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The head teacher of a new school in Sheffield, South Yorks, has banned the usage of the word “school”, as it could have a negative impact on the pupils’ parents.

Watercliffe Meadow, known as a “Place for Learning”, has 481 pupils and the kids from nursery to Year 6, are allowed to wear slippers instead of shoes.

“We decided we didn’t want to use the word ‘school’,” the Sun quoted head teacher Linda Kingdon as saying.

“One reason was many parents of children here had very negative connotations of school.

“Instead we want this to be a place for family learning.

A cold wave swept through North India on Saturday with temperatures plummeting and fog disrupting transport in New Delhi and Chandigarh.

New Delhi was gripped by dipping temperatures coupled with dense fog, making life difficult for people.

The minimum temperature fell to 4 degrees Celsius on Friday, one of the coldest winter mornings of the season.

Mukhesh Kumar Dixit, a rickshaw puller, who woke up at around 5:00 in the morning, was unable to bear the winter chill. He said his hands were freezing and that he would not be able to work in such weather.

Surya, a four-year-old rescued orang-utan, enjoys riding on an inflatable jet ski at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in Miami, Florida, USA centre, which is its home.

Surya, who was dressed in a child''s wetsuit to keep warm, enjoyed floating across the wide pool, waving at onlookers as the inflatable moved around.

Trainers at the centre put him in the pool every week to keep him active and challenged, and he enjoys splashing about with them.

A nine-member scientific team has found abundant tiny particles of diamond dust in sediments dating to 12,900 years ago at six North American sites, adding strong evidence for Earth’s impact with a rare swarm of carbon-and-water-rich comets.

Nanodiamonds can be produced on Earth, but only through high-explosive detonations or chemical vaporization.

Hair extensions, which are attached to real tresses with glue, can make women go bald, skin experts have warned.

According to researchers from American and Italian universities, the hairpieces, favoured by celebrities such as Paris Hilton, can lead to thinning hair and even permanent bald patches.

Dermatologists say the extensions put too much tension on hair roots.

Experts say the extensions put such tension on follicles in the scalp that they can become inflamed causing hair to fall out - a condition known as traction alopecia, reports the Daily Star.

Finding it hard to stick to your New Year resolutions? Well, then here’s something that would offer you the much-needed motivation: researchers have found that many popular pledges actually improve urologic or sexual health.

For men who have vowed to lose weight this year, your New Year resolution can help resolve erectile dysfunction.

Morbid obesity, as well as other conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and smoking can adversely affect sexual dysfunction.

Many motorists still talk on their mobile phones while driving despite the introduction of tougher penalties, reveals a new UK poll.

The survey, which has been published today, found that 36 per cent of drivers admitted using a hand-held mobile and 93 per cent had seen someone else on a call while at the wheel of a car in the previous week.

While as many as 64percent of those asked said they had never used a hand-held mobile while at the wheel, only 3 percent admitted they had never seen another motorist committing the same offence.

Researchers in Australia have discovered that growth rates among corals on the Great Barrier Reef have slumped to their slowest in at least four centuries and growth is expected to cease within 26 years, which spells disaster for the reef.

According to a report in The Times, the process of calcification, which gives the reefs their structure and strength, has slowed by 14.2 per cent in less than 20 years.

Scientists have suggested that oil spills could be cleaned up with the help of organisms that grow at the bottom of the world’s deepest lake in Siberia.

According to a report in the Telegraph, in this regards, a team of scientists is investigating how microbes ‘eat’ naturally occurring crude oil that seeps into the bottom of Lake Baikal in Siberia.

“Baikal has microbes that absorb this oil so it does not spread through the lake. This could have huge implications for environmental disasters,” said Dr Mikhail Grachyov, an expert on the flora and fauna of the 5,400ft-deep lake.

Chelsea star Frank Lampard, set to lead his side after John Terry’s dismissal against Everton, knows that they must return to those winning ways to lift the title.

“Our home form has been suspect and West Brom is a game where we have to say ‘Right we’re back on form’ and win it. We are not playing particularly well at home and there are a few reasons for that. There’s a bit of a lack of confidence to be honest,” he said.

“We went so many games unbeaten and walked out on the pitch each time thinking ‘We’re going to win this’ no matter who we were playing. Now we’re not as confident.