagan and William Lewallen 

Learning 

to spin 

the discs 

our tutors - some of the country’s top DJs. Our first tutor was Ray 

Keith – a vinyl (record) expert. He showed us the basics, which 

included being able to fast forward and rewind tracks using our 

fingers. It felt really cool, but it would have been better if we’d had 

a crowd to perform to! 

Next we had a session with Jazzy M (who was the Ministry’s 

first ever DJ!) where we learned to DJ using CDs – which was 

considerably easier. Jazzy taught us how to count BPM (beats 

per minute) and mix two tracks together, so that the transition 

between them was as smooth as possible. 

After a few goes each we had to come up with DJ names – after 

much consideration, we became DJ Joe-Ker and DJ Will Power! 

Then, after more practice, it was off to the box to perform in front 

of all the other groups! It was quite nerve-wracking but, with the 

music pounding, really exciting. 

It was a fantastic experience and Jazzy said we did a great job. 

Turns out we were the youngest DJs to ever DJ at the Ministry of 

Sound, and hearing that really made our day! 

Ripley’s Believe 

It or Not! 

When I went to Ripley’s I saw a lizard man, a robot dragon, the 

Olympic torches, and two horses made out of cooking utensils 

like spoons and forks. And that was just on the first level! 

by Asher Heyman 

junior 

JOURNALIST 

We went up to level 

five in a lift and saw 

some really weird 

animals, such as ones 

with two heads, some 

with legs growing out 

of their backs, a giant 

T. rex, a huge chair 

and not to mention 

a mini car covered 

in crystals in the 

patterns of famous 

American landmarks. 

Some of my favourite things included the spinning tunnel, the mirror 

maze, the laser race and, above all, the shrunken heads. 

The shrunken heads were my favourite exhibit because they were some of the 

best specimens in the world. There was also a video playing of how they made 

the heads. It was a bit gruesome! 

One of the levels was set up like a library and had a model of a man that 

weighed over 400kg when he was alive. I stood on the scales next to him and I 

only weighed 32kg! It was a great day and Ripley’s is definitely worth a visit. 

For opening times, prices and more information visit www.ripleyslondon.com. 

junior 

JOURNALIST 

O2 VIPs 

Ever wondered what Beyoncé, JLS, 

Rihanna or your favourite pop star 

gets up to before they go on stage at the O2 

Arena? Charlotte and I got to experience life 

as a VIP and were given exclusive access to 

all areas of the O2. 

by Abbie Bainbridge & Charlotte Hewens 

The Arena can hold up to 22,000 people, but 

normally 18,000 seats are available as this allows 

more room at the event. Events are very varied, 

from pop concerts, Strictly Come Dancing, award 

ceremonies such as The BRIT Awards, National Television Awards or 

sporting events such as basketball and gymnastics. The Paralympics 

will also feature here after the Olympics. 

The arena is so versatile that within four hours it can be turned into 

an Ice rink ready for Disney on Ice and Dancing on Ice tours. 

We were guided through the corridors behind the staging areas, which 

have wall-to-wall signed pictures of our favourite celebrities such as 

Beyoncé, Coldplay, Girls Aloud and many more. 

We were allowed access to the “Secret Room” which is so secret we aren’t 

even allowed to tell you its real name, but allows the pop star to have total 

chill-out time away from their manager and entourage. It has a very 

large comfy sofa, bookcases, sound systems, TV, Wii and a bar which 

has large sweet containers hanging above it. 

After the arena tour we were shown around the British Music 

Experience (BME) museum that celebrates British pop music from 1945 

to 2011. There are lots of interesting things to see and do and our mums 

were able to take a trip down memory lane! 

Charlotte and I designed and made our own BRIT Awards, then we 

were allowed to dress up in glamorous outfits. We walked down the red 

carpet to the rapturous sound of the cheering crowd and our acceptance 

speech was videoed for us to watch later. 

We had a magnificent day out at the O2 Arena and the BME and we 

hope to be able to go again next half term. It’s a fabulous day out for the 

whole family! 

We wrote a book 

A group of 11 talented Year 9 

students have managed to 

come together and release their 

own book! 

junior 

JOURNALIST 

Abbie & Charlotte 

with their BRITs 

SCHOOL 

NEWS 

by Holly Jenson and Holly Choules, Beaverwood School For Girls 

The story is an 

engrossing murder 

mystery which captures 

you at the first page. All of 

this hard and rewarding 

work started from just a 

simple dream, that every 

child in the world could hold 

a book in their hands which 

they had written. 

Each student created and wrote the parts for their own 

character and used lots of description to improve the quality 

of the story. The whole piece consists of over 30,000 words! This 

is astonishing, as we only had three days to complete such a 

huge task. 

There were also many other students involved with this 

project, such as proofreaders, editors, bloggers and, of course, 

journalists. The illustrations on the front and inside the book 

were also drawn by students, working over a period of just six 

separate sessions to complete the final pieces of artwork. 

The book was released at the beginning of the year on Kindle 

and will soon be available on Amazon. 

Considering the amount of time that was available to 

produce this piece, I would say that it is an incredible and 

outstanding achievement!

20 


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FIRST NEWS CHALLENGE 

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celebrated recently (7,3) 

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2 - Yearly (6) 

3 - Consumes food (4) 

4 - Entertainment (9) 

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21 

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22 

FirstNews Issue 299 2 – 8 MArch 2012 

THE BOOK CORNER 

MY WAY CAMPAIGN 

Book reviews www. 

redhouse.co.uk 

Wonder 

R J Palacio 

reviewed by Sebastian Westwood 

To his parents and sister Via, August Pullman, 

called Auggie for short, is a wonder. To other 

people, he is a boy with a deformed face, and 

he has to overcome prejudices and stereotypes 

wherever he goes. When he starts at school, things are particularly 

tough for him, and a camping expedition tests his strength to the 

limit. However, everyone emerges from it for the better and lots of 

people learn something, not just Auggie. This was a novel I devoured 

in one go. Auggie, his family and friends are very engaging and convincing characters, and I 

couldn’t wait to see how he gets on at his new school. When I read the last page, I was sorry to let 

Auggie go! Thoroughly recommended for all readers over the age of ten. 

Falling Fast 

Sophie McKenzie 

reviewed by Humnah Abdullah 

True love never did run smooth, and that saying 

couldn’t be truer for River and Flynn. When 

River auditions for a part in an inter-school 

performance of Romeo and Juliet, she finds she’s smitten by the boy 

playing Romeo, Flynn. But he comes from a damaged family and can 

River really expect him to give her true love? Falling Fast is the first 

in the Flynn series. When I received this book I was eager to start, as 

Sophie McKenzie is a great author. After the first page, I was hooked, 

and finished it in an hour! I love this book and would recommend it for girls in secondary school. 

I would rate it 10/10! 

For more book reviews and clips go to www.firstnews.co.uk/bored 

READING CHAMPIONS 

Everyone knows a Reading Champion – they’re people 

who inspire others to get reading. Each week, one of our champions tells 

you a bit about their favourite reads and what they think makes reading 

so appealing. 

Name: Michael Cox 

Michael is the author of numerous non-fiction and fiction 

books for children, including How to Drink From a Frog. 

His new book Big Cats is part of a series produced in 

conjunction with ZSL London Zoo. 

What books did you read when you were a child? 

Just William, My Friend Flicka, White Fang, Swallows 

and Amazons. 

If you could be a storybook character, who would you be? 

William in Just William because my childhood was a bit like his 

(but not nearly as posh) or Desperate Dan in the Dandy comic, 

because I’d get to eat loads of cow pies. 

What is the best thing about reading? 

Flitting to anywhere I want to in the universe and history while still in my comfy chair/time 

machine, then landing in places like Anglo-Saxon England (the Vikings are coming!), the 

Wild West (a mountain lion has spooked my horse), the Indian Ocean (we’re shipwrecked, 

the food’s all gone, we’re drawing straws to see who gets eaten first) and a thousand other 

places. Then meeting all sorts of awesome/horrible/terrifying/inspiring people, animals, 

elves, monsters etc and sharing amazing adventures with them, whilst also finding out tons 

of mind-boggling stuff about the world we live in, past, present and future. 

What is your all-time favourite book? 

I don’t have one because I never cease to be amazed by the brilliance of each new one I 

come across. 

How important is reading in life? 

Totally! I’ve been doing it from before I started school and still can’t get enough of it. 

Do you think you would make a good Reading Champion? 

Ask your school to sign up today at www.readingchampions.org.uk 

FIRST NEWS has been running a campaign for a year called My Way! It’s about 

getting people to understand that everybody learns in their own way. For some 

people school is easy but, for others, it might be harder. The important thing we 

want everybody to understand is that the way you learn has nothing to do with 

how smart you are. Around six children in each class have learning challenges but 

that doesn’t mean that they won’t be fantastically successful in whatever they 

choose to do. As My Way! champion, Hank Zipzer author Henry Winkler says: “Every 

child has brilliance inside them. Their job is to dig it out and give it to the world.” 

Here is Ben’s story. 

My name is Ben Cowling and I am 11 years 

old. When I was born I had tracheo-oesophageal 

fistula and atresia, which means I was unable 

to swallow. 

I was operated on when I was just 18 hours 

old and have made a good recovery. I am careful 

eating foods and always have a drink in case food 

doesn’t go down. During the winters I am more 

likely to get chest infections and this results in time off school. 

When I was about three, I was diagnosed with deafness. I have two hearing aids 

that I wear at all times, except in bed and swimming. At first I didn’t like wearing 

them but now I am used to it. I have grown my hair because of this so nobody 

can see them. The hospital has also given me digital hearing aids, which are very 

small nowadays. At first I struggled at school, but now I do well. Also, I can lip-read, 

which I do for quiet voices. 

All my friends accept me the way I am and I haven’t had any problems at 

school. I am looking forward to starting mainstream secondary school in 

September this year. 

Want to share your story? 

Find out how online at www.firstnews.co.uk 

WHAT’S IN THE SHOPS? 

10” Soft Toy - Miss Piggy 

www.toysrus.co.uk £9.99 

Now you can cuddle up to one of your favourite Muppet 

characters, the wonderful Miss Piggy. This fun soft toy 

version of the star of Disney’s The Muppets measures 25cm 

in height and comes complete with a gift box. Perfect for 

any fans of The Muppets! 

Animal Across the Body Bag 

www.disneystore.co.uk £16.00 

Every Muppets fan will be crazy for this cool bag! 

With an adjustable strap, popper fastenings and 

two inner zip pockets, this Animal-inspired bag is 

the perfect size to take to school or on your 

next trip. 

The Muppets: Original 

Soundtrack 

www.play.com £8.99 

CHECK out this fun-filled soundtrack to the latest 

Muppets movie, which sees the Muppets, with the 

help of three fans, reunite to save their old theatre 

from a greedy oil tycoon. It features the tuneful 

tones of Kermit the Frog himself. The CD includes 

31 tracks.


Sport News 

23 

Glasgow 

in bid for 

Youth Olympic 

Games 

Lieke van Wijk of the Netherlands (left) challenges Argentina’s 

Victoria Cabut during the girls’ hockey final at the first Youth 

Olympic Games, which was held last year in Singapore 

the British Olympic Association (BOA) is bidding to bring the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to Glasgow in 2018. 

One of the reasons behind the decision to back 

Glasgow’s bid for the YOG is that the city will already be 

hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014. This means 

that a lot of the sporting facilities, athlete accommodation 

and transport links will already be sorted out. 

The BOA also says that hosting the Youth Olympic Games 

will help to increase the numbers of British kids taking part 

SPORT NEWS IN NUMBERS 

5.01 metres is the new 

world indoor pole vault record, 

which was set by Russian star 

Yelena Isinbayeva in Stockholm, 

Sweden (right), breaking her 

own record of 5m. Britain’s Holly 

Bleasdale was in second place, 

with a jump of 4.72m. Isinbayeva 

also holds the world outdoor 

record, which is 5.06m. 

900 is the number of 

times that 38-year-old Ryan 

Giggs has played for Manchester 

United. The Welshman’s amazing 

career continued this week when 

he scored a dramatic late winner 

against Norwich to keep United’s 

title hopes on track. United’s 

other goal in the 2-1 victory 

was scored by another veteran, 

37-year-old Paul Scholes. 

Getty 

Getty 

in sport, which is supposed to be one of the aims of the 

2012 Games in London. 

“The Youth Olympic Games have quickly established 

themselves as an important and inspirational event in the 

international sporting calendar,” said BOA chairman Colin 

Moynihan. “We know the bidding process will be highly 

competitive, but we are confident that in Glasgow we have 

4 games to nil was the 

score in England women’s 

Twenty20 series with New 

Zealand. Although England 

(below left) dominated, they 

were denied the chance of 

a 5-0 whitewash due to rain 

causing the fourth game to 

be abandoned. 

1 is the world ranking 

that Northern Ireland’s Rory 

McIlroy would have had if 

he’d won the World Golf 

Championships-Accenture 

Match Play. Unfortunately 

for McIlroy, he was beaten 

by Hunter Mahan in the 

final, meaning that McIlroy 

stays at No2 in the rankings, 

while England’s Luke Donald 

stays in the No1 spot. 

an outstanding candidate city.” 

The International Olympic Committee will produce a 

short list of cities in January 2013, before announcing the 

winner in the summer. 

The first ever YOG was held in Singapore in 2010, where 

39 British athletes won a total of 13 medals, including 

five golds. 

PICTURE OF THE WEEK 

Russell Westbrook dunks during the NBA All-Star Game, which pits 

the best players of the Western and Eastern Conferences against 

each other. The Western Conference won the game 152-149 

Getty Getty


ANIMALS 

CRAZY 

BUT TRUE 

GREEN 

Stand up 

for animals 

10 

Lemon castle 

18 

Joining 

forces for 

rainforests 

15 

Getty 

A tale 

liverpool have ended their six-year wait for a trophy, 

after triumphing over Cardiff City in the Carling Cup final 

at Wembley. 

The delight for Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was obvious, but 

at the same time he had to comfort his cousin, Anthony, who missed 

Cardiff’s final penalty in the game’s dramatic shoot-out. 

The game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, then goals from Dirk Kuyt and 

Ben Turner made sure that the teams were still even after extra time. 

Steven Gerrard took the first penalty of the shoot-out, which was saved, 

but Cardiff sent three of their five kicks wide of the goal. 

“It was always going to be the case that one of us was going to be 

sad and one would be celebrating,” said Steven Gerrard. “Obviously I’m 

delighted to have won a trophy for our supporters, but I feel for Anthony 

and Cardiff.” 

After so long without a trophy, Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish said that 

he hoped the victory would inspire his players to go on and win more 

titles in the coming seasons. 

However, with Liverpool 24 points behind Man City in the Premier 

League, it may be a while before Liverpool can add to their 18 league 

titles. What do you think? Will Liverpool be able to challenge for the 

league next season? Join our poll at www.firstnews.co.uk/polls and let 

us know how well you think they’ll do. 

of two 

Gerrards 

Getty 

Anthony Gerrard lines up 

a pass minutes before 

his penalty miss 

Steven Gerrard lifts the trophy. Far left: Anthony 

Gerrard sinks to the ground as his decisive 

penalty goes wide of Pepe Reina’s post 

Getty 

Waterfield defends Daley 

after winning a solo bronze medal at the Diving World Cup in London, 

Peter Waterfield defended his synchro partner Tom Daley. 

Last week, Daley was heavily 

criticised by GB performance director 

Alexei Evangulov for the amount 

of media work that he was doing. 

Evangulov compared Daley to the 

tennis player Anna Kournikova, 

whose fondness for media work was 

blamed by many for her failure to win 

as many titles as she could have done. 

Waterfield and Daley finished 

seventh in the 10m synchro event 

at the World Cup, but Waterfield 

said that injuries to the pair were to 

blame, not Daley’s media work. 

“We had a few injuries over 

Christmas and in January that 

stopped us training together and 

you can’t then expect us to turn up 

here and get medals.” 

Getty 

Waterfield (centre) 

celebrates his bronze medal 

Getty 

Six Nations destinations 

with half of the annual 

Scott Williams evades Tom Croft’s 

Six Nations tournament 

grasp to run in the winning try as 

Wales beat England 

already played, the men’s 

title still looks like it could 

be going home to one of a 

few countries. 

Wales increased their chances 

this week by beating England 

and winning the Triple Crown, 

which is awarded to the team 

that beats the other three 

home nations. 

Although Wales are ahead 

in the table, France could still catch up if they win their 

rearranged match with Ireland this Sunday (4 March). 

The women’s title looks like it will be going to either 

England or France, who face each other in a crucial 

match in Paris on Sunday 11 March. They have both 

won all three games so far, although England have 

scored 123 points compared to France’s 63. 

Getty 

Getty

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