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Daily News Summary
3 October 2019

Headteacher warns a university cap on private schools 'will drive students abroad'
Letters: "The Common Entrance exam is alive and well"
"Independent school children should not be made scapegoats for wider social issues"
International experiences are 'invaluable' for students' development
Academics call for summer-born children to have their test scores adjusted
Research suggests teachers spend 44 days a year assessing students
New T-levels contracts 'worth 30 per cent less than originally advertised'
Reports of sexual assault at UK universities 'have trebled in three years'

Headteacher warns a university cap on private schools 'will drive students abroad'

 

Speaking at the annual Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), Chris Ramsey, head of Whitgift School, said proposals to cap the number of privately educated students going to university would 'drive students abroad and leave universities struggling to fill courses, such as modern foreign languages'. By Catherine Lough, Tes. The article quotes Mike Buchanan, executive director of the HMC, and Sue Bishop, HMC's director of external relations.

 
Tes

Letters: "The Common Entrance exam is alive and well"

 

Writing in The Telegraph, Durrell Barnes, chair of the Independent Schools Examinations Board, insists the Common Entrance exam is "alive and well", adding "there have been very positive responses to our plans for its future development, presented at last week's Independent Association of Prep Schools conference". The letter can be found three quarters of the way down the page.

 
The Telegraph

"Independent school children should not be made scapegoats for wider social issues"

 

Writing in The Telegraph, William Sitwell challenges claims that some members of the Conservative Party 'have given Eton a bad name'. He argues independent school pupils and parents "come from all types of background", adding "every public school that I know of goes out of its way to contribute to their local communities".

 
The Telegraph

International experiences are 'invaluable' for students' development

 

Writing in Tes, Alex Hems, head of St George's School for Girls, outlines some of the reasons why she believes overseas experiences are 'invaluable' for young people, highlighting how they help students 'learn to see the world from a completely different point of view'.

 
Tes

Academics call for summer-born children to have their test scores adjusted

 

A teaching guidebook has suggested pupils born in summer should have their marks adjusted, as research indicates children born between June and August do not perform as well as their peers on average. By Rosemary Bennett, The Times.

 
The Times

Research suggests teachers spend 44 days a year assessing students

 

According to research published today, teachers spend an average of six hours and 48 minutes assessing pupils every week, the equivalent of 44 days per school year. By Dave Speck, Tes.

 
Tes

New T-levels contracts 'worth 30 per cent less than originally advertised'

 

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education announced today that the contracts for seven T-levels set to begin in 2021 are valued at around £20.4 million, around 30 per cent less than the £30 million advertised in March. By Julia Belgutay, Tes.

 
Tes

Reports of sexual assault at UK universities 'have trebled in three years'

 

According to findings from a BBC investigation, universities reported 1,436 allegations of sexual harassment or sexual violence in 2018-19, an increase from 476 in 2016-17. By Branwen Jeffreys, BBC News.

 
BBC

 

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