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 […]
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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 […]
State pupil intake slows at top universities
Students educated at state schools are increasingly being turned away from the UK’s elite universities, according to a new report from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission. Published on July 17th, the report says there were 126 fewer students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds at Russell Group universities in 2011-2012 than there were in […]
UK unis prepare to launch ‘moocs’ this autumn
Distance learning courses are set to take off in a whole new way, as 21 universities in the UK prepare to launch their own “moocs” – massive open online courses, which have already seen considerable success in the USA. Leeds, Bristol and Southampton are among the institutions that will begin the courses this autumn, according […]
The Future of GCSEs
What initial conclusions about the future of GCSE exams can we draw from the mountain of documents which Michael Gove and the Department for Education released last week? And who will the winners and losers be if these proposals come to pass in their current form? There can be no doubt that such a new […]
Gove announces wide-ranging GCSE reforms
Education secretary Michael Gove has unveiled reforms to the GCSE system, promising to make the exams “more challenging, more ambitious and more rigorous” in a bid to drive up standards of education. The changes, which were announced on June 11th, will have considerable impact on students taking the exams in future, including those in school […]