17-year-old makes history by flying solo around the world

Teenage pilot Mack Rutherford

(Image credit: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo)

published 2 September 2022

A 17-year-old has become the youngest person to fly solo around the world. Mack Rutherford, a Belgian-British dual national, flew an ultralight Shark plane through 52 countries in five months, before ending up in Bulgaria last week. He was inspired to go on the journey by his sister, Zara, who completed her own record-breaking round-the-world flight in January. Mack faced sandstorms in Sudan and extreme heat in Dubai, but said his “hairiest moment” was an overnight stop on a Pacific island. “It’s actually an uninhabited island, so if anything had gone wrong I would be there on my own, on that island,” he told The Guardian.

The overwhelming majority of social media posts directed at the members of England women’s football team over the summer were positive, a study has shown. Researchers at Cardiff University analysed 78,141 posts to Twitter and other sites made between 2 May and 1 August, and found that for every 125 “hope” posts there was only one “hate” one. Most of the positive posts were sent during the Euro final against Germany, which the Lionesses won by two goals to one.

Pensioner, 92, aces his maths GCSE exam

A pensioner from Cambridgeshire has become the oldest known person in Britain to pass a GCSE. Derek Skipper, 92, took his maths exam in May, surrounded by 16-year-olds. He used a magnifying glass to read the questions, and was equipped with a slide rule that he’d used at school in the 1940s. Last week, he learnt that he’d scored a 5, the highest grade he could have achieved on his foundation paper. “I am very pleased,” he said. However, he has no plans to take any more exams. “I think I shall go out on a high.”