isc logo  

Daily News Summary
26 November 2018

The Sunday Times Parent Power tables 2019
Boarding school cuts fees by 10%
'Overstretched councils are failing to look after SEND children'
Lengthy school reports are overly "burdensome" for teachers, say government advisors
Graduate applications for top firms are from "elite pool" of state school pupils
'AI shakes up the fundamentals of schooling and means teaching and learning are no longer constrained'
CofE schools battling to stay open
Decline in pupil behaviour, poll reveals

The Sunday Times Parent Power tables 2019

 

The Sunday Times details its Parent Power tables. Brighton College has been awarded "Independent Secondary School of the Year"; Westbourne School in Penarth won "International Baccalaureate School of the Year"; and St Leonards School in Fife won "Scottish Independent Secondary School of the Year".

Daily Mail reports on the tables, writing that the "best state schools are closing the gap on their private rivals with grammars leading the way".

On the subject of league tables, Andrew Halls, headmaster of King's College School Wimbledon, argues "why school league tables matter".

 
The Sunday Times

Boarding school cuts fees by 10%

 

Millfield School in Somerset has announced it will be cutting its fees by 10%, following concern that the middle classes are being "priced out" of independent education. By Sian Griffiths and Suzie Barrett, The Sunday Times. The article quotes: Gavin Horgan, headmaster of Millfield School; Andrew Halls, headmaster of King’s College School in Wimbledon; and references the Independent Schools Council.

Yesterday's leading article in The Times discussed independent schools' public benefit.

 
The Sunday Times

'Overstretched councils are failing to look after SEND children'

 

Magnus Linklater writes for The Times discussing the closure of an independent school in Perthshire, the New School, which was set up to provide specialist education for pupils with learning difficulties.

 
The Times

Lengthy school reports are overly "burdensome" for teachers, say government advisors

 

A review commissioned by Damian Hinds MP, the Education Secretary, has suggested making changes to school reports so they are less lengthy and take pressure off teachers. By Edward Malnick, The Telegraph.

 
The Telegraph

Graduate applications for top firms are from "elite pool" of state school pupils

 

Research carried out by a specialist recruitment and diversity consultancy has shown there is a "premier league of state schools" applying to graduate-entry positions at top law, finance and management firms. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

 
The Guardian

'AI shakes up the fundamentals of schooling and means teaching and learning are no longer constrained'

 

Kevin Stannard, director of innovation and learning at the Girls' Day School Trust, writes how artificial intelligence (AI) is broadening teaching so it is no longer constrained to a particular era or place. Tes.

 
Tes

CofE schools battling to stay open

 

Ministers and church officers will meet this week to discuss how to prevent the closure of many small and rural Church of England (CofE) schools. By Sian Griffiths, The Sunday Times.

 
The Sunday Times

Decline in pupil behaviour, poll reveals

 

Most teachers feel pupils' behaviour has worsened in the past five years, according to a YouGov poll. However, of the independent school teachers asked, 34% said standards of behaviour had declined. By John Roberts, Tes.

 
Tes

 

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.

Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.

Members can contact the ISC if they know in advance of news, letters or opinions that are likely to feature in the media, or are aware of existing coverage which they would like to see featured in the DNS.

Headlines and first-line summaries are written by the ISC with the link directing to the source material. You should read and comply with the terms and conditions of the websites to which we link.