ISC Daily News Summary

Guardian

The Guardian leads with the news that all the high court judges appointed since new diversity rules were introduced have been white male barristers and most were educated at HMC schools.

First 10 high court judges under new diversity rules (Guardian)
All equal under the law (Guardian)

Observer, Sunday Times

The Observer reports that pupils at the Dragon School are being given lessons in philanthropy to encourage them to give generously in later life. Headmaster John Baugh is quoted. Chris Woodhead advises parents on how to choose the best prep school in his Sunday Times column and responds to a question regarding the supposed closure of a GDST school sixth form. GDST has clarified with ISC that this is inaccurate, and that none of its schools has announced or is about to announce the closure of its sixth form.

Generosity classes at top school (Observer)
Picking the best prep school will pay off in the long run (Sunday Times)
Answer the question: Chris Woodhead (Sunday Times)
Choosing the best primary (Sunday Times)

Independent, Independent on Sunday, Daily Telegraph

Further debate surrounding playwright Alan Bennett's call to ban independent schools last week, including a letter in the Independent from High Master of St Paul's School, Dr Martin Stephen.

Open best schools to all children (Independent letters)
Should public schools be abolished? (Independent on Sunday not online)
Why I don't like speech days (Daily Telegraph)

Times

The Times reports on the Schools Competition Act Settlement Trust - set up following a 2005 Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation into independent school fees - following an article in last week's TES.

No compensation in fee-fixing row (Times)

Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Times

Letters debating the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance, including letters from Bolitho School's Chairman of the Governors, James Clarke, and St Michael's School Bursar, Nicholas Edwards.

Private education has public benefit (Sunday Times letters)
Charitable work (Sunday Telegraph letters)
Academic choices (Times letters)
Let teachers teach (Times letters)

BBC News Online, Times, Observer, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, all tabloids

Extensive coverage of the news that the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has authorised McDonalds and a number of other commercial businesses to award their own qualifications. Exam board AQA has warned that the number of teenagers failing their GCSEs will rise as exams become harder under a government drive to raise standards.

McDonald's to serve up 'A-levels' (BBC News Online)
McDonald's A-level in running a burger (Times)
How courses 'in the real world of work' will be kept up to standard (Times)
Big Mac and a degree to go? (Observer)
McDonald's to offer A-level equivalent (Guardian)
McDonald's A-level 'tough course', says Brown (Guardian)
McDonald's adds fast food 'A-levels' to its menu (Daily Telegraph)
More students will fail new 'tougher' GCSEs, say experts (Daily Telegraph)
Why more pupils will flunk the harder new GCSE (Daily Mail)
Take a GCSE in McManagement (Daily Mail)
Big Mac's A-levels (Daily Express not online)
A-level in Big Mac (Sun)
Big Mac A-level and fries (Daily Mirror)
Big Mac and an A-level please! (Daily Star)

Daily Telegraph, Observer, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Herald, BBC News Online

The National Association for Small Schools has warned that hundreds of village schools are threatened with closure because of government targets and pressure to fill empty places.

Village schools face closure in 'attack on country life' (Daily Telegraph)
Hundreds of village schools face axe (Observer)
‘This will rip the heart out of our community' (Observer)
Threat to hundreds of village schools (Daily Mail)
Why does Labour scorn good schools? (Daily Mail)
300 village schools are set to be closed (Daily Express)
‘If the school closes, we'll move out...there would be no reason to live here' (Herald)
Village schools 'facing closure' (BBC News Online)

Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail

The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail report on the growing number of local authorities who are adopting new school admission 'lottery' schemes that allow them to allocate spaces purely by chance.

Lotteries will decide who gets places at most popular schools (Daily Telegraph)
Rules for fairer admissions code (Daily Telegraph)
Schools in rush to join lottery-style selection for pupil places (Daily Mail)

Daily Telegraph

Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats following a Parliamentary question reveal that one in seven pupils picked out as 'gifted' as part a multi-million pound scheme failed to achieve five good GCSEs last summer.

Gifted pupil scheme 'failing to make the grade' (Daily Telegraph)

Independent, Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail

Widespread coverage of the revelation that novelist Martin Amis is earning £80,000 a year as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester, despite the fact that he is only committed to work in the role for 28 hours a year.

He wrote 'Money'. But is Martin Amis really worth £3,000 an hour? (Independent)
Not bad, even for the author of Money and Success. Martin Amis is earning £3,000 an hour as a university lecturer (Times)
Amis the £3k an hour professor (Guardian)
Martin Amis gets £3,000 an hour as a lecturer (Daily Telegraph)
University challenged on Martin Amis's £80,000 job (Daily Mail)

Sunday Times, Daily Mail

This year's Oxford Union presidential battle has been blighted by a series of foul play allegations.

Oxford Union election battle gets nasty (Sunday Times)
Poll rigging, sex jibes and a case of the Oxford blues at prestigious university's union (Daily Mail)

Times, BBC News Online, Sunday Times

Senior clerics say trainee priests will face a huge rise in university tuition fees if controversial plans to reform university funding go ahead.

Trainee priests 'will be brought to their knees by degree costs' (Times)
Second degree funding is amended (BBC News Online)
Faith schools' sin of admission (Sunday Times)

BBC News Online, Daily Telegraph, Sun, Independent

The TUC wants the minimum pay for apprentices to rise from £80 to £110 per week.

TUC seeks £110 apprenticeship pay (BBC News Online)
University-style scheme for apprentices (Daily Telegraph)
PM's big boost for apprentices (Sun)
Voluntary work 'boosts CV' (Independent)

Independent, Independent on Sunday, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, News of the World, BBC News Online

Various articles on salt levels in children's food, plans to encourage children to get more active at school using the Nintendo Wii console and a study by the School Food Trust which reveals that children who eat healthy school lunches are more likely to become boisterous in the afternoons.

The shocking truth about children's food (Independent)
Let adult fatties eat themselves to death. The kids we can save (Independent on Sunday)
Meet the latest answer to child obesity: the Wii (Independent on Sunday)
Healthy lunches turn pupils into banana louts (Sunday Times)
Hidden salt in food 'puts children's health at risk' (Daily Telegraph)
Child health fears over high salt levels in sweet foods (Guardian)
The hidden salt that could ruin your child's life (Daily Mail)
Will the Wii woo pupils back to the gym? (Daily Mail)
Healthy snacks turn pupils into 'banana louts' (Daily Mail)
'Hidden salt' that puts our children in danger (Daily Express not online)
Salt 'n' shock (Daily Mirror)
From PE to Wii (News of the World)
Confusion over food salt content (BBC News Online)

Daily Telegraph

Feature in the Daily Telegraph's Weekend supplement on the increasing number of high-achieving parents who are signing up Mandarin-speaking nannies.

It's as easy as yi, er, san (Daily Telegraph)

Guardian

The Guardian reports that the number of schools introducing rifle ranges for pupils has surged since ministers backed shooting sports last year, according to The National Small-bore Rifle Association (NSRA).

Your new timetable, kids: double maths, English and a spot of shooting (Guardian)

Observer, Daily Telegraph

Dame Kelly Holmes has launched a prototype for the ideal modern PE kit after speaking to girls who were put off PE because of the 'uncool' uniforms.

‘Uncool' gym kits puts girls off school sport (Observer)
PE kit should be fashionable, says Dame Kelly (Daily Telegraph)