Category Archives: Education

Playing music in childhood linked to a sharper mind in old age, study suggests

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Researchers find link between learning instrument while young and improved thinking skills later in life

The ageing rocker clinging on to their youth may be a figure of mockery, but research suggests they should be envied for their sharpness of mind.

Researchers have found a link between learning a musical instrument in youth and improved thinking skills in old age. People with more experience of playing a musical instrument showed greater lifetime improvement on a test of cognitive ability than those with less or no experience, a paper from the University of Edinburgh has said.

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Sunak says it was a mistake to ‘empower scientists’ during Covid pandemic

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Ex-chancellor admits being furious about school closures, adding trade-offs of lockdowns were not properly considered by experts

Rishi Sunak has claimed that it was a mistake to “empower scientists” during the coronavirus pandemic and that his opposition to closing schools was met with silence during one meeting.

The Conservative leadership candidate believes one of the major errors was allowing the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to have so much influence on decision making such as closing nurseries, schools and colleges in March 2020.

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GCSE results expected to confirm widening of north-south attainment gap

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Tory leadership candidates called on to commit to fixing growing regional disparities in education

This year’s GCSE results for England and Wales are expected to confirm a widening north-south education gap, prompting a prediction that the government will miss one of its key levelling-up targets if it continues to hold back pupils in the north of England.

A coalition of school leaders, charities and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership has written to the Conservative leadership candidates urging them to commit to fixing growing regional disparities in education.

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Biden unveils plan to cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for millions

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President delivers on campaign promise and outlines debt relief measures for those on lower incomes in White House speech

Millions of Americans received welcome news on Wednesday when Joe Biden delivered on a campaign promise to provide $10,000 in student debt forgiveness.

Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year will be eligible for loan forgiveness, with those whose low incomes qualified them for federal Pell Grants receiving up to $20,000 in relief. About a third of US undergraduate students receive Pell Grants.

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GCSE results will reflect varying impact of pandemic, says headteachers union

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Association of School and College Leaders predicts grades will be uneven across England and Wales due to Covid disruption

GCSE results will be uneven across the country due to the varying impact of the pandemic, according to the headteachers union, which described the government’s Covid recovery programme as “lacklustre and chaotic”.

The number of top grades at A-level fell sharply this year and a similar decline is anticipated for GCSE grades as the government seeks to reverse the grade inflation caused by teacher-assessment during the pandemic.

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Fail grades predicted to rise as GCSEs return to pre-pandemic levels

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Expert says exam results will likely mirror A-levels and remain above what they were in 2019

More pupils will fail their GCSEs this year and top grades are expected to fall as results return to pre-pandemic levels, an education expert has predicted.

There could be 230,000 fewer top grades in the UK compared with 2021, but 230,000 more than 2019, according to Prof Alan Smithers, director of the centre for education and employment research at the University of Buckingham.

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‘Fit of pique’: lost vorticist masterpiece found under portrait by contemporary

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Atlantic City by Helen Saunders discovered under Praxitella by Wyndham Lewis, who may have painted over it on purpose

A lost masterpiece by a leading abstract artist of the early 20th century has been discovered beneath a portrait by a contemporary who may have painted over the original in a “fit of pique”.

Atlantic City by Helen Saunders, a member of the radical and short-lived vorticist movement, depicts a fragmented modern metropolis, almost certainly in the vibrant colours associated with the group. A black and white image of the painting appeared in Blast, the avant garde journal of the vorticists produced shortly before the outbreak of the first world war.

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BTec exam board Pearson apologises over results delay

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Some grades not issued two days after they were due, leaving students unable to confirm university places

A BTec exam board has said it is “very sorry” that some students are still waiting for their results two days after they were due, leaving them unable to confirm university places.

Hundreds of thousands of students received A-level, BTec and T-level exam results on Thursday, but some in England and Wales who have taken BTec qualifications with exam board Pearson have had no news of their grades.

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53,000 UK students enter university clearing, the most in over 10 years

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Strong competition for places means many of those who dropped grades in their A-levels are missing out on preferred institutions

More than 53,510 UK-based students were scrambling for places on university courses on Friday, the day after receiving lower grades in their A-level results, with many missing out on their offers in the most competitive year for university places in a decade.

This year’s number of applicants marked as “free to be placed in clearing” on the Ucas website is the highest in more than a decade, and compares with 39,230 at the same point last year. Some of these students missed their grades while others declined their offers, and some may decide not to go to university.

By Friday, 6,640 UK school-leavers had found places through clearing, a 33% increase on last year. A third more students – 23,640 – accepted their insurance choices after missing the grades for their top choice.

University admissions directors reported unprecedented levels of demand in clearing, with phone lines busier than ever, including from students with top grades.

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French right under fire for claims poor parents blowing school equipment cash

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MPs from Les Républicains party had submitted bill to ‘combat fraud’ on back-to-school grants to low-income households

Rightwing opposition MPs in France have been accused of stigmatising poorer people by suggesting low-income families are fraudulently using an allowance for school supplies.

The government spokesperson Olivier Véran said claims some families spent the money on televisions and alcohol were “discrimination” and “an old chestnut”. He rejected suggestions parents should be given basic supplies or vouchers for specific shops to reduce the possibility of fraud.

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No improvement in school attainment gap in England for 20 years, report says

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‘Overwhelming evidence’ education system leaves too many poorer students behind, despite decades of policy focus

The attainment gap between poorer pupils and their better-off class mates is just as large now as it was 20 years ago, according to a damning new report which says the coronavirus pandemic is likely to have increased the inequalities in education

The landmark study, based on research carried out for the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, found that disadvantaged pupils start school behind their better-off peers, and those inequalities persist through their school years and beyond – eventually having an impact on earnings.

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‘She asked me, will they kill you if they discover you?’: Afghan girls defy education ban at secret schools

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Girls forced to stop attending school under Taliban are taking huge risks to keep studying – as are the teachers helping them

When inspectors arrive at the school gate, which is most weeks now, the older girls know the drill. They slip away from their classes, race to a musty room and huddle together for long minutes that sometimes stretch into hours, hoping they won’t be discovered by the men who want them shut up at home.

The Taliban have banned secondary education for girls, the only gender-based bar on studying in the world.

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Selling Covid antivirals over the counter a ‘recipe for disaster’ – as it happened

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The Pharmacy Guild has pushed for the drugs to be made available without a prescription at community pharmacies due to national GP shortages. This blog is now closed

Peter Dutton pressed on voice to parliament

Opposition leader Peter Dutton appeared on ABC’s 7.30 last night and it is worth revisiting for the exchange with host Sarah Ferguson about whether he will commit his party to supporting the voice to parliament.

SARAH FERGUSON: Let me move back into the domestic realm. At the start of parliament, you participated in the smoking ceremony, you allowed your face to be painted and then in your speech you quoted Noel Pearson and seemed to endorse Pearson’s call for constitutional recognition. What would prevent you now from taking the next step and backing the referendum on the voice?

PETER DUTTON: Well, I quoted Noel Pearson for whom I have a great deal of respect, and you can go back and look at the quote and there are many elements to that because there were several paragraphs that I quoted him on.

If we could get that to 60 per cent, then already you would go a long way to addressing part of the supply shortage of teachers.

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Student loan interest rates cut again as inflation and cost of living soar

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DfE says maximum rate will be fixed at 6.3% from September having previously reduced it to 7.3%

Ministers have intervened to cut student loan interest rates for the second time this summer as inflation and the cost of living continue to soar.

The Department for Education announced on Wednesday that the maximum rate will now be fixed at 6.3% from September. It was already due to be capped at 7.3%, after an intervention by ministers in June to bring it down from the 12% it would have reached by September, based on earlier inflation figures plus 3%.

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School pupils’ pass rates fall in Scotland for Highers and National 5s

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Decline coincides with end of teacher-led grading after cancellation of exams in 2020 and 2021

Pass rates for Scottish pupils have fallen significantly after schools returned to using exams to grade performance for the first time since 2019.

This year’s results showed the overall pass rate for Highers, heavily used for students aiming for university, fell from 89.3% in 2020 to 78.9%. The pass rate for National 5s, awarded largely to 16-year-olds, fell from a peak of 89% in 2020 to 80.8%.

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Universities will adjust to lower exam results in England, says minister

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Government seeks to reassure pupils taking GCSEs and A-levels after sharp rises in grades during pandemic

The government has sought to allay pupils’ fears over GCSE and A-level results, which are expected to be lower in England this summer after two years of record increases, reassuring them that universities will “adjust accordingly”.

The schools minister Will Quince said it was important to “move back to a position where qualifications maintain their value” and reassured students that grades will still be higher than in 2019, before the pandemic.

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Lionesses’ legacy at risk as school PE fails girls, experts warn

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In the past 10 years alone, 42,000 hours of PE lessons have been lost in UK secondary schools – and girls are the worst hit

Twelve years of Tory government have had a disastrous impact on girls’ sport in schools, experts have said, warning that last weekend’s women’s Euro victory will be squandered unless drastic action is taken.

In the past 10 years, 42,000 hours of PE lessons have been lost in secondaries – with girls the most affected – and the situation is getting worse, according to the Youth Sport Trust.

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Schools in England face funding crisis as costs soar, study warns

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Institute for Fiscal Studies says spend per pupil set to be lower in 2025 than in 2010, with budgets already under strain from rises in food, energy and wage bills

Schools in England are facing a looming funding crisis, with spending per pupil in 2024-25 expected to be 3% lower than in 2010, according to research.

After a decade of austerity cuts, ministers pledged to restore per pupil funding to 2010 levels by the end of the current parliament, but the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the government is no longer on track to meet its objective because of the cost pressures on schools.

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Teacher sick days soar as poor conditions take toll on mental health

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Increased workloads, class sizes, low pay and Covid legacy are leading to more absences and an exodus of staff

Teachers have spent at least 1.5 million days off work owing to stress and mental health issues, new figures have revealed, amid continued concerns over the increasing pressures they are facing in the classroom.

With long-running concerns about workloads and growing class sizes, new data seen by the Observer suggests that the number of days lost to mental health issues in some council-controlled schools in England and Wales has increased by 7% from the previous year. It is also up by almost a fifth compared to three years ago.

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Principal of Uvalde elementary school suspended in wake of deadly shooting

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Mandy Gutierrez put on administrative leave, as 77-page report details multiple failures from police and other Texas officials

The principal of the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where an intruder shot dead 19 students and two teachers in May, has been suspended from her job.

Mandy Gutierrez of Robb elementary school was put on paid administrative leave on Monday, her attorney Ricardo Cedillo said in a statement to the Associated Press.

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