At England's busiest emergency unit, all the beds are full by midday.

As one patient leaves his room at Leicester Royal Infirmary's acute unit, cleaning staff are waiting outside.

He is barely out of the room before the bed is stripped and bleach is sprayed. The next patient is already waiting to come in.

Over two days the BBC was given access to the hospital to witness first-hand how it is coping with an early surge of winter bug cases.

Flu season has hit a month earlier than normal this year, with experts warning there appears to be a more severe strain of the virus - mutated H3N2 - circulating.

Hospitals around the country, like this one in Leicester, are doing all they can to avoid becoming completely overwhelmed.

But staff at the Royal Infirmary say increasing numbers of people coming to hospital with the flu and other winter bugs - together with existing pressures - are hitting the hospital hard.

They already worry about how they will cope this winter.

Patients in every cubical

When 19-year-old Paige arrives at the hospital by ambulance, she's put on a trolley while a resus bed is cleared. She's got the flu but also has type 1 diabetes and has dangerously high sugar levels. She is curled in a ball, pale and shaking.

"There are patients in every cubical," Consultant Saad Jawaid says, as Paige is wheeled in. "Another ambulance has just rocked up."

We watch as he works with colleagues in the resus unit to find desperately needed bed spaces.

"When beds are full we have to move people - sometimes that means those who can sit are moved out of beds and into chairs," he says.

Paige is given insulin and fluids to try to stabilise her sugar levels. The doctors hope her diabetes will be controlled soon. Getting better from the flu will take longer.

The following day, Paige is in a side room on the acute assessment unit.

"I do struggle a lot in winter," she says. "I was maybe in here two or three weeks ago. Infections and stuff just seem to hit harder than usual."

The number of flu patients in hospital has hit a record high in England for this time of year with NHS leaders warning the country is facing an unprecedented flu season.

At its busiest times, the emergency unit here in Leicester saw more than 1,000 patients a day last winter. On one of the days we were here, 932 patients came through the door. That number is expected to rise in the coming weeks.

Attendance levels are already around 8% higher this year than last year. And the unit faces a daily shortage of between 50 to 70 beds.

At the Royal Infirmary around 64 beds are currently taken up by people with respiratory viruses, including flu.

We meet one patient who waited 106 hours for a bed on a ward. Another, Gary, came in with a stomach bug and finally got a bed after 34 hours.

By late afternoon, the children's waiting area is full. Parents stand rocking crying babies as every seat is taken.

Respiratory cases of flu and bronchiolitis, a condition affecting the lungs of young patients, are rising fast here too.

In just 30 minutes, 30 children arrive at the department.

At five months old this is Oscar's first winter and his first trip to A&E. His mum brought him in because he was wheezing and struggling to breathe. A few hours after arriving, he is finally seen by a doctor and told he has bronchiolitis.

"These bugs are everywhere at the moment - Oscar's older brother brought it home from school and now Oscar has it," says his mum.

Richard Mitchell has been the chief executive of University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust since 2021 - and has witnessed first-hand how it gets harder to cope with each winter that passes.

"We are already seeing very high levels of flu," he tells us. He expects numbers to climb into January. "That is one of the many things I am concerned about at the moment.

"At this point I feel we are working at the limits of our ability."

Turning minor cases away

The hospital has introduced a new system to manage the flow of patients arriving at its emergency department, as pressure grows on front-line services.

Receptionists, nurses, all the way up to consultants, now sit in a bank of desks at the entrance, assessing patients as they arrive.

This speeds up triage, moving people away from the front door and ensuring those in greatest need receive urgent care.

Staff say the range of cases has become increasingly polarised. Some of the most seriously ill patients are being driven in by relatives because of long waits for ambulances.

At the other end of the scale, people turn up with minor complaints after struggling to secure GP appointments. "Last week someone came in with a coldsore," one nurse tells us.

Experienced staff can redirect those who do not need urgent care, helping them to book GP appointments or pointing them towards pharmacies and other services. Now one in 10 patients are sent away, although staff admit it can lead to frustration.

Security has been tightened following one violent incident, with glass screens installed and 24‑hour guards now in place.

Leicester Royal Infirmary has introduced new measures each year to boost capacity and manage rising demand. Winter pressures continue to grow, while the quieter summer months have become a thing of the past.

To reduce ambulance queues, prefabricated structures were converted into a permanent unit with 14 beds - all are full during the BBC's visit. Without them that would have been 14 ambulances queueing for hours to unload their patients.

Unlike many hospitals, Leicester's emergency unit is not totally overwhelmed by elderly patients. Frail patients are streamed directly to specialist areas, including a frailty unit, or supported in the community to avoid long hospital stays.

Preston Lodge, a former care home bought by the trust, now provides 25 beds, with 14 more opening on December 15. Patients who no longer need acute care - but still require rehabilitation or support - are moved there while awaiting care packages.

"We aim to get people better ready for going home and hopefully keep them stronger and more independent so they aren't back in hospital so frequently over the winter," says head of nursing, Emma Roberts.

Looking ahead, Mr Mitchell expects waits and delays to only get worse for patients in the coming weeks.

For the first week in January - traditionally the busiest each year - the hospital plans to free up more emergency beds, but that means delaying other operations and procedures.

He says: "We will not be able to provide timely care to every patient this winter but we will continue to do our utmost to ensure that patients are treated with dignity and respect to ensure they receive safe care and we will do everything possible to manage those waiting times."

Hospital leaders here are trying to take proactive steps - rather than simply reacting to each crisis. But staff and patients alike warn that hospitals across the country are caught in the middle of a system, many believe, is close to breaking point.

In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care said it was "under no illusions this is going to be a tough winter for our NHS".

A spokesman said: "Flu cases are rising, so it is vital that patients can get protected. Almost 17 million vaccines have been delivered this autumn - 350,000 more compared to this time last year.

"There is no national shortage of the flu vaccine and we would urge everyone eligible to get their vaccination to protect themselves and their loved ones."

People who might otherwise turn to friends, family, or social media influencers for financial advice are to be given new help to invest their money.

Targeted support from registered banks and other financial firms is being given the go-ahead by the City regulator and should start in April.

This will allow firms to make investment and pensions recommendations based on what similar groups of people could do with their money.

It still falls short of individually tailored advice, which can only be provided by an authorised financial adviser for a fee.

Nearly one in five people turned to family, friends or social media for help making financial decisions, according to a survey by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the FCA, said the new regime would be "game changing".

"It means millions of people can get extra help to make better financial decisions," she said.

"We also hope it will build greater confidence to invest. While investing will not be right for everyone, we know people in the UK invest less compared to the EU or US."

'Advice gap'

Investing money is not an option for millions of people. The regulator said that one in 10 people had no cash savings, and another 21% had less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency.

However, FCA data suggested about seven million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings could receive better returns through investing.

Investing does come with some risk as the value of an investment can go down as well as up, but the spending power of cash savings can be eroded by rising prices.

The regulator said that many consumers who were in a position to invest but chose not to did so because they were unsure of their options, felt overwhelmed,  or needed more support. Only 9% of people surveyed received regulated advice on their pensions and investments in the 12 months to May 2024.

Targeted support aims to bridge a gap between general guidance and information, and financial advisers who charge a fee.

For example, banks could explain how a large pot of cash savings could be invested, or how investments could be spread out to reduce risk.

"The FCA's new rules mark a significant step towards closing the advice gap and will empower millions," said Yvonne Braun, director of policy at the Association of British Insurers.

Some consumer groups have made clear that the new rules must not be a pathway to firms exploiting customers.

The FCA said firms taking part would need to be authorised in advance. They might include banks, building societies, investment platforms and digital wallet providers.

They would also be required to show that their recommendations were suitable and should only be offered when it put people in a better position, the regulator said. Any customer vulnerabilities would need to be identified and taken into account.

Consumers will have the right to take any disputes that arise to the independent financial ombudsman.

There will also be a move to allow people to make more informed decisions with their pensions.

The regulator's new rules will require legislation, but the government has made it a clear objective to encourage people to invest. The Treasury believes this will help to create economic growth.

It was one of the reasons for the decision by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to cut the annual allowance for cash Isas (Individual Savings Accounts) from £20,000 to £12,000 a year for under 65s, from April 2027.

Separately, the FCA has launched a "firm checker" tool to help prevent people from losing money to fraudsters through investment scams.

The Church of England is considering a complaint against the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury over her handling of an abuse allegation.

Dame Sarah Mullally has been accused of improperly handling a complaint against a priest in London, where she currently serves as bishop.

Church authorities said the complaint about her was initially made to Lambeth Palace - the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury - in 2020, but was not followed up due to "administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual's wishes". They said Dame Sarah was not told of the complaint at the time it was made.

She is due to take office on 28 January and said the victim had been "let down".

"While his abuse allegations against a member of clergy were fully dealt with by the Diocese of London, it is clear that a different complaint he subsequently made against me personally in 2020 was not properly dealt with," she said in a statement.

"I am seeking assurance that processes have been strengthened to ensure any complaint that comes into Lambeth Palace is responded to in a timely and satisfactory manner."

Earlier this week the complainant spoke to the Premier Christian website, saying that the way the case was handled had a serious impact on his mental health.

Premier said it had seen evidence that when the complainant filed his original case against an accused priest, Bishop Sarah contacted the priest involved about the allegations, breaching the Church's disciplinary protocols.

The complaint against her was not formally dealt with and Lambeth Palace officials now say that they assumed the complainant no longer wished to proceed but are understood not to have sought confirmation of this with him.

A spokesman for Lambeth Palace said Church authorities had written to the complainant - known as N - to outline the next steps.

"The Bishop of London was unaware of the matter, as the process never reached the stage at which she would have been informed of the complaint or its contents.

"The provincial registrar has apologised to those involved and urgent arrangements are now being made for the complaint to be considered according to the relevant statutory process."

Dame Sarah, a former NHS chief nurse, became a priest in 2006 and was appointed as the first female Bishop of London in 2018 - the third most senior member of clergy in the Church of England.

She was named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury - the first woman to take on the role - in October after Justin Welby resigned over a safeguarding scandal.

He stepped down after a damning report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church. It found that he "could and should" have reported John Smyth's abuse of boys and young men to police in 2013.

His last day in the role was in January and the Church, as a result, has been without someone in the top job for almost a year. The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has been taking on most of Mr Welby's responsibilities in an interim move.

Mr Cottrell was one of the voting members of the body charged with choosing his successor. but has himself faced calls to step down over his handling of an abuse case.

Four famous duos have travelled nearly 6,000 km, hitchhiking through mountain towns, foraging in dense jungles, and battling challenges they never imagined, as contestants in Celebrity Race Across the World.

What began on the sun-soaked easternmost tip of Mexico is about to come to a close on Thursday night as the teams race toward the windswept Península de La Guajira in Colombia, the series' final checkpoint.

The budget, £950 per person - the equivalent cost of flying the route - was one limitation, but what else made the trip the challenge of a lifetime?

Molly: 'It's given me so much more confidence'

In the lead-up to the race, Tyler West and Molly Rainford had a flicker of apprehension.

While the couple knew each others' strengths and weaknesses inside out, life in the public eye often left them feeling like "passing ships in the night."

Their occasional holidays tended to have a single goal: complete relaxation.

This challenge offered something entirely different: a chance to push their relationship into new territory, and to reconnect without the usual distractions – for presenter and DJ Tyler, that meant not even his beloved Biscoff biscuits.

"It was a big question mark in our minds whether we'd even make it to the first checkpoint," Tyler admits.

"I remember looking at the final checkpoint on the map and thinking, 'How on earth are we going to get there?' But reaching this far really puts things into perspective - we're not as bad at travelling as we thought."

For actor and singer Molly, one of the biggest takeaways is a new-found confidence.

"Talking to strangers, asking people for help - those are things you just don't do anymore, but the race forces you into it," she says.

"It's given me so much more confidence that now I'm thinking, 'What have I got to lose?'"

And as for their relationship? "It proved to us we can get through anything together," she says.

Dylan: 'There's so much kindness out there'

For actor Dylan Llewellyn and his mother Jackie, the race was less about crossing the finish line first and more about getting out of their comfort zone.

After three decades of marriage, Jackie had never been away from her husband for more than a weekend. But she filled the freezer with steak-and-kidney pies and set off with her son, determined to embrace the unknown.

They learned lessons from past contestants: save more, spend less, and never - under any circumstances - let go of your moneybelt or passport.

"I can't believe we've got this far. I thought we wouldn't make it after leg one," says Jackie.

"I'm so pleased that we pushed ourselves through the lows, and I'm proud of us both for getting to the end of leg five."

The pair leaned on each other during the toughest moments but also learned the importance of asking for help.

"I don't think we realise how much kindness there is out there. And we felt it a lot," says Dylan.

"We felt so much love and togetherness with families and it was really strong and beautiful to see."

Anita: 'My dad has seen my more vulnerable side'

Before the race began, broadcaster and writer Anita Rani and her father, Bal, were excited at the idea of five uninterrupted weeks in each others' company. They hadn't travelled together since a family trip to India when Anita was just two years old.

As the oldest combined duo in the competition, they worried initially whether they would have the stamina to keep pace with younger teams.

But they know they have what matters most: determination.

"We're never going to quit," Anita insists ahead of the final.

"There's obviously been disappointment so far about the things that have been out of our control, but there's a life lesson in that, isn't there?

"When Guatemala closed down, we missed a bus, or whatever, all those things are completely out of your control, and it's very frustrating, but that's part of the journey."

For Anita and Bal, the race has become about far more than reaching the finish line.

They have treasured the time together and the chance to get to know each other better.

"Honestly, this is life, and this is what we've been through," Anita says.

"I think my dad has seen a more vulnerable side of me that I don't normally show."

Roman: 'It makes you realise there's so much more to life'

Sibling duo Roman Kemp and Harleymoon were candid about their relationship not being as close as they would like: busy careers had reduced their interactions to quick spare-key handovers and dog drop-offs.

They are also, by their own admission, polar opposites. Singer-songwriter Harleymoon is the free-spirited adventure-seeker who is usually the last to leave any party.

Broadcaster Roman, devoted to his work and his beloved Arsenal, is naturally cautious about stepping outside his comfort zone.

For them, the race was an opportunity to become friends again and help them discover new sides of each other.

Roman and Harleymoon describe their time with a family on Panama's San Blas Islands as truly transformative.

Roman says the race "took me so far from where I am from".

"It was the biggest moment for me.

"It does make you realise that there's so much more to life… You see what makes these people happy and how happy they really are, which is just this family."

For Harleymoon, the experience of having nothing besides a few bananas and a hammock "in the middle of nowhere" sparked deep self-reflection.

"Your life has turned into something so simple but so beautiful — it's an amazing window to reflect and think, wow, we have so much at home, and yet we always strive for more," she said.

"Getting to experience days like that, when you're just so full of gratitude, was really amazing."

About 80% of pregnant women experience morning sickness, according to the NHS, with some expectant mums having such extreme nausea that they struggle with daily life. After reporter Beth Parsons was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) during her pregnancy, she has been been speaking to other women affected by the condition.

Drawing the curtains to block out a warm summer's afternoon, I did everything I could to avoid being sick for the 10th time that day and wondered when I'd feel myself again.

It's isolating, lonely and very hard to describe to someone, especially when the "normal" version of morning sickness is seemingly considered a right of pregnancy passage; something that ginger, an early night and just getting past the first trimester will fix.

I've always wanted to be a mum, and my husband and I were over the moon about the positive test, but it wasn't quite the welcome to pregnancy we had in mind.

A hyperemesis gravidarum diagnosis followed.

While books and social media posts were describing the nutritious diet that would best help my growing baby, a lot of the time I couldn't even keep water down.

I would sip ice-cold cordial and suck ice lollies to keep dehydration at bay the best I could. Sometimes I would nibble on toast or dry cereal then try to go to sleep in the hope it would stay down.

It was all happening at a time when internally I felt so lucky to be starting a family, and was desperate not to come across as ungrateful.

After seeing my GP, I eventually found a medication which helped and it was like a light had finally been turned back on.

For the first time in months, I was able to leave the house, return to work and started to eat and drink with more normality. I'm now in week 26 and I haven't been seriously sick since week 17 of my pregnancy.

After opening up about the issue online and in conversation, other women shared their experiences with me.

I noticed how different they were, especially when it came to what support was available and what treatments they were able to access.

In particular, the drug that helped me, commonly known as Xonvea, was often held back from women who desperately wanted to try it.

Three women shared their stories with me.

Sarah Goddard, from North Yorkshire, became pregnant for the second time in August 2024.

Already mum to a four-year-old, she had been fairly sick in her first pregnancy, but HG was never mentioned. The second time round, she was seriously unwell.

"By seven weeks, I wasn't able to keep anything in me at all… I was being sick 15 or 20 times a day. I was retching to the point blood was coming out. There was nothing left in me to give.

"At times I thought I was dying, it definitely felt like that, but I thought maybe I was being dramatic, until my mum said to me, 'I think I'm watching you die'."

The 32-year-old went to hospital three times for anti-sickness injections and intravenous rehydration, but would deteriorate again as soon as she got home. She was offered some medication, but it did not work well enough for her.

"I didn't know how I was going to get through this and ultimately at 10 weeks we made the impossible decision to have a termination."

Sarah said she was "still devastated" about the decision she felt that she had to make when she chose to end her pregnancy due to the severity of HG.

"Giving my daughter a sibling was exactly what I was doing it for, and I tried and then took it away.

"I just didn't see how we were going to make it through because nobody was fighting for us. It's something I will feel guilty about until the end of time."

She has now received grief counselling and mental health support through the charity Pregnancy Sickness Support.

Sarah also sought advice from a medical consultant who told her about HG and enabled access to medication so she felt able to try a third pregnancy.

She is now due to have a baby in 2026 and has thanked the consultant, saying "without him, I wouldn't be sat here, 31 weeks pregnant, with my little girl's brother".

Millie Fitzsimons, 28, had HG symptoms throughout her pregnancy and experienced how different treatment options could be from one location to another.

In total she thinks she was admitted to hospital about 16 times.

She was living in Boston, Lincolnshire, when she discovered she was pregnant.

"It does just feel like you're dying… it's a feeling you can't explain. I've lost 3st in weight, was being sick 40 times a day. You're just exhausted all the time, and just sleeping on and off all day. Horrific."

Millie said support was "really hard to get" and often medical staff would roll their eyes and not listen to her.

She tried lots of medication, including steroids which are not advised as a long-term option.

At about 16 weeks, she got help from Pregnancy Sickness Support who advised her to ask for Xonvea medication.

She said the medical staff had "never heard of it", and it took four months from asking to be able to access the medication. She could only receive one week's worth at a time.

"They just said it was a postcode lottery and it was really expensive."

When she moved to York at the end of her pregnancy in April, she was able to access Xonvea.

Her baby was born in May. She was off work for eight months while she was pregnant and does not think she will ever have another child.

The charity is campaigning for Xonvea to be included on all drug formulary to avoid issues with access.

Ella Marcham from Yeadon in Leeds experienced the first symptoms of HG before she even knew she was pregnant.

Already mum to two toddlers, dealing with the debilitating condition while also taking care of her family was not easy.

"For me, the worst thing was the nausea. It never stopped," the 28-year-old said.

"It was just 24/7 - all the time. It made it really difficult for me to eat and drink properly, to parent my children, to just live my life normally… it's very difficult to describe."

She asked her GP and a hospital in Leeds for Xonvea, but was told they could not prescribe it. Other medication had limited success.

"The midwives tried their hardest, but we were just met with loads of barriers from doctors and it was just 'no, we can't prescribe it in this area'.

"I was at such a low point I didn't push back much because I just didn't have it in me at that point... I just sort of went a bit inside myself because I just didn't have the energy to carry on asking and asking and asking for something."

Ella briefly researched whether she could access the medication privately, but when online prices online started at £86.95 for less than one week's supply, she gave up.

She gave birth to twins in July and immediately stopped feeling sick.

Ella and husband Joe said dealing with newborn twins and two other children was significantly easier than dealing with hyperemesis gravidarum.

What is hyperemesis gravidarum?

HG patients suffer severe nausea and vomiting, which often means being sick multiple times a day, being unable to keep food or drink down, and no longer being able to continue with daily life.

The condition is thought to affect 1-3% of pregnancies, and often results in dehydration and weight loss.

Many sufferers will require medication and intravenous fluids.

If you have had HG before, it's likely you will have it in another pregnancy.

There is a variety of medications available to people experiencing HG.

Pregnancy Sickness Support has broken them down into first, second and third-line medication categories.

It suggests one of the first medications people should be offered is Xonvea, scientifically known as doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride.

It has been licensed in the UK since 2018, and is the only anti-sickness drug licensed for use in pregnancy in the UK.

Other first-line medications include cyclizine, promethazine and prochlorperazine.

Second-line medications include metoclopramide, ondansetron and domperidone - some of which can have negative side effects for both mother and baby.

Third-line medications are usually steroids which are often successful for treating HG in people when other measures have failed.

There is a wide variety of possible side effects for both mother and baby, but the charity says it's important to remember that if HG is not treated it may cause more harm to the baby than possible effects of a medicine, including steroids.

Intravenous (IV) fluids can be used during HG to correct dehydration. Medication can also be given through an IV port if medication is unable to be kept down.

'We're extremely cautious'

Doncaster GP Dr Dean Eggitt said he sees a woman suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum "every couple of weeks".

"When women present with hyperemesis, usually we undertake an assessment of hydration. Are they drinking? Are they weeing? Are they able to go about their daily functions?

"It may be simple things like looking at what is being eaten, what is being drunk, possibly ginger biscuits, simple stuff like that. If none of that's appropriate or it doesn't really work, then we move on to medicines."

He says the first line medicine is cyclizine and Xonvea tends to be a second or third line medication.

"It has a licence to be used in pregnancy, which means that there's been research undertaken to know that it's safe to use but in medicine we doctors are slightly more cautious than that," he says.

"In a pregnant woman and an unborn child we're extremely cautious about using a medicine that's new to the market.

"So in some cases what you will find is that the local medicines management team has sat down and said, well, first of all, is this cost effective?

"Second of all, do our GPs know how to use it? And third of all, do we think that our colleagues are going to be confident to prescribe this new drug or should we let it bed in a bit first just to prove that it's safe?"

"So in theory, yes, it's safe. In reality, we can sometimes be a bit more cautious, but that cautiousness is a postcode lottery."

The Department of Health & Social Care has been contacted for a comment.

• If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Schools across the UK are trialling the use of deepfake teachers and even employing remote staff to deliver lessons hundreds of miles away from the classroom.

It comes as the use of AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in schools.

The government says AI has the power to transform education, and improve teacher workload, particularly around admin for teachers.

The BBC has spoken to teachers, school leaders and unions who seem divided on what the future of the UK's classrooms should look like.

Emily Cooke is a maths teacher at The Valley Leadership Academy in Lancashire, which has hired a virtual maths teacher - a decision Mrs Cooke is strongly against.

"Will your virtual teacher be there to dance with you at prom, hug your mum during results day, or high-five you in the corridor because they know you won the match last night?" she says.

Since September, top set pupils in Year 9, 10 and 11 at Mrs Cooke's school have been taught by the remote maths teacher, who is based 300 miles away in Devon.

Teachers went on strike over the move last week and this week.

The school said it was a "small-scale initiative" but the National Education Union (NEU) called it an "unacceptable situation".

Mrs Cooke says: "As a parent, as a teacher, I don't think that teacher-student relationship, which is so important, can be formed or replicated over a screen."

The school told the BBC that its approach is a "win-win", where "pupils benefit from lessons delivered by an outstanding specialist teacher online" who is supported in the classroom by a second teacher.

'It's like having a digital twin'

At a different academy, AI experiments are going further than most.

Shane Ierston, CEO of Great Schools Trust, says giving children in his schools in Liverpool, Warrington and Bolton a "top class, world-quality education" is his priority.

Mr Ierston believes clever use of AI can help to free up teachers' time to focus on building students' character, leadership and resilience.

Teachers there can already use its AI system to mark assessments and mock exams, which they say is more accurate.

Director of AI at the trust, Benjamin Barker, says the AI technology can identify gaps in students' learning and help teachers to plan future lessons.

After marking, the AI deepfake will produce a bespoke feedback video for each child.

The technology is due to be trialled this year, before getting feedback from staff, students and parents.

Using AI "as a leveller" will make sure every child gets "personalised tuition", with the teacher in the room making sure they understand, Mr Ierston says.

Having a deepfake will be "completely voluntary for teachers", he adds.

"What we're not trying to do is replace teachers," says Mr Ierston. "We're trying to use technology - things that have got a bad reputation - and see how it can be used to benefit society.

"That's the future."

Deepfakes will also be used to help absent pupils catch up from home, or to translate parent messages into the 46 languages spoken across the schools.

When asked what they would say to those who oppose children interacting with deepfake technology, Mr Ierston says it's "only natural" that people will fear change.

"But we would much rather be leading the change than Silicon Valley doing it for us," he says.

"We know that what we're doing has got children and the right values at the heart."

Nicola Burrows works for the trust, and has a daughter, Lucy, in Year 11.

When asked for her thoughts on Lucy getting feedback from an AI deepfake of her teacher, she says it would be "really quite special having that very specific personalisation with a face you know".

But adds that it is "really important that we bring the parents with us" when it comes to new initiatives, including addressing any concerns over safety.

'There's a long way to go to convince parents'

Technology, screens and AI in the classroom are divisive topics, particularly among parents.

"I think it's fair to say that parents are deeply sceptical about AI," says Frank Young, chief policy officer of charity Parentkind, a national charity that aims to give parents a voice in education.

Just 12% think AI should be used in the classroom, according to its annual survey results, which over 5,000 parents responded to in April this year.

"But I think we can get there if parents are provided with reassurance over how this AI will be used and how it will benefit the children," Mr Young says.

There are no official figures on how many schools are using AI in the classroom with students, but Ofsted is gathering evidence about how AI is being used in schools and FE colleges.

Data from survey tool Teacher Tapp, which asks thousands of teachers a series of questions each day, found that in October 2024, 31% of teachers said they'd used AI in the past week to help with their work. By October 2025, that had risen to 58%.

John Roberts, chief executive at Oak National Academy, which provides lesson planning resources for teachers funded by the DfE, says more than 40,000 teachers have used its experimental AI lesson planning tool since it launched in September last year.

'This approach is a win win'

Back at The Valley, Mrs Cooke says she does not think online learning is as effective as face to face, pointing to the "huge gaps" in learning from Covid, when schools closed and millions of lessons moved online.

"I thought we were trying to get teenagers off screens, not give them to them for five hours a week in their maths lessons?" she says.

"The fear is, if we do not stop this, if it goes unchallenged at The Valley, it will spread," she says.

"And in 20 years time, what is education going to look like? And are we okay with that?"

A spokesperson for the academy says remote teaching in the school is "not comparable" to pandemic-era teaching, as it is "structured, supported, and takes place in school".

It says hiring a remote teacher is a "small-scale, targeted response to the national shortage of specialist maths teachers. Our priority is, and always will be, to ensure pupils receive the highest quality teaching."

There are now three virtual teachers being used across the trust "deployed in very specific circumstances where recruitment of high-quality subject specialists has been exceptionally difficult", it says.

The Department for Education says technology must be "carefully managed to enhance – not replace - the deep thinking, creativity and critical engagement that underpin effective learning".

But NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede says the union is against remote teaching, and will "never tolerate the imposition of a virtual teacher".

The trust in charge of The Valley says it is committed to working positively with its NEU colleagues to resolve this matter.

It is a classic soap opera plotline. A much-loved character is killed off in spectacular fashion, shockingly resurrected from the dead and then brutally despatched again soon after.

Now one of Australia's most famous shows has gone the same way.

On Thursday, the final episode of Neighbours will be broadcast in the UK and in its homeland.

Officially, the soap is "resting". But the sets have been dismantled and actors have taken other jobs. It looks like it really is goodbye to Ramsay Street.

If this sounds a touch familiar, you're not wrong.

"The feeling is very deja vu," executive producer Jason Herbison tells the BBC.

In 2022 Neighbours was axed after being dropped by Channel 5 in the UK – the country where it had found most of its audience.

Margot Robbie and Guy Pearce, both Hollywood stars who cut their teeth in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough, put in an appearance for the grand farewell. Kylie Minogue's Charlene Mitchell and Jason Donovan's Scott Robinson also featured.

TV crews descended on Pin Oak Court, the real-life suburban cul-de-sac that is the set for outdoor Neighbours scenes.

Hundreds huddled on a freezing Melbourne night to watch the last episode go out live on a big screen in the city's Federation Square.

The BBC even did a live blog on the final episode – both because it was truly a momentous moment in popular culture and to satisfy editors who grew up religiously watching Scott, Charlene and Mrs Mangle at 5.35pm on BBC One every day.

But the final signature credits had barely played, before it was announced Neighbours was coming back, after being saved by Amazon MGM Studios.

It was such a rapid return that Pearce joked Robbie might want her farewell gift - a crate of champagne sent to the show's producers - returned.

But, as many predicted, the Neighbours revival has been short-lived.

Earlier this year, without specifying a reason, Amazon confirmed the series would finish at the end of 2025 - 40 years and more than 9,000 episodes after its television debut.

"It was like it was death in stages, I suppose this time," Jackie Woodburne, who has played Australian icon Susan Kennedy since 1994, told the BBC.

"There was very much a sense of 'No, this time we're done'."

How does it feel to say goodbye to a character she's embodied for the past three decades?

"Oh, gosh. Honestly, I'm going to get emotional thinking about that," she says, glancing skyward and blinking rapidly.

"She was the heart, you know? She was the mother - and then the grandmother," Jackie says of Susan. "She was inherently good. But at the same time she… made dreadful decisions."

Human and relatable, she was exactly the kind of character audiences around the globe connected deeply with.

Set and filmed in Melbourne, Neighbours was first broadcast in Australia in 1985 and launched on BBC One a year later, quickly entering the cultural zeitgeist.

It became a "drama school" of sorts for up-and-coming Australian entertainment talent, a springboard for people like Russell Crowe, Natalie Imbruglia, Holly Valance and Liam Hemsworth.

"I would see these kids come, full of hope and promise and talent, and to watch them develop their skills was just an absolute joy for me, and I know Fletch felt the same," said Woodburne, referring to Alan Fletcher, who played her onscreen husband Dr Karl Kennedy.

The show often reflected for audiences formative parts of their lives too – first loves, first heartbreaks, births, deaths and marriages. In one episode you'd be doing "outrageously stupid", "slapstick" story lines, and the next you'd be sobbing over the coffin of your dead stepchild, Woodburne says.

In recent years those behind the soap have been proud to show more diverse characters and storylines, amid questions over how well it represented modern Australia. Neighbours featured the first same-sex marriage on Australian TV.

"There's a legacy for its audience, but there's also a legacy for our culture… It certainly is leaving a void," Herbison says.

While audience numbers have dwindled, true fans are mourning this like they did the death of Madge Bishop, Sonya Rebecchi or Bouncer the golden labrador retriever, who died in real life only a few months after filming his final scenes.

"I'm devastated," says Gemma Clement, a Brit who moved to Melbourne inspired by the "sunshine and the sound of the birds" on the soap. "I don't think there is any coming back. It feels final this time."

As goes the cliché, Woodburne hadn't realised what they had until the show was gone (the first time). Touring the UK on a farewell-turned-celebration tour, meeting hundreds of fans a day, was one of the most moving experiences of her life.

"I knew that people watched it and enjoyed it and appreciated it, but I don't think I fully understood," she said.

"Times are tough for a lot of people and our show gave them half an hour a day of pure escapism and fun… And to hear them tell us how meaningful that was to them… how much they look forward to it every day was very humbling."

That a show so iconic, and so beloved, could be cancelled is a worrying reflection on the state of the industry, Herbison says.

With it, goes 200 odd jobs – in a sector where work is already scarce.

Viewership has dramatically changed, and budgets are getting thinner and thinner. Unapologetically Australian content is getting harder to make. Woodburne wonders if Neighbours would have even got off the ground in today's world.

Herbison acknowledges the criticism that they should have let the show die a more dignified and star-studded death in 2022 – but says continuing to build its legacy, on and off screen, even for a few more years was profoundly worthwhile.

This finale will be different. Herbison says he knew there was no way it could compete with the last one.

"It still has all the heart and all the warmth, but the street is under a bit of threat this time. And it's left kind of a bit of a question of what will happen and what will become of everyone."

So is it possible the soap's ghosts return to haunt TV screens yet again?

Herbison won't rule out another twist: "The door is open. You never know what could happen."

US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said, marking a sharp escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro's government.

"We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela - a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Releasing a video of the seizure, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a "crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".

Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of "international piracy". Earlier, President Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an "oil colony".

The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to pressure President Maduro in recent months.

Venezuela - home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to take its oil.

Oil prices inched higher on Wednesday as news of the seizure stoked short-term supply concerns. Analysts warn the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela's oil exports.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard co-ordinated the seizure.

"For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations," the nation's top prosecutor wrote on X.

Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship, and troops descending on to the deck using ropes. Uniformed men were seen in the clip moving about the ship with guns drawn.

A senior military official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that the mission to seize the tanker was launched from a Department of War vessel.

It involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation, and the Trump administration was considering more actions like this, the source said.

When asked by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump said: "We keep it, I guess... I assume we're going to keep the oil."

Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech has identified the oil tanker as Skipper.

"The vessel is reported to be part of the dark fleet, and was sanctioned by the United States for carrying Venezuelan oil exports," it says.

BBC Verify has located this tanker on MarineTraffic, which shows it was sailing under the flag of Guyana when its position was last updated two days ago.

The Venezuelan government issued a statement denouncing the seizure as a "grave international crime".

"Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to deprive the Venezuelan people of what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right," it said.

It said the prolonged aggression against Venezuela has always been about "our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people".

Speaking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Americans opposed to war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 1988 hit song.

"To American citizens who are against the war, I respond with a very famous song: Don't worry, be happy," Maduro said in Spanish before singing along to the lyrics of the 1988 hit.

"Not war, be happy. Not, not crazy war, not, be happy."

It's unclear if Maduro knew about the seizure of the tanker before this rally.

After American forces boarded the vessel, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates".

He referred to Pirates of the Caribbean, but said that while that film's lead character Jack Sparrow was a "hero", he believed "these guys are high seas criminals, buccaneers".

Cabello said this was how the US had "started wars all over the world".

In recent days, the US has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north.

The build-up involves thousands of troops and the world's largest warship, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela, BBC Verify reported.

The move has sparked speculation about the potential for some kind of military action.

Since September, the US has conducted at least 22 strikes on boats in the region that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people have died in these attacks.

Ione Wells contributed to this report.

At least 34 people have died and dozens more are injured after air strikes from Myanmar's military hit a hospital in the country's west on Wednesday night, according to ground sources.

The hospital is located in Mrauk-U town in Rakhine state, an area controlled by the Arakan Army - one of the strongest ethnic armies fighting the country's military regime.

Thousands have died and millions have been displaced since the military seized power in a coup in 2021 and triggered a civil war.

In recent months, the military has intensified air strikes to take back territory from ethnic armies. It has also deployed paragliders to drop bombs on its enemies.

The Myanmar military has not commented on the strikes, which come as the country prepares to vote later this month in its first election since the coup.

However, pro-military accounts on Telegram claim the strikes this week were not aimed at civilians.

Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told the BBC that most of the casualties were patients at the hospital.

"This is the latest vicious attack by the terrorist military targeting civilian places," he said, adding that the military "must take responsibility" for bombing civilians.

The Arakan Army health department said the strike, which occurred at around 21:00 (14:30 GMT), killed 10 patients on the spot and injured many others.

Photos believed to be from the scene have been circulating on social media showing missing roofs across parts of the building complex, broken hospital beds and debris strewn across the ground.

The junta has been locked in a years-long bloody conflict with ethnic militias, at one point losing control of more than half the country.

But recent influx of technology and equipment from China and Russia seems to have helped it turn the tide. The junta has made significant gains through a campaign of airstrikes and heavy bombardment.

Earlier this year, more than 20 people were killed after an army motorised paraglider dropped two bombs on a crowd protesting at a religious festival.

Civil liberties have also shrunk dramatically under the junta. Tens of thousands of political dissidents have been arrested, rights groups estimate.

Myanmar's junta has called for a general election on 28 December, touting it as a pathway to political stability.

But critics say the election will be neither free nor fair, but will instead offer the junta a guise of legitimacy. Tom Andrews, the United Nations' human rights expert on Myanmar, has called it a "sham election".

In recent weeks the junta has arrested civilians accused of disrupting the vote, including one man who authorities said had sent out anti-election messages on Facebook.

The junta also said on Monday that it was looking for 10 activists involved in an anti-election protest.

Ethnic armies and other opposition groups have pledged to boycott the polls.

At least one election candidate in in central Myanmar's Magway Region was detained by an anti-junta group, the Associated Press reported.

Two brothers wanted in connection with a deadly fire at their nightclub in India's Goa state, which killed 25 people, have been detained in Thailand, India's ambassador to Thailand, Nagesh Singh, told the BBC.

Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, who own Birch By Romeo Lane club, fled to Phuket, shortly after the incident earlier this week.

"They will be sent back [to India]," Mr Singh said on Thursday, a day after a court in Delhi refused to grant them protection from arrest and the Goa government approached India's external affairs ministry to revoke their passports.

The brothers have not made any public statements, but their lawyer told the court that they were being made victims of a "witch hunt".

The incident took place early on Sunday, when a deadly blaze broke out at the club in a busy nightlife area of the tourist state.

Investigators believe the fire was triggered by fireworks being set off inside the venue.

Most of the victims were staff members, while five were tourists.

Investigators say they raided the brothers' Delhi home hours after the fire but found they had fled the country. Police then sought Interpol's help to track them.

Saurabh Luthra, whose social media identifies him as the chairman of the company which operates the club, posted a statement on social media on Monday expressing "profound grief".

"The management stands in unwavering solidarity with the families of the deceased as well as those injured," he wrote, adding that the nightclub's management would provide "assistance, support and cooperation to the bereaved".

On Wednesday, Goa's Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the police has arrested six persons in connection with the incident so far, adding that "more arrests will be made soon".

Goa is a former Portuguese colony on the Arabian Sea. Its nightlife, sandy beaches, and resorts attract millions of tourists annually.

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