Where state schools are so good few go private
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“One family rented a house for a week in the school catchment area and fitted out the front room,” says John Wilson, education director for East Renfrewshire. “The school was suspicious and an inspector went along to check. He looked in the front window and saw them all sitting around the table eating dinner. But [...]
Crib sheet
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Small babes, large lessonsSeventeen-year-old Nathan Carson used to think having a baby with his girlfriend wouldn’t be too bad. “I probably thought, if it happens, it happens - we’ll manage somehow,” he says. Being involved in the reality TV show the Baby Borrowers, in which the BBC gave teenage couples live babies to care for [...]
We need to talk about violence
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The teenage boys of St Bonaventure’s school in Newham, east London, look like they don’t know what’s hit them. Sergio Argueta, a reformed New York gang leader, is shouting preacher-style. “The friends who tell you they’re watching your back? Watch them duck when the shots are fired.”The best friend you see in a box and [...]
Cataloguing the past
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This Sunday is Holocaust Memorial Day, an international day of remembrance dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Events and activities held this weekend will aim to draw the attention of the world to ongoing humanitarian tragedies (including the recent atrocities in Kenya and the continued suffering of the people of Darfur).This [...]
Child abuse exam paper recalled
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Thousands of GCSE examination papers have been recalled after headteachers complained that one of the questions asked children to research a photograph depicting child abuse.The picture, Heart Attack by Tracey Moffatt, which forms part of the permanent collection at the Tate Modern, shows a naked man reaching out for a young child.In a letter to [...]
Tales of student prostitutes shock France
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France’s education minister has vowed to improve student financial support after a series of accounts by undergraduates working as prostitutes.A memoir by a 19-year-old language student and a book of interviews with undergraduate sex workers has shocked France, lifting the lid on a practice which appears to be increasingly common. A new study showed a [...]
Crackdown on schoolgirl bullying epidemic
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Teachers are being told to challenge ‘vicious’ and ‘manipulative’ girl-on-girl bullying in schools by a leading educationist who says it is far more damaging than the ways that boys intimidate each other.Val Besag, a consultant educational psychologist, delivered her damning verdict as the head of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Vicky Tuck, told The Observer that at [...]
Millions wasted on school contract bids
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Hundreds of millions of pounds are being lost by a government scheme that aims to rebuild or remodel every secondary school in the country, it has emerged. Enough money to fund a new school in every local authority is being wasted because of the costly and burdensome bidding process used by the government, according to [...]
Minister warns schools accused of breaking law on admissions
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Ministers have warned schools they will crack down on any breaches of a new admissions code after it emerged that nearly 80 schools have been reported to the admissions watchdog and accused of covertly selecting more able students.The schools minister, Jim Knight, has told local authorities to follow the code after reports that some schools [...]
Immersion is a difficult lesson
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It was an ambitious plan pushed through by Malaysia’s leader, Mahathir Mohamad, despite fierce opposition. Five years on the decision that all Malaysian children should be taught maths and science in English still causes heated debate.With an election looming, nationalist politicians are again seizing on the charged issue of language in an ethnically diverse country [...]
