The Sunday Times has published a letter co-signed by the ISC, GSA, HMC, IAPS, ISA, the Society of Heads, AGBIS and ISBA stating that its recent article entitled “Private schools ‘gamed’ COVID rules to give their pupils more top A-levels” is "simply untrue and undermines the results achieved by hard-working pupils in difficult circumstances".

Leo Winkley, headmaster of Shrewsbury School, has also written to the newspaper (third letter down) in response to last week's news story, pointing out "that independent schools were fortunate to be able to minimise learning loss more effectively during lockdowns".

iNews reports on new evidence that indicates the Government's tutoring drive is not working for many schools and is not reaching the pupils who need it most. By Will Hazell.

The Observer speaks to educations experts, looking into why the National Tutoring Programme has prompted complaints of missed targets and poor-quality tuition. By Anna Fazackerley.

Charities claim that more families need to be given help after a surge in COVID absenteeism in schools led to parents being hit with fines. By Sian Griffiths and Anna Lombardi, The Sunday Times.

According to The Guardian, families still shielding from COVID have accused the DfE of ‘criminalising parents’ for home schooling their children. By Anna Fazackerley.

Jamie Frost - a maths teacher at Tiffin School in Kingston upon Thames, who was named a 'COVID Hero' by the Global Teacher Prize in 2020 - writes for The Sunday Times offering advice on how to tackle maths anxiety.

Hannah Kinsey, head of training at mental health charity YoungMinds, writes for Schools Week about how schools can best support students in need of mental health provision.

A University of Cambridge study has found that some children enjoy tales from the Classics because they remind them of computer games, prompting a proposal that schools could expand ancient literature’s use in the wider curriculum to explore its appeal beyond pupils who are learning Latin. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

According to Emeritus, a global education technology company, it could take up to 30 years for skills in northern parts of England to catch up with qualifications in London. By Shayma Bakht, The Times.

Writing in The Times, former universities minister Jo Johnson argues: "As a building block of a deeper relationship, the Government should welcome Indian universities that wish to set up on British soil."

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.

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