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8 February 2018


Do you remember the Spice Girls?

The Spice Girls were an all-female band who were at their most famous in the 1990s. They sold 85m records round the world, making them the best-selling female group ever. Their first single, Wannabe, went to Number 1 in 37 countries and their first album, Spice, was the best-selling album by a female group ever.

The band earned up to $85m a year, making a film and famous for their look. They were nicknamed Posh, Sporty, Scary, Ginger and Baby.

Only one of the Spice Girls is still in the music business. One, Victoria Adams, married David Beckham and become famous as a fashion designer.

Now there are rumours that the band are going to get together again – but not to tour or release new music. Newspaper reports in the UK say that they are thinking about getting back together again to release a Greatest Hits album, do TV in China, appear in a talent show and more.

What's in the Top 10 list of the UK's heritage?

People in the UK have been contributing to a list called A History of the UK In 100 Places. There are different categories, and the top 10 for music and literature have been chosen by author Monica Ali and announced this week.

Her Top 10 includes Shakespeare's birthplace, and the homes of writers the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and George Orwell.

She has also chosen the Manchester music club the Hacienda, the 100 Club in Oxford Street, Abbey Road studios (where the Beatles recorded their music), the London homes of guitarist Jimi Hendrix and composer George Handel, and Chetham's music library in Manchester.

More European Union students apply for UK university places

Applications from outside the UK to study at university have risen this year.

The second-highest number of students from the EU have applied to study here, up three percent on last year. There are also rises in applications from Mexico, china and India. The total number of applications from outside the UK were more than 100,000 for the first time.

More than 37 per cent of 18-year-olds in the UK applied to go to university or college, with women outnumbering men.

Face of ancient UK man seen for the first time

The skeleton of a man who lived in the UK about 10,000 years ago was found over a century ago in a cave. Now scientists have been able to do DNA tests on a piece of skin found on the skeleton (called Cheddar Man) and have worked out that he had very dark skin and blue eyes.

There was a lot of interest in Cheddar Man because he lived soon after the first people arrived in the UK from Europe at the end of the last age. People in the UK today are descended from these settlers.

You might be wondering why he's called Cheddar Man. This isn't anything to do with the UK's favourite cheese – it's because he was found in a cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset.

 

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