iNews explores the role of bursaries in widening access to independent schools. The feature highlights the ISC's latest Census, which found schools provided a record £1.1 billion in fee assistance to 156,000 pupils in 2025. It also looks at concerns that full means-tested bursaries remain highly competitive and could become harder to sustain as schools face rising costs and falling pupil numbers. Calling on ministers to work with independent schools to maintain access for as many families as possible, Julie Robinson, chief executive of the ISC, said last year: "The rise in bursary funds and partnership work shows that improving education for all continues to be at the heart of our schools’ purpose, even as political decisions affect their work. However, given the decline in pupil numbers and the associated fall in revenue, it is unclear whether the past few years of rises in fee assistance will be sustainable in the future." A number of schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are mentioned in light of their bursary and scholarship provision. By Kasia Delgado.

In the ISC's latest blog, Phoebe Bradley, deputy head academic at Putney High School GDST, responds to growing evidence on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on cognitive ability and explores how the education sector must respond to best prepare young people for the future. "Teaching students how to use AI is imperative", she says.

More than £300 million could be taken from the Department for Education’s (DfE) capital budget over the next four years to pay for increased defence spending, according to an official document published yesterday. It sets out how the defence plans will be funded, and says ministerial departments have been asked to contribute 1p in every £1 - or one per cent - of their capital budgets from 2026 until 2029-30. The DfE’s total capital budget over the period from 2026-27 to 2029-30 is £31.4 billion, meaning £314 million is set to be taken from the department’s budget. By Jabed Ahmed, Tes.

White working-class students are excluded from almost all Oxford and Cambridge diversity scholarships, analysis by The Telegraph has revealed. At both universities, the paper identified at least 15 scholarships, bursaries or financial aid schemes targeting undergraduate, master’s and PhD students from a black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) background. Across the UK, 19 separate universities and higher education institutions were also found to have bursary or scholarship schemes specifically targeting BAME students. Commenting on the findings, shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “It’s time to move beyond identity-based preferences. Support should be focused on the most disadvantaged, regardless of their race or ethnicity, not to satisfy DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] targets or quotas.” By Albert Tait and Ben Butcher.

Academy leaders' pay should follow "rules" that are "in line" with other parts of the public sector such as the NHS, schools minister Georgia Gould has said. As the government prepares to announce curbs on academy trust CEO salaries, with the highest earner paid more than £500,000, Schools Week has learned that ministers will unveil controls on MAT CEO pay alongside the long-awaited September teacher pay award, which could be announced as soon as today. In a Q&A with the paper, Ms Gould said "nothing is off the table" as the government looks to ensure salaries and annual pay rises awarded to academy trust executives are "proportionate and justifiable". By Lydia Chantler-Hicks.

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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