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Reposted by Tom Rank

Chris Boyd @paperghost.bsky.social · 11h

a note of caution for people claiming there is no real difference between a B1 test and a B2: there is *quite* a lot added in a full B2 in terms of length and additional tasks to complete. it will almost certainly be more expensive. and they eventually intend to make these changes to family routes

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Tom Rank @tomrank.bsky.social · 9h

I'm actually glad I read both Hardy (mostly novels) and Milton (Paradise Lost I & II, of course) in 6th form - and again at university. But both more acquired tastes nowadays: who has time for an epic simile any more?

Reposted by Tom Rank

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d

98%! Only 2 in every 100 installations don’t need corrective action. Read it and weep

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d

98% of homes with external wall insulation installed under the government’s ECO scheme require work to correct major issues that will cause problems such as damp and mould - our new @nao.org.uk report www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (full report www.nao.org.uk/reports/ener...)

Thousands of homes with botched eco insulation 'must be fixed'

Insulation programmes costing billions of pounds have led to widespread problems with damp and mould.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Tom Rank

Decahedron 🏳️‍🌈 @decahedronx.bsky.social · 13h

Gambling needs to go the way of tobacco, removed from public view.

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Nathan🌹 @nathanwylabour.bsky.social · 13h

Both my parents were the first in their family to go to uni, but the fact my dad has a PhD probably eased my sister's path to medical school, and gave my mum the confidence to start the PhD she's doing now

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 13h

It's always striking seeing other academics talk about their academic parents and be reminded that close to a quarter of all tenure-line academics have at least one PhD parent.

That's not a critique, but I always wonder how different it would be to have a parent who already understood academia.

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Reposted by Tom Rank

Nestor @nes-tor.bsky.social · 13h

New Spanish Royal Decree! Attention!Attention!

"British Citizens residing in Spain are required by His Majesty Felipe VI and the Constitutional Government to pass the DELE C2 Spanish language examination. Non-compliant citizens will face deportation."

The Independent @the-independent.com · 18h

Migrants will need A-level standard English to work in UK

www.independent.co.uk

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Reposted by Tom Rank

Kirsten de Vos 🚶🏻‍♀️💚🚲🍃 @kirstendevos.bsky.social · 19h

🔥 Domestic wood burning is becoming a serious public health issue

Residential wood burning now contributes 11% of the UK’s PM2.5 emissions - tiny particles that can harm lungs, brain & heart

See how your area is affected with this interactive map from UCL:

storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9231...

Where are the wood burners in England and Wales?

Mapping the distribution of wood fuel heat sources using Energy Performance Certificates

storymaps.arcgis.com

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Reposted by Tom Rank

Stan Carey @stancarey.bsky.social · 12h

I wouldn't recommend lowercasing E.E. Cummings's name, btw, since it wasn't his preference web.archive.org/web/20110728...

decapitalization of E. E. Cummings

web.archive.org

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Reposted by Tom Rank

Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 13h

I'm an advanced and native English speaker, I write for a living. I got one of these wrong (number 4 can jump in a lake) bsky.app/profile/otto...

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 14h

This is the cloze test - part of the C2 Proficiency exam required of some foreign language learners who want to work/study here.

It's TOUGH. You have to put one word in the gaps.

Link to test itself
www.flo-joe.co.uk/cpe/students...

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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 12h

The serious point here is that Britain is in desperate need of migrants, and any attempt to actively dissuade them from coming directly harms both society and the economy.

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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 11h

Tbf mass lead poisoning of young men might explain *quite a lot* of what’s been happening in recent years.

paris martineau @paris.nyc · 14h

my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements

we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)

www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports

CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.

www.consumerreports.org

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Reposted by Tom Rank

paris martineau @paris.nyc · 14h

my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements

we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)

www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports

CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.

www.consumerreports.org

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Reposted by Tom Rank

Geoff Barton @realgeoffbarton.bsky.social · 11h

"This volume lets us see Heaney’s work, whose ripples we are still learning to navigate, for the colossal achievement it is, and reminds us that Heaney is not only a keeper but an enricher of the word-hoard": the definitive new Heaney poetry collection: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

The Poems of Seamus Heaney review – collected works reveal his colossal achievement

The complete works, including previously unpublished poems and expert notes, are brought together in one volume for the first time

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Tom Rank

Bo Jacobs Strom @bojs.bsky.social · 14h

Headlines going to the English requirements but I'd completely missed this part of the plans, yet another act of idiotic self harm. Completely incompatible with the government's stated aims on housebuilding, growth, etc.

The immigration skills charge is being raised by 32%

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Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 15h

I actually really like a lot of the poetry! I should have been more precise. (I have a soft spot for "Under The Greenwood Tree," because it's short and funny and generally not very like most of Hardy's prose...

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Tom Rank @tomrank.bsky.social · 15h

Try some of his poetry? (But perhaps not Dynasts)

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Reposted by Tom Rank

Pwnallthethings @pwnallthethings.bsky.social · 15h

Super cool that they've managed to pick a framing that will confuse everyone because "A level english" is already a thing in the UK many people are familiar with, but what they mean here is "A level ESL", which is not remotely similar

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Tom Rank @tomrank.bsky.social · 15h

Nobody can 'get rid of their accent', guys, it's just not possible. Or do you mean (perish the thought) we ought all to speak using RP?

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National Association for the Teaching of English @natefeed.bsky.social · 17h

NATE’s autumn CPD series explores creative writing, building a reading culture, analytical writing for GCSE teaching and effective curriculum planning — with practical ideas you can use straight away. www.nate.org.uk/product-cate... #NATE

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Tony Thorne @tonythorne007.bsky.social · 17h

Albeit an hilarious one

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Phil Tinline @philtinline.bsky.social · 16h

I once temped in a huge US conglomerate's office, which towered between a flyover and a graveyard.

I was working with a small City company which had just been bought and relocated there, one of whose senior people I heard saying:

"There's a lot of bad blood in the air."

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 17h

Love 'cult-de-sac'. Love this kind of thing. One of my favourite examples is 'well, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it', an enjoyably fatalistic mistaken phrase.

Dave H @thinkfoo.uk · 17h

Great article. The Tories need their Kinnock if they are going to get out of the cult-de-sac* they've gone down.

*Auto correct but I kind of liked it.

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Dan Kaszeta FRHistS @dankaszeta.bsky.social · 16h

Joseph Conrad's short stories are better than his novels.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 1d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Max Parker @cominagetcha.bsky.social · 16h

I think people might misunderstand what "an A-level ... standard" are in this context.

It's the level of English you would need to be able to study any subject at A level - so no expectation that you've got a good grasp of the works of Shakespeare.

English language requirement for the Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up routes is increased from B1 Level to B2 Level (as defined under the Common European Framework for Reference for Languages (CEFR)).

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Tom Rank @tomrank.bsky.social · 16h

Actually, reading the (quite general) description, it seems to be language skills rather like IELTS tests, though possible harder than the current requirement for citizenship, which as I recall is speaking and listening only. More work for contractors?

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Tom Rank @tomrank.bsky.social · 16h

A Level examiner here: "Other authors are available."

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