Latest Educational News
Children's education not affected by mothers who go back to work
by Telegraph, June 11, 2013
There is no link between children’s academic performance and mothers who go out to work in the first years of their lives, according to new research.
A study of 40,000 children dispelled the common parenting myth that children whose mothers go out to work will struggle at school.
GCSEs have not been 'fit for purpose', says education minister
by Telegraph, June 11, 2013
GCSEs are not "fit for purpose" but new reforms will make Britain's school system world-class again, an education minister has said.
Liz Truss said the qualifications taken by more than half a million 16-year-olds each summer are too easy and must be replaced, as the Coalition unveiled sweeping reforms.
She linked the education changes to David Cameron's goal of making sure Britain is not left behind in a "global race" against emerging Asian powers.
Michael Gove urged to listen to advice on exams
by Independent, June 11, 2013
Confidence in the examination system has been “shaken” by the fiasco over marking last year’s GCSE English papers, MPs said on Tuesday.
Their warning comes as Education Secretary Michael Gove prepares to unveil plans for a radical reform of the exam in the Commons later this morning - which will see coursework scrapped and a return to the days of an end-of-course examination.
An inquiry by the influential Commons select committee on education reveals that exam boards’ warning over marking standards for last GCSEs went unheeded - and urges ministers and exams regulator Ofqual to listen to their concerns in future.
Details on GCSE overhaul set to be announced
by Independent, June 11, 2013
A*-to-G grades set to be replaced with numbered system
Details of the most radical overhaul of GCSEs in England for a generation will be announced today, including plans to scrap the current grading system.
Exams regulator Ofqual will publish a consultation setting out proposals for GCSE reform, likely to include plans to axe coursework in the majority of subjects, introduce end of course exams, curtail re-sits and overhaul the grading system. This could mean scrapping current A*-G grades and replacing them with a numbered system.
GCSEs: MPs warn on separate Wales, England, NI systems
by BBC, June 11, 2013
MPs have warned against a rush towards separate school exams systems in Wales, England and Northern Ireland, saying such a move would be "regrettable".
New-look GCSEs for schools in England are to be unveiled, with exams graded from eight to one rather than A* to G.
Wales and Northern Ireland are keeping GCSEs, but so far are not adopting the changes proposed for England.
GCSEs: New-look tougher exams revealed
by BBC, June 11, 2013
New-look GCSEs for schools in England are to be unveiled, with exams graded from eight to one rather than A* to G.
From 2015, GCSEs will move from coursework and continuous assessment to exams at the end of two years.
Pupils will face more rigorous content, with those studying English, for example, having to read a 19th-Century novel and a whole Shakespeare play.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) accused the government of not consulting properly on the changes.
MPs criticise Ofqual over GCSE English debacle
by Guardian, June 11, 2013
Committee says regulator must object if it feels the latest redesigned examinations put standards at risk
The exam regulator Ofqual should be prepared for public battles with ministers to avoid a repeat of the 2012 GCSE debacle, in which tens of thousands of pupils had to resit their English papers, a committee of MPs has concluded.
The Commons education select committee criticised Ofqual for its role in the design of the ill-fated GCSE English exam and said the regulator must object if it felt the latest redesigned examinations put standards at risk.
David Cameron attacks schools as being ‘comfortable with failure’
by London Evening Standard, June 10, 2013
David Cameron condemned schools as being “comfortable with failure” as he set the ground for exam reforms being unveiled tomorrow.
The Prime Minister used a speech on economic challenges to criticise the “under-performing” education system in the UK compared with rival nations.
He said others taught algebra much earlier and added: “Meanwhile, we have had an education system that was increasingly comfortable with failure, while grade inflation robbed our qualifications of rigour and respect.”
Slight fall in world's children without schools
by BBC, June 10, 2013
The global figure for the number of children without access to schools has fallen to 57 million, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
But the improvement is unlikely to be enough to meet the millennium pledge for primary education for all by 2015.
These latest figures are for 2011 and are a fall from an estimate of 61 million missing school in 2010.
Unesco's director general Irinia Bokova says: "We are at a critical juncture."
Bring back polytechnics, argues higher education report
by BBC, June 10, 2013
The government should revive the term 'polytechnic' argues a report into the future of higher education in England.
Large further education colleges which already have degree awarding powers should be eligible to apply for polytechnic status say the authors.
The title would be a "mark of vocational excellence" argues the Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
A government spokesman said the report included "much food for thought".
Government 'should bring back polytechnics' says think tank
by Telegraph, June 10, 2013
The Government should bring back polytechnics and give universities a £1,000 bounty for awarding places to poorer students, a new report argues.
The study suggests restoring the old polytechnic name in a major revamp of higher education would help raise the prestige of vocational qualifications.
Bringing back the name dropped in the 1990s “would be a mark of vocational excellence, sending out wider signals about the importance of vocational learning," the report by a left-of-centre think tank says.
A million children are growing up without a father
by Telegraph, June 10, 2013
More than a million children are growing up without a father and numbers are set to increase, a think tank has warned.
It is also feared a lot of children are growing up with a lack of male role models in their lives.
The number of single parent families is growing at a rate of 20,000 a year and is expected to reach more than two million by the next general election, according to a new report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
Oxbridge applications influenced by geography
by Telegraph, June 10, 2013
Admissions to Oxbridge are biased by where students live, new figures reveal.
Disproportionate numbers of students living in Surrey and three London local authorities gained access to Oxford or Cambridge in 2012, while elsewhere across the country some areas were well below the national average.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed Richmond upon Thames, Kensington and Chelsea and the City of London sent more than 25 students to the two top Universities per 1,000 – compared to a national average of 2.5 per 1,000.
Graduating today is scary, but you've got to take control
by Guardian, June 10, 2013
New graduates may feel that they're in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I'm learning to be brave and look forward
To the class of 2013: I promise I won't ask you "that" question. I have considered tattooing "Don't Ask" on to my forehead to avoid the inevitable: "What are you going to do now you've graduated?"
It has been three weeks since I finished university, and it seems nigh on impossible for my generation to answer that question. Unemployment is high, jobs are scarce and competition is fierce; as this year's graduates we have to be more flexible than ever. Deciding what to do next seems like something of a luxury when our choices are bound by the reality of recession.
Private schools abandon A-levels for international qualifications
by Telegraph, June 9, 2013
Top private schools are abandoning A-levels in favour of alternative qualifications sat abroad because of growing concerns over “political interference” in the examinations system.
Headmasters warned that schools were moving towards tests taken by children overseas to address fears over constant “tinkering” with national assessments.
As sixth-formers across the country sit end-of-course tests this month, examiners reported more interest in International A-levels — a version of the British qualification created for the foreign market.
Rise in use of supply teachers after training course numbers fall
by Telegraph, June 9, 2013
Schools are using 10 per cent more supply teachers than they did last year as a result of a sharp fall in the number of graduates who applied to work in the classroom in 2011, new figures suggest.
On average there were 41,000 temporary teachers working in British schools each week in the spring term, compared to 37,200 in the same period in 2012, according to recruitment agency Randstad Education.
The biggest increases were found in secondary schools, which relied on 17 per cent more supply teachers and 55 per cent more interim support staff than they did last year.
I salute the idea of soldiers in the classroom
by Guardian, June 9, 2013
There's a lot of snooty prejudice against ex-forces personnel. Why shouldn't they train as teachers?
Looking at the government's Troops to Teachers initiative, one could see where objections might lie, even nod in broad agreement. Candidates, from the army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, wouldn't need a degree and would undertake two years training on the job, with one day a week at university, qualifying them in around half the time it usually takes to become a teacher.
Cambridge and Oxford places still dominated by south-east applicants
by Guardian, June 9, 2013
Surrey sent almost as many young people to the two universities last year as Wales and north-east combined, data shows
Undergraduate places at Cambridge and Oxford universities remain dominated by students from London and the south-east of England, according to data released to the Guardian, highlighting the country's wide gaps in educational achievement and the stubborn failure of efforts to encourage applications from more diverse backgrounds.
Brightest pupils targeted in new Ofsted standards drive
by Telegraph, June 8, 2013
Secondary schools will be ordered to prepare more pupils for top universities amid claims from Ofsted that large numbers of the brightest teenagers are failing to reach their potential.
The education watchdog will tell teachers to do more to stretch children between the age of 11 and 18 to prevent the most sought-after higher education places being dominated by students from a small number of elite schools.
Swansea tablet computer project boosts pupils' reading
by BBC, June 7, 2013
A new way of using tablet computers in schools could change how children are taught in Wales, says Education Minister Leighton Andrews.
It follows a project using the computers developed at Casllwchwr Primary in Swansea.
When tested at another primary, Year Six children saw average reading ages leap from nine to 13.
Mr Andrews wants the teaching profession to see how the tailored learning programme could help others.
