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Universities encouraged to back maths schools

With small numbers of young people pursuing maths into further education, universities have been encouraged to support schools that specialise in the discipline. The education minister Elizabeth Truss said too few students are continuing maths studies beyond the age of 16, and as a result are missing out on a huge number of degree and […]


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Gove tinkers with new curriculum even further

The 12 times tables will be reintroduced to primary school children in a new curriculum announced by the education secretary Michael Gove today. Five year olds will also be taught fractions again from this early age, as the emphasis shifts back to a more traditional academic curriculum. Currently, children up to the age of 11 […]


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“Free” state education far from it

Although they are in principal “free”, a new study has found that the cost of sending a child to state school could cost as much as £22,000 during their time in education. When the costs of breakfast clubs, after-school care, lunches, uniform and other necessities are combined, insurers Aviva calculated that an average of £1,614 […]


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“Tech level” qualification announced

Technical courses could carry the same status as A-levels from 2014, the government announced today. In a radical shake up, 16 to 19-years-olds studying technical courses woulc be put on the same level as those studying A-levels – provided they are given the relevant support by businesses and universities. Some have voiced concerns over the […]


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Call for engineering GCSE by EADS boss

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 […]


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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 […]


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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 […]


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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 […]


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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 […]


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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 […]


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