For a healthy adult, the risk of death from a SNor infection is less than 0.1%. However, this rises to more than 5% in children under two years old. Other groups who are seriously affected include the elderly, diabetics and people with immune system diseases such as HIV.

Deaths from SNor are now believed to be more than 2.5 million. However, cases declined sharply when summer hit the populous northern hemisphere and it has been shown that relatively simple hygiene procedures can greatly reduce reinfection rates.

The first inoculations against SNor have recently been released and are being given to high priority groups, such as hospital workers and children aged between six months and two years.

Grade A+++

Great Work!!!!

Charlie, this is well researched and structured. Hopefully this will be the last essay you write for me before your release.

It has been a HUGE pleasure teaching you English and science over the past two and a bit years. Although at times I can barely keep up with your thirst for knowledge!

If you can successfully put these difficult years behind you, there is no limit to where you can go in life!

All best!

Ms G. Higuain

14 GOOD LUCK, CHARLIE

Kirsten assuaged some of her guilt about not spending time with Harry by paying for him to attend Queensbridge Academy. The sixteen-year-old wore a shirt, tie and V-neck sweater as he strode a path between neat lawns, wary of a group of tenth-grade princesses in dark blue knee socks and tartan skirts.

‘Harry Potter,’ one of them shouted. ‘Over here! Did you read my article?’

Esme was a Colombian fireball. Harry adored her athletic legs and chocolate-brown eyes, but was less impressed with the three hundred words of Christmas Gift Ideas she’d submitted for the Queensbridge online newspaper.

‘I just left the fortnightly editorial meeting,’ Harry explained. ‘It’s a good article, but the staff want articles about school life, sports matches and stuff.’

He wanted to say, The school wants bland crap that makes it look good and I’m not going to use the trashy article you cobbled together in half an hour, because your homeroom tutor said you needed to start doing things that make you look less like a brain-dead mall rat on your college application.

‘You could try something less random,’ Harry suggested. ‘You’d understand what we’re looking for if you sat in on the next editorial meeting and listened to …’

Harry’s words withered under the gaze of scorn. Girls like Esme expected boys like Harry to kiss their asses, and she glared at him like he’d stamped on her toes. But even Esme’s moody face was beautiful and Harry felt jealous of Cristiano, the beefy senior soccer goalie who got to see her naked.

‘I get ten articles for every one we can publish,’ Harry added. And hassle for every rejection …