Penguin Ditches Degree Requirement for Job Applicants By Sally Weale

Global publishing group Penguin Random House will no longer require candidates for new jobs to have a university degree, it has announced.

The company said it wanted to open up opportunities to attract more varied candidates into publishing, an industry that has been criticised for its lack of diversity.

Penguin Random House human resources director Neil Morrison said that growing evidence shows there is no simple correlation between having a degree and future professional success.

The move comes just months after accountancy firm Ernst & Young, one of Britain’s biggest graduate recruiters, made a similar announcement, saying in August that it would no longer consider degree or A-level results when assessing potential employees.

And last May, Pricewaterhouse Coopers announced plans to ditch A-level results when recruiting graduates because of the unfair advantage given to independent school pupils.

Morrison said: “We want to attract the best people to help grow and shape the future of our company, regardless of their background – and that means that we need to think and act differently. Simply, if you’re talented and you have potential, we want to hear from you. This is the starting point for our concerted action to make publishing far, far more inclusive than it has been to date. Now, we need to be more visible to talented people across the UK.

“We believe this is critical to our future: to publish the best books that appeal to readers everywhere, we need to have people from different backgrounds with different perspectives and a workforce that truly reflects today’s society.”

Penguin Random House said it hoped to send a clear message: that graduates were still welcome to apply; that the university they attended would not affect their chance of success; and that not having a degree would no longer preclude a candidate from getting a job.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/18/penguin-ditches-the-need-for-job-seekers-to-have-university-degrees

My mum is a student at university too By Venetia Law

When I was in sixth form, my mother decided that she wanted to go to university. Of course I was happy for her. But then the doubt set in. Wouldn’t it be weird having a mum who was studying at the same time as me?

Other young people may have had to listen to family members reminisce about their experience of university, but it’s rare for a parent to choose to go to university alongside you.

There are contrasts: we study very different subjects – my mum tales psychology, while I opted for creative writing, so our experience varies in terms of content and assessment methods. And we aren’t at the same institutions: while my mum lives at home and studies at the University of South Wales, I moved away to attend Bath Spa University.

But at first it was still strange. My mum talks about her student friends and they are only slightly older than me. I was also used to my mum being around all the time, while now she has other commitments and everything has changed. It was hard to get used to, but we talked about it and told each other how we felt.

By being open we’ve learned what we want and need from each other. Sometimes that means just giving each other space. It’s nice to go home for the weekend and not worry about having to balance work and spending time with my mum. Now we can sit down together and study while catching up over tea and a biscuit.

I find that my mum’s awareness of university life can help because it means she knows and understands what I’m going through. It’s also great having a mother who knows what she wants, is passionate about her studies and is prepared to work hard to achieve her goals – it gives me motivation to do the same.

When siblings attend university at the same time, there can be competition, whereas when I think about my mum, I don’t worry about her getting a better grade than me. As a teenager it can be rare to feel like your mum truly understands you, so I appreciate that my mum does.

‘Sometimes she gets frustrated with me’: what it’s like for Venetia’s mother Claire

Starting university a year before Venetia gave me an insight into many of the challenges that students face. While I appreciate that the experience isn’t the same for everyone, my time at university gave me a level of knowledge that can only come from being a student. 

My experiences were fresh in my mind when Venetia started university, which meant I could offer advice and be helpful. However, sometimes she gets frustrated with me – I can see it in her face – when I explain how my university does things, as I’ve learned that sometimes hers does it differently.

The inital period was emotionally challenging. I think this may have happened when she went away to uni anyway, regardless of me being a student. My daughter was moving away from home for the first time – a life changing event for both of us. Learning about a new subject and facing deadlines only added to the pressure. 

The role of being both a mum and a student has been a learning experience, which I have now settled into. I would say that the strength we both share is that we can communicate effectively. This is beneficial whatever the circumstances. I am also very focussed, dedicated and comfortable with independent learning. I feel that we have reached a stage where we can share space, be engrossed in our own study material, and yet be supportive of each other if the need arises.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2016/jan/12/my-mum-is-a-student-at-university-too

Students May Have Say on Teachers' Pay Taken from The Guardian

University teachers were angry yesterday when they heard that the Prices and Incomes Board had recommended that students should share in deciding how much they are paid.

The Secretary for Education, Mr Edward Short, said the Government was deferring for further consideration novel proposals by the board for discretionary payments to teachers which would rely in part on students’ assessment of their merits.

Mr Aubrey Jones yesterday appeared a little defensive about the board’s proposals, admitting that he did not appreciate that exam success rates vary widely without necessarily indicating the quality of teaching, and admitting, too, that a permanent increment for teaching merit might ignore variation in subsequent performance. But he showed student questionnaires in use at Stanford and other US universities, argued that student assessment might be fairer than professors’, and claimed that student interest in teaching quality was now an inevitable “fact of life.”

‘Betrayed’
The Government accepts the board’s main recommendations on university teachers’ pay - about 5 per cent or £3.5 millions a year overall and up to 17 per cent for the lowest paid.

The Association of University Teachers, whose claim for an all round pay increase of 15 per cent backdated to December 31, 1967, was decisively rejected by the board, commented: “University teachers have been betrayed. The PIB was not originally presented to us as a body which would work in this way. The overall award is too small. In individual cases it will be 2 or 3 per cent over 3 ½ years. The PIB has operated Government policy in an economic crisis and singled us out to use as an example to the public as a sort of economic sacrificial lamb to the spectre of inflation.”

The AUT holds a conference in Nottingham today and tomorrow at which rank and file bitterness may be expressed.

Major objections
The Committee of Vice Chancellors commented that it has “major objections” to a number of the board’s recommendations and complained that the universities had been treated differently because they were an isolated case. Their salaries were not compared with higher civil servants’ or doctors’, for instance and the report had encroaches on basic staffing and academic policies which should properly belong to the University Grant Committee.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/dec/19/students-university-teachers-pay-1968

'University is One Place you're not Labelled': Refugees who Flee War to Study By Abbey Young-Powell

Kuhlod Al Ibrahim braved mortar bombs and snipers every day on her way to university. But she didn’t want to miss out on her literary and cultural studies lectures at Damascus University, even if it meant risking her life.

“My mum would beg me not to go,” she says. “But I would say, ‘mum, I need to go out. I need to continue my education’.”

After uni, she and her friends would meet in restaurants, because it wasn’t safe to be out in the open. When they were scared, they used humour to make light of the danger they faced – the punchline of a joke about a Syrian student who left home was that they actually made it back.

Today, Al Ibrahim, 24, drinks coffee in the bustling canteen of the Free University of Berlin, cheerful and chatty as she waits for her next lecture to begin.

She is studying for a master’s in English literature, after winning a competitive scholarship for Syrians and refugees provided by the German Academic Exchange Service (Daad). “Over here, my main worries are learning the language and deciding what Arab dishes to cook for my vegan German friend,” she says.

Young people such as Al Ibrahim, who have fled from war or persecution to study, are positive role models for other endangered youth, says Dr Dorothea Rüland, general secretary of Daad. “Students have a high social status. And these students make it clear that people really have a chance over here. This type of integration is very important for our society.”

There are currently no figures on the number of refugees studying at German universities, according to Thomas Böhm, at the body that represents universities, the German Rector’s Conference (HRK). However, Böhm adds, at recent campus events, hundreds have sought information about how to enrol. Daads predict that between 30,000 and 50,000 refugees will be eligible to study in Germany in 2016.

Laith Rastanawi, 25, a former refugee from Hama, west Syria, is studying for a master’s in mathematics at the Free University of Berlin after winning a Daad scholarship. He says studying in Germany is a dream come true, and has changed the direction of his life. He fled from Alleppo in Syria two years ago, having graduated with high marks from university there, and travelled to Turkey with his brothers.

“In Alleppo, there was no water or electricity, and bombing every day,” Rastanawi says. “I couldn’t stay.

“The journey to Turkey was difficult, we were afraid of being captured and taken to the Free Syrian Army, or of being bombed. When I first arrived I was optimistic, but then my dreams vanished. I had no money, even though I worked for 12 hours a day as a teacher and in a mobile phone shop. When I applied for bursaries I didn’t get them, and I was distraught.”

A year after his arrival in Turkey, a friend told him about the Daad programme and he applied. After a three-day party to celebrate his success, he made his way to Berlin.

Now, he says, he spends most of his time studying. “The academic work is a challenge and the bureaucratic German system is a shock. But this is a once in a lifetime chance and I want to use it in a good way.” Eventually, Rastanawi says, he wants to become a teacher in Syria.

It can be difficult for refugees to access higher education because of visa, language and funding issues. They can apply for government funding – getting up to €670 per month – though not until their asylum application has been accepted, which can take years.

“While they seek asylum they can do more or less nothing,” says Jens Kemper, coordinator of the refugee programme at the University of Bremen. “They have no access to the internet, and they can’t get to a quiet place because they are in overcrowded dormitories.”

Aamir*, 27, is currently waiting for his asylum application to be processed. In the meantime, he is sitting in on lectures at the University of Bremen for free. It’s a service the university is happy to provide, says Kemper. “By doing this, we give refugees something to do while they wait.”

Education has always been important to Aamir. His mother, who lives in Istanbul, placed a high value on it, despite having no formal qualifications herself. Aamir became an atheist while he was at university in Kabul studying English, but he felt unable to tell anyone. “I read religious philosophy and it made me question everything. But it was like living in a cage, because I couldn’t express myself openly,” he says.

In late 2014, Aamir’s diary was stolen, outing him as an atheist, and religious groups threatened his father at the mosque. He was scared that he and his family’s lives were in danger. Then, just weeks later, a young woman, Farkhunda, 27, was falsely accused of burning a copy of the Qu’ran close to Aamir’s home. She was thrown from a roof, run over by a car, beaten with sticks and stones, and set on fire in the streets by an angry mob. Aamir watched the news in horror and knew it wasn’t safe for him to stay in Kabul, so he travelled to Bremen in January.

He says attending university lectures while he awaits asylum has been a relief. He stays in the library until late at night, and that keeps his mind occupied. “It helps to be among students,” he says. “University is the one place where you’re not labelled.” When his asylum is granted, he wants to find work and eventually to study for a master’s in migration studies.

Language barriers can prevent refugees from getting information about free lectures. To help, Aamir goes into refugee camps as a volunteer and tells people about their options. “I don’t want anyone to stereotype us,” he says. “So I say to people, ‘you have to show them that you’re a normal human being. Get out there and learn – don’t let them label you’.”

Education for refugees is important, as it helps integration, says Rüland. “If we don’t manage to integrate people then we are in trouble. When people don’t feel at home, and they don’t see a chance over here, that is a problem. These students are positive examples.”

Universities want to support students who have fled from war, and many are offering funding, classes and extra help, as well as running buddy programmes to pair them up with with German students. However, they need political and financial support. “We have language and bridging courses. The challenge is to support these existing structures financially,” says Böhm.

For the students themselves, learning to navigate a new language, culture and education system is not easy. But Al Ibrahim, Rastanawi and Aamir are determined to make the most of the opportunities they have been given.

Al Ibrahim says facing danger in Syria has taught her how to cope when things get tough academically. “When the pressure’s on, I think to myself, I can do this, I’ve done it before.” 

Her mother still worries about her, she says, but at least now the focus of her concern is whether her daughter is eating healthy meals.

When she’s not cooking or studying, Al Ibrahim likes to hang out with her friends in cafes. She’s grateful that these days she goes there to keep warm and to enjoy the food, rather than to hide from bombs.

*Name has been changed to protect the interviewee and his family.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/dec/17/university-is-one-place-youre-not-labelled-refugees-who-flee-war-to-study

Think About It: Why Budding Philosophers Shouldn't Sit Exams By Fabian Freyehagen

Until recently, philosophy students at the University of Essex – as in most other British universities – took written exams in the summer, after completing coursework during the year. But we have just scrapped all formal exams in philosophy for second- and final-year students.

We realised, in response to feedback from students and employers, that exams were not testing them in the right way. We also realised that we could offer students so much more in the summer term than just revision and testing.

Exams clearly have their merits. But in the advanced study of a subject like philosophy, we need to test students’ ability to think in an original and creative way, rather than simply their power of recall.

Formal exam conditions are poorly suited to testing the skills that are honed by a philosophy degree: problem-solving, independent learning, collaboration, interpretation and presentation; attributes that are prized by employers across a range of careers.

So what will we do instead?

In the summer term, we’re going to offer additional modules so students can delve deeper into the topics they have been studying. After being introduced to a range of ethical theories in the spring, for example, they may find themselves engaging in more detail with one of those theories in the summer, through close reading of a seminal text or investigating a particularly thorny issue, such as end-of-life care.

We’re planning one extra hour per week of contact time in every module and a significant shift towards more student presentations and problem-based group work. We’re still finalising the details of our alternative offering, but we have already learned a number of lessons – and made some key decisions.

We’re pre-empting accusations of ‘dumbing down’

Although Essex is ranked in the top 10 universities in the UK for the quality of our research in philosophy, we recognise that our proposals are likely to face accusations of dumbing down. That means we have to be clear about why such charges would be misplaced. We are challenging the popular link between exams and rigour.

It is often said, for example, that formal exams are useful in preventing cheating. But thanks to advanced plagiarism detection software, students can easily be found out and severely punished for cheating in their coursework (whereas some of them could get away with it in exams by memorising the work of others and regurgitating it).

We also looked at the department’s past results solely on the basis of coursework: there would have been no significant change in degree outcomes. And where there were marginal improvements, these would have slightly benefited female students, who tend to be under-represented in philosophy.

We’re speaking to colleagues

Feedback from the university’s learning and development unit has been essential. Colleagues there confirmed that our proposals are in line with David Nicol’s widely used toolkit for reviewing assessment and feedback and David Boud’s seven propositions for assessment reform from the Assessment Futures project, which the university endorses. We have also made sure that our plans adhere to the Quality Assurance Agency’s subject benchmark statements.

We’re consulting our students

We’ve been presenting our ideas to committees within the school and faculty – most of which include student representatives. We’ve also consulted informally with students in a number of key modules, which we followed up with an open meeting for all philosophy students.

Student responses have been largely positive, and we’ve had the chance to reassure one or two sceptical students. They are going to continue to be part of the process – particularly through our student-staff liaison committees – as we finalise our plans for each module.

We’re bucking the trend

We know that dropping formal written exams goes against the national education trend in schools, which are being told that A-level students need to be tested with more exams.

Students arriving at university are accustomed to learning for tests: they have learned to look for the easy options, the minimum they need to cram into their heads to do well in exams. Teachers tell us that they don’t get the chance to teach philosophy properly any more.

We need to counteract this. We want students to have a deep understanding of philosophy and our assessment methods need to reflect this. Employers tell us that exam performance has little relevance in the workplace – they want us to nurture presentation skills and teamwork.

We’re being flexible

We are giving academics the chance to choose the most appropriate way to assess a particular module - whether it is coursework, in-class assessment or oral exams - and they will explain their choice in their plans for each module.

Tests on unseen questions will remain part of the assessment portfolio, but will be targeted where they are needed – such as in assessing logic skills or the grasp of technical terms.

Both students and staff are looking forward to having more time to work through texts together, rather than rushing through complex material. We value the chance to really develop the independent study skills of our students in a way that will be more appropriate for the discipline and for the jobs they aspire to in the future.

http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/dec/16/think-about-it-why-budding-philosophers-shouldnt-sit-exams

Doctor Who? The Celebrities who became Instant Academics By Lauren Potts

Singer Ed Sheeran is just one of the latest in a long line of celebrities to pick up an honorary degree for "outstanding contributions" in their field. But should the rich and famous be handed academic plaudits on a silver platter?

What do Dannii Minogue, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir David Attenborough all have in common?

Answer: They can all legitimately put the word "doctor" in front of their names.

Though Sir David's expertise as a naturalist is indisputable, the fact remains he has not, in the strictest sense of the word, earned his 32 honorary doctorates - at least not in the traditional academic way.

So what exactly are these awards and why are they given out?

An honorary degree is a doctorate for which a university has waived the usual requirements - namely study - and is conferred in recognition of achievement.

The first was awarded to Lionel Woodville in the late 1470s by the University of Oxford in what appears to have been an attempt to obtain the favour of a man with great influence.

Since then, countless degrees have been dished out by England's higher education establishments.

In 2014 alone, 117 universities across the country awarded 957 honorary degrees or fellowships to those, famous or otherwise, who have impressed in their professions.

But while many of those people received their awards for contributions to fields such as science or medicine, they were joined by household names like Gok Wan and Ryan Giggs, who also donned their caps and gowns but in the name of fashion and football.

So is there a fine line between who is deserving and who is not?

You would be hard pressed to argue with those whose honorary degrees were awarded for tangible achievements not purely to do with their fame.

Jo Brand, for example, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Canterbury Christ Church University last year not simply because she is famous, but for raising awareness of mental health issues, having spent 10 years as a psychiatric nurse before becoming a comedian.

Fundraiser Stephen Sutton was posthumously made a Doctor of Science by Coventry University for raising awareness of teenage cancer, while Baroness Doreen Lawrence - mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence - has five honorary degrees for her work as a rights campaigner.

So does the issue only arise when the degrees are given to notable people who have simply been doing their job?

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education (CRE), said: "I think when you award honorary degrees to football managers and pop stars, they're being rewarded with what I feel is a bogus notion of achievement.

"It's an insult to the students that work very hard. There are lots of people who are more deserving of degrees than Alex Ferguson.

"It's not that he's not a great football manager, but he's not a nurse helping refugees."

Some believe the matter is further inflamed by those who adopt the honorific their degree affords them.

Poet John Cooper Clarke and radio DJ Terry Wogan both regularly use their "Dr" title and there is nothing to stop them doing so, except that universities prefer recipients to refrain from adopting a potentially misleading title.

There is an argument to be had about whether it might not always be considered inappropriate to use the title. The Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr lectures at Salford University and did so long before a doctorate of the arts was bestowed upon him.

But it is the exception rather than the rule.

"Terry Wogan uses his degree. He calls himself Dr Wogan and he's entitled to, it's a real thing in terms of status," said Mr McGovern.

"But why are we giving these academic qualifications to people that haven't actually studied and done the course?"

Though some relish the kudos that comes with an honorary doctorate, it doesn't sit comfortably with all famous graduates.

In 2006, The Eurythmics' singer Annie Lennox said she was "delighted" to receive her qualification from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, but "felt like a complete fraud" for doing so.

Actress Emma Thompson reportedly felt the same about her degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland after she was asked how many essays she had written to obtain it.

Publicists for the stars and other honorary degree recipients, including Johnny Marr and the comedian Johnny Vegas, declined the opportunity to talk about their awards when contacted by the BBC.

Several universities also declined to comment when asked what the benefit was to them in giving out degrees to celebrities.

Those who did gave reasons ranging from hoping celebrities would inspire students to acknowledging their contribution to the region or university.

The University of East London, which made doctors of Dizzee Rascal and Barbara Windsor, said many recipients return to the university to give lectures and become role models to students.

"We take the conferring of honorary degrees extremely seriously," said deputy vice-chancellor, Dusty Amroliwala.

"We look for figures whose careers will inspire our students. People who enjoy celebrity status have usually worked incredibly hard to achieve their success and that is a good message for our graduating students to hear."

Salford and Sheffield Hallam Universities, whose previous recipients include former footballer Gary Neville and actor Dominic West, said it conferred honorary degrees on those who had made "significant contributions" to the university, region, or more generally, to their field.

But with very few sticking up for celebrity degrees, it begs the question, does anyone think they are a good idea?

The CRE does not think so and is calling for an end to them.

"I think these degrees are tainted and it's the universities I blame - they want to sprinkle some stardust on graduation day," said Mr McGovern.

"We have an honours system that works perfectly well, so I have to ask why we should reward these celebrities.

"A degree should be limited to academic study."

And so with so little to say in favour of celebrity degrees, perhaps the only one that makes sense at all is the one given to Kermit the Frog, who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Amphibious Letters in 1996 by Long Island University.

"It's the only one I support," said Mr McGovern. "It was a fake degree for a fake character, which is fitting."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34659751

Wider Range of Students taking Degrees By Judith Burns

Universities have broadened access to higher education to include more students from disadvantaged areas, a new Universities UK report shows.

Full-time undergraduates from the most disadvantaged areas, those places which had had the fewest youngsters going to university, rose 42%, from some 22,000 in 2005 to more than 31,000 in 2014.

But numbers of part-time and mature students fell during the same period.

The government has pledged to help a wider range of people to take degrees.

Their proposals, outlined last month, included more help for non-traditional groups to go to university.

Researchers analysed the home addresses of students at all UK universities and divided them into five groups, according to the proportion of young people going to university from the neighbourhood.

Each of these groups represents around 20% of all young people and are ranked by the Higher Education Statistics Agency from those with the lowest proportion of young people who attend university, considered the most disadvantaged, to areas with the highest, considered advantaged.

In 2013, for example, young people from the most successful areas were 2.7 times more likely to go to university than those from the least successful areas - but this imbalance is beginning to improve, suggest the figures.

Major changes

By 2013-14, more than 11% of undergraduates came from the most disadvantaged areas - compared with less than 9% a decade before.

"One thing that leaps out from this year's report is how much the student body has changed over the period," say the researchers.

"Students are more likely to be studying full-time and are younger."

Full-time students made up nearly three-quarters of all students in 2013-14, up from just over 60% in 2004-5, they note.

But the number of part-time students - both undergraduates and postgraduates - fell by 29% in the 10 years to 2014, they add.

Part-time students faced multiple blows in terms of funding, says the report.

They were hit by the removal in 2008-09 of funding for qualifications equivalent to or lower than ones they already had and by the increase in student fees in 2012, says the report.

"At the same time, the economic downturn has also caused a reduction in the number of students able to self-fund part-time study and a reduction in the number of employers willing to support employees through part-time study."

Older students

There was also a fall in the number of older students - for example the number of undergraduates aged over 25 fell from 647,000 in 2004-5 to 432,000 in 2013-14.

This meant that by 2013-14 under-25s made up three-quarters of all undergraduate students and a third of postgraduates, the research suggests.

The two factors are linked as people aged 25 and over make up a large proportion of those studying part-time (81% in 2013-14), explain the researchers.

The government has announced tuition fee and maintenance support for part-time students and has asked Universities UK to lead a task force on how best to support progress in social mobility through widening participation in higher education.

"It is not enough for students from non-traditional backgrounds to start university, if they are not supported through to graduation," the report warns.

Too many students from the most disadvantaged group drop out after their first year, note the researchers.

Pam Tatlow, chief executive of the Million+ group university think tank, said despite the successes highlighted in the report there was "continuing evidence" older and part-time students were "getting a raw deal".

Ms Tatlow said planned cuts in funding for disadvantaged students would "make it harder for universities to provide the right support".

"The prime minister's ambition to increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who go to university will be difficult to achieve without investment," she said.

The National Union of Students promised to work with Universities UK to share their expertise on widening participation.

"Widening access means investing in lifelong learning and different types of provision, specifically for part-time students as often they are women or mature students." said NUS vice-president, Sorana Vieru.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34995790

Top Laundry Tips for Sevenoaks Students going to University. By Sevenoaks Chronicle

Many of the young adults will be taking on household chores for the first time as they leave their parental home to continue their studies.

Experts at ACE Gentle, one of the leading stain remover and detergent boosters on the market, have put together their top tips to help the laundry first-timers

Read the labels to prevent disasters!

Check the care instructions on the garment's label – this will explain what temperature and cycle to wash clothes on and whether they can be tumble-dried.

Separate clothes

Avoid the old cliché of turning white clothes pink by separating out loads into categories – for example, whites, brights, darks and delicates – don't be tempted to throw everything in together! New clothes, such as jeans, might bleed dye into the wash so keep them separate for the first few washes.

Pre-treat stubborn stains

Getting stuck into university life is an important part of the experience, so it's inevitable that clothing will get stained with things such as beer, ketchup and mud. These type of tricky stains can be removed if dealt with promptly and properly. ACE is formulated to tackle the eight most common stains caused by dirt, grease, makeup, body soils, food, drink, outdoor and enzymatics, so it's good to have a bottle handy.

Keep clothes looking good for longer

Adding a detergent booster, such as ACE, to every wash will help keep whites whiter and colours brighter for longer. Turn clothes inside out – jeans lose less dye and wool items are less likely to go bobbly when washed inside out.

Dry laundry properly

Use the tumble dry function if available, but be aware that certain items may be too delicate to tumble-dry and wool can shrink in the dryer. Alternatively, hang clean clothes up immediately and allow them to dry and air adequately, ideally on a clothes line.

Kevin Day, from Robinson Young, UK distributor for ACE, said: "From clean duvet covers and towels to fresh underwear and clothes, laundry is something that teenagers might have taken for granted until they left the parental home for university.

"Laundry needn't be challenging though. ACE is inexpensive and easy-to-use and it will take care of clothes and leave them clean and smelling fresh."

ACE Gentle Classic (1L) retails at £1.99 and is available from Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury's, and selected Asda stores.

A 700ml bottle is available from Poundstretcher, Poundland, 99p Stores and Poundworld.

http://www.sevenoakschronicle.co.uk/laundry-tips-Sevenoaks-students-going-university/story-27766406-detail/story.html