ISC Daily News Summary

The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail report on the views of Dr Anthony Seldon regarding compulsory physical training for pupils in schools, as originally expressed in the TES last week.

Physical training in schools should be compulsory, says leading head (Daily Telegraph)
Public school head calls for a return to physical training: 'Make them sweat!' (Daily Mail)
School cadet forces 'would bring order' (Times not online)

Director General of AQA, Mike Cresswell, has called for A-level results to be released a week earlier to give pupils more time to challenge lower-than-expected grades that might cost them a place at university. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Independent, Cambridge University's head of admissions, Geoff Parks, suggests that A-levels should be completed by the end of the Easter term so pupils can apply for university once they have their final results.

Exams chief calls for earlier A-level results to help appeals (Observer)
A-level exams should start at Easter, says admissions chief (Independent)

A study by the think tank Policy Exchange indicates that bright graduates are being turned off teaching because it is 'too similar to social work and policing'. The report recommends that schools in deprived areas should be able to opt out of national pay deals for teachers so they can attract better staff and pay them more.

More Good Teachers (Policy Exchange)
Top graduates shun teaching (Daily Telegraph)
Teaching suffers from poor image (Financial Times not online)
Students with the worst exam results are accepted on to teacher training courses (Daily Mail)
Yob kids drive out teachers (News of the World)
Call to give schools pay opt-out (BBC News Online)

The Sunday Telegraph has obtained a letter from one of Britain's biggest exam boards, OCR, which warned test officials in January 2006 that the proposed ETS marking system for Sats was riddled with problems.

Officials warned of Sats problems two years ago (Daily Telegraph)

The Financial Times reports that Schools Minister Lord Adonis has welcomed an Oxfordshire school's proposal to become England's first multilingual academy.

School wins backing to be multilingual academy (Financial Times)

Selwyn College has emerged as the front-runner in the annual Tompkins league table of Cambridge University colleges' degree results, published exclusively today by the Independent.

‘Poorer' college tops Cambridge degree table (Independent)
No point in pretending Oxbridge isn't best (Independent)
Oxbridge obsession 'is madness' (Sunday Telegraph)

Lord Adonis will today announce that children from some of the most deprived areas of the country will be given cash to spend on educational activities in a bid to get them to apply for the country's top universities.

£400 cash boost for poorest pupils (Daily Telegraph)

A report by Bristol University - published today by the Royal Geographical Society - concludes that 'the education system in England is still blighted by class divisions', despite government attempts to make school admissions fairer. The report says that even deprived pupils from academically-successful primary schools eventually end up in badly-performing secondaries.

Class divide 'still strong in schools' (Daily Telegraph)
Gulf between rich and poor 'like Victorian times' (Daily Telegraph)

A speech to be given this week at the annual conference of teaching union Voice is expected to recommend that the opening of more Islamic faith schools should be stopped amid fears they will fuel social segregation.

Call to stop expansion of 'divisive' faith schools (Daily Mail)
Muslim schools fuel segregation, say teachers (Daily Telegraph)
Muslim schools are 'a threat to Britain' (Daily Express)

Research commissioned by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) suggests that teaching people how to manage their money is unlikely to make them any better off.

Financial education unlikely to be of any help (Financial Times)
Doubts cast over the benefits of finance education (Financial Times)

Government-commissioned research, seen by the Independent on Sunday, reveals that schools are to send parents written notification of their children's weight. The Observer reports that Britain's first boarding school exclusively for overweight and obese teenagers is to open in the Lake District, and will be run by the American company Wellspring Academies.

Parents to get 'fat reports' after children are weighed (Independent on Sunday)
Britain's first live-in school for fat pupils (Observer)
A tax on children who grow too fast (Daily Mail)
Schools resort to 'fat reports' for pupils who tip the scales (Daily Mail)
End of term fat reports (Daily Mirror)
3 in 4 kids don't get lunch hour (Daily Mirror)
Generation XXL (Sun)

A study by the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) has found that parents 'across the social spectrum' are calling on teachers to run sessions that will help them to understand the curriculum and modern teaching methods. They also want schools to provide them with 'homework accompanied by worked examples' so that they can better support their children.

Parents plead for lessons on homework (Observer)
Are you an over-protective parent? (Times)

All national newspapers

The future of Channel 4 quizshow 'Countdown' is in doubt after presenters Des O'Connor and Carol Vorderman both announced they are to step down over pay disputes.

90% pay cut doesn't add up for Vorderman (Times)
Countdown's future is uncertain after Carol Vorderman and Des O'Connor depart (Daily Telegraph)
Carol Vorderman quits Countdown (BBC News Online)
Vorderman left Countdown over 90% 'take it or leave it' pay cut (Daily Mail)