ISC Daily News Summary

Further coverage of yesterday's announcement that six independent schools in Scotland have been given a clean bill of health by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) following the first full phase of the charities review. Four Scottish independent schools have been given more time to meet the requirements. Director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), Judith Sischy, is quoted, stating: 'We are delighted that seven of our schools have passed the charity test and, although we are disappointed at the view taken by OSCR, we are confident that the remaining four schools will be able to retain their charitable status.' Reference is made to ISC Deputy Chief Executive, Matthew Burgess, in the Guardian. A statement from the Charity Commission following yesterday's announcement is below.

Statement in response to the OSCR public benefit announcements (Charity Commission)
Charity status of private schools under threat (Independent)
Top private schools in Scotland warned over charity status (Guardian)
Charitable status on the line for Scottish independent schools (Times)
Top Scottish private schools could lose charitable status (Daily Telegraph)
Scottish schools fail charity test (Financial Times)
Charitable status (Herald)
Why Hutchesons' failed public benefit test (Herald)
Charity regulator sets out targets for fee schools (Herald)
Four private schools told help poor or lose tax perks (Scotsman)
Can private schools really be classed as charity? (Scotsman)

Response piece in the Guardian argues that parents should not send their children to independent primary schools in order to 'parachute them' into state grammar schools at secondary level.

The increase in 11-plus applications is not related to the credit crunch (Guardian)

A leading state school has won a legal challenge over a ruling that its admissions policy discriminated against children from poor families. Drayton Manor High School had been ordered by the Schools Adjudicator to change its admissions code because it indirectly discriminated against children from nearby council estates. However, a High Court judge yesterday ruled that the adjudicator had failed to give adequate reasons for his decision, and quashed the objection. It is the first successful challenge to the adjudicator since the Schools Admissions Code was made law in 2007.

School did not discriminate, High Court rules (Guardian)
Ruling on school entry overturned (Independent)
Drayton Manor High School wins case against adjudicator (Times)
Comment: appeals likely to snowball (Times)
School wins landmark court case over admissions policy (Daily Telegraph)
High Court overturns bias ruling (Financial Times)
Court victory for school accused of 'segregation' (Daily Mail)
School overturns admission ruling (BBC News Online)

The Daily Telegraph reports that the Dean of Cambridge's St John's College set up a Facebook profile under an assumed name to keep an eye on his students after they formed a protest group to complain about a change in drinking laws.

Cambridge Dean joins Facebook to monitor students (Daily Telegraph)

Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy will succeed Richard Dawkins as the Oxford Professor for the Public Understanding of Science. Professor Dawkins retired from the post last month.

Mathematician du Sautoy takes Dawkins chair at Oxford (Guardian)
Successor to Dawkins named (Daily Telegraph not online)
Congratulations, Dr Maths (Spectator)

An Audit Commission analysis of child services reforms, which were introduced after the death of torture victim Victoria Climbié, says that the reforms have created a 'recipe for confusion'. The Daily Mail reports that a chain of nurseries is to require parents to use fingerprint scanners before collecting their children.

Child services reforms after Climbié death are 'hampering efforts', says watchdog (Guardian)
Fingerprint scanners will check parents collecting their children at nursery school (Daily Mail)

Children's Secretary Ed Balls has said that pupils should be kept in school grounds during lunch breaks to stop them eating unhealthy take-away food. This will not be a compulsory requirement, but Mr Balls says he will back heads trying to impose a policy of not allowing pupils out during the day. He also wants councils to limit the number of take-aways near schools.

Balls wants to end pupils' chip runs (Daily Telegraph)
'Fast food restaurants should be barred from opening near schools' (Daily Mail)
Shut kids in school for lunch (Sun)
Schools are being asked to stop pupils from going to takeaways at lunchtime (Daily Mirror)
Pupils' take-away lunch warning (BBC News Online)

A temporary sign for drivers heading to Cambridge's Sidney Sussex College directed them to the 'collage' car park. A resident took a photograph of the sign after spotting the error.

This way to Cambridge 'collage' (Daily Telegraph)