"From September sixth-formers will begin studying A-level exams which will include a higher grade of A* for those getting marks of 90 percent or above in their papers."

"Outside Oxbridge, students will need at least two A* grades and standard A grade to be confident of getting a place at their chosen university."

And they say these things are getting easier *rolls eyes*

I realised after watching this yesterday how rather sad the concept really is. Basically they're taking girls who drink, have sex and have a sense of humour and turning them into 1950s 'ladies'. I agree some of the girls are a bit bratty (like the one who left early) and annoying, but the others are really just girls who party and have fun, and most importantly make me laugh. The humour of the show originates solely from them being disgraceful and winding the fussy old women of the finishing school up, and the flower-arranging, elocution and fine dining has not got very much appeal at all.

The main thing that annoyed me about it is that it is just so, irritatingly full of old-fashioned ideals. They're training these girls up to 'bag a Lord' and act like a section of society that is small, out-dated and wasting away along with fox-hunting. The Lords themselves (the infuriatingly named 'eligible bachelors') look suspiciously inbred anyway, and I don't understand why anyone would attempt to impress them, especially not with those eyebrows. The pinnacle of stupidity occurred when the old lady teachers of the school blamed the girls for making the bachelors strip, jump in the river and splash around like fools. Were they sadly led astray by the vicious, common girls? Seems so.

Anyway, despite this I'm still going to watch if only to cheer on the bad behaviour of the normal girls and hope their spirit isn't crushed. I think I'm really just bitter about the students being forced to add invisible 'r's to their vowels. The cheek of it.

Lucy

• The man sitting next to me was blond, ate an egg sandwich and drank from a carton of juice. He was an actor, reading The Stage cover to cover. He paid particular attention to a tiny show review in the corner of one of the pages. It was about someone he knew - the director? Actor? Producer? They spoke on the phone and it was a good review - "Lively and Likeable", apparently. The man next to me had been involved in a show and was exhausted, but the producer liked it. I wonder what it was?
• The woman behind seemed really friendly and laughed a lot, even when she trapped her finger in the pull-down tray. She was a musician, and used to sing in bands but ruined her voice through smoking. She teaches in a college now, and I get the impression she doesn't really enjoy it. It stresses her out and upsets her, and it's sad when talented musicians have no other career to go into. However, she plays piano, clarinet "when she has to" and is learning the cello. They're decorating their bathroom right now, but her beloved cat keeps getting in the way. This is the cat she talked to on the phone.
• The man next to her works for BBC Sport. He and his wife from York live in Surrey, 20 minutes from London and wanted somewhere rural (but obviously not too rural). His New Year's resolution is to get fit, with a low fat sandwich, coffee (an appetite surpressant, apparently), sushi and a fruit smoothie for lunch. I wonder how much sugar was in that? And I wonder is that really the right way to go about it?
• There was a group of old people who I presume were transferred from the disastrous Euston. They seemed incredibly confused and bewildered, but the man had the most retro sunglasses I have ever seen. It wasn't even sunny. I later discovered they weren't together, and had formed a group to survive the treacherous British railway system when faced with an impromptu change. Well done, quick thinking.

The extras were the glamourous old lady and her pretty relative, the blonde lady in front, the large woman who got off at Bicester with a pink DS, the man who talked to Retro Sunglasses Man, the stripy scarf woman who got off at Solihull after standing for nearly an hour (applause for her) and the boy with the Hugest Suitcase Ever.

Happy New Year, and thank you to all the people I've spent the last few days with.

Lucy