ISC Daily News Summary

Further coverage of the decision by Eton College and St Paul's School to 'boycott' this year's A-level and GCSE league tables. High Master of St Paul's, Dr Martin Stephen, has an opinion piece published in today's Daily Telegraph on this issue and also discussed his views on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme yesterday. Head Master of Eton, Anthony Little, and Headmaster of Abingdon School, Mark Turner, are quoted in the Guardian.

Eton and St Paul's heads boycott independent schools' league table (Guardian)
Should school league tables be abolished? (Guardian)
Flawed but necessary (Guardian)
League tables are a tyranny, says head (Daily Telegraph)
We can free ourselves from the tyranny of school league tables (Daily Telegraph)
Schools in league table boycott (Independent not online)
A useful lesson from an unlikely source (Independent)
Eton and St Paul's snub 'misleading' league tables (Times)
Top private schools to boycott exam tables, claiming they are misleading (Daily Mail)
Eton 'no' to tables (Daily Mirror)

Today's Daily Mail Education Notebook column focuses on dyslexia and the Xtraordinary People charity. The article profiles two dyslexic pupils who attend Millfield School, which provides specialist dyslexic support.

Making sense of dyslexia (Daily Mail not online)

'The steady erosion of the value of grades at GCSE and A-level means achievement at anything other than the higher levels will do little to enhance a student's prospects in the next phase of their education.' Clarissa Farr, High Mistress, St Paul's Girls' School.

Troubles in school (Times letters)

Provisional figures released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) indicate improving pupil-teacher ratios in both primary and secondary state schools. The numbers also show that the number of vacant posts for teachers in England's schools has gone up by a quarter in one year.

School Workforce in England (including pupil: teacher ratios and pupil: adult ratios), January 2008 (Provisional) (DCSF)
Pupil-teacher ratios in schools improving, figures show (Guardian)
More teachers, but vacancies rise (BBC News Online)

Guardian, Education Guardian

The Guardian reports that a state school in Buckinghamshire is employing sixth formers as supply teachers because of a shortage of qualified staff. The school is thought to be the only one in the UK to have taken this approach to supply teacher shortages.

School pays pupils to fill teaching gaps (Guardian)
'The class is in awe and knuckles down to work' (Education Guardian)

Sun

The Sun reports that a new school for children from military families is to open in Hampshire, with up to 1,000 boarding places.

Army kid academy (Sun not online)

Government figures show that the share of pupils in England's schools speaking English as a second language has risen to a record high.

More non-English speaking pupils (BBC News Online)

Further coverage of the latest Sutton Trust survey of young people, which shows an increasing number of them are expecting to enter higher education.

Ipsos MORI Young People Omnibus Survey (Sutton Trust)
Three in four aim for university (BBC News Online)
More pupils than ever considering university (Guardian)

Political comment piece written by Master of Wellington College, Dr Anthony Seldon.

Brown, like Blair, has come to office at the wrong time (Guardian)

Today's Education Guardian supplement also includes articles on education in Uganda, postgraduate study at Oxford and violence towards college lecturers. Today's Guardian also includes a 'Think Global' education supplement (not online).

A German study suggests that children run less risk of being sensitive to allergens if there is a dog in the house in the early years of their lives.

Why puppy love can give your children a healthy start in life (Times)
Having a dog could be the best remedy for hay fever (Daily Mail)
A pet dog can help children avoid allergies (Daily Mirror)