In a letter to The Telegraph, Jeremy Walker, headmaster of St Peter's School, York, reflects on his career leading two historic cathedral choir schools and on the transformative impact of intensive choral training on young singers. Mr Walker describes the closure of Exeter Cathedral School, driven by new financial pressures, as "a sad moment in the long heritage of the Anglican choral tradition", and says he fully supports the Cathedral Music Trust’s campaign to secure world heritage status for it. The letter appears above halfway.

Writing in Tes, Thomas Keaney, founder and CEO of The Complete Education Solution (TCES), a provider of special schools, says discussions about phone bans often miss the point regarding the longer-term benefits that come from teaching pupils to survive free from constant distractions. On why TCES became a phone-free organisation 15 years ago, he explains: "Phone-free schools are not about nostalgia or control. They are about future readiness. They are about helping young people to develop the habits that adult life quietly assumes: attention, patience, presence and self-management."

Ministers are lobbying Labour MPs to support changes to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, having learned from previous welfare reform failures, Labour MPs have said. The proposals under consideration would raise the threshold for children in England to qualify for an education, health and care plan (EHCP), limiting support to those with the most severe and complex needs. Parents, campaigners, and MPs have warned that reducing legal rights could have serious consequences for children and families. The Guardian reports that one Labour MP said "everyone knows this is the most high-stakes political reform they’ve taken on since welfare". By Alexandra Topping and Kiran Stacey.

In an opinion piece in The Sunday Telegraph, Tom Lawson, headmaster of Eastbourne College, criticises Oxford University’s changing admissions policies, "aimed at aiding Oxford’s push for inclusivity", in light of the news that its bespoke admissions tests are to be scrapped from next year. Expressing respect for Oxford and its academics, he concludes "it is impossible to optimise the admissions process to ensure equal access to oversubscribed places". 

Pupils at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Birmingham are turning pain into poetry through a new music project aimed at helping young people process trauma. The programme, called Hip-Hop Healing, gives students the chance to write and record original music on issues affecting their lives in a studio. Speaking to BBC News, participant Sam, 14, said he had written a song about losing his mum. "This programme's helped me open up more and express myself through music," he said. The Hip-Hop Healing programme is expected to continue, with further recordings planned as part of a wider mental health-focused album project. By Fosiya Ismail.

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