Oxford News
Youth homelessness crisis reveals need for independent living support
Many of them find themselves at the sharpest end of the housing crisis: unable to afford even the cheapest rent and lacking the stability needed to pursue a career or complete their education.
A lack of housing supply has been a policy challenge for several years. Successive governments have struggled to get homes built, and housing charities argue that some 90,000 social homes are needed every year in order to address the chronic shortage of affordable housing.
Michelle Donovan, Head of Independent Living at Centrepoint, says the cycle of instability caused by a lack of housing can be disruptive for young people in particular, “It’s such a crucial time for them. It can harm career progression and educational attainment.”
In response, the youth homelessness charity launched its Independent Living Programme. The initiative’s crucial innovation is to cap rent at one-third of a resident’s earnings, and to provide support services focused on ensuring they are ready to maintain employment and housing when they move on.
Michelle says the most important thing is that young people have space to hold down a job “Our homes give them that stability and from there it ends their reliance on benefits and hopefully means they can escape homelessness for good. The idea is we’re giving young people the stability they need to focus on their futures.”
The flat that changed one young woman’s life
A woman who spent the pandemic lockdowns alone in her room in homelessness accommodation is now fulfilling her dream to be a midwife.
Katelin, who became homeless at 17 after years of family arguments, said the isolation gave her time to plan the steps she needed to achieve her goals. “During COVID I thought, where do I see myself if I stay where I am?”
She spent two years in supported housing but – like 1 in 5 young people in similar situations – struggled to move on and start living independently.
Her support worker told her about a scheme run by Centrepoint for working young people who couldn’t afford rent elsewhere, “I got incredibly lucky – the scheme was offered to me and one other person. I wouldn’t be able to say I’m a midwife now if it wasn’t for me living at the independent Living Programme.
We Can’t Do This Alone
Last year, over 118,000 young people faced homelessness. That’s one young person every four minutes. At a time of life when most of their peers are trying new things and taking their first steps into adulthood, these young people found themselves alone and afraid, and unsure where to turn.
It doesn’t have to be like this, with the right support at the right time, these young people can escape homelessness or avoid it altogether.
At Centrepoint, provide more than a bed for the night. We provide a safe place to rebuild, support into education and work, and the confidence to believe in a better future.
Youth homelessness is not inevitable. With the right help at the right time, it can be prevented and it can be ended.
Our mission is to end youth homelessness – and you can help us.
Whether it’s running a marathon or holding a sleep out, you, your friends, family and co-workers can join our movement to end youth homelessness and give vulnerable young people a brighter future.
To find out more, donate or get involved, please visit our website:http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/newspaper
PE Teacher Gains Independence Through Centrepoint
A PE teacher has revealed how living in a Centrepoint Independent Living Programme home has made a “significant difference” to his life, giving him the stability and independence he previously struggled to find.
Londoner Naihum always loved sport and teaching. And, after finishing university, he secured a full-time role as a PE teacher. However, despite his dedication, he faced a common problem for many young people: a lack of affordable housing. Rents in his area were high, and the stress of trying to cover his living costs began to weigh heavily on him.
“I couldn’t find a place I could afford,” he said. “It was really difficult to manage everything on my own.”
Things changed when he heard about Centrepoint’s Independent Living Programme. After applying, he was offered a place in one of their homes where rent is capped at a third of his salary.
“Living here has made a significant difference. I’m able to afford it without having to stress overnight and having to think about where I’m going to get the money from with the job that I’m currently at,” he explained, “I know that other people are in situations where they are finding it hard and their mental health is affected.”
The Independent Living Programme homes are more than just housing; residents are also able to access additional support in acquiring the life skills young people need to sustain tenancies in the future. Naihum has worked with mentors to improve his budgeting and financial management, helping him to understand what he can do to cover essentials like food, transport, and bills.
The stability and support has helped Naihum in other ways too. Over time, he has built a strong sense of community with other young people living in similar situations to him. “It’s great because you’ve got others to reach out to and it just makes it easier,” he said.
Now the charity hopes even more young people like Naihum can be supported thanks to the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw in the Lake District, which will help fund more of the charity’s Independent Living Programme homes and give young people the chance to move from homelessness into independence.
The partnership could not have come at a more important time. Centrepoint’s chief executive, Seyi Obakin OBE, is hopeful that many dozens more young people will get to benefit from the stability that the charity’s Independent Living Programme affords young residents: “The guaranteed £1 million raised by Omaze will help us expand our services and build more genuinely affordable homes for those ready to move forward. Together, we can help transform young lives and end youth homelessness for good.”
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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