ISC Daily News Summary

20 May 2009


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Independent sector

What a recession can teach us about education

Sunday Telegraph
Martin Stephen, High Master of St Paul's School, had an 800 word article published in the Sunday Telegraph in which he wrote that private schools can weather out the recession if they highlight their traditional strengths.
What a recession can teach us about education (Daily Telegraph)

Independent sector

Mock exam has same questions as real A-level

Daily Telegraph
A mock question in a course guide written by examiners from exam board AQA appeared in a sociology A-level examination last week. Critics have condemned rules that allowed senior examiners, employed by boards to write questions and oversee marking, to write revision guides and run seminars for pupils and teachers about how to pass the exams. Martin Stephen, High Master of St Paul's School, is quoted.
Mock exam has same questions as real A-level (Daily Telegraph)

Independent sector

International Baccalaureate figures published

Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph
Government figures have revealed that greater numbers of students are taking the International Baccalaureate instead of A-levels. The trend has prompted fears of a 'two-tier' education system as it emerged the growth in entries is driven by private schools and sixth-form colleges. Opposition politicians claimed the devaluing of A-levels is creating a growing divide between private schools and state comprehensives.
Fears of 'two-tier' education system as pupils taking rival exam to A-levels rise by 40% (Daily Mail)
Fewer teenagers studying A-level alternative at school (Daily Telegraph)

General education

Truancy figures published

Daily Mail
Official figures published yesterday show that more than half of pupils are habitual truants at the country's worst schools for attendance. Pupils classed as 'persistent absentees' for skipping at least a day each week are in the majority in nearly 20 schools. Pupils in their GCSE year are most likely to be serial truants who miss the equivalent of almost two months' schooling a year, the figures showed.
At least half of students play truant at Britain's worst schools with GCSE pupils worst offenders (Daily Mail)

General education

The rise of cheating using the internet

Guardian
G2 features a comment piece on the use of the internet in cheating at schools and universities.
Cheating has always been around in schools and universities (Guardian)

International

Expat schools that make the grade

Financial Times
The Financial Times gives advice for parents moving abroad on how to find suitable international schools for their children.
Expat schools that make the grade (Financial Times)

Scottish education

Scots graduates 'get raw deal on help to find job'

Scotsman
Scottish graduates face difficult times as the effects of the recession mean that many companies are freezing recruitment and giving up their graduate schemes.
Scots graduates 'get raw deal on help to find job' (Scotsman)

Higher education

Why are students complaining so much, and do they have a case?

Independent
The Independent investigates why numbers of complaints from students are on the rise.
The Big Question: Why are students complaining so much, and do they have a case? (Independent)

Academies

Two schools shut in protest over academies

Independent
Two schools were shut yesterday as teachers' leaders escalated their strike action against proposals to set up new privately sponsored academies. Members of NUT and NASUWT walked out over plans to turn two comprehensive schools into an academy sponsored by the hedge fund financier Martin Finegold. The teachers are protesting at plans to make them work longer hours and go back to compulsory lunchtime supervision.
Two schools shut in protest over academies (Independent)

Health

Too much cola 'weakens your bones'

Scotsman, Daily Express, Daily Mail
Drinking large quantities of cola could lead to muscle problems, an irregular heartbeat and bone weakness, experts warned yesterday. The researchers said that the number of cola-lovers suffering health issues was rising.
Too much cola 'weakens your bones' (Scotsman)
Drinking cola cause weak bones (Daily Mail)
Cola drinks can be bad for the heart (Daily Express - not online)

Letters

Maths teaching

Times
A letter to the Times comments on maths teaching.
Teaching maths (Times)

Obituaries

Professor Anthony Holden

Scotsman
The Scotsman features an obituary to Professor Anthony Holden, a university teacher and scholar. He specialised in Anglo-Norman language and literature.
Professor Anthony Holden (Scotsman)

And finally...

Boil an egg? That's too hard for us, say children

Daily Mail, Guardian
More than three quarters of 10 to 16-year-olds can't boil an egg, research has revealed. The poll of 1,000 children also found that just under half of them had never cooked an evening meal.
Boil an egg? That's too hard for us, say children (Daily Mail)
Boiling an egg? Beats us, say most children (Guardian - not online)

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