ISC Daily News Summary

The Edinburgh Academy this week became a fully co-educational school for the first time in its 184-year history. The school's Rector, Marco Longmore, is quoted.

Girls allowed (Herald)
Senior girls at the Academy for first time (Scotsman)

Today's TES magazine features Mike Lamb, a biology teacher at Hurstpierpoint College, and actor Nigel Havers, a former pupil of the Arts Education School.

My best and worst school trip (TES magazine)
My best teacher - Nigel Havers (TES magazine)

The launch of the controversial ContactPoint database, containing details of every child in the country, is to be delayed for 'technical reasons'. The system was originally due to be launched in April this year. It will now be delayed until January next year, Children's Minister Kevin Brennan said yesterday.

Database of children is delayed (BBC News Online)
ContactPoint child database launch delayed following security fears (Daily Telegraph)
Launch of controversial child database delayed (Guardian)

Key Stage One Standard Assessment Test (SAT) results show that one in five pupils is still failing to attain the basic literacy levels, while one in ten cannot perform simple sums expected of their age. However, the proportion of England's seven-year-olds reaching the expected levels in reading, writing and maths has stayed constant for a second year. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) figures are based internal on assessments by teachers.

Seven-year-olds' progress in three Rs 'flatlining' (Guardian)
Sats results show 'three Rs' failure (Daily Telegraph)
Fall in grades for seven-year-olds (Financial Times)
Confessions of an exam marker (Daily Mail not online)
'3R' kids no better (Sun not online)
Girls better than boys in all subjects (Daily Mirror)
Seven-year-olds' results plateau (BBC News Online)

A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has found that English pupils are among the most tested in the world and head teachers and staff are 'overburdened' with government initiatives.

Improving school leadership a priority for national education policies, says OECD (OECD)
Improving School Leadership (OECD report)
English pupils 'among the most tested in the world' (Daily Telegraph)
Teaching for tests fails our children (Daily Telegraph)
The schools swamped by red tape and exams (Daily Mail not online)

Ofqual yesterday accredited far-reaching reforms for GCSEs. The Times reports that, under the reforms, teenagers could take the new modular GCSEs early and have a year without examinations before starting their A-levels.

Ofqual accredits revised GCSEs (Ofqual)
Take GCSEs bit by bit then have a year's rest (Times)

A study by the Institute of Education, funded by the government, suggests that a quarter of eight- to-ten-year-olds lack healthy friendships and are more likely than their peers to be victims of bullies and bullies themselves.

Potential child bullies identified in survey (Guardian)

A new degree credits system to be introduced in England from September next year, published jointly by Universities UK, GuildHE and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, means that university students could earn marks towards their degrees by volunteering with a charity or completing work placements.

Volunteer work could count towards a degree (Times)

A government-funded study into childhood learning has found that children who receive a rich variety of home learning before they start school achieve better results in maths tests at 10.

Preschool learning boosts maths results (Guardian)
Pre-school 'gives maths boost' (BBC News Online)

The parents of a student are to take legal action after teachers at their daughter's sixth-form college failed to tell them that she had experienced heart palpitations days before her death.

Schoolgirl dies two weeks after parents not told of school doctor treatment (Daily Telegraph)
Parents sue school for not telling them their daughter had been taken ill two weeks before she died of a heart attack (Daily Mail)
Parents sue over daughter's death (BBC News Online)

Scottish ministers are looking to Norway to learn lessons about how to improve the education system for the Scotland's youngest children. The Herald also reports that Edinburgh University's principal, Sir Timothy O'Shea, has challenged Finance Secretary John Swinney to match the support of the UK Labour government in supporting higher education.

Norway offers a lesson on child education (Herald)
University principal challenges Swinney to match UK support (Herald)

Bauchi State in northern Nigeria has banned co-education at all junior and senior schools. The Financial Times reports that measures to make US colleges spend more of their endowments to help poor students gained momentum this week after two leading politicians announced that they were holding a high-level discussion on the matter.

Nigerian state bans co-ed schools (BBC News Online)
Colleges under pressure over help for poor (Financial Times

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have discovered the perfect swatting strategy to dispose of a fly. The right approach is to aim not at the insects themselves because they are extraordinarily good at anticipating where exactly your blow will land. Instead, it is best to aim a bit forward of the fly's starting position, to anticipate where it is going to jump when it first sees the swatter.

The perfect way to swat a fly (Times)
Quick-thinking flies are one jump ahead of the swatter (Guardian)
Gotcha! How to swat a fly, and know that it will die (Independent)
Scientists work out best way to swat a fly (Daily Telegraph)
Top five tips for killing flies (Daily Telegraph)
Fly's brain 'senses swat threat' (BBC News Online)