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Daily News Summary
26 October 2020

Coronavirus: 'Open Access scheme would help close disadvantage gap'
Exams 2021: 'Second exam series in July would benefit post-16 students'
'A closer look at the new £6,000-a-year online private school'
'Schools are seeing racial protests take place during Black History Month'
Backlash grows over government's handling of free school meals campaign
Study finds minority ethnic economists remain under-represented at UK universities
Russell Group chief exec says £9,000 tuition fees 'not enough'
'Britain should introduce higher education for all'

Coronavirus: 'Open Access scheme would help close disadvantage gap'

 

Sir Graham Brady MP, chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, and Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust, write in The Sunday Telegraph in support of an Open Access scheme to enable more children from low income households to attend independent day schools.

Professor Neil Ferguson, a leading epidemiologist, has claimed schools may need to close to some year groups as part of efforts to tackle the coronavirus infection rate. BBC News.

The National Education Union has called for secondary schools to move to a rota system under which children would be taught virtually half of the time. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

The Telegraph also reports on a study by the London School of Economics, which found only six in 10 pupils are getting a full education despite schools going back. By Camilla Turner.

The Independent Sage group believes secondary schools should make it compulsory for pupils to wear masks in classrooms for up to four weeks after a circuit breaker lockdown. By John Roberts, Tes.

Headteachers have warned that some schools are experiencing cuts to the number of government-provided laptops they were expecting to receive for disadvantaged pupils. BBC News.

Universities have been urged to take further action to support students' wellbeing by letting them go home and see their families. By Camilla Turner and Dominic Penna, The Telegraph.

Sadie Hollins, an English teacher at Lanna International School in Chiang Mai, writes in The Guardian warning that students in east Asia are hesitant about attending UK universities "due to the perceived health risk caused by the pandemic".

Scotland's education secretary John Swinney has said staggering the return to universities after Christmas is one of the approaches being considered following a spike in coronavirus infections in September when students moved into university accommodation. BBC News.

 

Exams 2021: 'Second exam series in July would benefit post-16 students'

 

Jonny Kay, a further education leader in the North of England, writes in Tes suggesting there should be "a second series of GCSE English and maths (and potentially science)" exams in July 2021 to help support post-16 resit students who have already missed out on valuable teaching time.

 
Tes

'A closer look at the new £6,000-a-year online private school'

 

The Times has a feature on King’s College Online, a digital private school serving years 10 to 13 in the UK. By Anna Maxted.

 
The Times

'Schools are seeing racial protests take place during Black History Month'

 

According to The Sunday Times, racial protests have been taking place in some schools as students take issue with ways in which they are taught about Black History Month. By Sian Griffiths. In today's Times, independent school parents have defended the need for schools to 'provide education and promote debate'. By Neil Johnston.

 

Backlash grows over government's handling of free school meals campaign

 

According to The Telegraph, Boris Johnson is facing a Tory revolt over the Government’s handling of Marcus Rashford’s free school meals campaign. By Charles Hymas and Amy Jones.

The Times reports the prime minister plans to increase funding for the poorest families during the Christmas holidays as he seeks to bring an end to the ongoing row. By Francis Elliott.

An increasing number of councils in England have announced they intend to provide free meals for disadvantaged children during the half-term school holidays. BBC News.

 

Study finds minority ethnic economists remain under-represented at UK universities

 

A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which looked at economists doing research at universities, has found ethnic minorities remain under-represented in the most prestigious institutions. By Larry Elliott, The Guardian.

 
The Guardian

Russell Group chief exec says £9,000 tuition fees 'not enough'

 

According to The Telegraph, Dr Tim Bradshaw has claimed that tuition fees, along with the teaching grant, should increase because the current funding model is not sustainable. By Camilla Turner.

 
The Telegraph

'Britain should introduce higher education for all'

 

Sir Anthony Seldon writes in The Times "advocating the numbers at university should go up from Blair’s 50 per cent to 100 per cent".

 
The Times

 

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