Last
updated 25/09/2006
SCHOOLS
Call for freeze on city academies programme
The Guardian - 14/09/2006
A teaching union has called for a moratorium on plans for further expansion of the city academies programme until more evidence can be found to prove whether or not the schools are successful.
Church schools accused of back-door selection
Independent - 18/09/2006
Church schools are taking in far fewer pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds than other schools and more than their share of bright pupils, according to the most detailed research published on admissions.
Failing schools face permanent takeover by trusts
The Guardian - 22/09/2006
New trust schools will have the power to permanently take over failing schools and appoint a new headteacher and other staff under the government's latest education reforms, it has emerged.
Keep private sector out of school, say teachers
Birmingham Post - 13/09/2006
Union leaders last night attacked the "creeping privatisation of state education" as opening the door for companies such as McDonald's and Wal-Mart to run schools.
Schools ' break the law' - unions
BBC News - 15/09/2006
Teachers' leaders have accused schools of frequent, "flagrant" law-breaking. The NASUWT classroom union won the backing of TUC delegates in calling for fines or prison for employers failing to meet statutory responsibilities. President Brian Garvey said challenging such breaches of safety legislation or employment rights was difficult - leaving employers in "a comfort zone".
HIGHER EDUCATION
£1bn science park in beauty spot is rejected
Daily Telegraph - 16/09/2006
One of the country's leading universities has been forced to abandon plans for a £1 billion science park to be funded by building 4,000 new houses in a protected beauty spot.
Bankruptcies on the cards
THES - 22/09/2006
Splits are emerging in Whitehall over how to deal with possible university bankruptcies when the new top-up fees market kicks in, vice-chancellors revealed this week.
Bias blamed for pay gap
THES - 15/09/2006
Almost a quarter of the pay gap between male and female scientists in UK universities is due to discrimination, says new research released this week.
Fast-track degrees attract career-minded students
The Times - 18/09/2006
The new nine-to-five degree, which spells the end to three-month summer vacations, is proving a hit with lawyers, hoteliers and professionals keen to get ahead in the job market.
HE minnows get name change
The Guardian - 21/09/2006
The UK's higher education colleges - the minnows of the sector - today unveil their new group identity as GuildHE.
Leading universities see sixfold return on technology transfers
Financial Times - 20/09/2006
Leading universities that spend money on helping academics turn their research into commercial ventures see a sixfold return on their investment, researchers into the business activities of universities around the world claimed yesterday.
Lecturers to get counselling helpline
The Guardian - 20/09/2006
The first dedicated national counselling telephone support line for university and college lecturers is being set up to meet an increased demand for such a service.
Leeds housing win prompts call for fight against 'unfair' contracts
THES - 22/09/2006
Students were urged this week to fight back against one-sided contracts that limit their consumer rights after it emerged that Leeds University's student union managed to rewrite an "unfair" accommodation deal.
LSE students oppose PM’s school
The Evening Standard - 19/09/2006
Tony Blair has run into a wall of opposition over plans to set up a “school of government” on his retirement. Aides of the Prime Minister are sounding out academics at the London School of Economics about establishing the university body.
Overseas student intake doubles in ten years
The Guardian - 14/09/2006
The enlargement of the European Union has triggered an increase in the number of students from those countries choosing to study at a UK university, according to latest figures published today.
Oxbridge struggle to attract working class
The Guardian - 13/09/2006
The top British universities were shamed this year by statistics indicating that the proportion of state school pupils and those from low-income families attending university had dropped to its lowest level in three years.
School uniform 'tax on parents'
THES - 14/09/2006
Parents are spending an extra £45m a year because of restrictions on school uniform suppliers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found.
