A sheep reared by schoolchildren who was at the centre of a row over whether it should be sent to slaughter has been culled, a headteacher said today.

Pupils at a Kent school helped to raise Marcus, the pet sheep, by hand – and then raised their hands in favour of having him killed.

Some productions are more fun than the sum of their parts. Handel's Admeto, Re di Tessaglia isn't one of his best operas: it doesn't have the melodic or dramatic power of, say, Semele or Alcina. Yet Doris Dörrie's production at the Edinburgh International Festival has a lot of charm, with sunny playing, striking design and some very appealing dancing.

Survival, it seems, is no longer about being bigger. Hooray!

Darwinism turned on its head as milder winters allow smaller lambs to survive

Jacques Tredoux always wanted to be a teacher.

Rural Notebook

Rural Notebook

'Alleged victims?' Does anyone doubt that a crime has taken place? But as for the beast said to be on the loose in Norfolk, a cautious approach is no bad thing

While most of the economy suffers, the livestock industry is profiting from the pound's weakness

Comment

Fiona Phillips, broadcaster

"I am not quite normal in my love of the sun," mused this academic-turned-farmhand. "Especially in March". At the age of 40 in 1940, Collis volunteered for the Land Army. .

For many, the response to the thick blanket of snow has been a slippery journey to work and a desire to sit around a log fire. Spare an admiring thought then for Valerie Honeyfield's flock of Badger Face Welsh Mountain sheep, whose reaction to the wintry weather has been to head out into the cold and give birth, pretty much all at once.