Daily roundup 17 January: Broadband, body anxiety, and professor of play

Poor broadband connections in remote areas hinder children's learning because they cannot do their homework properly, a report has found. The Telegraph reports that Brian Wilson, director of Rural England, fears pupils who grow up in rural communities are at a disadvantage compared with their urban-dwelling peers, as they are less able to access online learning resources and carry out research-based projects.


Almost a third of 2,000 UK teenagers, polled for a body confidence campaign, avoid activities like PE because of fears about their looks. The BBC reports that the Be Real Campaign says schools have a key role in combating body anxiety. Fears about the way they look are "having a profoundly negative effect on a significant number of young people in the UK", says the report.


The world's first professor of play is being sought by Cambridge University. The Guardian reports that the successful candidate will lead Cambridge's newly established Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (Pedal). The post is being funded by Danish toy company Lego.


Unpaid internships should be banned as a barrier to social mobility, a report by MPs and peers has said. The BBC reports that the all-party parliamentary group on social mobility warns that such internships without a salary, used as stepping stones into jobs, are a financial block to those who cannot afford to work unpaid.