Headteacher says handwriting is ‘tiring and antiquated’

A-level and GCSE exams should be typed on computers because prolonged periods of handwriting can be “tiring” for students, a headteacher has said. Keith Metcalfe, the head of the £9,000 per term Malvern College, has called on exam boards to drop compulsory handwritten exams for GCSEs and A-levels in favour of typed papers. He said the move would “improve fairness and accessibility for all”, adding that handwriting “has largely disappeared everywhere” and is “very antiquated”.

Brain surgeons not cleverer than the rest of us

Aerospace engineers and brain surgeons are not necessarily brighter than the general population, a new study has found. Researchers examined data from 329 aerospace engineers and 72 neurosurgeons who completed 12 cognitive tasks. They found that only neurosurgeons showed a significant difference, with quicker problem-solving speed but slower memory recall compared with the general population.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Aliens will arrive on Earth after studying us for years

Uri Geller has claimed that extraterrestrial contact is imminent and aliens have been studying us for years. The 74-year-old said aliens will arrive during something akin to a “Steven Spielberg production”, possibly on the grounds of the White House. Speaking to The Sun, the self-declared psychic said: “I think they are studying us. I don’t know what they really want.”