UK universities call for maintenance loan uplift amid students’ financial woes

Russell Group says rise in hardship funding also needed as survey shows average maintenance loan falls £439 short each month

‘When you stop fighting, that’s when you start grieving’: the parents battling to prevent student suicide

In the four years since their daughter killed herself at university, Robert and Margaret Abrahart have been trying to understand why she was left to cope with her problems alone – and to help other vulnerable young people

Thomasina Miers on the legacy of lockdown: ‘Empty supermarket shelves made clear the need to do things differently’

For the first time in decades the industrial food system started to unravel. But asks the food writer and chef, could this be the chance for us to embrace a better and healthier way of eating?

‘My son cowers when a shopkeeper says hello’ – are the toddlers of Covid all right?

Babies born in the first lockdown are now turning two, and have only ever known a world of masks and isolation. What will be the long-term impact?

Pick the habit: the best podcasts to get you into a new hobby

Want to learn a language, start gardening, read more, or make running and meditation a habit for the new year? There’s a podcast for that …

Taking my kids out of school has taught me the joy of staying in and doing nothing

I was conditioned to think of going out as morally superior to hibernating. Now I regard the decisive opt-out as a dynamic choice too, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes

‘A lot fell into place’: the adults who discovered they were autistic – after their child was diagnosed

The recorded incidence of autism has increased 787% in 20 years. For many parents, getting help for an autistic child alerted them to their own traits

Third of new students in England show signs of depression, survey suggests

‘Experimental’ ONS survey of first-years finds 37% have symptoms of depression and 39% of anxiety

Britain’s Covid-era university students may suffer ‘impostor syndrome’

New intake of undergraduates could feel like frauds, says study, because they didn’t sit A-level exams

‘Balance is fulfilling’: how to look after your mental health at uni

From making time for self-care to silencing your inner critic, the experts share their top tips for looking after your mental health at university