Oliver Twist workhouse saved
A former workhouse thought to have inspired Charles Dickens to write Oliver Twist is to be saved from being torn down and replaced with flats. John Penrose, the heritage minister, is to place a grade II listing on the 18th-century building. Dickens, as a child, lived near the Strand Union workhouse in central London. A 5,000-name petition to list the building was led by Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, the author’s great-great-great-granddaughter.
‘Mad’ policy
Andy Burnham, shadow education secretary, has accused ministers of “acting like mad scientists” with education policy. Speaking to the Association of School and College Leaders, he said free schools and the English baccalaureate could lead to a two-tier system.
Trek award
The first man to walk the length of the Amazon was named the European adventurer of the year at the Wilderness Fair in Stockholm yesterday. Ed Stafford, a former army captain, completed the 860-day walk last August.