ISC Daily News Summary

The Daily Telegraph reports that Hollywood stars Robert De Niro and Kate Beckinsale made an unexpected video appearance at the end-of-term awards dinner at Davenies School in Buckinghamshire. The video was arranged by 'Waking Ned' director Kirk Jones, whose child left the school last year. The prep school's Headmaster, Craig Watson, is quoted.

De Niro stars at prep school's awards night (Daily Telegraph)

Article in the New Statesman on the Ministry of Defence's Grand Challenge final, in which 11 teams tested robot surveillance systems on Salisbury Plain. Reference is made to Bruton School for Girls and the Royal Grammar School in Guildford, who both entered sixth-form teams to compete in the event.

Artificial warfare (New Statesman)

Exam board Edexcel has been given a contract to provide 'back-room' support for the remarking of England's national test (Sats) papers after ETS Europe lost its contract.

Edexcel is called in to sort out Sats fiasco (Daily Telegraph)
ETS marking crisis: Rival exam board to assist on Sats (Guardian)
Edexcel exam board to help re-mark school SATs papers (Independent)
Edexcel to re-mark national curriculum tests after removal of ETS (Times)
Exam board to help sort out Sats (BBC News Online)

One of Britain's most senior plastic surgeons has disclosed that he operated on a teenage girl to reshape her nose because she was being bullied at school.

Plastic surgery for bullied girls (Times)
Criticism as plastic surgeon gives girl, 14, a nose job to stop bullies (Daily Telegraph)
Children having cosmetic surgery to escape school bullies, surgeon reveals (Daily Mail)
Bullied teens go under knife (Sun)
Bullied girls are having face surgery (Daily Mirror)

Hundreds of American colleges and universities have purchased a video training programme that teaches staff and students what to do if a lone gunman were to walk into their classroom and open fire.

Next up on US timetable: how to survive shootings (Independent)

A consultation on plans to replace Standard grades with a new qualification has been launched by the Scottish government. Parents can answer questions on the Scottish government website at www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations until 31st October.

Dialogue on exam switch (Scotsman)
The bottom line in the great grade inflation debate (Scotsman)
Second court ruling punches a hole in class size policy (Herald)

Academics have responded with gusto to the revival of Times Higher Education's annual 'exam howlers' competition. The embarrassing slip-ups taken from undergraduates' tests and finals papers included bungled references to 'laxative enforcement policies' and 'escape goats'. One student wrote 'the railways were invented to take the weight off the motorways.'

Students shamed by first-class exam howlers (Daily Telegraph)
Students with a degree in language-mangling (Daily Mail)
A clear case of 'laxative enforcement policies' (THE)