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British comedy actor David Walliams completed an incredible 140-mile swim down the River Thames yesterday. For the previous eight days he had spent as long as 12 hours each day in the water, raising more than £1.1million for the Sport Relief charity.

Walliams (picture above) is famous for his role in sketch show Little Britain which he starred in and wrote with Matt Lucas. However, five years ago, he began his work with Sport Relief when he swam across the English Channel and raised over a million pounds. This year he decided to take on a far bigger challenge.

Epic Challenge

It all started on Monday last week, when he set off from the source of the Thames in Gloucestershire. Swimming over 20 miles a day, he faced not just the daunting prospect of 110,000 strokes (!), but also the currents, temperature and pollution in the Thames. Indeed, on the very first day he suffered symptoms of hyperthermia after spending so long in the 15^oC water. This was made far worse on the second day when he contracted ‘Thames Tummy' from swimming in the unclean river. The 40-year-old star explained:

"There was a lot against me at the beginning and the water was a lot colder because the summer was so bad. Being sick was a low point. I lost my mojo but I thought if I try I can keep going."

A number of English universities are thinking about reducing their 2012 tuition fees following changes to Higher Education policy. The Office of Fair Access (Offa) revealed that around 12 institutions are looking to cut their fees from the maximum £9,000 to less than £7,500 per year.

The majority of English universities revealed earlier in the year that they will begin to charge the maximum £9,000 per year for courses starting in 2012 onwards. However, in an attempt to reduce this number, the government announced plans which benefit universities charging yearly fees of less than £7,500.

In its White Paper released in June, the government detailed how 20,000 students will be held back from across English universities. Any institution that charges average yearly fees of less than £7,500 will then be able to bid for these places.

Cutting EU Student Fees

Since this announcement, Offa, which makes sure universities provide enough opportunities for poorer students, have revealed that at least a dozen institutions have asked for advice about reducing their fees. The identity of these universities is unknown, but a spokesman from Offa said that the majority were currently planning to charge only just over the watershed £7,500 amount.

The biggest event in the rugby calendar started today in New Zealand, with the opening ceremony and match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The event pits the best international rugby teams against each other every four years.

New Zealand's Hopes

Unlike the football world cup, the rugby version is relatively new, this being only the seventh time it has been held. The first was also held in New Zealand in 1987, and was won by the hosts- a feat the ‘All Blacks' (the New Zealand team's nickname) have failed to repeat yet. However, they are hoping that this could be their year, as they have started the tournament as strong favourites, and are currently cruising to victory in their first match, against Tonga.

Even if the New Zealand team disappoints, the tournament will still be a huge occasion for the country. With 95,000 overseas visitors expected to turn up in the next seven weeks, it is the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand.

The latest world university league tables have been announced, with a British university topping the rankings for the second year running.                                                                                                                                                       __________________________________

Cambridge University has beaten off Harvard for the second year in succession to claim the coveted top spot in one of the major international university league tables. There were also three other UK universities in the top ten, with US institutions making up the other six spots.

The annual rankings are released by international Higher Education research company QS and are based on a number of different factors. Institutions are ranked on academic reputation, graduate employability, research, staff-student ratio and how international the faculty and student body is.

As another college in England opens an accommodation block specifically for international students, we look at the growing trend for large housing developments designed with non-UK students in mind.                                                                                                                  _____________________________________________

Gloucestershire College unveiled a brand new accommodation block over the weekend to cope with the increasing numbers of international students coming to study in the area. The £1.5million development has 35 rooms and over half of them have already been snapped up for the academic year. This is, however, far from a one-off case, but actually part of a much larger trend in the UK.