11-17 April 2015

Saturday

Prize? Vegetables

It was a good day for the University of Oxford, which not only won the men's and women's boat races but also the annual goat race. Pygmy goat Hamish nabbed the vegetable trophy, which he duly ate.

Sunday

Around the world

On this day in 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. He was launched inside a ball-shaped capsule called Vostok 1 and spent 89 minutes orbiting the Earth.

Monday

Holy holiday

The Sikh festival of Baisakhi took place. The ancient harvest celebration marks the founding of the Khalsa (the collective of fully initiated Sikhs) in 1699 and coincides with the Punjabi New Year.

Tuesday

Out of their league

No British clubs featured in the Uefa Champions League quarter final stage for only the second time since 1995. The matches got under way in Spain as Atltico Madrid took on arch-rival Real Madrid.

Wednesday

Finnish line

Finland's much-lauded education system has little to do with the country's scholarly success, a report claimed. The Centre for Policy Studies said that historical, economic and cultural factors were the key drivers.

Thursday

A star was born

It was the 126th anniversary of the birth of Charlie Chaplin. He left school at 13 with no qualifications, but appeared in more than 80 films, won three Oscars and received an honorary doctorate from Oxford.

Friday

Silent protest

Thousands of high school and university students in the US will mark the National Day of Silence - an event designed to show solidarity with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

18-24 April 2015

Saturday

A beautiful mind

Albert Einstein, the man with the big hair and even bigger brain, died 60 years ago. Seven hours after his death, scientists extracted his brain to study the connection between neuroanatomy and intelligence.

Sunday

Proof is in the pudding

Dock pudding is made from polygonum bistorta leaves, nettles, onions and oatmeal. And if you travel to Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire today, you can taste it at the World Dock Pudding Championships.

Monday

The curious Curies

If you need inspiration at the start of the new term, remember that Marie and Pierre Curie refined radium chloride on this date in 1902. Their research earned them a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.

Tuesday

In the hot seat

On this day in 1509, Henry VIII became king of England. He was known for writing poetry, playing music - and signing the death warrants of two of his many wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

Wednesday

Down to Earth

Join the sustainability revolution, garland your classroom in greenery and celebrate International Mother Earth Day - an acknowledgement of the fragile processes that govern the planet.

Thursday

Shakespeare turns 451

If music be the food of love, why not sing Happy Birthday to the Bard? Share the wonder of William Shakespeare with the help of our collection of teaching resources: go to bit.lyCollectedShakespeare

Friday

Cage fight

It's a question that divides and troubles us: should we conduct research on live animals? World Day for Laboratory Animals raises awareness of the 150 million animals experimented on globally each year.