National News
Student loan promotion in England and Wales amounted to mis-selling, MPs say
Tuesday 7th July 2026Treasury select committee also says ministers have moral obligation to reverse last year’s repayment threshold freezeSlideshows that compared student loan repayments with the cost of a mobile phone contract, and YouTube videos that did not mention the fact that loan terms could change amounted to mis-selling by the government, MPs have said...
More than 300,000 pupils estimated absent after England World Cup win
Monday 6th July 2026Exclusive: Initial figures are yet to be confirmed by DfE, which said schools were ‘at the heart’ of the celebrationAbout 332,000 fewer children were in school on Monday morning than a week earlier, according to initial figures, as attendance fell after England’s 3-2 World Cup win over Mexico...
Cutting language courses puts social mobility at risk, say UK experts
Sunday 5th July 2026Exclusive: University moves and falling exam entries fuel concerns about opportunities for working-class pupilsCutting language courses at universities and schools risks undermining social mobility and vocational skills, former education secretaries and experts in the UK have warned...
Ofsted drops ‘clumsy’ and ‘offensive’ guidance linking autism and extremism
Sunday 5th July 2026Training document used to teach inspectors updated after campaign by celebrities including Chris PackhamOfsted, the body responsible for safeguarding in education in England, has dropped guidance for inspectors that linked autism and extremism after an outcry from celebrity campaigners...
Third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave primary school without being able to read properly
Saturday 4th July 2026Exclusive: Analysis finds lower reading fluency than children from other ethnic backgrounds and richer peersA third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave their primary school unable to read well enough to access the secondary curriculum, leading to disengagement and school absence, according to new research...
More cows than pupils - what is behind mass school closures in rural Kenya?
Saturday 4th July 2026More than 2,000 primary schools are facing closure as enrolment numbers plummet...
The schools starting late after 01:00 England game to 'reduce pressure' for parents
Saturday 4th July 2026Some schools are opting to open late, arguing they are striking the right balance, and many parents have backed it...
The schools starting late after 01:00 England kick-off to 'reduce pressure' on parents
Saturday 4th July 2026Some schools are opting to open late, arguing they are striking the right balance, and many parents have backed the decision...
Overseas education project for women and girls axed by UK after two years
Saturday 4th July 2026The programme, aimed at keeping 1m girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, withdrawn after aid cutsA leading higher education programme, aimed at keeping 1 million girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, has been axed by the British government just two years after it was announced...
Exam board sorry for delay to Sats results in England
Thursday 2nd July 2026One school leaders' union says it now wants "cast-iron assurances" the final results will be accurate...
Ministers call for better tracking of teenagers at risk of dropping out of work or training in England
Thursday 2nd July 2026Councils and schools urged to do more as figures show there is no information on whereabouts of 32,100 ‘Neets’The government has urged councils and schools in England to drastically improve the way they identify young people at risk of dropping out of training and work, as it admitted thousands are unaccounted for...
Starmer vetoes Tuchel’s call to bunk off school after England’s 1am Mexico game
Thursday 2nd July 2026Education minister Jacqui Smith suggests ‘disco nap’ on Sunday so everyone is fresh as a daisy on MondayWorld Cup live – latest updatesKeir Starmer wants children up and ready for school on Monday morning regardless of the England game being played at 1am UK time...
Why are Russians posting horse videos on social media?
Thursday 2nd July 2026A new meme is spreading on Russian social media in response to nationwide fuel shortages...
Teachers in England get two-year 6.6% pay rise but schools to foot part of bill
Wednesday 1st July 2026Unions pleased with rise above forecast inflation but concerned nearly a third of it will come from school budgetsUK politics live – latest updatesTeachers in England will receive a 3...
Teachers in England to get 3.5% pay rise
Wednesday 1st July 2026Schools will need to fund some of the rise, which unions say will further stretch existing budgets...
Academy school leaders in England face pay cap to curb ‘banker-style’ salaries
Wednesday 1st July 2026Nearly 100 academy chief executives earn more than £200,000 a year, and at least one more than £500,000The era of academy school leaders in England receiving “banker-style salaries” and hefty annual increases may soon be over, with the government to introduce limits on executive pay...
School smartphone bans seen as ‘punitive’ by young people, study says
Tuesday 30th June 2026Outright bans may have unintended negative consequences for young people, University College London report warnsSchool smartphone bans are “overly simplistic” and are not supported by young people who regard them as “punitive” rather than helpful, according to research by University College London...
Pupil put in isolation booth for more than half a school year, BBC learns
Tuesday 30th June 2026The pupil's experience in a Yorkshire school highlights concerns about zero-tolerance behaviour policies...
Where have all the first jobs gone? – podcast
Tuesday 30th June 2026The number of young people in the UK not in work, education or training is spiralling...
High-performing schools in England should be encouraged to admit more white working-class pupils
Monday 29th June 2026Report says once-in-a-generation changes needed to tackle why such children are lowest-performing large demographicHigh-performing primary and secondary schools in England should be encouraged to admit more disadvantaged pupils from white working-class backgrounds to help reverse a continuing crisis in underachievement, an independent inquiry has said...
White working-class children failed by England’s school system, inquiry finds
Monday 29th June 2026Report says once-in-a-generation changes needed to tackle why such children are lowest-performing large demographicUK politics live – latest updatesThe education system is “not set up to serve white working-class children and families”, an independent inquiry has concluded...
White working-class children failed by education system, says inquiry
Monday 29th June 2026The inquiry spoke to thousands of young people and their parents, as well as hundreds of teachers...
The Guardian view on universities: public confidence in degrees is wavering – ministers should shore it up | Editorial
Sunday 28th June 2026Unfair changes to student loans and concerns about job prospects must be weighed against the life-changing potential of educationIs going to university financially worthwhile? New research on graduate incomes is unlikely to help the beleaguered sector’s reputation...
Children embrace Cornish language as it enjoys ‘remarkable resurgence’
Saturday 27th June 2026Go Cornish Celebration engages younger generation as council finalises strategy to boost everyday use of Kernewek Seven-year-old Albie, a pupil at Trewirgie infants’ school in Redruth, did not hesitate when asked why he liked learning Kernewek, the Cornish language...
Dave Eggers: ‘Once you have a machine think and write for you, you’re cooked as a species’
Saturday 27th June 2026As his new novel is published, the US author talks about nurturing the next generation of creatives, debating Sam Altman – and why he writes on a boat in San Francisco BayAt Dave Eggers’s suggestion, we’re starting the interview by life drawing together...
Screen time can damage under-twos’ development, landmark study suggests
Saturday 27th June 2026Exclusive: Researchers call for urgent investigation of risks to babies of tablets, smartphones and other digital devicesScreen time for babies and toddlers under the age of two has been linked with long-term negative effects on health and quality of life and should be avoided, according to a landmark study...
A smartphone ban in English schools is coming into force. What's changing?
Saturday 27th June 2026Schools must now follow government guidance that says schools should be phone-free for the entire day...
Teenage boys in UK ‘stuck’ reading primary-level books while girls’ tastes expand
Friday 26th June 2026Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series accounts for eight of the 10 most read books by 11- to 14-year-old boys, while girls the same age enjoy a wider range of authors and genresTeenage boys are “stuck” reading primary school books such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, while girls their age are moving on to a wider range of novels, according to a new study...
Tarmac playgrounds and windows that don’t open: why hot spells turn our schools into heat traps | Harry Paticas
Thursday 25th June 2026Our schools are a dated mix of single glazing, dodgy pipes and atriums like Kew hothouses...
Number of children getting special educational needs support hits another record high
Thursday 25th June 2026It is the highest yearly increase in education, health and care plans (EHCPs) since they were introduced...
Unions urge teachers to strike as French school exams go ahead in up to 40C heat
Thursday 25th June 2026Claims health of staff and children at risk as France struggles to adapt heat-trap school buildingsEurope live – latest updatesTeachers in France are risking their own and students’ health in overheated schools as a severe heatwave sets new record temperatures, education unions said, urging staff to strike over “unacceptable working conditions”...
‘I was miserable at my old school’: UK social media ban puts spotlight on hybrid learning
Thursday 25th June 2026Pupils say LPS Hybrid’s combination of remote and in-person classes has transformed their school experienceTwo years ago, Ellie Ball could barely bring herself to attend school...
One in four graduates will lose financially from going to university, IFS estimates
Wednesday 24th June 2026Degrees still mostly boost lifetime pay, thinktank says, but those completing creative qualifications may end up worse offA quarter of UK graduates can expect to be financially worse off after going to university, especially those who take creative or performing arts degrees, according to new estimates by the Institute for Fiscal Studies...
Making earwax melt and teeth rattle: the project returning music to our bodies
Wednesday 24th June 2026Listeners in the 17th and 18th centuries experienced music in a startlingly vivid – and physical – way...
Failure to plan for rising temperatures has left UK’s schools sweltering
Wednesday 24th June 2026Many buildings are in use past their predicted lifespans, but even newer designs lack measures to beat heatTo see the UK’s failure to plan for the impacts of climate crisis, look no further than Beaconsfield primary school in west London – where a building more than 100 years old copes with extreme temperatures better than its neighbour, built less than 10 years ago...
A moment that changed me: A telegram arrived – and I had to choose between my head and my heart
Wednesday 24th June 2026Should I follow the man of my dreams to work in a club in Tehran? Or take up a place at an elite university? Thankfully, my dad gave me advice I’ve lived by ever since My parents did not expect me to land a place at university...
Can you keep your kids off school or refuse to work during a heatwave?
Tuesday 23rd June 2026As temperatures increase significantly over the next few days, these are your rights...
Hundreds of schools in England and Wales to close in heatwave
Tuesday 23rd June 2026Unions say it is dangerous for schools to stay open in high temperatures Hundreds of schools across the south of England and Wales are expected to close or vary their hours this week, in an effort to combat the extreme heat and conditions labelled as dangerous by education unions...
Piglet, it’s a purple, psychedelic shapeshifter! The wild new creature prowling Winnie-the-Pooh’s wood
Tuesday 23rd June 2026Is it an alien? A dinosaur? Is it going to kill us all? Our writer hits Ashdown Forest for the Big One Hundred celebrations – and finds its magic enchanting new generationsThe rolling idyll of heath and forest, spinney and stream that gave us the Heffalump, the Woozle and, most famously of all, Winnie-the-Pooh, has a new fantastical resident...
Can you refuse to work or send your kids to school during a heatwave?
Tuesday 23rd June 2026As temperatures increase significantly over the next few days, these are your rights...
Can you refuse to work or send your kids to school during a heatwave?
Monday 22nd June 2026As temperatures increase significantly over the next few days, these are your rights...
I can’t afford a tutor to help my daughter get into grammar school. Will she still fulfil her potential? | Annalisa Barbieri
Sunday 21st June 2026You may be projecting your own school experience on to your daughter, but her needs are different and she has you to support herI have two children aged eight and four...
How the social media ban could reshape how all of us use the internet
Saturday 20th June 2026Why some argue the social media ban could have a profound affect on how young people gain new knowledge and the rest of us move around onlineRead full story...
Five tips to keep your kids cool in a heatwave
Friday 19th June 2026Temperatures are set to rise over the next few days, and children can be especially vulnerable - so read on for tips to protect them...
Five tips to keep your kids cool this weekend
Friday 19th June 2026Temperatures are set to rise over the next few days, and children can be especially vulnerable - so read on for tips to protect them...
VAT on private school fees not caused exodus to state sector, says Bridget Phillipson
Thursday 18th June 2026Education secretary cites admissions data for England, saying Labour is ‘rebalancing the system to focus on 94% of kids in state schools’Adding VAT to private school fees has failed to trigger an exodus of pupils into the state sector despite widespread speculation that it would, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has said...
VAT on private school fees has not caused pupil exodus, says Bridget Phillipson
Thursday 18th June 2026Education secretary cites admissions data for England since tax imposed showing falling applications to state sectorAdding VAT to private school fees has failed to trigger an exodus of pupils into the state sector despite widespread speculation that it would, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has said...
We must be alive to the dangers of a UK social media ban – and the way to really help young people | Rosie Parkyn
Thursday 18th June 2026A ban alone will have limited impact and could make things worse...
Harvard and Bard face fresh questions from lawmakers over ties to Epstein
Wednesday 17th June 2026Democrat Jamie Raskin seeks ‘comprehensive accounting’ and requests interview with outgoing Bard presidentHarvard University and Bard College are facing new questions about the institutions’ relationship with Jeffrey Epstein amid allegations that the convicted child sex trafficker leveraged his ties to the universities and their faculty to traffic women, while also burnishing his reputation to avoid detection...
Grade requirement for student loans would cut a financial lifeline for English universities
Wednesday 17th June 2026Institutions could lose out on at least £200m a year if 30,000 or so potential students without even one GCSE are excluded each yearIf universities thought a Labour government would quickly revive their financial stability, those days are over...
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