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Daily News Summary
20 August 2021

Coronavirus: COVID cases could surge when schools return, expert warns
One billion children face extremely high risk from climate change, UN warns
Teenager who underwent cancer radiotherapy before each GCSE exam awarded top grades
SQA to continue to oversee exams until its replacement is found
Teachers in Scotland to receive training on how to spot incel extremists

Coronavirus: COVID cases could surge when schools return, expert warns

 

Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the Government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), has warned there could be a "considerable surge" in COVID-19 cases when schools reopen after the summer break. By Mary-Louise Clews, Tes.

The Department for Education has advised universities, schools and nurseries in England to delay seeking help in dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks until a certain threshold of positive cases among students and staff has been reached. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

Writing in The Telegraph, Fraser Nelson considers the Government's approach to managing COVID-19 ahead of the return to school, arguing: "Cases are rising as the new term approaches, but that need not mean ruining another academic year."

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, has said safety mitigations in schools remain "essential" due to threat posed by "the continuing emergence of new strains of the virus". By Emma Seith, Tes.

According to The Telegraph, Hartpury University is the first university in the UK to ban students from living on campus if they cannot prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. By Bill Gardner.

 

One billion children face extremely high risk from climate change, UN warns

 

A United Nations report has warned that children living in 33 countries face a "deadly combination" of climate and environmental factors and inadequate essential services, such as water, healthcare and education. By Ben Webster, The Times.

Meryl Batchelder, a science teacher at Corbridge Middle School and a UN accredited climate change teacher, writes in The Guardian arguing "sustainability and the environment should be a thread running through every subject" taught at school.

 

Teenager who underwent cancer radiotherapy before each GCSE exam awarded top grades

 

Kasper Buist, a 16-year-old student at Magdalen College School, has achieved eight grade 9s and two grade 8s at GCSE, despite spending four months undergoing intense daily radiotherapy and chemotherapy for an aggressive form of cancer. By Harrison Jones, Metro.

 
Metro

SQA to continue to oversee exams until its replacement is found

 

Shirley-Anne Somerville, Scotland's education secretary, has confirmed that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) will continue to oversee exams until its successor is found. By Mark McLaughlin, The Times.

Tes reports the team of experts selected to shape reform of the SQA and Education Scotland has been revealed. By Henry Hepburn.

 

Teachers in Scotland to receive training on how to spot incel extremists

 

Education Scotland will hold a video seminar next month on how to identify signs of the extremist incel movement which is thought to have inspired the Plymouth mass shooting. By Marc Horne, The Times.

 
The Times

 

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