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Letters: 'Adding VAT to private school fees will do nothing to address actual or perceived inequalities'
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Letters
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Responding to yesterday's column by James Marriott in which he warned that "a battle over private education looms", six readers have letters published in today's Times. Andrew Butler, deputy chair of governors at the John Lyon’s Foundation (which includes Harrow School), invites Mr Marriott to attend one of Harrow's equity, diversity and inclusion groups, not least to gain an insight into the school foundation's long history of charitable activity. Describing the depth of collaborative work taking place, Mr Butler states: "It [Harrow] works directly with thousands of the least privileged children in the UK, to improve their educational prospects."
One reader warns that "adding VAT to private school fees will do nothing to address actual or perceived inequalities", while another suggests it would be better for such tax to be phased in "over a number of years" to enable "all parties to adjust in the least disruptive way". On the financial assistance offered by independent schools, a father of two sons who had both received such support writes: "Mr Marriott makes no mention of the generous scholarships and bursaries (in some cases full fees, uniform and extras) made available by private schools to pupils from less moneyed backgrounds." The letters appear at the top of the page.
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Rugby in schools is a type of 'child abuse', academics claim
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Sport
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High-impact sports such as rugby should be considered “abusive” to children’s brains, academics at the universities of Winchester, Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth have said. Having examined medical evidence around sports that can cause serious brain injuries, they concluded that the harm goes against child abuse laws. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.
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Final GCSE and A-level data published
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Examinations
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Final figures were released yesterday for last year's GCSE and A-level results. The data, which was released provisionally in the autumn, confirms that the disadvantage gap at GCSE increased to the highest since 2011 at 3.94 (up from 3.84 in 2022), while at A-level, the average grade result was a B-, down from a B in 2022 but up from a C+ in 2019. By Jasmine Norden, Tes.
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Almost a fifth of primary pupils have rotting teeth, figures show
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Health
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The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has released figures showing 16 per cent of children are leaving primary school with decayed teeth as a result of sugary treats and poor tooth brushing. By Shaun Wooller, Daily Mail.
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Cash incentive for nursery workers as part of government recruitment drive
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Recruitment and retention
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An incentive of £1,000 cash and a campaign to raise the profile of childcare workers in England are part of ministers' plans to recruit more staff as the expansion of funded hours nears. According to the Department for Education (DfE), more than 100,000 working parents of two-year-olds have already registered for the April rollout. By Vanessa Clarke, BBC News.
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Move to raise school-starting age in Scotland gains support from cross-party MSPs
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Scottish education
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A motion to raise the age at which children start school in Scotland is being supported by 18 MSPs from the SNP, Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats. The EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union, has also indicated that it would support the introduction of a national kindergarten. By Max Kendix, The Times.
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Degree apprentices can be £100,000 better off than university peers, report suggests
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Apprenticeships
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Degree apprenticeships are proving to be a successful and popular career path, according to a report by the Association of Accounting Technicians. It suggests that by the age of 21 degree apprentice graduates can be up to £100,000 better off than their peers attending university. By Jane Hamilton, The Times.
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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.
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