Oxford News
Bank job returned my confidence after Centerpoint support
Michael, spent most of his life in care. However, after he returned home from university his relationship broke down with his foster parents – forcing him into sofa surfing and eventually on to the streets.
After a few months, he got in contact with Centrepoint, who were able to place him into accommodation and help him find a job. It was here that Michael started working at The Co-operative Bank, through it’s Brick by Brick scheme, and he hasn’t looked back since.
He said: “Over two years I applied for 400 jobs. It was demoralising because I really wanted to work but couldn’t as employers would either say I was too experienced or not experienced enough.
“Thankfully, Centrepoint and The Co-operative Bank were able to support me into this job now and I love it. Everyone’s friendly and supportive and it’s given me a purpose, as opposed to just existing.”
Brick by Brick, launched earlier this year, is a pioneering early careers programme, designed to support young people into sustainable work and move on from homelessness for good.
It provides a steady, structured journey starting with employability workshops, and then progressing to the Get Set Go Programme which provides six days classroom learning, mock interviews, professional behaviour guidance, and an introduction to the Bank’s values.
After this, a young person will then complete work experience at the Bank which, if successful, is followed by an employment offer, removing the pressure of formal interviews. The program ends with an optional apprenticeship and keep in touch days, designed to improve preparedness between a job offer and start date.
The initiative has had 35 young people participating in various steps so far with several securing permanent employment in the Bank’s Contact Centre.
Michael is one of these, and discussing the skills it has given him, he said: “Communication, multitasking, timekeeping, but most importantly, confidence.
“I’ve gone from thinking ‘Why would a company want me’ to now thinking ‘Why wouldn’t they’.”
With over one million young people currently not in education or employment, Brick by Brick is reshaping conversations about homelessness by refusing to define young people by their experiences, instead investing in their potential and honouring their needs.
“By meeting young people where they’re at, we can close the opportunity gap that holds too many back from reaching their potential,” said Anna Cuskin, the Bank’s Social Impact Lead. “Everyone deserves the chance to succeed. With the right support, young people can gain confidence, find meaningful employment and build a future beyond homelessness.”
HMO has given me ‘sense of purpose’ says man at risk of homelessness
A man who was at risk of homelessness has told us how a new home gave him a ‘sense of purpose.’
Kai, 22, was living with his dad before overcrowding at home forced him to find somewhere else to live, he said: “It was a really worrying time. I didn’t know where to go or who to turn to.”
Fortunately, Kai was able to get in contact with Centrepoint where through the Rent Deposits Scheme, funded by Nationwide Building Society, he was able to find a place in a House In Multiple Occupation (HMO).
“It’s given me the stability to rebuild my life and slowly I’m getting back on track.
“One day I’d like to live in a house of my own, by a river, on my own plot of land, and do what I want with it.
“That’s my dream and I feel like if I keep sticking at it, I’ll be able to eventually achieve it.”
However, young people in Kai’s situation may not be so fortunate – research by Centrepoint has found there has been a 10% fall in HMOs since 2019, with 458,000 in 24/25 compared to 510, 776 in 19/20.
When asked if he had any advice for young people going through something similar, Kai said: “Don’t give up. It might be hard, but right now, your best bet is to keep pushing forward and look for any form of help where you possibly can. Just keep going.”
PM’s pledge to end rough sleeping gets early boost
The Prime Minister’s pledge to end rough sleeping has been given an early boost after the number of young people sleeping rough in London dropped by almost half.
Between April and June 2026, 202 18–25-year-olds in London were recorded as sleeping rough. This was a 45% decrease from the same quarter last year when 368 young people were reported.
The youth homelessness charity Centrepoint said this was cause for celebration and called the number proof that the Prime Minister’s pledge could be achieved.
Lisa Doyle, the charity’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “London is providing the blueprint for what can be achieved when political leaders has the vision and intent to end street homelessness.
“These figures are a real cause for celebration, but the job is not done. The Mayor of London and the Government must continue these efforts until rough sleeping is reduced to as close to zero as possible, and anyone forced onto the streets is helped off them quickly.
However, the charity warned that ending street sleeping alone is not enough. “We must also remember that homelessness does not begin and end with rough sleeping.” Lisa said, “For every person on the streets, many thousands more are living in insecure or unsafe situations. To avoid reversing this positive trend, the Government must now also address the causes and consequences of those experiences too, and step up efforts to prevent homelessness.”
Months of heat ‘life threatening’ for homeless people says charity
A charity has warned that homeless people’s lives are ‘at risk’ due to the past few months of high temperatures.
It comes after August saw another flurry of heatwaves – regularly rising over 30 degrees across the country. The UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint, believes council should do more to protect those sleeping rough when it’s this hot.
Lisa Doyle, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “This weather is life threatening for those forced to sleep on the streets.
“And while many councils do activate protocols to protect those sleeping rough, there is no legal requirement for local authorities to provide shelter for everyone during severe weather. This must change.”
“Ultimately, street homelessness is just the tip of the iceberg – the best way to keep people safe is to reduce homelessness however it is experienced.”
On Wednesday, September 2, it was the Concours judging and private viewings to dominate the agenda for the day.
Twelve Concours classes were held across almost a century of motoring, including The Golden Age of Motoring, 100 Years of Carrrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura and Passione Ferrari.
Two new classes also made their debut for 2026, Rare Breeds of the Digital Age and Hypercar Heaven, which recognise the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.
Judging will take place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the show field bringing together a 70-strong collection of classics, supercars and hypercars from around the world.
Some of the cars include Aa Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a one-off Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide.
Helen Pike has decided to step down as Master of Magdalen College School at the end of the 2026/27 academic year, the school in east Oxford announced in March.
MCS is one of the top performing schools in the country, ranking in the top 20 independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2026.
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The new academic year will start next week, with Ms Pike preparing for one more year in charge before she hands over to her successor, who will take over in September 2027.
The first female Master at MCS, Ms Pike guided the board of governors to one of the most significant decisions in the school’s history, to become fully co-educational from 2027.
While there has been a co-educational sixth form at the school for 15 years, the school last month announced it will become fully co-educational over the coming decade.
Ms Pike said earlier: “I love MCS, and it is a perennial privilege to lead this remarkable school.
“Being Master of MCS is a brilliant job, and I am declaring my intention early in order to give MCS the very best opportunity to find the right Master for September 2027. I shall continue to do all in my power to further the fortunes of this wonderful school until then.
“I look forward to a new phase in my own professional life, one that builds on all that I have enjoyed and achieved in my career during the past 30 years.
“Having encouraged many cohorts of pupils to take sensible risks and to do something creative and different when the time feels right, I am doing just that.”
During Ms Pike’s tenure, MCS has been recognised as a Top 20 Independent School and South East School of the Year by the Sunday Times and won Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility.
Thanking her in his letter to the school community, chair of governors, Bob Price, said earlier this year: “Helen is an outstanding leader and will go with our sincere gratitude and warm thanks for her exceptional headship.
“She will leave the school in excellent shape for her successor.”
Recruitment for a replacement for Ms Pike is now under way.
Last month, Ms Pike congratulated pupils on their “outstanding success” in this year’s A-Level exams, after more than a quarter of pupils (43) achieved three A*s or more and 25 secured all A*s.
In total, 39 pupils from the 2026 cohort are heading to Oxbridge, while 22 have secured places to study medicine.
As part of the school’s expansion plans, MCS is preparing to build a new Science, Library and Partnerships building.
A spokeswoman said the new building will offer an exciting opportunity to reimagine the senior school site as staff look ahead to full co-education.
She added earlier: “With a vision to create a sector-leading science building in the centre of Oxford, the development will enable us to support an ambitious and forward-looking science curriculum, expanding to the emerging and rapidly advancing areas of robotics, AI and Big Data.”
Holding banners which read ‘For f**k’s sake, just stop oil’, the demonstrators took to the road in Parliament Square at noon today (Wednesday, September 2).
This was as Andy Burnham faced his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and many of the protestors glued themselves to the road.
The group demanded that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to stop oil and gas extraction.
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Just Stop Oil say that the police are expected to arrest all those blocking the road, and that one lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.
Andy Burnham is due to make a decision on whether to allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.
Reverend James Crote, a Baptist Minister and grandfather from Chesterton near Bicester, said: “Today is my grandson’s first birthday. I have to take action for the sake of his future.
The 69-year-old added: “The government has been dilly-dallying about whether to say yes or no to the Rosebank oil field but, if we want a future for our children, there is no choice – it has to say ‘no’.
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“I am here as a Christian Minister because the Church has to speak out and demand that the government stops approving further oil and gas developments now. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil’.”
Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025, which was the previous hottest summer on record.
2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests.
Climbing temperatures have triggered wildfires across the country, and national fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK is “like nothing we have seen before”.
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Taking action, grandmother Victoria Ann Lynch-Staunton from Leamington Spa, said: “What is happening is beyond a tragedy.”
The 71-year-old added: “I beg everyone to join Just Stop Oil or governments will continue to prioritise endless growth and corporate profit over billions of lives – yours and your children.
“Wake up and smell the coffin. It is the responsibility of all of us to act now!”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today: “We are all Just Stop Oil.
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“Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil.
“The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endanger our survival while corporates and billionaires laugh their way to the bank.
“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity, but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand.
“So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win.”
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