According to The Telegraph, parents have warned that pupils facing extra mock exams are struggling with the "additional workload, anxiety and pressure" of multiple sets of preparation. By Camilla Turner.

Exams regulator Ofqual has said that GCSE and A-level exams will be graded more generously than in pre-pandemic years to make up for the disruption COVID has had on learning. BBC News.

Headteachers have warned that deprived pupils in areas severely affected by COVID will be at an 'unfair disadvantage' as exams return this year despite being given advance information about some of the topics due to come up. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

BBC News takes a closer look at how this year's exams will look for pupils across the UK.

In response to calls for an overhaul of GCSEs, Ofqual’s chief regulator, Dr Jo Saxton, has said that GCSEs are not to blame for a third of students failing to get a pass in English and maths, adding that scrapping the qualifications "won’t fix the problem”. By Will Hazell, iNews. Dr Jo Saxton also admitted that the failed attempt to hold exams last year was “coloured with optimism bias”. By Will Hazell, iNews.

Columnist Simon Jenkins writes for The Guardian arguing that GCSEs are a "wasteful, costly, cruel and pointless ritual" that should be scrapped.

According to an Ofsted report on low attendance in schools, pupils who were sent home to learn remotely during lockdown may no longer feel the same need to turn up to school. By Sally Weale, The Guardian. The report also found that the pandemic has led some parents to think they can request remote education for their children if they take them out of school to go on holiday. By Will Hazell, iNews.

The Guardian takes a closer look at the factors that contribute to the global phenomenon of "maths anxiety" in schoolchildren. By Linda Geddes.

Jonathan Slater, former permanent secretary of the Department for Education, has warned that the academisation of the school system has handed too much power to a “very small number” of politicians. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

Duchess of Cambridge will read a CBeebies Bedtime Story on February 13 to mark this year's Children's Mental Health Week. The Duchess has chosen to read The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson. By Charlotte Wace.

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.