With the skills shortage in Britain’s engineering sector only worsening, the UK-based boss of one of Europe’s largest aerospace companies has called for engineering to be introduced as an option at GCSE level. Chief executive of EADS UK Robin Southwell has argued that this lack of skilled engineers is severely holding back Britain’s influence in […]
Wales aims to coordinate holidays for all schools
A new bill to be introduced on this week would give ministers in Wales the power to coordinate the holidays of all state schools. Reports suggest that when local authorities choose different dates from each other, families then struggle with caring for children while they are away from school. The BBC reports that initially councils […]
Distance learning interest surges in India
The high cut-off rates set by the majority of colleges at Delhi University are encouraging more students in India to consider distance learning, a recent report in the Indian Express has indicated. Announced on June 26th, the government-funded university’s cut-offs – the minimum mark percentage required to study – were as high as 99 per […]
Graduate employment prospects ‘best since 2008’
Graduate recruitment has risen to its highest level since 2008, meaning today’s graduates have the best employment prospects since the financial crisis began, according to a recent survey by High Fliers Research. The Graduate Market in 2013 concluded that there has been a 4.6 per cent increase in graduate hiring, year-on-year, from 100 leading employers […]
Fewer 18-year-olds in full-time education
The proportion of 18-year-olds enrolled in full-time education in England has fallen for the first time since 2001, according to the latest figures from the Department of Education. Some 46 per cent of 18-year-olds were in full-time education in 2012, compared with 50.3 per cent the previous year, and the statistics suggest this is down […]
Distance learning taken to extremes as lecture is broadcast from space
Students who undertake distance learning courses are used to having tutors who live in a distant city, or even a different country altogether – but what about a tutor who’s not even on this planet? That’s what more than 60 million students in China experienced on June 20th, when Wang Yaping – the second Chinese […]
Rural pupils ‘less likely to attend university’
State school children in rural parts of the UK are much less likely to go to university after completing their A levels than their counterparts in cities, new figures from the Department for Education have suggested. The statistics show that 56 per cent of pupils in London went on to university after A levels (or […]
More private schools to offer international A levels
Private schools are increasingly abandoning A levels and moving toward alternative tests following concerns over “tinkering” with national examinations, it has been claimed. The Daily Telegraph reports that, despite the coalition government’s promises to raise A level standards, private schools are concerned that any changes may not come quickly enough or risk being reversed by […]
Online courses ‘are breaking down barriers’
Distance learning through online courses could help to solve the shortage of higher education opportunities in developing countries, a senior educator has said. Writing for CNN, Daphne Koller, a professor at Stanford University’s Computer Science Department, said that in sub-Saharan Africa just six per cent of students who are of age are enrolled in higher […]
Schools ‘failing’ poorer pupils, says Ofsted chief
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are being let down by schools, according to Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw – and many of those being left behind are now in suburbs, market towns and resort towns rather than inner cities. The chief inspector believes such pupils often form an “invisible minority” in affluent areas where they […]