ISC Daily News Summary

Chairman of the Charity Commission, Dame Suzi Leather, is interviewed in the Sunday Times on the subject of independent schools and charitable status. Head Teacher of Hatherop Castle School, Paul Easterbrook, is quoted, and reference is made to ISC. 

I'm not waging a class war on private schools (Sunday Times)

Sunday Times

Master of Wellington College, Dr Anthony Seldon, discusses state school admissions in a Sunday Times comment piece.

We must end free education for the middle classes (Sunday Times)

A number of articles on boarding school fees, following research conducted by Halifax Financial Services. National Director of the Boarding Schools' Association (BSA), Hilary Moriarty, is quoted in the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail. ISC is also referred to.

Middle classes 'being priced out of boarding schools' (Daily Telegraph)
School fees up 86% (Times)
Boarding school fees have soared by three times the rate of inflation over 10 years (Daily Mail)
Pupil fees jump 86% (Daily Express not online)

A review of the National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) in the Sunday Times Culture magazine included praise for Reigate Grammar School's production of 'The Dumb Waiter' by Harold Pinter, which won the Judges' Commendation for Enterprise prize.

National Student Drama Festival (Sunday Times)

Observer, Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, BBC News Online

A £225million scheme to provide safe places for children to play is to be announced, amid criticism of the way that the government has agreed the sale of 187 school playing fields since 1998. Local authorities will be urged to create 3,500 playgrounds and 30 adventure playgrounds in response to research that suggests that one in four children aged 8 to 10 has never played outside without supervision.

Ministers attacked over school fields sale (Observer)
Is it time to let children play outdoors once more? (Observer)
Young people today...actually, they're great (Observer)
Safe play areas plan amid school field sale (Times)
Parents 'too scared to let children play outside' (Daily Telegraph)
Parenting café (Daily Telegraph)
Playing fields sold off despite Labour's pledge (Daily Mail)
Row over 'sale' of school fields (BBC News Online)

Responding to a select committee inquiry into whether the National Curriculum is 'fit for purpose', the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has said its structure of 14 compulsory subjects should be replaced by a 'minimum framework' that would be 'skills and competence-based, rather than prescriptive and knowledge-based'.

Teachers call for the end of history (Sunday Telegraph)

Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, News of the World, BBC News Online

Figures uncovered by the Conservative Party show that one in 14 pupils left school last year without sitting GCSEs in English or maths. The Daily Mail reports that pupils are telling an increasing number of 'sob stories' to win extra marks in their GCSEs or A-levels, according to statistics from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). There also reports on a government scheme that will encourage teenagers to attend school by offering them pre-paid debit cards worth £40 a month. The cards can be used at approved locations such as bowling alleys, skating rinks, leisure centres and theatres.

Pupils still fail to sit core GCSEs (Daily Telegraph)
£500 to keep children in school (Daily Telegraph)
More test students rely on a sob story (Daily Mail)
Kids' £500 to go to school (News of the World not online)
Free teen bus passes criticised (BBC News Online)

Independent, Daily Mail, Sun

Coverage this weekend that Children's Secretary Ed Balls could face a major embarrassment next month as his children's school is set to receive a poor Ofsted inspection report. The report on Grazebrook Primary School in Stoke Newington, North London, is expected to demand tough action to improve teaching at the school.

Ofsted will criticise school attended by minister's son (Independent)
The 'failing' primary Schools Secretary has chosen for his three children is threatened with 'special measures' (Daily Mail)
Balls kids' school to get blast (Sun)

Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) show that there has been a surge in the number of undergraduates aged under 18 since the admissions rules were relaxed. The Sunday Telegraph included a feature on how to save for tuition fees and the Observer reported that the National Union of Students (NUS) will this week call for a campaign to promote 'responsible drinking' on campuses across the country.

Rise of the prodigies: 50% increase in university students under 18 (Guardian)
Academia requires the riches of Croesus (Sunday Telegraph not online)
Students try to clean up their boozy image (Observer)

Research commissioned by educational organisation Edge and the Skills Commission indicates that government-backed careers advice for youngsters and adults is patchy and needs improvement.

Worry over 'patchy career advice' (BBC News Online)

Skills Secretary John Denham has announced that all newly or partly built colleges will have to adopt wind turbines, solar panels or other renewable energy, under plans to cut global warming.

All colleges 'forced to go green' (BBC News Online)

The Scotsman reports on Gordon Brown's speech to the Scottish Labour Conference, and the Herald reports that the quality of nursery education in Scotland could suffer under new funding arrangements set up by the Scottish government.

Brown puts education at forefront of 'people party' fightback against SNP (Scotsman)
Nursery education 'threatened' by funding agreement (Herald)

Further coverage of the Byron Review into child safety on the internet.

Parental advisory (Guardian)
This review builds consensus - now let's act on it (Guardian)
Let the cyborg generation take risks (Sunday Times)
Parents ignore internet warning (Sunday Times)

Research by Alberta University in Canada suggests that children who eat plenty of fruit and vegetables do better in exams. The Daily Express also reports that Jamie Oliver is to return to a school that rebelled against his healthy school meals campaign as part of his new television series.

An apple a day earns your child a Grade A (Daily Express not online)
Jamie's second helping (Daily Express not online)

How to deal with disruptive pupils (Independent letters)

Tackling nits is a nasty business, but help is at hand from a new London salon that will do it for you. The Daily Telegraph on Saturday investigated.

Taking the lousy out of delousing (Daily Telegraph)