New figures reveal the number of A-level students applying for university courses has fallen to its lowest since 2009. By Rosemary Bennett, The Times. The Independent reports almost 100,000 more women than men applied for courses starting this autumn.

Researchers from the UCL Institute of Education have concluded that free schools are “socially selective”. By Will Hazell, Tes.

The school curriculum and alternative exams to GCSEs and A-levels come under discussion in The Guardian's letters page.

Research by YouGov, on behalf of the LKMco think-tank and King’s College London, has found that debt is parents' biggest fear about their child going to university. By Will Hazell, Tes.

A greater focus on developing children's speech and language skills will help social mobility, says the chief executive of children's communication charity CAN. By Bob Reitemeier, Tes.

Per pupil spending in England's schools has fallen since 2010, according to new research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). By Sean Coughlan, BBC News.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.

Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.

Members can contact the ISC if they know in advance of news, letters or opinions that are likely to feature in the media, or are aware of existing coverage which they would like to see featured in the DNS.

Headlines and first-line summaries are written by the ISC with the link directing to the source material. You should read and comply with the terms and conditions of the websites to which we link.