AUDIO: Mum of SEN kids explains 21-hour day must visit

A mother who has three children with special educational needs has recorded an audio diary of her typical morning. Debs Aspland's nine-year-old son has hydrocephalus and autism, her eight-year-old son is visually impaired, and her daughter has language, speech and communication needs. Ms Aspland said her typical day was around 21 hours long and "on a good day" she could expect just under five hours sleep.First broadcast on Monday 28 April as part of a special BBC Radio 5 live's Breakfast programme on Special Educational Needs provision.

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AUDIO: 'Painting the Queen was daunting' must visit

The artist behind the Queen's newest portrait says it was a "daunting" but "exciting" experience.

Nick Cuthell's artwork was unveiled by Prince William during his royal tour of New Zealand.

The portrait will be on permanent display at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Wellington.

Mr Cuthell told BBC Radio 5 live's Breakfast: "The Queen was fantastic. I found her to be really funny, very intelligent, extremely elegant - all which made my job a lot easier."

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AUDIO: Man stung by bees in pain experiment

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

A PhD student has allowed bees to sting him 190 times - to find out which part of the body it hurts the most.

Michael Smith, from Cornell University, chose 25 locations around his body to let the bee sting him.

Despite subjecting himself to barbs in intimate areas, Mr Smith found that the most painful area was the inside of his nostril.

He told BBC Radio 5 live's Drive: "When you get stung there your whole body reacts... I would not recommend it."

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AUDIO: Dealing with diversity in schools/must visit

How should schools in areas where there is a large Muslim population deal with the pressure that brings?

The question has been raised again this week because one of the Today programme's reporters was given access to a school in the Midlands which is said to have been the target of a group of extremist Muslims who, it is claimed, have been trying to infiltrate schools and introduce practises such as segregation of the sexes.

Sir William Atkinson recently retired as one of this country's most respected head teachers.

He has taken failing schools and turned them into outstanding schools. In one of them, 90% of the pupils were either Muslim or Sikh.

The Today programme's John Humphrys asked him about the problems associated with such a situation.

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AUDIO: Roy of the Rovers 'speaks' to BBC/must visit

The veteran comic book footballer Roy Race, better known as Roy of the Rovers, has given his first ever interview in the British media to the BBC's Garry Richardson.

Speaking as part of BBC Radio 4's Character Invasion Day, the 74-year-old Race - who played for Melchester Rovers for nearly 40 years from 1954 - explained his extraordinary longevity in the game.

"I never ate the wrong things. I never drank beer. I never ate or drank anything, to be fair. I didn't knock around in nightclubs and being largely fictional helped a lot, to be honest."

Roy Race is portrayed by Alistair McGowan.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday 29 March.

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