A student from Birmingham Conservatoire is mixing his love of both music and athletics to attempt a Guinness World Record; running the fastest half marathon dressed as a musical instrument.

Donning a custom-made viola costume, Alistair Rutherford will be running the Liverpool Half Marathon on Sunday 2 April.

Created by Merseyside-based designer Brian D Hanlon, the outfit is made from lightweight Plastazote foam and comes complete with a striking headpiece that mimics the shape of the viola’s neck and pegbox.

Alistair hopes to raise funds for the collaborative UK-South African project, Cape Gate MIAGI Centre for Music & Birmingham Conservatoire – or ARCO, which is also the name for the technique of playing a stringed instrument with a bow.

ARCO has seen 24 strings students aged between eight and 16 in South Africa selected to participate in weekly instrumental Skype lessons, given by academics, current students and alumni of Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University.

ARCO aims to provide the benefits and life changing inspiration of music to children in the most deprived of circumstances. As well as providing transformative music education activities, Conservatoire staff and students – including Alistair – have been acting as role models for vulnerable youngsters living in Soweto, a Johannesburg township deeply affected by poverty and crime.

Running the Liverpool Half Marathon is just one of several fundraising events Alistair has organised in aid of ARCO. Last year, the violist ran the equivalent distance of the length of South Africa’s coastline, clocking up 1,739 miles (2798 kilometres) by the time he flew out to Johannesburg for the first ARCO Festival. Meanwhile, last month, he organised an evening of chamber music at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery.

21-year-old Alistair, who was hails from Allerton in Liverpool, said:

“After running the distance of the South African coastline during my third year of study at Birmingham Conservatoire, and previously running a marathon when I was 17, I was struggling for fundraising ideas. One evening whilst in our local pub myself and fellow ARCO teacher Matt Johnstone joked about a Guinness World Record involving both the things I love; running and the viola.

“12 weeks later my application was accepted by Guinness World Records to attempt the record for the fastest half marathon dressed as a musical instrument at the Liverpool Half Marathon!

“Training has been going well and I am aiming to beat the record that currently stands at one hour, 26 minutes and 57 seconds”.

The current record was set by Rakshith Shetty in Karnataka, India on 5 December 2015. The Indian runner ran the SBI Bengaluru Midnight Marathon while dressed as a guitar.

Louise Lansdown, Head of Strings at Birmingham Conservatoire, initiated the ARCO project in 2015. She said:

“Birmingham Conservatoire is full of admiration for Alistair’s adventurous and rather ‘off centre’ project. We are currently enjoying daily updates, including photos and videos of Alistair’s training sessions with his brand new enlarged viola! Alistair and his viola can be seen running around Edgbaston Reservoir most mornings around 7am – a sight not to be missed.

“Alistair’s inspired fundraising venture and unswerving commitment to the ARCO Project is quite incredible, and all funds raised from Alistair’s remarkable efforts will be going towards chamber music teaching, ear training, instrument transportation and supporting live streaming of events from Birmingham to Soweto! Any funds raised will be directly impacting  the musical lives of 24 wonderfully talented young string players on the ARCO Project.”

In fact, Louise will be running a festival in Soweto as part of the ARCO Project at the same time Alistair endures his half marathon. Still wanting to support Alistair’s efforts, his journey will be streamed live to the ARCO youngsters, so they  can cheer him on from the other side of the world.

In order to make this happen, Alistair’s childhood friend James Sharples will be cycling the route alongside him and broadcasting the race over Facebook Live. Also on bicycles will be Alistair’s father, Ken, who will be taking photographs and filmmaker Andrew Peat, who will be capturing the action for a documentary about the world record attempt.

Alistair will be further supported by his athletics club, Birmingham-based Birchfield Harriers. One of the most successful athletics clubs in Britain – having being represented at every single Olympic Games bar one since 1908 – they became the first club in history to win both the men’s and women’s Premier League titles last year. Alistair is trained by Senior Men’s Distance Coach, Dave Lawrence.

What would you do if you were a business advisor for the day? Eighty local students found out what it was like to walk in the shoes of finance professionals, as they focused on key employability skills to formulate strategic business advice for a real life organisation and delivered this to their board of directors, just like real chartered accountants.

Moreton Hall School impressed the panel of judges and will go on to represent the West Midlands at the National Final which takes place in June. The team from Queen Mary's Grammar School were the runners up and all teams can be rightly proud of their achievements in dealing with a very demanding business challenge. This was one of 43 heats attracting over 3,000 students from across the UK

Head Judge Neil Phillips, Director at Phillips Chartered Accountants said: “I was delighted to see 13 teams taking part in this year’s competition which reflects the growing interest from schools in a career as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.

The teams demonstrated strong teamwork and an ability to work under pressure and impressed the judges with their confidence in their presentations.

The winners, Moreton Hall School, gave a highly polished performance and showed an ability to ‘think outside the box’ . I wish them every success in the national final.’’

Mentor, James Eyre-Walker, Managing Director of Howsons Chartered Accountants  said: “I was very impressed with the way the students approached the challenge and worked co-operatively to deliver a coherent presentation to address the issues faced within the case study”

He added  “BASE is a great example of how schools, employers and young people can work together to improve skills, and can also give business leaders the opportunity to learn what motivates the next generation of talent."

A new book by Birmingham City University aims to put inclusivity into the heart of the newsroom, ensuring that journalists better reflect the diversity of the UK population and beyond.‘Everybody In’ tackles protected characteristics such as age, disability, gender, religion and sexuality, as well as class, Islamophobia and regionalism, and offers tangible examples of how journalists can embed genuine inclusivity into their work.

The themes of the book have already resonated strongly with the Executive Board of the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC), chaired by Ralph Bernard CBE. At their January meeting, it was decided that the ebook will be will be strongly recommended to all UK journalism students on their accredited courses.

It is also being circulated through journalism education and training networks in China and India, as well as across Europe, and has been enthusiastically endorsed by Birmingham City University’s Chancellor, Sir Lenny Henry. The actor, writer, comedian and charitable campaigner said during his installation last year that “exporting the ideas of diversity, equality and creativity is a concept very close to my heart.”

‘Everybody In’ has been edited by Professor Diane Kemp and Bob Calver, who teach journalism at the institution, along with Marcus Ryder, Chief Editor for International Digital News at China's state broadcaster, CCTV.

Co-editor Diane Kemp, Professor of Broadcast Journalism, Birmingham City University, said:

“Journalism as a profession remains unrepresentative of the UK population, with it still being overwhelmingly male, white and from mid to upper class backgrounds. Despite the best will in the world, it’s hard seeing the relevance of some stories, getting particular contacts and avoiding unintended stereotypes if we work in monocultural newsrooms.

“This book, therefore, is an attempt to help us, as student journalists and trainers, from falling into some of those traps and rather than simply ‘doing diversity’, we seek to be inclusive in all our news coverage. We want news teams to do journalism better by properly reflecting the audiences they serve, but also encourage a newsroom culture that gives every journalist a voice that is respected and listened to.”

Birmingham City University was one of the first UK universities to offer media degrees and today boasts cutting edge facilities – including Europe's largest static green screen – in its £62 million Parkside Building.

Co-editor Bob Calver, Senior Lecturer, Birmingham City University, added: “We wanted to make this a practical guide for our vocational students who’re already packing a lot into each day on the course. So the sections are short and written by current and former journalists to show the relevance of these issues to their working lives.

“We asked them to write a short opinion piece on a topic which affects them, personally or through professional interest. These form the starting points for a discussion in class, to be followed up by working through some of the suggestions in the ‘everybody in’ section; developing contacts and doing newsdays from a different angle.”

The book features contributions from respected journalists and media practitioners including Assed Baig, reporter at Channel 4 News; Amelia Gentleman, reporter at The Guardian; Afua Hirsch, Sky News’ Social Affairs and Education Editor; Anna Holligan, the BBC’s Hague correspondent; Elizabeth Peers, Deputy News Editor at BuzzFeed UK. The book was designed by Birmingham City University Visual Communication graduate Taylor Lantelli.

Contributor James Bovill, Political Reporter at the BBC and Birmingham City University alumnus, writes about sexuality in journalism in ‘Everybody In’. He said:

“Most people at some point claim the media is biased in some way and, in my opinion, in TV and radio, it's rarely conscious. A lack of diversity in all its forms can be all pervasive in unconscious ways that most journalists probably aren't aware has an impact on their output.

“I am proud to have contributed to this book and feel that its content is relevant to all journalists at any stage of their career.”

 ‘Everybody In’ is out now and can be downloaded from Leanpub.

Dawood Public School, Karachi (DPS) is a leading educational institution of the country, with an impeccable reputation, earned over more than 35 years. The school celebrated the Pakistan-Day 2017 with great patriotic fervour, as it inspires the students to adhere to the social traditions and high moral values of the society.

The colourful event reflected the country’s rich culture and great talents of the youth, as more than 2,100 girl students of DPS assembled in a formation of Pakistan’s map, representing the cultural-diversity of the nation. The colourful performances were perfectly choreographed, as the students wore traditional dresses of various regions. The enthusiastic participation of the faculty members and staff, along with the parents of the students, further enriched this event held at the school’s vast, custom-built premises.

The diversity of Pakistan’s culture is a matter of pride for this nation comprising of many communities that seek to live harmoniously and progress peacefully. The ceremony depicted the cultural and ethnic diversity of the population, highlighting the different traditions of; Sindhis, Balochis, Punjabis, Potoharis, Pushtun, Thari, Balti, Persian, Kashmiri, Memon, Bohra, Urdu-speaking etc. The students assembled in shape of Pakistan’s map, representing many cultures through different colours. Then this human-map turned green to show their unity as one Pakistani nation.

It was a delightful and memorable occasion for the students. The institution takes great pride in instilling the spirit of patriotism among its students, while making them recognize the great efforts and sacrifices given by our elders, which created this independent state for the Muslims of the sub-continent. The institution believes that all Pakistanis must contribute with the best of their abilities to enable faster progress of our beloved homeland.

Dawood Public School Karachi has pledged to deliver the highest standards of education, while nurturing the immense talent of the youth, with special focus on the development and empowerment of young girls. The school’s curriculum also inspires the future generations to be honest and sincere in all their endeavours. They must take every opportunity to enrich their personalities by acquiring knowledge from all credible sources, besides adopting noble practices and humanitarian values, to become more valuable citizens.

Plans from the government to create fast-track two-year degree courses in universities in England could create a new opportunity for students to take gap years.

Although the compressed courses would incur higher yearly fees, the added expense would be offset by avoiding a whole year of additional rent and living costs. They would also relieve some of the pressure felt by students to commence careers immediately after finishing university, freeing them up to travel and gain real life experience in their chosen fields.

If you're studying nursing…visit Cambodia, India or Guatemala

Nursing and health-related degrees attract tens of thousands of students every year and the skills learnt are applicable all over the world. There are many opportunities to volunteer on medical electives, particularly in developing countries like Cambodia, India and Guatemala. Impoverished environments are particularly challenging and you will return home with newfound confidence and experience that simply can't be found in a classroom.

If you're studying teaching…visit Japan, Thailand or China

Teaching remains one of the most popular degree subjects for students and, like healthcare professionals, teachers are in demand the world over. There are opportunities for young Brits to teach in most countries in the world with many opting to teach English as a foreign language (TEFL). This can be a great way to experience a classroom environment in an entirely new culture. Popular TEFL destinations include Japan, Thailand and China.

If you're studying history…visit Europe

History is a perfect choice for students who want to develop a range of transferrable skills, like analytical thinking, writing and research and the subject has been a perennial favourite for decades. The grand old cities of Europe are particularly good history lovers with Rome being an especially inspiring spot. Further studies could be combined with an InterRailing trip, a popular way for backpackers to explore the continent.