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Foreign Students's picture

New Banksy Graffiti Spotted

Banksy has created his latest piece of street art in London, in what may be his first work since the Occupy London installation.

In W1, close to the ForeignStudents.com office on Bruton Lane, our staff spotted the graffiti on the side of a disused building, the stencil appears to be in Banksy's iconic style.

Two storeys up, it shows a woman desperately trying to cling on to a shopping trolley as she falls to the ground. The trolley is laden with what appears to be a wine bottle, necklace and purse, and she seems powerless to control her materialistic lifestyle.

Often featuring social and political satire, Banksy's pieces are highly sought after, the scenes portrayed in his graffiti are recognised by loyal followers in the UK and around the world.

Below is a close up of the piece:

Banksy, Bruton Lane W1

Update: here's a video we also took: 

Foreign Students's picture

Improving the International Student Experience

With international students paying upwards of £10,000 for each year of study in the UK, it takes a top class experience to make them feel they have got value for money. New British students can struggle with arranging accommodation, finding a part-time job, making friends and managing their studies, but for international students all this can be ten times harder.

Arriving alone in a new country that speaks a foreign language can be one of the most difficult things to do, and universities have a duty to make it as easy as possible for new students. However, do they currently help enough? For every international student who finds arriving and settling in a painless process, there is a story of struggle. Even if universities are currently helping every step of the way, there is always room for improvement.

Equally, now, more than ever, not only is it the universities' duty, but it is actually essential to their survival that they keep their international students happy. The financial benefit of students from around the world (not to mention the welcome cultural diversity they bring) is now indispensible to the Higher Education sector in the UK.

Foreign Students's picture

David Cameron's Aussie Accent

During a speech last night, British Prime Minister David Cameron did an impersonation of his Australian counterpart that was so bad it has made international news.

At the annual Lord Mayor's Banquet in London, Cameron recounted how Australian PM Julia Gillard described their recent meeting as "good news for Sheilas everywhere". Despite admitting before hand "I can't quite do the accent", the impression got a big laugh and even applause from the audience in the hall. However, over night the Australian press has picked up on it and are not quite as kind.

The Sydney Morning Herald described the impersonation as "bizarre", whilst an article on Australian news site News.com.au, called it "perhaps one of the worst Aussie accents in history", and even claimed that "it's so bad it could cause a diplomatic row".

Watch the clip below to judge for yourself quite how good or bad David Cameron's Aussie accent is.

 

Angelique's picture

Britain Has Its Cake And Eats It Too

International students are an important source of income to the United Kingdom, as proven by the exceedingly high fees, which can range from £10,000 to £13,000 in London. It does not end with high tuition fees, but also with tax on money spent on renting a house, paying for the tube or merely buying some university books. VAT! VAT!

However, recently we have seen that the British government wishes to make it more difficult for international students to enter the country, through either categorizing them as high risk nationalities, or introducing a cap on the number of international student visas issued. Similarly, there is talk of the post-study work visa ceasing to exist meaning graduates must leave to go back home once they have completed their degree. But wait, there is another option to returning home.

Yes we have it. If you are able to find a job related to your field of study where you are earning £20,000 a year then... STAY! The UK seems to have a love-hate relationship with international students.

Guest's picture

Balancing Work and School

Balancing work and school is something that many of us have to do at some time in our lives, either as students in our late teens or later in life if we decide to go back into education. It can sometimes be a struggle to get the right balance of work and school, but it is manageable as long as you're organised. Read on to find out more about balancing work and school.

Prioritise

First of all, it really helps if you are able to prioritise. Which is the most important to you, work or school? If you're in education then it's likely that you're there to achieve a goal that will benefit you more in the long run, so this should probably be your priority. However, when you're at work you should make sure you're fully committed; keeping on top of school deadlines should help you focus more when you're actually at work.

Look for Flexible Work

Looking for flexible work can also help. For instance, many students look for leisure jobs or retail jobs as these often offer flexible shifts that you can fit around your school work. It's also likely that you'll need to look for part time work as a student or else you won't have time to fit everything in. This can help you to tailor your job search: looking for part time jobs in London and other locations helps you to focus on what you need while also giving you a starting point.

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