Studying philosophy equips you with an adaptable mind and vital life skills, writes Russ Thorne

If you ask me...

DNA tests have concluded that a mystery beast lurking in the Gloucestershire countryside, suspected of being responsible for grisly attacks on deer, is not the "big cat" that locals feared.

It began with dark mutterings in the local pub, that a strange beast might be stalking the woods around the little village of Woodchester, savaging the local wildlife and frightening local dog walkers.

Universities started putting up the "full" signs last night as the scramble for places continued.

Dozens of A-level candidates received an early glimpse of their results at the weekend as a result of an exam board blunder. About 50 pupils logged on to an online service run by the Edexcel exam board after it had been mistakenly opened up five days before the results were due to be published.

The clearing process for students who fail to make their grades this summer will be "the most frantic and stressful in living memory", it has been claimed.

Public spending cuts will have a disproportionate impact on women, widening Britain's gender pay gap and increasing other inequalities between the sexes, according to a report.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an economics graduate whose body was found in woodland near her workplace.

Child deaths from abuse have fallen dramatically over the past 30 years, new figures show. With social workers frequently vilified after the death of a child at the hands of adult guardians, the findings – published in Archives of Disease in Childhood – act as tribute to the success of child protection policies and those who implement them.