National news
School’s out! Enjoy the freedom without breaking the bank
Sunday 25th July 2021Making sure children have fun is a challenge. Here’s how… our guide to keeping them busy on a budgetThe school summer holidays are here and with them come days of adventure and freedom for children – and headaches for parents who need to keep their offspring busy on a budget...
‘Have I chosen the right career?’: Three new teachers reflect on their first year
Saturday 24th July 2021From group bubbles to virtual classrooms, it was a strange year to be starting out in school...
A skilled workforce needs arts graduates | Letter
Friday 23rd July 2021Jim Northover questions the logic in cutting funding for arts courses, when creative minds help drive the technology and engineering sectorsGavin Williamson stated that planned changes to education funding (Funding cuts to go ahead for university arts courses in England despite opposition, 20 July) will be “directed towards high-cost provision that supports key industries and the delivery of vital public services”...
Daily testing can keep pupils in school, study suggests
Friday 23rd July 2021A study in 200 English secondary schools and colleges found very few infections in close contacts of cases...
West Midlands primary school wins appeal against academy status
Friday 23rd July 2021Judge calls decision not to revoke academy order ‘irrational’, as inspections halted during pandemicA primary school in Sandwell, West Midlands, has become the first school to win a high court appeal against being forced to turn into an academy, arguing it could not demonstrate its improvement because Ofsted inspections were suspended because of Covid...
'Ghost school' with no students for a second year
Friday 23rd July 2021English language schools warn they are on the "brink of collapse" after two summers without students...
Daily Covid tests for students found to be as effective as group isolation
Friday 23rd July 2021Sending bubbles home after contact with Covid cases no better than testing to stop infection spreading, say scientistsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageScientists have recommended daily tests for students who come into contact with Covid cases at secondary schools and colleges after finding that it prevents the spread of infection as much as sending whole bubbles home to isolate...
Daily contact testing in schools cuts absences, study finds
Thursday 22nd July 2021A study in 200 English secondary schools and colleges found very few infections in close contacts of cases...
Seaside poor health overlooked, warns Whitty
Wednesday 21st July 2021Bad housing and deprivation are a toxic mix for health, says England's chief medical officer...
Pay freeze for England’s teachers a ‘slap in the face’, say unions
Wednesday 21st July 2021School leaders hit back saying once inflation was taken into account, the government’s freeze amounts to a pay cutTeachers in England are to get no pay rise this year, the government has confirmed, sparking fury from unions who described it as “an insult” and a “slap in the face” after all their efforts during the pandemic...
Schools minister rebuffs calls to decolonise English curriculum
Wednesday 21st July 2021Nick Gibb says no reason why children from ethnic minorities should not study work of a ‘dead white man’The Schools minister, Nick Gibb, has pushed back against calls to decolonise the curriculum in England and has warned that what pupils learn in the classroom should not be tailored to any one particular group...
Funding cuts to go ahead for university arts courses in England despite opposition
Tuesday 20th July 2021Education secretary Gavin Williamson said money will be put towards Stem and medicine coursesMinisters have been accused of “one of the biggest attacks on arts and entertainment in English universities in living memory” after proposals to cut funding for arts and creative subjects in higher education were confirmed by the universities regulator despite widespread opposition...
More than 1m school pupils in England absent last week due to Covid
Tuesday 20th July 2021Official figures reveal 14.3% of children were not in class because of coronavirus-related issuesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore than 1 million children in England were out of school last week for Covid-19-related reasons with absence rates at a record level, government figures have revealed...
‘I wanted more memories’: young people reflect on a year lost to Covid
Tuesday 20th July 2021Delays at critical life stages: from starting college and internships; to searching for work or starting a family have caused chaos for young people...
Almost a quarter of England's pupils out of school
Tuesday 20th July 2021The "pingdemic" continues to affect schools and families with nearly 25% absent as the term ends...
‘Mum suggested a handheld vacuum’: must-have items students pack for university
Monday 19th July 2021If you’re preparing to go to university, the things you take with you could help you adapt to your next big adventurePacking for your very first term at university can feel like a daunting prospect...
Covid: Hundreds of thousands of under-18s to get vaccine
Monday 19th July 2021The vaccines minister says children at high risk from Covid will be offered the jab...
Jack Windsor Lewis obituary
Monday 19th July 2021My former colleague Jack Windsor Lewis, who has died aged 94, was an expert in English pronunciation who wrote books on the subject and lectured for many years at the University of Leeds...
‘I have a future’: how Biden’s free community college plan could transform education
Monday 19th July 2021Advocates argue the proposal would open doors to students who have historically been excluded from higher education and boost the economyAbdi Yusuf’s first day of middle school was tough...
Covid: Home-education numbers rise by 75%
Sunday 18th July 2021"Covid anxiety" is among the explanations for the increasing popularity of out-of-school teaching...
Schools in England shut early for summer as record numbers are forced to isolate
Sunday 18th July 2021Heads say ‘terrible’ lack of guidance and anger among parents over holiday chaos have led to ‘grim situation’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSchools across England are closing early for the summer break or moving to online teaching as tens of thousands of pupils are forced to isolate at home amid soaring levels of Covid infection...
‘It was devastating’: what happens when therapy makes things worse?
Saturday 17th July 2021Therapists are meant to help people change their lives, but those who behave badly may end up doing more harm than goodCourtney thought it was strange when her therapist asked her to follow him on Instagram...
What did Covid teach me? It’s time for my kids to look after each other | Sindhu Vee
Saturday 17th July 2021It was all going according to plan until my youngest interrupted Succession to ask, ‘Mama, what is a genocide?It was during one of the lockdowns of 2020 – I forget which sub-type – that I decided to go Extremely Indian Mother on my (mixed-race) kids by announcing that the two teens, Kid One and Kid Two, were to be responsible for the online schooling of their youngest sibling, Kid Three (year four, they can handle it)...
‘Gender is a performance’: Scotland’s first ‘drag school’ sells out
Friday 16th July 2021Dumfries course teaches 11- to 18-year-olds how to create a persona, apply makeup and the history of drag“You can use drag to explore anything you want to,” says Natalie Doidge, the organiser of what is thought to be Scotland’s first “drag school” for teenagers, which opens its doors later this month after facing down controversy...
‘Creativity crisis’ looms for English schools due to arts cuts, says Labour
Thursday 15th July 2021Number of GCSE music and drama students fell by a fifth over last decade, research findsSchools in England face a “creativity crisis” with the number of creative arts students and teachers down by as much as a fifth in some subjects after a decade of underinvestment, Labour has warned...
Student watchdog concerned about mental health help
Thursday 15th July 2021A survey finds more than half of UK students feel universities and colleges have not supported them enough...
The climate is boiling. Why has Harvard still not fully divested from fossil fuels yet? | Kim Heacox
Thursday 15th July 2021At $42bn, the Harvard endowment exceeds the combined monetary value of many small countries...
Covid: Students' head concerned about mental health help
Thursday 15th July 2021A survey finds more than half of UK students feel universities and colleges have not supported them enough...
Harvard represents reason and science. So why hasn’t it divested from fossil fuels yet? | Kim Heacox
Thursday 15th July 2021At $42bn, the Harvard endowment exceeds the combined monetary value of many small countries...
School meals, cooking culture and farm tech: key points of the food strategy
Wednesday 14th July 2021Recommendations include extending free school meals to more children and a reboot of food educationThe 290-page National Food Strategy proposes four main objectives: escaping the junk food cycle to protect the NHS; reducing diet-related inequality; making the best use of Britain’s land and protecting the environment; and creating a long-term shift in UK food culture...
Leaving burnout behind: the pain and pleasure of starting a new career in my 50s
Wednesday 14th July 2021I spent 30 years as a journalist before deciding to become a secondary school teacher...
‘Never apologise for being you’: celebrities’ letters to their teenage selves
Tuesday 13th July 2021Don’t buy the pink wheelchair – but do eat your greens (and some pizza too)...
Schools in England to eschew summer ‘catch-up’ and put health first
Tuesday 13th July 2021Exclusive: heads prioritise wellbeing despite fears over lost learning in pandemic, Guardian survey revealsFewer than one in five schools in England are planning to run “catch-up” provision during the summer holiday because headteachers are worried about pupil and staff wellbeing, according to a survey of school leaders seen exclusively by the Guardian...
1.5m pupils out of school in England last week
Tuesday 13th July 2021Numbers continue to rise for pupils missing school - both for Covid and non-Covid reasons...
Union offers legal advice to schools in case parents appeal against exam results
Tuesday 13th July 2021Schools in England brace themselves as pupils seek to improve upon teacher-assessed gradesAn education union is providing legal advice to school leaders under pressure from parents who are threatening to bring in lawyers if they are not satisfied with their children’s exam grades this summer...
Covid-related pupil absences in England jump to 840,000
Tuesday 13th July 2021Number of children out of class at its highest since schools fully reopened in March, data showsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe number of pupils absent from schools in England for Covid-related reasons is at its highest since schools fully reopened in March, with almost 840,000 children out of class last week, according to official government data...
A quarter of England's secondary pupils out of school
Tuesday 13th July 2021The total includes both those absent for Covid-related issues and those absent for other reasons...
‘Never apologise for being you’: disabled celebrities’ letters to their teenage selves
Tuesday 13th July 2021Don’t buy the pink wheelchair – but do eat your greens (and some pizza too)...
Online event: how to make clearing work for you – register now
Monday 12th July 2021Register now for our event on Tuesday 3 August at 6pm, when expert panellists will offer tips and advice for students and parents about how best to prepare for clearing and successfully navigate the dayFor young people hoping to go to university this autumn, nerves will be running high on 10 August – A-level results day...
School aid for Syrian children who know war planes but not shops
Monday 12th July 2021Protecting education in international war zones is supported with £15...
School for Syrian children who know war planes but not shops
Monday 12th July 2021Protecting education in international war zones is supported with £15...
Parents protest over special needs support
Monday 12th July 2021A council is accused of letting down children with special educational needs...
Did you solve it? Oxford university admissions questions
Monday 12th July 2021The answers to today’s logical conundrumsEarlier today I set the following three puzzles, which have all been set during Oxford university admissions interviews for joint philosophy courses...
Pupils in England to get advance notice of topics in GCSEs and A-levels
Monday 12th July 2021Plans unveiled by government are intended to mitigate learning lost over last 18 months of disruptionPupils who are due to sit GCSEs and A-levels next summer will be given advance notice of the focus of some examinations to try to mitigate for learning lost as a result of the pandemic, according to plans unveiled by the government...
Exams 2022: Students to get advance notice of topics
Monday 12th July 2021A-levels and GCSEs in England next year will be adapted to take account of disruption in the pandemic...
Lockdown: 'Children behind in speech and understanding'
Monday 12th July 2021Not being able to talk to friends and over-use of technology are two key factors, says charity...
Troubled waters: the Cambridge river dividing town and gown
Sunday 11th July 2021King’s College’s ban on wild swimming at Grantchester Meadows prompted protests and exposed old rifts in the cityIt is a muggy, overcast day in Cambridge...
Letter to my teacher: creatives including Kate Mosse, Ben Bailey Smith and Sathnam Sanghera say thanks
Sunday 11th July 2021A great teacher can change a child’s life. As this school year ends, we ask cultural figures including Charles Hazlewood and Kerry Hudson to remember a teacher who inspired themSo, it’s July...
Could Leicestershire lose early school holidays?
Saturday 10th July 2021School is always out for summer early in one part of England - but could that be about to change?Read full story...
The real rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge is how low they can go for money
Saturday 10th July 2021For despots and plutocrats, the question is which universityis the better laundryAs the richer of the two rich universities, Cambridge has largely been spared, until now, the public embarrassment when – as with Oxford – an already affluent institution boasts about donations that would still look dubious even if they could be characterised as important to survival or, say, establishing meritocratic access to its treasures...
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