Figures released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) have shown a decline in the number of students from affluent areas securing a place at university this year. The Telegraph reports that the findings come at a time when institutions are under pressure to take more pupils from poorer backgrounds. By Louisa Clarence-Smith.

Schools Week reveals that heads are calling for more funding for careers advice after further research by UCAS showed some 40,000 18-year-olds from England, Wales and Northern Ireland were still “free to be placed in clearing” in mid-September. By Freddie Whittaker.

The Times reports that some students are being forced to drop out of university as a result of a lack of accommodation in what academics have called a “national crisis". By Mark McLaughlin.

School leaders have welcomed the Government’s intervention on rising energy costs but some have warned it will not be enough. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

Writing in Independent School Management Plus, David Cole, principal of the British International School in Ukraine, reflects on the recent experiences of staff and pupils at the start of the new school year.

According to The Times, former England cricket captain David Gower has urged Lord's to bring back the annual Eton v Harrow and Oxford v Cambridge cricket matches after they were cancelled in an attempt to make the sport more inclusive. By Ivo Tennant and Laurence Sleator.

Angus Fraser, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) committee member and a former England bowler, writes in The Telegraph in response to the issue, arguing the MCC has an opportunity to nurture participation in the sport among more young people.

A survey conducted by the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has found “an overwhelming sense” that the assessment system in Scotland needs to be reformed. By Emma Seith, Tes.

Research by The Children’s Society has found that children are "becoming unhappier with their lives, schooling and appearance". According to the findings, happiness with school and schoolwork fell with age, and children in lower-income households were also not as happy. By James Beal, The Times.

An opinion piece in Tes considers how the gap between deprivation and educational disadvantage might be addressed. By Sir John Townsley, chief executive of The Gorse Academies Trust in Leeds.

The Government has been advised to “listen to the voices” of the schools shortlisted to win awards in the World’s Best School Prizes competition. Launched by global digital platform T4 Education, it aims to help the education system recover from the upheaval of COVID. By Benedict Smith, The Independent.

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.