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50,000 students could miss out on university

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Almost 50,000 potential students could be denied a place at university this year due to a sudden rise in the number of applications.

Battle for healthy school food is struggling

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:01:30 GMT

Before TV chef Jamie Oliver's campaign to get schoolchildren eating healthily in 2005, most people had no idea what a Turkey Twizzler was. The demon foodstuff has since become synonymous with the Government's fight to wean pupils off junk food – a fight it appears to be losing.

Thousands to miss out on university places

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:55:31 GMT

Tens of thousands of students will be denied university places this summer following a funding freeze and a surge in applications, figures will show today.

Bringing language learning to life

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:36:11 GMT

The reduced interest among students of all abilities in languages reported in The Independent recently cannot and must not be ignored. UK and overseas businesses continue to assert the value of language skills and cultural knowledge in particular during these challenging times.

Universities say A-levels lack creativity

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Four out of five university admissions officers believe A-levels no longer encourage creative thinking, a survey shows.

Can't spell. Can't add up. And that's the examiners

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:24:04 GMT

Test papers for 11-year-olds this year were littered with marking errors, a headteacher said yesterday.

Teacher's racy novel 'to encourage pupils to read'

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:35:00 GMT

An English teacher sacked after publishing a racy novel about her pupils online defended the book today, saying it was written to encourage a group of teenage boys to read.

Study highlights gloomy prospects for graduates

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:00:47 GMT

Life will not necessarily be a bed of roses for those graduates lucky enough to find a job during the recession, according to a major study published today.

Bleak job prospect for 2010's graduates

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Employment prospects for next year's graduates are likely to be just as bleak as those for the class of 2009, research shows.

Balls announces school places inquiry

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

An inquiry to find out how many parents are "playing the system" to get their children into a school of their choice was ordered yesterday by the Children's Secretary, Ed Balls.

'Fraud' case dropped against school place mum

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:39:12 GMT

A council has dropped its legal case against a mother accused of using a false address to get her son into a popular state primary school, it was confirmed today.

Be vigilant against forced marriages, schools urged

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:34:39 GMT

Schools were today urged to be vigilant about potential cases of forced marriage as the summer holidays approach.

Student grants to be frozen

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:01:10 GMT

Student grants and loans will be frozen next year as a result of the recession, Higher Education Minister David Lammy announced yesterday.

Government doesn't believe in academies, say heads

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:53:52 GMT

Government support for the flagship academies programme is waning, heads told MPs today.

Richard Bradford: Why Britain's top pupils are shunning language GCSEs

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:41:26 GMT

I work for a private language training company, and over the last couple of years we’ve seen a massive increase in the numbers of people attending our once-a-week evening courses. I think this possibly reflects splicedfly and daveycooper’s comments that suggest if you have a good reason for learning a language – you live over there, have a Spanish granny, you want to travel and integrate, then you’ll do it.

Graduates face worst job market 'in two decades'

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The number of graduate jobs on offer to the Class of 2009 has been cut by 28 per cent, according to figures published today. The cutbacks mean tens of thousands of graduates face the bleak prospect of unemployment this autumn.

Teachers face the sack in 5-year licence plan

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Teachers will face MOT-style checks every five years as part of a drive to improve classroom standards.

Britain's top pupils are shunning language GCSEs

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:14:23 GMT

Britain's brightest pupils are shunning languages at GCSE, according to a report published today.

National Youth Theatre gives youngsters a break

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:44:45 GMT

Two years ago Segun Olaiya would never have dreamt he would be heading for drama school.

Minister stands firm over education shake-up

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:14:07 GMT

The Children's Secretary Ed Balls stood by ambitious new plans for education reforms today, including a legally enforceable right to one-to-one or small group tuition where pupils fall behind in school.

Teachers go back to school in bid to raise classroom standards

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Up to 5,000 newly qualified teachers are to be offered the chance to study for a new master's degree for the first time in a bid to boost teaching standards in the classroom.

Parents of unruly children to be fined

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Parents could be fined or sent to prison if their children misbehave, under powers to be awarded to schools. They form part of a government White Paper on education to be published by the Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, tomorrow.

Struggling pupils promised one-to-one tuition

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The first "pupils' charter", guaranteeing state-school children one-to-one teaching in maths and English if they fall behind, will be unveiled by the Government next week.

You're still Jewish – even if your mother isn't

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Britain's Jewish faith schools may have to revise their admission policies after the Court of Appeal ruled that the widely used criteria for selecting pupils breached the Race Discrimination Act.

Shirley Dent: Seeking cultural identity can divide, not unite

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:08:13 GMT

Just when you thought your teenager couldn’t get any more self-obsessed, up pops the ‘Who Do We Think We Are?’ week and website to get them really navel-gazing: ‘Have you ever asked yourself questions like: What makes me who I am? What is my identity? What makes me, unique? These questions are about IDENTITY’.