ISC Daily News Summary

The University of Oxford has announced plans to boost student numbers from under-represented backgrounds. By Eleanor Busby, Daily Mail. The article quotes Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council.

Neil Chippington, head at St John’s College School in Cambridge and chairman of the Choir Schools’ Association, writes a letter to The Times discussing the rise of girl choristers. He references Hereford Cathedral School, which "has an extremely successful girls’ choir".

Letter just below half-way.

Emma Knights, chief executive of the National Governance Association, writes in Tes that tackling governors' workload "is essential if we are to secure the future of our school system".

Kevin Stannard, director of innovation and learning at the Girls’ Day School Trust, argues the defenders of high-stakes testing are forgetting that exams are "becoming increasingly irrelevant". Tes.

The Government has approved two more specialist maths schools, which will target groups who are under-represented in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). By Jess Staufenberg, Schools Week.

Schools Week writes a feature piece on Robert Halfon, the chair of the education select committee. By Cath Murray.

A poll commissioned by hygiene services provider PHS Group has found schoolgirls are taking an average of three days off each term because of period-related issues. By Maya Oppenheim, The Independent.

A study by Leeds Beckett University has found nine in 10 pupils check their phones during the night, with many surviving on just two hours of sleep because of their mobile phone addiction. By Dave Speck, Tes.