Headlines suggested that it was the prospect of an imminent Ofsted inspection at Cedar Mount that had put Katie under stress. But several of her colleagues feel that this masks what was really going on: that she was visibly struggling and needed more support from the school.

When the media began publishing articles about Katie's inquest, staff group chats lit up with furious texts. But this anger wasn't about Katie's cause of death. Instead, it centred on whether senior leaders at the school had been honest about the circumstances leading up to it.

Katie Allen-Gyves started teaching at a secondary school in Gorton last September. By December, she had died. The inquest concluded last week, and the verdict was a "tragic accidental death", but Katie's colleagues have told The Mill that the public hasn't heard the full story.

How did a social media manager in Dubai take over Manchester’s Reddit forum? r/manchester has grown to nearly half a million members and a quarter of a million weekly visitors, posting over 700 messages a day. And presiding over the digital space are its moderators, or mods...

We’ve been cited in the @nytimes.com for our reporting on homelessness in Manchester 🚨

But the truth of the story involves no evidence of a cover up whatsoever. Instead it’s about one student who discovered that an allegation had been made against them by someone at the university; and the extreme measures they went to to find out what that allegation is... (5/)

A journalist posing with one of the posters on Mosley Street reached 50,000 viewers on Instagram, asking them if they’d send their children to a university “if you knew that they’d covered up rape”... (4/)

This is the story behind the posters that have been plastered remarkably far and wide across Greater Manchester. The text in them varies, but they all make the same accusation: that Salford University is involved in a “rape cover up”... (3/)

A student walks into Salford University’s support office and douses themselves in petrol. “Not as theatre,” they would later write, “but as a last available language”... (1/)

Sweating over a scorching day in Manchester? Try sweating over the future of the city region instead. ☀️🗳️ In just 20 days, Greater Manchester votes for its next mayor. And three days before you cast your ballot, we are hosting the definitive political event of the summer: The Mill Mayoral Hustings.

Ladies and gentleman, we have a new favourite podcast: @beebwatch.bsky.social. Here’s Mark Damazer, the former controller of BBC Radio 4, being very nice.

In its heyday, the Locks in central Manchester was home to an abundance of venues, and anyone who was anyone wanted to be seen inside its doors. But Jess Berry, an MMU student, says tastes have changed: "we don't want shitty, grimy clubs with sticky dancefloors."

Goodbye Popworld! When Ark announced its shock closure on Sunday, it was reported that Popworld would be the only club left on Deansgate Locks. But The Mill can reveal that Popworld is closing too. By next Sunday, the once bustling strip will be reduced to a row of empty units.

"We don’t lose sight of the fact that at the heart of this are students whose university experience has been impacted by money that should’ve been invested in their education instead allegedly being used for personal gain," assistant chief constable Rick Jackson said.

Police say the alleged offences took place between 2014 and 2025 and involve some 60 transactions in which up to £1.7m in university funds were used for private purposes, including the purchase of a heated dog kennel.

Thinking about subscribing to The Mill? We (The Mill team) are currently just 55 paying members away from hitting our target of 4,500. Once we hit it, we'll be in a position to hire a new reporter, which would hugely expand the scope of coverage we're capable of...

Bonus points @binaryape.bsky.social

Mill subscribers in our comments with the REAL recommendations for No.10 North... Andy take notes.

Very nice mention from former BBC presenter Roger Bolton about our coverage of Burnham - on his excellent @beebwatch.bsky.social podcast.

Our first port of call is Heron House on Albert Square: a red brick in the front, glass in the back situation. Likely the highest security building in Manchester, Heron House is the city’s spy HQ. Some say it’s the only bomb-proof building in Manchester... (5/)

Anti-tank, Anti-bomb, Andy Burnham? We asked Manchester’s property moguls the top locations for No.10 North. And then we went around all of them to rank them for ourselves... (1/)

Andy Burnham was in town to appear at South by Southwest, a media and creative get-together, but those present remember his close advisor Kevin Lee looking visibly upset. What caused the bust-up?

Who is Andy Burnham's 'man in the shadows'? Earlier this month, we tried to answer a question lots of people have been asking us recently: who are the people who are close to Burnham? Who does he listen to, and what insights do they offer into the way he'll govern?

At the People’s History Museum this morning, the plan for the future of Britain was being announced. Or at least some of it. We were there to watch Burnham as he talked devolution, an expansion of 10 Downing Street to Manchester and a major council house building scheme...

Coggins joined the party in 2010 due to environmental concerns, and following closely the Hannah Spencer playbook, her campaign so far centres around what she’ll prevent, not achieve - and that's "keeping Reform out". But is Reform the only threat she should have her eyes on?

Could an ex-philosopher be the new Burnham? Meet Geraldine Coggins. She's written a book on metaphysical nihilism, ran in every general election since 2015, and reshaped Trafford's politics when she became one of its first elected Green councillors in 2018. Now she has her eyes on the mayoralty.

Here's Greater Manchester's mayoral election history, with Andy Burnham never dropping below 60%. But supplementary voting means voters pick their top two candidates, making this by-election far more unpredictable. It's in the second preferences where the race will likely be won.

Who really wins with supplementary voting? We've got the answers. Our data guru Josh Housden has built an interactive calculator to examine how the new voting system will shape the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election next month.