Could this be the latest excuse for not doing your homework? The Evening Standard has identified that if the third runway goes ahead, over 100,000 pupils will have their lessons interupted by the roar of jet engines.

Although schools closest to the runway will suffer from the loudest noise, schools in Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham will also have regular overhead flights, at up to one every minute-and-a-half. Hardly a peaceful learning environment.

The schools affected are all listed in the Standard article, and include Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School, the feeder school for London Oratory (as formerly attended by the children of one ex-PM, Tony Blair). Would the runway be getting such government support if they were still going there?

What a contrast. While the British government spends billions of pounds widening motorways and tries to expand airports, the Spanish government has been investing in high-speed rail.

Spain is preparing itself for a future in which there may be limits on the number of flights a person is allowed to take, and has focused on the need to reduce domestic flights. The latest project focuses on journeys between Barcelona and Madrid; the solution is the 220mph Ave S103, a fancy train which carries 404 passengers on chairs which swivel so you're always facing forwards.