ISC Daily News Summary

Further coverage of the Charity Commission's further draft supplementary public benefit guidance for charities, including a letter in the Times from ISC General Counsel, Matthew Burgess, and an article in the TES in which ISC Chief Executive, Jonathan Shephard, is quoted.

School selection (Times letters)
Teacher-loan plan for independents (TES not online)

The Daily Telegraph and Times report that Prior Park College pupil Camilla Hempleman-Adams - the daughter of polar explorer David - is to set off on an Arctic adventure with her father next month.

Meet the next Hempleman-Adams (Daily Telegraph)
Following in some freezing footsteps (Times)
Schoolgirl to ski to north pole (BBC News Online)

Coverage today of the news that Eton College has suspended a number of pupils following an alleged incident. The articles contain a number of inaccuracies, including the number of pupils involved and the implication that the school is somehow trying to cover the incident up, which is completely untrue.

Politician's grandson is suspended over attack on the playing fields of Eton (Times)
Eton suspensions (Daily Telegraph)
Four Eton boys suspended 'over attack on girl of 13' (Daily Mail)
Four suspended after Eton attack (Daily Express not online)
Toffs 'bashed girl' on playing fields of Eton (Sun)
Eton lads facing expulsion after alleged attack on girl (Daily Mirror)

A study by learning difficulties charity Xtraordinary People indicates that up to two million children are let down by the government's literacy strategy because it has failed to target the children falling furthest behind. The charity's founder, Kate Griggs, discussed the research on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, saying 'this expertise is very readily available in the independent schools, it is something that most of the major private schools have and those children are actually going on to Oxford and Cambridge University and really succeeding, but it is not happening in the state schools.'

Half of children who fail key tests 'have learning difficulties' (Times)
2m children have dyslexic-type reading difficulty, study claims (Guardian)
Dyslexia link to school failures (BBC News Online)

The Statistics Commission - the official data watchdog - has ordered the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to explain why Children's Secretary Ed Balls seemingly diverted attention from figures this week showing that one in five children failed to get a place at their first choice school.

Balls told to explain 'burying bad news' (Daily Telegraph)
Balls accused of burying bad news on school admissions (Daily Mail)

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has accused the Ministry of Defence of breaking the law over a lesson plan drawn up to teach pupils about the Iraq war. Teachers will threaten to boycott military involvement in schools at the union's annual conference next weekend, claiming the lesson plan is a 'propaganda' exercise and makes no mention of any civilian casualties as a result of the war.

Iraq: teachers told to rewrite history (Independent)
Teachers say classroom aid is propaganda for Iraq war (Times not online)
MoD accused of propaganda in Iraq worksheets for schools (Guardian)
Schools 'used for pro-war propaganda' (Daily Telegraph not online)
Teachers call for schools to ban Army recruitment (Daily Mail)
Pupils 'given biased Iraq view' (BBC News Online)

A TES survey shows that almost half of teachers are happy to have their lessons rated by pupils.

How do I rate my lesson? (TES)

Figures from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) show that almost 23,000 students were awarded the wrong GCSE and A-level grades last summer - a 14% rise from 2006.

14% rise in exam blunders (Independent not online)

Academic salary league tables league tables published in Times Higher Education (THE) reveal that salaries have increased by 12.6% in two years, and Vice-Chancellors' pay rose by around 8% last year. Vice-Chancellor pay scales now put the heads of universities ahead of similar public sector leaders. The TES reports that pay for some 'superheads' has topped £150,000, according to the School Teachers' Review Body, who will publish a report on leaders' pay next week.

University heads' average pay passes £177,800 (Financial Times)
How much are you worth? (THE)
Pay for university heads up 8% (Guardian)
Superhead pay tops £150,000 (TES not online)

A study by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) reveals that the number of women head teachers in England has risen by 7% over the last five years.

Female heads 'at all-time high' (BBC News Online)

Daily Telegraph, Times, Daily Mail, Sun

A survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) suggests the cult of celebrity is producing a generation that believes education and hard work are not important in achieving success.

Cult of celebrity 'is harming children' (Daily Telegraph)
Forget education, pupils just want to be famous (Times)
Peril for the pupils who want to live it like Beckham (Daily Mail)
Kids wannabe Posh and Becks (Sun)

HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) has recommended that activities such as Frisbee and 'boxercise' should be made more widely available in Scottish schools to encourage girls, non-competitive pupils and those who are overweight to do more physical activity. The Daily Telegraph reports on a study commissioned by the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation, which indicates that schoolgirls get more exercise during lunch breaks than in physical education classes.

Frisbees and 'boxercise' in schools urged by inspectors (Herald)
Girls 'exercise more during lunch' (Daily Telegraph not online)
Education 'must match job needs' (Scotsman)

Times

Two previously-unknown oil portraits of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart have been discovered. The paintings will be revealed at a London conference this weekend.

True face of Mozart revealed (Times)