ISC Daily News Summary

Congratulations to this weekend's Team GB medal winners in Beijing. The following winners are former pupils of ISC schools: Chris Hoy (cycling, George Watson College), Tom James (rowing, King's School, Chester), Steve Williams (rowing, Monkton Combe School), Zac Purchase (rowing, King's School, Worcester), Ben Ainslie (sailing, Truro School), Frances Houghton (rowing, Dragon School and King's School, Canterbury), Alastair Heathcote (rowing, Eton College), Tom Lucy (rowing, Monmouth School) and Alex Partridge (rowing, Monkton Combe School).

Glorious golden weekend lifts Britain to third in medals table (Independent)
Rowers rule but they're still not perfect (BBC News Online)
Hoy 'should be given knighthood' (BBC News Online)
Great to be British! Team GB strikes gold EIGHT times in one weekend and rockets to fourth place in medals table (Daily Mail)
Agony and ecstasy as British rowers have extraordinary day in Beijing (Daily Mail)
Every silver lining has a cloud for the runners-up (Times)

Oxford University has announced that it is to grant more interviews to students from poor areas by taking into account applicants' postcodes. High Master of St Paul's School, Dr Martin Stephen, is quoted in the Daily Telegraph, stating: 'This is a morally and deeply offensive decision and 18 year olds should only be judged on their ability and not on their social background.' Secretary of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), Geoff Lucas, argues that 'the approach Oxford University is taking is an intelligent and responsive use of contextual data.'

Oxford to select more poor pupils by looking at postcodes (Daily Telegraph)
Postcode to count in Oxford admissions (Observer)

The Cheltenham Ladies' College is referred to in a Sunday Times article on the revelation that cash awards are being used to fill places on undersubscribed university courses.

Universities pay women to do science (Sunday Times)
Of course there's still a second sex... (Sunday Times)

An online Daily Mail article reports that HMC has warned plans to cut GCSEs into bite size chunks will be another 'nail in the coffin' for the 20-year-old exams. Geoff Lucas is quoted, saying growing numbers of independent schools are dropping GCSEs in subjects such as maths and sciences in favour of International GCSEs (IGCSEs).

Leading schools 'will shun' new modular GCSEs, private schools warned (Daily Mail)

The weekend section of the Daily Telegraph continues its weekly series profiling two local state and independent schools. This weekend Truro School was featured.

Town vs gown (Daily Telegraph)

'I have taught physics at A-level since 1988, having taken the exam myself in 1983. In the past 25 years, the material on the syllabus has been diluted, with most of the mathematical requirements removed. We are left with a subject more akin to "physics studies" than "physics".' Christopher Smith, Director of ICT, Colfe's School.

Teaching unions and politicians are shamefully ignoring A-level inflation (Daily Telegraph letters)

Further coverage of last week's A-level results, with reference made to Dulwich College and Eton College in a Sunday Times briefing.

Beating the A-level blues (Sunday Times)
Future of A-levels (Sunday Times)
A parent's survival guide to post-exam results blowouts (Times not online)
A-level grade problems and their solutions (Times letters)
Scandal of vital exam that none of our children has passed (Observer)
Simplify university application (Observer letters)
Let's celebrate all education success (Guardian letters)

The Conservatives have signalled a shift in position on university admissions after Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary, said there should be no cap on numbers. The Daily Telegraph reports that the first Student Price Index survey, from the Open University, has found that the true inflation rate for undergraduates in England is almost 7%, compared to the Consumer Price Index which currently stands at 4.4%.

Conservatives shift position on university admissions (Daily Telegraph)
University students face the most expensive academic year (Daily Telegraph not online)
We do want more at university, says Tory (Daily Mail)
Lecturers revolt over 'rate your tutor' website (Independent)
Students in rush to grab final places at university (Independent)
More students than ever win second chance at university (Times)
Degrees in creative industries 'must be treated like science' (Times)

Various features on gap years and starting university in the weekend's newspapers.

100 ways to fill the gap (Daily Telegraph)
A gap year to a gap life (Guardian)
Student finance (Observer)
What Freshers' Week will really be like (Times)

Various articles on GCSE standards, prior to the results being published this Thursday. Chief Executive of the AQA exam board, Mike Cresswell, has admitted that pupils need to remember fewer facts and figures to pass modern exams than their counterparts did 20 years ago. The Guardian reports that struggling secondary schools will learn this week if they could be forced to close by the end of the year amid accusations that the government is abandoning them.

Government damaging troubled schools, say unions (Guardian)
How minister's remarks have made a struggle to succeed even tougher (Guardian)
Results row looms as A grades soar at GCSE (Guardian)
GCSEs take less memory, exams head admits (Sunday Telegraph)
GCSE maths exam suitable for eight-year-olds, say Tories (Daily Telegraph)
One in five pupils will be awarded top grades in GCSEs (Independent)
'Bravest' students do not cheat (BBC News Online)

A survey conducted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) suggests that many teachers are concerned about 'hidden' surveillance cameras located in their schools.

Teachers worry about CCTV in their schools (Daily Telegraph not online)
Revealed: The CCTV cameras spying on hundreds of classrooms (Daily Mail)
Teacher concerns over school CCTV (BBC News Online)

Feature in the Sunday Telegraph praising city academies.

Now for some good news about education (Sunday Telegraph)

Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe has revealed that he suffers from dyspraxia.

Harry Potter: The brain disorder which means I can't tie my shoelaces (Mail on Sunday)
Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe has dyspraxia (Sunday Telegraph)

A Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings when classes begin this month.

The American school where teachers carry a pen, a ruler and ... a gun (Guardian)
School where the teachers are allowed to carry guns (Mail on Sunday)
Guns for Texas school's teachers (BBC News Online)

Marks & Spencer has been criticised by teaching union NASUWT for launching a school blazer with a special pocket and in-built controls for iPods.

Is that an iPod in your M&S blazer pocket? (Daily Telegraph)
Teachers furious as M&S launches school blazer with built-in iPod controls (Daily Mail)
Fully mental jacket (Sun)
New M&S blazer blasted for built-in iPod controls (Daily Mirror)