Category Archives: Education

UK coronavirus: top GCSE grades surge to record high in England – live news

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Nearly 550,000 pupils in England receive GCSE results awarded entirely by assessment for first time, but BTec students face further disruption

My colleagues Pamela Duncan and Tobi Thomas from the Guardian’s data unit report discrepancies in today’s GCSE results:

A rising tide lifts all boats and this year’s algorithm-to-teacher-graded-U-turn has resulted in an increase in top grades across every subject. However, some subjects’ boats were lifted higher than others.

After all the uncertainty of the exams fiasco, head teachers across the country are celebrating their pupils’ GCSE success, but they say recent experiences have damaged relations with the Department for Education (DfE).

Jules White, head teacher of Tanbridge House secondary school in Horsham, West Sussex and leader of the Worth Less? education funding campaign, was with pupils this morning, watching with delight as they found out their grades.

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Gavin Williamson seeks to blame Ofqual for exams debacle

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Education secretary forced into humiliating reversal on A-level and GCSE grades in England

Gavin Williamson has tried to lay the blame for the exams fiasco at the door of the regulator Ofqual after a humiliating climbdown that overturned up to 2.3m grades but left thousands of pupils in limbo.

Two days after saying there would be “no U-turn, no change”, the education secretary apologised and ordered a complete reversal whereby pupils in England will be able to revert to the A-level grades recommended by their teachers, if those are higher.

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UK coronavirus: Gavin Williamson apologises over ‘inconsistencies’ in exam grading process – live news

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Exams regulator Ofqual announces all A-levels and GCSEs in England will now be graded according to teacher assessment following similar moves in Wales, NI and Scotland

One of the groups that had been planning to take the UK government to court over exam grades has said it is dropping its legal action, following the U-turn. Jo Maugham QC, the director of the Good Law Project, tweeted:

Statement on Government A Level U-turn pic.twitter.com/wEWYElgCil

Mary Curnock Cook, the former chief executive of Ucas, said the government must announce immediately that the cap on university admissions will be lifted to accommodate the new grading system.

Many universities will have already filled their courses based on the grades published last Thursday. Speaking on BBC News, she said:

Decisions have already been made by universities about who they accept, who they don’t accept, who goes into clearing and so on. This change will mean that universities have to rethink completely.

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UK coronavirus live: France could quarantine British visitors; UK reports 1,441 new cases in a day

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French move comes after UK added country to quarantine list as well as Netherlands, Malta, Turks and Caicos, and Aruba

Russia is not the only country pursuing domestic politics over global cooperation in the fight against coronavirus, writes Stephen Buranyi.

The WHO last week warned against “vaccine nationalism”, noting that unless countries cooperate, an actually successful vaccine could touch off a worldwide frenzy.

Similar to the scramble for PPE gear and testing reagents when governments seized exports, and the US reportedly tried to intercept other nation’s shipments at global ports, demand for vaccine supplies could result in another pitched battle for limited resources – with the added complication that no one knows which project will succeed, so no one is even sure what they’re trying to source yet.

Related: 'Vaccine nationalism' stands in the way of an end to the Covid-19 crisis | Stephen Buranyi

Rule-breaking pub landlords are facing a police crackdown for failing to properly record customers’ details as concerns grow about a rising Covid infection rate in Birmingham.

The latest data showed the second city had a rate of 23.6 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to 10 August with the trend increasing, according to the NHS Digital progression dashboard.

It looks as though it’s a combination of people socialising and not maintaining social distancing and perhaps hospitality settings or other gatherings of people and this may be the underlying problem.

We are very keen to be working very closely with the police over coming weeks because what we’re noticing across the West Midlands is that as weeks go by the rigour in which pubs in particular are recording names and addresses of customers is dropping off in some locations.

We’d like to encourage the police to re-emphasise to the pubs that they do need to be recording that information.

Pubs and clubs - they also have a very clear responsibility to ensure they’re following the guidelines, that they are getting information on those individuals who attend.

We will work closely with the licensing authorities to crack down on those premises that don’t follow rules and are breaking rules.

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Migrant children face hunger over free school meal restrictions

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Children’s groups call for meal provision to extend to families barred from UK state support

Thousands of children from migrant families are at risk of hunger when schools reopen in the UK unless the free meal provision is extended, according to a group of 60 organisations.

The Children’s Society, Action for Children, Project 17 and Unison are among the organisations that have written to the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, calling on him to extend free school meals to pupils from low-income migrant families classed as having “no recourse to public funds”.

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Sturgeon promises urgent review of 124,000 downgraded exam results

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First minister apologises after predicted awards downgraded more heavily in poorer areas

Nicola Sturgeon has apologised to tens of thousands of Scottish teenagers whose exam results were downgraded last week and promised urgent changes to their awards.

The first minister attempted to defuse a growing crisis for her government by confirming that her deputy, John Swinney, would lay out proposals to regrade results in the Scottish parliament on Tuesday.

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What we are learning about Covid-19 and kids

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As schools around the world prepare to reopen, new scientific evidence about children and coronavirus is coming to light

Back in April, the French epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet found himself leading an investigation in the town of Crépy-en-Valois, a small community of 15,000 inhabitants just to the north-east of Paris. In February, the town’s middle and high schools had become the centre of a new outbreak of Covid-19.

Fontanet and colleagues from the Pasteur Institute in Paris were tasked with conducting antibody testing across Crépy-en-Valois to understand the extent to which the virus had been circulating. As they surveyed the town, they noted an interesting pattern. While the virus had spread rampantly through the high school, with 38% of students being infected, along with 43% of teachers and 59% of non-teaching staff, the same was not true for the town’s six primary schools. While three primary-age pupils had caught Covid-19 in early February, none of these infections had led to a secondary case. Overall, just 9% of primary age pupils, 7% of teachers and 4% of non-teaching staff had been infected with the virus.

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Fall in Welsh-capable teachers risks missing language target, report warns

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Language decline among newly qualified teachers could undermine goal of reaching 1 million Welsh speakers

A “striking” decline in the number of newly qualified teachers able to teach in Welsh could undermine the country’s ambition to have a million speakers of the language in 30 years’ time, a report warns.

The Welsh language commissioner, Aled Roberts, expressed concern about the trend and called for the devolved government to take urgent action to reverse the fall.

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How renamed streets in Mumbai’s slums are encouraging children to study

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A mobile school helped Rehmuddin Shaikh become a rugby star. Now a street named after him is inspiring a new generation

No map of Mumbai mentions Rehmuddin Shaikh Road. But a local taxi driver would find the narrow lane between the huts in Ambedkar Nagar, Colaba, behind Mumbai’s elite Cuffe Parade. Despite not being officially named by the city authorities, the road boasts a new signpost.

Rehmuddin Chittasahab Shaikh grew up and still lives here. Today, he is a rugby star, winning national gold and silver medals and and now coaching the Indian women’s team. He is one of the only four coaches in India to qualify for the World Rugby Level 3 coaching course.

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‘I was shielded from my history’: the changes young black Britons are calling for

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Exclusive: from schools to policing, 50 people share their experiences of growing up in the UK

Following the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK and across the world, the Guardian interviewed 50 young black Britons, many of whom have been at the heart of the recent anti-racism protests, to ask what changes they would like to see in their lifetime.

Three demands came up repeatedly: decolonising the curriculum; divesting funds away from police forces in favour of a public health-focused approach to crime; and better representation of black Britons across a wider section of society.

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‘Major’ breakthrough in Covid-19 drug makes UK professors millionaires

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Synairgen’s share price rises 540% on morning of news of successful drugs trial

Three professors at the University of Southampton school of medicine have this week made a “major breakthrough” in the treatment of coronavirus patients and become paper millionaires at the same time.

Almost two decades ago professors Ratko Djukanovic, Stephen Holgate and Donna Davies discovered that people with asthma and chronic lung disease lacked a protein called interferon beta, which helps fight off the common cold. They worked out that patients’ defences against viral infection could be boosted if the missing protein were replaced.

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California announces strict rules that will keep most schools closed

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Governor Gavin Newsom said public schools will not be allowed to hold in-person classes if their county is on a monitoring list

California’s governor has announced strict rules for school reopening that would prevent the vast majority of students from returning to classrooms in the fall as coronavirus cases hit their highest levels yet in the state.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the new guidance on Friday, which mandates that public schools in California counties that are on a monitoring list for rising coronavirus infections cannot hold in-person classes, and will have to meet rigorous criteria for reopening.

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‘Reckless, callous, cruel’: teachers’ chief denounces Trump plan to reopen schools

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‘Angry’ AFT president Randi Weingarten tells Guardian proposal from Trump and Betsy DeVos could result in teaching exodus

Plans put forward by Donald Trump and his education secretary to reopen America’s schools in the fall are “reckless” and could result in many teachers leaving the profession, the president of one of the country’s biggest teaching unions has warned.

Related: Betsy DeVos insists all US children should be in school this fall

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Priti Patel to unveil details of post-Brexit immigration plans

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Home secretary will announce the biggest overhaul of the UK system in decades

The home secretary is to unveil further detail on the future of immigration in the UK on Monday in an attempt to prepare businesses and organisations for the biggest overhaul of the system in decades.

The Home Office has previously revealed the core principles behind the forthcoming points-based system, which is meant to be introduced when the transition period from leaving the European Union ends on 1 January. Under the system, UK borders will be closed to so-called non-skilled workers and applicants will be have to show a greater understanding of English.

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Scottish politicians call for urgent action to stop Gaelic dying out

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Justice secretary, Kate Forbes, among those asking for language to be prioritised

Senior politicians in Scotland’s Gaelic-speaking areas have called for the language to be given much greater priority in civil and public life to stop it dying out.

Kate Forbes, the Scottish justice secretary, and Alasdair Allan, a former minister, said Gaelic had to be given precedence or parity in all areas of public life and the economy across Gaelic areas of the Highlands and islands.

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Gove and Johnson ‘sold as slaves’ at Oxford student charity event

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After PM’s behaviour with the Bullingdon Club, evidence emerges of further antics at Union Society fundraiser

It may have only merited a few paragraphs in the student newspaper and have taken place 33 years ago, but an Oxford Union Society “slave auction” in which Boris Johnson and Michael Gove were involved is powerful proof of how politicians’ pasts can come back to haunt them.

“Union slave auction” was the headline in Cherwell, the journal for Oxford students, on 12 June 1987. The small story has escaped the notice of the two men’s biographers and their profile writers until now.

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One school, 25 bereavements: Essex head fears emotional impact of Covid-19

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Vic Goddard is one of many school leaders daunted by the burden of supporting pupils and staff through their grief

Vic Goddard is trying not to cry. The headteacher of Passmores academy in Harlow and star of the 2011 TV series Educating Essex is thinking about the 23 pupils and two staff at his school who have been bereaved during the coronavirus pandemic.

His greatest fear, a fear that keeps him awake at night and is making his voice tremble, is what could happen to them if he does not manage to support them adequately when they return to school. “I’m going to get upset, I’m really sorry…” he stops. “You feel dreadfully … dreadfully … There is an element of responsibility.”

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UK coronavirus live: Scotland to relax 2m rule but lockdown-easing paused in some towns after outbreaks

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Scotland’s distancing rule to be relaxed for some sectors; lockdown-easing paused in some Scottish towns; getting English schools back to normal critical, Williamson says

A “partial reopening” of the tourism sector in Wales is to take place over the next few weeks as long as rates of coronavirus continue to fall, the Welsh government has announced.

The Labour-led government has asked visitors to enjoy their time in the country – but to respect local communities.

Tourism is a vital part of the Welsh economy at a national, regional and local level. I’d like to thank all our industry partners for working with us to carefully reopen the visitor economy.

A successful, safe and phased return will give businesses, communities and visitors confidence to continue with the recovery of the visitor economy.

NHS England has recorded a further 35 coronavirus hospital deaths in England. The full figures are here.

For comparison, here are the equivalent daily figures announced by NHS England over the past fortnight.

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‘Office for talent’ to be set up for scientists who want to work in UK

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Unit based in No 10 will help researchers navigate post-Brexit immigration system

Downing Street is to set up a cross-departmental unit called the “office for talent” as a way to help leading scientists, researchers and others live and work in the UK in the post-Brexit immigration system.

The plan, which the Liberal Democrats said was simply trying to make up the damage caused by Brexit, is intended to “ensure excellent customer service across the immigration system”, a government announcement said.

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