Recession and cuts hit thousands of schoolchildren

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

More than 5,000 children face being taught in temporary classrooms this winter as the impact of the recession and the public spending squeeze begins to bite in schools.

Tough lessons: How teachers are seeking answers at Auschwitz

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

For me, it is the suitcases. The ancient brown leather is battered and crumpled. But the letters are clear enough. Each bears only the name and date of birth of its owner. Some belonged to adults. But many belonged to children. It is not hard to imagine how the child's mother selected the bare essentials to pack – the Nazis often provided lists, reminding mothers not to forget their child's favourite toys – while their father lettered the outside of the case in white paint – to make sure that things went as right as they could for their little one.

Top-performing school head questions value of GCSEs

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

The head of the top performing GCSE school claims today that the exam is no longer "academically challenging".

For these new pupils, the first question is: Who am I?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, has often talked about importing a Swedish-style teaching revolution to England's state-school system.

This is the weekend for...Panicking before the start of term

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Ah, that first weekend of September.

White British school children 'worst hit' by poverty

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:29:34 GMT

Poverty has a far greater influence on the performance of white British pupils at school than any other ethnic group, according to research published today.

Now just one man aged under 25 works in a state nursery school

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Jamie Wilson is the last of a dying breed – the only young man left working in a state-run nursery school in the country. Figures published yesterday by the General Teaching Council show the 23-year-old from Liverpool is the only male under 25 in England working with under-fives as a state school nursery teacher. They also highlighted the dearth of male role models for primary school pupils of any age.

Gove's schools revolution begins with a whimper

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

A mixture of teaching union pressure, legal hitches and a lack of interest from schools marred the first day of the Government's blitz to boost the academies programme yesterday.

Top universities should be 'free to charge higher course fees'

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Britain's most prestigious universities should be allowed to charge higher fees for their courses, the leader of the country's university vice-chancellors says today.

Steve Smith: 'Why shouldn't we raise fees?'

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Steve Smith sounds wistful as he contemplates his two-year stint leading the body that represents Britain's university vice-chancellors. "I don't expect much will happen," the vice-chancellor of Exeter University says dryly.

Have A-levels had their day?

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:00:01 GMT

News that the headmistress of one of the country's leading state grammar schools is encouraging pupils to switch from A-levels to the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) prompts consideration of whether A-levels continue to serve students, universities and prospective employers as well as they did in the past. Nicole Chapman, headmistress of Chelmsford County High School for Girls in Essex, says the IB offers a broader curriculum and is a better preparation for university.

Academies plan a 'failure', say teachers

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:27:50 GMT

Michael Gove's plans to let schools become academies was branded a "failure" by teachers' leaders today after figures showed just 32 have taken him up on the offer.

Only 32 schools will reopen as academies

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:01:48 GMT

Just 32 schools will reopen as academies this month after taking Education Secretary Michael Gove up on his offer to apply for the status, government figures will reveal today.

'Drunken' man loses £1.3m artwork

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:59:32 GMT

A man entrusted with helping to sell a 1.3 million-dollar painting said it disappeared while he was in a drunken haze, according to a lawsuit filed by a co-owner of the canvas.

'Boys do badly if they are told that girls are cleverer,' says study

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Schoolboys perform worse than girls in exams because they think girls are cleverer than them, a study has found.

Boys score rare victory at A-level

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Boys at independent schools have scored better A-level results than girls at the top level.

One in four lap dancers has a degree, study finds

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 01:00:26 GMT

The first academic research project into lap dancing has found that, rather than being uneducated young women who have been coerced into the industry, one in four dancers has a degree and has been attracted by the money.

Poor maths and literacy results

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Tens of thousands of seven-year-olds are still struggling to master the basics in maths and literacy, figures from the Department for Education show.

Enhance your prospects with a flexible degree

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:00:11 GMT

It’s well known that graduates can find it hard to get a foot on the first rung of the employment ladder. What’s less well known is that there’s a relatively new type of qualification specifically designed to equip students for a particular area of work, thereby bringing that first job a little nearer within reach.

Back to school with a bump: Britain's headteachers' associations on spending cuts, Coalition plans and boycotts

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:00:01 GMT

Two heads are better than one, or so the saying goes. Nowhere could that be better put to the test at the moment than in the education world, as both of the country's leading headteacher organisations prepare to start the academic year with a new leader at the helm.

Damage to language teaching 'irreparable'

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:00:01 GMT

The damage to language teaching in secondary schools may be irreparable, the leader of the country's secondary school headteachers said yesterday.

GCSE results: Comprehensive school results table

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:00:53 GMT

GCSE results: Grammar school results table

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:00:43 GMT

GCSE Results: Subject by subject

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:00:33 GMT

The language crisis in British schools

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:00:01 GMT

For the first time ever, French has slipped out of the top 10 of the most popular subjects at GCSE – the most obvious sign of the seemingly inexorable slide in languages take-up in schools, which employers say will damage British students on the international jobs market.