Laura O’Brien

Education

Will To Kill a Mockingbird be banned in schools?

By Laura O’Brien • 2 mins

It was reported at the weekend that Education Secretary Michael Gove has banned To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men from English Literature GCSE courses, something he has denied. We've looked into the new requirements and what they mean for the American novels. Read

Education

Free schools: how many are outstanding, and what is the demand for places?

By Laura O’Brien, Amy Sippitt • 5 mins

Data from the Department for Education and analysis by the New Schools Network back up claims made at last week's Question Time, but it might be insufficient to draw meaningful comparisons. Read

Would 'Brexit' decimate Welsh jobs and investment prospects?

By Laura O’Brien • 2 mins

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to make the case to Welsh voters for membership of the EU... Read

Independent confuses wealth and economic activity

By Laura O’Brien • 1 min

"The richest people in Britain are better off than ever before with the top 1,000 individuals owning a third of the nation's wealth." So said... Read

Did Labour cut the number of school places and funding for new ones?

By Laura O’Brien • 2 mins

After a reported Coalition row over funding for school places, Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove answered urgent parliamentary... Read

Demoralised and bullied? What the figures show about NHS staff

By Laura O’Brien • 1 min

In an Independent article yesterday, two claims in particular caught our eye. "New research has found demoralisation among staff. Read

29,000 deaths from air pollution? It's complicated

By Laura O’Brien • 1 min

As the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday released data on air pollution in 1,600 cities... Read

Stunned before slaughter: what we know about halal meat sold in the UK

By Laura O’Brien • 1 min

Full Fact Live: factchecking in brief from Full Fact and elsewhere. Read