Speaking at an online Westminster Forum conference on the priorities for independent education, headteacher of Eastbourne College Tom Lawson said schools looking to thrive in the face of financial and market challenges need to come together and collaborate. "Our schools exist in a state of ‘co-opertition’, simultaneously market rivals but highly reliant on co-operation with each other", he explained. Echoing Mr Lawson's remarks, editor of the Good Schools Guide Melanie Sanderson encouraged schools to join forces, adding that it is essential for the sector to “reconnect” with its traditional client base of the “ordinary middle classes”. By Irena Barker, Independent School Management Plus.

Tax expert Mike Warburton offers advice to readers of The Telegraph on a range of tax-related issues, including VAT on school fees. In response to a question on the prepayment of fees, Mr Warburton says: "It is very difficult to anticipate new legislation but it would be well worth asking the school what they are proposing on this." 

Headteacher of the Michaela Community School Katharine Birbalsingh, who is facing a High Court challenge from a pupil over the school's policy on prayer, has said that she was forced to ban Muslim prayers after teachers were racially harassed. In a statement posted on social media yesterday, she wrote that every religious group must “make sacrifices for the sake of the whole” if multiculturalism is to succeed, and that her school would never allow “segregation”. By Louisa Clarence-Smith, The Telegraph. 

The Telegraph features an interview with Ms Birbalsingh who speaks with passion about education and the reasons behind some of the school's policies, including discipline. By Damian Whitworth. An editorial piece in the paper focusses on the work Ms Birbalsingh has done in transforming the lives of many disadvantaged children. It concludes: "For Ms Birbalsingh and her colleagues to be hounded in this way is outrageous. It is time someone senior in the Government spoke up to support them."

Pupils at schools in England that have had to close because of dangerous concrete should get a boost of up to 10 per cent in their exams, according to a report on the impact of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Professors at Durham University said exam boards should compensate for the "lost learning" of pupils. By Hazel Shearing, BBC News. 

In Tes' latest instalment of the 'Safeguarding Around the World' series, director of Moldova's Heritage International School Rob Ford talks about about the challenge of ensuring that staff and parents recognise the importance of a school’s safeguarding policies. Mr Ford notes that the school's membership of organisations such as the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), which provides regular webinars, conferences and training throughout the year, is helpful in raising new issues.

A new scheme will enable schoolchildren in south-east London to participate in PE lessons at Chelsea Football Club's training ground. The Chelsea FC Foundation, which is the club's social responsibility programme, will be based at St Dunstan's College in a bid to widen access to the sport in the area. Headteacher of St Dunstan's College Nick Hewlett is quoted, saying: "We are passionate about our local community, and I am particularly pleased that this new partnership will not only benefit our pupils, but young people across the whole borough. It really does have the potential to transform football across south-east London." By Anna Davis, Evening Standard. 

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