John Edward, who took over as chair of governors at Edinburgh's Fettes College last month, has urged ministers to stop treating independent schools as "bottomless pits of money", as he criticised the government's VAT on fees policy. Speaking to The Scotsman, the former chief executive of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) said: "By putting VAT on it, you're talking as if it’s somehow a luxury service. It’s not." On his "sadness" on the policy's impact on bursary provision, he added: "It restricts the ability of schools to do what they were planning to do, which is to widen their bursary provision. The only people losing out are the people who are not getting these bursaries." By Craig McDonald, The Sunday Times. 

A bid to save Malvern St James School from closing has the backing of town councillors. Malvern Town Council has thrown its support behind the Save MSJ group, which is trying to secure the future of the Worcestershire school, which was set to close at the end of the summer term due to financial challenges. At a recent meeting, Malvern Town Council overwhelmingly backed a motion to support efforts to keep the school open and has now set up a working group to engage with stakeholders. By Phil Wilkinson Jones and Shehnaz Khan, West Midlands, BBC News. 

In a letter to The Times, Martyn Thomas from Monmouthshire says the recent closures of Ruthin School and Durham High School can be added to the list of more than 100 independent schools forced to close because of VAT and other government measures. He argues the policy brings no benefits, with no extra teachers or Treasury revenue, while increasing costs as more pupils move into the state sector and causing job losses and damage to rural communities. "Quietly and relentlessly a hugely valuable and successful education sector is being devastated", he adds.
The letter appears below halfway.

Harrow School, Rugby School and Epsom College have backed plans for a US-style scholarship system to recruit the best state school athletes. The multi-million pound national scheme, which would initially be piloted with cricket and rugby, would be partly funded by independent schools and offer hundreds of scholarships to the most talented sportspeople from the age of 13. The proposal is outlined in a report commissioned by Sir Peter Lampl, Britain’s leading education philanthropist and founder of the Sutton Trust. It is modelled on the athletic scholarships used by US colleges to recruit the best baseball, basketball and American football players. In an article for The Telegraph (available directly after the news story), Sir Peter said: "If we want to maximise the performance of the country’s potentially world-class teenage sports stars, we need to make sure they get access to world class coaching and facilities." He added that such scholarships were "unsurprisingly under pressure" because of rising costs, in part due to the government's VAT on fees policy. Sean Fenton, headmaster of Reigate Grammar School, which also supports the scheme, told the paper: "This is not about recruiting students into independent schools, this is about investing in children with the potential to be future sporting heroes. We want to give them the best possible chance so that we can all enjoy cheering them to victory." By Albert Tait.

Life-saving allergy pens will be stored in all schools under newly published government rules on safety. The new statutory framework for schools, called Benedict's Law, will also provide training for teachers to ensure they can act quickly in case of emergencies. This will include using the pens, also known as adrenaline auto-injectors. Helen Blythe, whose son Benedict died after a reaction at school in 2021, said the move "marks a historic turning point for children with allergies and their families". Mrs Blythe, co-founder of the Benedict Blythe Foundation, added: "From September, schools across England will have clear national expectations on how they keep children with allergies safe." The Telegraph.

A third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave primary school unable to read well enough to access the secondary curriculum, according to new analysis by the Fischer Family Trust. The report found they have lower reading fluency throughout primary school than both their wealthier peers and disadvantaged pupils from other ethnic backgrounds. By the end of Year 6, 33 per cent of disadvantaged white pupils were reading below 90 words correct per minute, the accepted benchmark for secure fluency, compared with 20 per cent of non-disadvantaged pupils. This raises concerns that weak reading fluency can make it difficult for pupils to keep up with the secondary curriculum, potentially leading to disengagement and school absence. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

Schools are cancelling their sports days as Britain prepares for its third heatwave of the summer. In guidance issued on Friday, the DfE said schools could rearrange "physical activity", including sports days, in hot weather. Some have started cancelling sports day events that traditionally take place towards the end of the summer term. By Alex Bolot, The Telegraph.

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