ISC Daily News Summary

Martin Halsall will join the Kings Group as Chief Executive in October 2008 when the Group's founder, Dr Roger Fry, assumes the role of non-executive Chairman of the Board. Martin Halsall joins the Kings Group from Haileybury and Imperial Service College, a large independent boarding school in Hertfordshire, England, where he was Bursar. Prior to joining Haileybury in 2005, Martin had a distinguished career in the Royal Air Force. After many tours flying fighter aircraft, including an exchange tour with the German Luftwaffe and with the Canadian Forces, Martin had a series of demanding appointments including command of the air wing in the Falkland islands, Commander British Forces in Italy during the turmoil in the Balkans and the Commander of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus during the second Gulf War. His last appointment, as an Air Commodore (Brigadier General equivalent), was to create a NATO air power centre of excellence in Germany. Martin is currently studying at the Institute of Education, University of London, for a Masters degree in Education Business Management. King's Group, with offices based in Madrid, currently comprises five British Schools in Spain, a Boarding School in England and two Schools in Beijing.  It has an Adult Education Division in Spain which represents the Open University, and an extensive international language school programme, especially of summer courses, for children, young people and executives.  The Group has development plans for all its educational services.  Details are available on its website http://www.kingsgroup.org/.

The ISC events team are delighted to announce that Sam Freedman, Education Research Director at think-tank Policy Exchange (and formerly ISC's Head of Research), has agreed to speak in the Question Time session at the ISC Annual Conference. Also on the panel, on Tuesday 3^rd June, will be Lord Adonis, Sir Richard Sykes, Michael Gove MP and David Laws MP. They will be looking at how changes to the political landscape over the next few years will affect the independent education sector. To book your place at the ISC Annual Conference, please click here.

TES
The TES reports that independent schools are cheating league tables by stopping pupils from taking exams unless they are confident of getting top grades, according to leading headteachers. Geoffrey Boult, chairman of BSA, is quoted, saying that headteachers were put under increasing pressure from governors if they want less able students to take GCSEs and A-Levels. Mr Boult will be speaking on the issue at BSA's annual conference in York next week.
Barnaby Lenon, headmaster of Harrow School, and Martin Stephen, high master of St Paul's School, are also quoted, agreeing that independent schools are allowing less able pupils to take exams because they worry about rankings. Less able pupils 'culled' (TES)

All national newspapers, BBC News Online
Teachers' leaders have warned of further strike action following yesterday's protest.
Skipping school (Guardian)
'New teachers are being driven out' (Guardian)
Strike over teachers' pay closes thousands of schools (Guardian)
Teachers threaten more strikes as pupils suffer (Daily Telegraph)
NUT should offer a lesson in democracy (Daily Telegraph)
In pictures: the teachers' strike (Daily Telegraph)
Britain faces industrial unrest as unions threaten strikes (Times)
Teaching strike hits a third of schools (Financial Times not online)
Industrial action spreads across the public sector (Independent)
School's out for two million children as teachers strike (Independent not online)
The summer of discontent (Daily Mail not online)
Lessons to learn (Sun not online)
Gord summer of discontent (Daily Star not online)

TES
This week's TES is a bumper issue with 4 job sections. The editorial section includes:
Coverage on the week's strike action;
Schools braced for job losses, in light of the credit crunch;
Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCos) will have to be fully qualified teachers under new government proposals;
Pupil safety at top of London mayoral agenda;
Royal award for west London college that doubled its overseas student intake in three years.
The TES magazine includes a feature on 'being British' and citizenship classes.
TES

Daily Telegraph
Parents are increasingly turning to their adult children for financial support because of the rising cost of living. One in 14 adult children (7%) has lent or given cash to parents, according to a report by Scottish Widows.
Parents turn to children for handouts (Daily Telegraph not online)

Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail
A 14-year-old girl who was a victim of bullying over the internet has been found hanged at home. Stephanie Burlingham, who was labelled as a "boff" by classmates because of her intelligence, was also spat at and ridiculed after teenagers at school learned she was in counselling for depression.
Girl killed herself after bullying on internet (Daily Telegraph)
Found dead, girl taunted by bullies for being bright (Daily Mail not online)

Times, Daily Telegraph
Letter - academies (Times)
Letter - strike (Daily Telegraph)

Metro
Modern life has morphed into the 'workend'. Millions of us are using Saturday and Sunday to do the chores for the rest of the week, a survey by paintmaker Dulux has found. An average of six hours is taken up each weekend on paying bills, food shopping, fixing the lawnmower and other mundane tasks - almost as much time as spent at work on weekdays.
Looknig forward to the workend? (Metro not online)